A PDF document is often the best format to share documents, booklets, etc., as it lets you share the content in a rich format without any damage to the formatting. But sometimes you need to convert the document in Word format. How can one easily convert any PDF file to Word document for free?

In an earlier post, we talked about free online PDF to Word converters. But they have their own limitations:
1. Online PDF converters cannot handle password-protected files.
2. The output is emailed to you, which might take some time to arrive. So if you are in a hurry, online PDF converters are not recommended.
3. All online PDF converters have a file size limit. If your file exceeds the limit, you are out of luck.
4. It requires you to upload file to the Web, which may be a hindrance if you are stuck with a poor Internet connection.

If you have been using Ubuntu for some time and you don't hesitate in exploring new avenues, you might have discovered how to install fonts in Ubuntu. If you haven't, here's a simple guide to installing your desired fonts in Ubuntu. (And you will wonder why you didn't find it on your own.)

Use Ubuntu Software Center

It's never been easier to add fonts in Ubuntu, thanks to the Software Center (Applications > Software Center > Fonts) where one can browse through the repository and install the desired fonts.

Do you need to use the text in an image of any letter or newspaper or some document? Optical character recognition (OCR) tools can be used to convert the text in some image (JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF or PDF) format into word/text. But not everyone has an OCR application. That's where free online OCR tools come to rescue.

There are plenty of good online tools that will read the text in images and give you the output in word format that you can copy and paste to desired place. This involves simple process of uploading the image on the website and then copy-pasting the resultant text. However, it's recommended to go through the text once because the results are not error-free. Some letters or words can be wrongly identified, changing the meaning of the text.

MyPaint is an open source paint application for creating excellent works of art in various operating platforms including Windows, Linux and OSX. It comes with a distraction-free workspace packaged with a wide variety of brushes that allow users to paint their imagination on the limit-less canvas. One can keep working without the need to resize the canvas.

Emails are one of the most popular ways of infecting any computer with nasty viruses. You have received an email with an attachment that you suspect is virulent. How do you check if it's a virus or not without having to download it? That's where VirusTotal comes to rescue.

Do you need to copy text from a PDF file that's in image format? There are several free online PDF converters that can convert any PDF to word.

Why do you need to convert PDF to word? Let's look into this real life scenario. You are short of time for filing a report, and suddenly you get a scanned copy of a letter that you need to include in your document. Had it been a PDF created from digital text file, it would have been possible to copy it using the text selection tool, but it's not possible to do so with a PDF or image file created by scanning a physical document. (Most archived books on Google Books are also scanned images.) Using a free PDF to word converter tool, one can save time and effort which otherwise would have been required for typing the text.

Everyone spends a significant portion of their day (and also night) over the Internet. But most of us rely on buttons and mouse for navigating the Web. Keyboard shortcuts can drastically boost your online experience. These shortcuts are used by both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Many of these shortcuts will be valid in other Web browsers as well. If you are using a Mac, replace Ctrl key with Cmd (command) key, Enter key with Return.

Web address: One can immediately go to the address or location bar by pressing Ctrl+L or Alt+D or F6.

To automatically complete .com address, press Ctrl+Enter. Eg: for www.google.com, you just need to type google in address bar and then press Ctrl+Enter.

To automatically complete .net address, use Shift+Enter. Eg; for www.google.org, type google and press shift+Enter.

To complete .org address, use Ctrl+Shift+Enter.Eg: for www.google.net, type google and then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

If you need to type www.google.com/adsense, type google/adsense and then press Ctrl+Enter. For www.google.net/adsense, type google/adsense and press Shift+Enter. Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter for www.google.org/adsense. (Google Chrome will only be able to expand .com Web addresses.)

Though USB drives have become the most popular storage media, CDs and DVDs still rule when it comes to creating a collection of movies, songs and images. Also, when it comes to operating systems such as Windows and Linux, computers expect a disc for installation. How do you burn a CD or DVD or an ISO file for free? Here's is a list of some of the best free windows applications to burn CDs and DVDs.

ImgBurn

ImgBurn is a light-weight application, primarily meant for quickly and easily creating copies of CDs and DVDs. The application can create images or ISO files from any disc, which can be saved on hard disk or burnt onto CDs and DVDs. This method of creating images and then burning them onto discs is primarily used for creating copies of movie DVDs or bootable discs. ImgBurn is equally efficient in creating video CDs and DVDs, creating music discs, etc. ImgBurn, which comes only as a free software, can also burn HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs.

Google Adsense is undoubtedly the most popular and important tool for monetizing websites. A lot of websites solely depend on the Google ad network.

Adsense requires website owners not to click on the ads served on their web pages. Google has a powerful system to track dishonest ad clicks, either manual or by automated bots. Strict adherence to quality of clicks in the ad network is vital for success of Google Adwords (for advertisers) and Adsense and also for the advertisers. Who would want his/her money to be illegally siphoned off their account. (Illegal clicks on Adsense ads do exactly that.)

Shiny purple design and aesthetics, Me Menu for staying connected to Twitter and other social networks, PiTiVi for editing videos, easy-to-use Software Center for installing applications and interesting games such as Sudoku and Gbrainy. Lucid Lynx has made the switch to Ubuntu even more tempting.

What should you do after installing Ubuntu Lucid Lynx to make it even more sexy and a more efficient workhorse?

1. Mount your hard disk partitions automatically

If you have used Ubuntu earlier, you know it can be a trouble if you mount partitions in wrong order. Ubuntu does not assign drive letters to partitions, instead it names them as disk-1, disk-2, etc., in the order they are mounted. so if you mounted your 90GB partition first, it becomes disk-1. Now you import your music from this partition to Rhythmbox music player and listen to music. When you start Ubuntu next time, you start Rhythmbox to listen to music. You get a no disk error. Now instead of mounting the 90GB partition, you mount another partition first. So the 90GB partition is now disk-2. When Rhythmbox tries to locate the music files on disk-1, it won't be there. It's now on disk-2. This problem will arise with applications as well.