So what arguments do we (Generation X) come up with?

1. Paper books are easier on the eyes and you can read them easier.
2. Paper is less fragile than electronic formats. There is less to go wrong, for instance no need to power a paper book. Also if you drop a paper book into the bath it’s cheaply replaced, the same can’t be said about the eBook reader.
3. There is an emotional pleasure in simply seeing shelves of books. There is also an intrinsic value in a book that goes beyond the contents. It’s in the cover design and material, the binding, its weight and the tactile nature of a book.
4. There is a sense of ownership in having a physical book that just isn’t there in an electronic book. There is something more permanent about paper.
5.  A sketch on the back of a beer mat can record a world changing idea. It’s the freedom to sketch anything you like anywhere on the paper that makes a paper and pen a powerful user experience. Pickup a piece of paper and a pen and you can be sketching and writing with freedom in seconds (instant on!).
6. Some people read paper books as a way to take a break from the computer screen that rules their working life. We’re in front of a computer screen all day and when you relax you just want to have a different experience.
7.  Cuddly Toy! (hint.. Google the title…)

Ok, so looking back across all of the reasons I gave above I can see counter arguments from the virtual world and to be honest the arguments for paper do seem a bit generational.

A recent study by Habbo Hotel that asked 49,000 Digital Natives a.k.a. Generation Z (born 1990’s and 2000’s) to share their views on how the internet will shape the future. The following finding suggests they don’t have the same reticence about replacing paper:

“However, whilst the TV remains a relevant and important medium to this media-savvy generation, traditional print media (newspapers, magazines and books) won’t fair as well with 55 per cent of respondents saying that they will be extinct either very soon or some day in the future. Only 18 per cent feel that printed media will always have a place.”

Generation Z have grown up with the internet and mobile devices, and they are certainly comfortable and possibly even dependent on technology. To some extent they live their lives in the virtual world and don’t see a need to get away from it. They have access to a huge source of information and it doesn’t go stale like the information in printed books. They also have a green conscience that reverses the emotional context for a paper book.

Even if the feelings that Generation X has about paper and pens has some validity, it is obvious that Generation Z will eventually shut that door. The iPad and its descendents are the vehicle for this final move to the electronic world. It makes me wonder however what will replace books, DVDs and CDs under the Christmas tree in the next decade. In the meantime my sons will be getting a number of annuals and story books from this Generation X Santa.

Happy Holidays!

 gDoc Fusion is the simplest way to create and convert PDF documents as well as merge over 200 document formats into one final PDF document.   http://bit.ly/fsVfF3

Have a very Merry Christmas from the team at Global Graphics.

 Terms and conditions apply.

Over the summer, we completed a competition called Viral Summer which encouraged students within Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire to complete a short digital video which promotes the unique aspects of gDoc Fusion. 

The result is a funny and unique take on our product, gDoc Fusion, and we think you’ll enjoy it too. 

You can take a look for yourself : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alYq363S-fE

Aiim has recommended that you take 3 simple steps:

1. .Conscientiously make a point to not PRINT
2.Investigate a business process or technology that can cut the paper waste in your office
3.Participate or Produce a local Paper Free Day event

Of course, there are many software tools out there that that claim to reduce our ever increasing dependency on printing documents, whether it’s emails, reports, office documents in fact almost everything.  

A simple flick view to literally flick through all of those documents on the screen, could stop you from printing that page.  I wonder where you could find that…..?

Just take one moment today and think before you print!  Or you could share it with us in our comment section below.

Betty entered our first competition this month, by completing a feedback questionnaire after downloading gDoc Fusion a couple of months ago.  She is now the proud owner of a Sony Viao laptop, so she can carry on using gDoc Fusion!

Hetal entered a second feedback questionnaire through our Twitter page and won $500 in holiday vouchers.

 We had two competitions running, both included questionnaires relating to gDoc Fusion to find out how you are using it and how it fits into your daily work or personal needs. 

Many thought that gDoc Fusion was very easy to install and use; most commonly, it has become an invaluable tool when collating information for distribution or compiling research.  Some of our users also mentioned that they used gDoc Fusion to compile boardroom packs and presentation kits because gDoc Fusion enables quick merging of documents of several formats, into one document.  PDF creation and conversion still rates very highly with our gDoc Fusion users due to its speed and ease of use.

The feedback has given us plenty of things to consider and we are reviewing all of the suggestions for product enhancement of gDoc Fusion so that it has even greater use for your PDF and document merging requirements.   

 Thanks again to everyone who entered.

Download gDoc Fusion, trial it and let us know what you think and you could win £500 worth of holiday vouchers!

 Simply join us on Twitter, download gDoc Fusion  and register the product.  You will then receive an email with all of the questionnaire details.

Once you have had the chance to test gDoc Fusion, simply complete our short questionnaire and you’ll be automatically entered into our free prize draw. 

 But hurry, you must let us know what you think before Friday 17 September 2010.

 Good luck!

Terms and Conditions

1. Product must be downloaded and questionnaire completed by midnight on Friday September 17 2010.
2. Winner will be randomly selected and informed after week commencing  September 20 2010 
3. All entries submitted after Friday September 17 2010 will not be counted
4. Prize available for one winner and will be £500 or the local currency equivalent at the discretion of Global Graphics.
5. Product must be registered to receive the link to the survey.
6. Standard Global Graphics Terms and Conditions apply.

I have for some years been promising myself to learn to touch-type. It would be so much more efficient! But I use a keyboard every day, and the thought of having to first slow down my typing in order to eventually be even quicker has always put me off.

Using Microsoft Word is another example – I can’t count the number of time I have seen users laboriously swipe text and apply bold or a different font for headings, when all they have to do is choose a heading style, such as Heading 1. It’s just down to a lack of awareness. At least with the later versions of Word this has been made easier, with the styles shown graphically on the ribbon toolbar.

And so it is with document software. This week I heard anecdotally about a specialist in a government agency that needed to pull together information provided to him in various formats – Word, Excel and some PDF files. In order to distribute them as a single report, he prints everything, collates and then re-scans using a photocopier that can scan to PDF. Not terribly efficient, and he ends up with 30 pages of scrap paper! He’s now switched to using gDoc Fusion, which happens to be the ideal software tool to do this task entirely electronically, and it will pay for itself in no time with the saving in effort and paper.

This is perhaps an extreme example but we all have our bad habits. We might even know there is a better way, but getting the work done gets in the way of learning how to get the work done quicker! Time to invest in yourself – perhaps some formal training, or sitting down with that colleague who “knows stuff”. Or just spending some time Googling for the answer can be well worthwhile.

Meanwhile, I promise to learn to touch-type. Soon…

10 more lucky tweeters can now also merge multiple format files into one single document, through our easy to use simple drag and drop technology, thanks to their free copies of gDoc Fusion 2.5.

 gDoc Fusion 2.5 allows users to combine, merge and convert to PDF or Word over 200 incompatible document types, including spreadsheets, Word documents, Powerpoint slides, images and PDF files, in to one consolidated document ready for distribution.

Thanks to all of our loyal tweeters for taking part!

Here’s the full list of our lucky tweeters:

Winner:  http://www.twitter.com/BookZone

Runners up:  http://www.twitter.com/abitnerdy
 http://www.twitter.com/Nioniel
 http://www.twitter.com/Westers1401
 http://www.twitter.com/andrew_lillie
 http://www.twitter.com/Kerrianne_xx
 http://www.twitter.com/krains
 http://www.twitter.com/ChristianRocker
 http://www.twitter.com/melanie997
 http://www.twitter.com/medie
 http://www.twitter.com/tarnnie

On the plane I can’t get any internet connection (I don’t fly business class). In airports I still feel nervous about connecting to unknown WiFi spots (and it often costs money). My company smart phone has expensive roaming charges for data and so I try not to use it. The signal strength and bandwidth is not always guaranteed. Even at home my company smart phone has a terrible time trying to get any signal strength.

I have a traditional operating system on my laptop installed with “Desktop” applications. The lack of “Cloud” coverage does not dictate when I do my work, which is a key consideration for me. Many business travellers have to “kill” time while they wait in airports, train stations and sitting on aeroplanes. They read the newspaper, read a book or watch a range of films (chosen by someone else). The aim is to make the time pass so that they can get to their destination. As my time has been squeezed between work and family I have started looking at removing the concept of “killing” time.

I have replaced it with the concept of “investing” time. I get some work out of the way, write visit reports, compose emails and read documents. The new travel focused devices like the iPad will make this easier. I have contemplated using software to read business documents to an MP3 or CD so that I can listen to them on my two hour round trip to work (might be a good feature for gDoc Fusion). After I get back from my trip I can cash back the time that I “invested” and spend it with my family (at least that’s the theory). The thought of being barred from accessing my tools and data and being forced to go back to killing time some other way is something I find unacceptable.

To me the “Cloud” against “Desktop” application debate is analogous to the arguments for public transport (Cloud) against the car (Desktop). I can see all of the benefits of public transport but the car gives me personal freedom to make choices about how, when and in what manner I travel. If public transport becomes as easy to access as a car it will succeed. However I can’t see it succeeding if users have to change their pattern of travel to fit in.

Until the access to “Cloud” based applications gives me the personal freedom about when and where I can invest my time I’ll be sticking with “Desktop” applications and locally stored data. I won’t be giving up my car any time soon either.

Jurassic Park was dominating the UK box office, Take That chalked up their first UK number one with ‘Pray’, and a newly-formed software house in California introduced to the world a brand new format that some 17 years later dominates as the most commonly used document format in the world: Adobe PDF.
There’s a general expectation these days that certain types of software should be free. But this wasn’t always the case back in the early 1990s when the web was newly born. In fact, it’s hard to believe that Adobe once charged for Acrobat Reader, which for a long time was the only software available that could read PDFs. However, it wasn’t long until Adobe switched to a new business model making Acrobat Reader a free download, so that anyone could view and print PDF files. A smart move which no doubt enabled PDF to become as popular as it is today.

A decade ago Global Graphics led the way with “clone” PDF creation with the JAWS PDF product line; today there is a plethora of PDF-producing applications available, as a cursory Google search reveals. PDF creation has become a commodity, a facility that’s built-in to favourite applications or available for free.
But is free always a good thing? What sacrifices do users make when choosing some of the free PDF creators that are available today?

Five reasons why free can be bad:

1. Badly formed embedded fonts
2. Text that can’t be copied and pasted
3. Wrong colours
4. Missing graphic objects
5. PDF that deviates from ISO 32000-1:2008

So choose your PDF clone wisely.

Fast-forward to 2010. Robbie Williams has re-joined Take that and the band, are more successful and more ubiquitous than they were back in 1993. With maturity and experience teaching them what works and what doesn’t, they’ve grown to understand the necessity of rewarding a loyal audience with a high quality product. Exactly the same should be said for PDF. When choosing the right PDF solution for your business, make sure you’re not sacrificing quality or ease-of-use simply because a product is free. There are excellent, free solutions available, including our own. Try gDoc and let us know what you think.