How often have you received or needed to send a file only to find that that none of your applications can read or write the required format?
How often have you received or needed to send a file only to find that none of your applications can read or write the required format?
PDFZilla converts simple PDF files to MS Word
This problem is very common with image files; for example, should someone send you a Targa Truvision formatted image (.tga) and the only tool on the computer you’re using is MSPaint then you’re going to be out of luck until you can install a more versatile graphics application or you find the time to move the file to another, better equipped machine.
The answer, my friend, is online in the form of a service called Zamzar. Zamzar is very versatile when it comes to conversions and understands a huge number of file formats.
For Targa Truvision format, Zamzar can not only convert your file into any of the six formats MSPaint understands (.bmp, .gif; .jpg or .jpeg, .ico, .png, or .tiff), it can also produce PDF, Postscript, PC Paintbrush Bitmap Graphic (.pcx), thumbnail, and Wireless Bitmap File Format (.wbmp) versions.
Zamzar’s repertory includes not only image formats but also document, music, video, compressed, and CAD formats. Note that not every format can be converted to any other format even just within, for example, the CAD group (actually the CAD conversions are the most limited being AutoCAD .dwg and .dxf format to image formats).
The conversion process is simple: Using the Zamzar Web interface you select the file to be converted either from local storage or from a URL and select the target format. You then give an e-mail address which the service will send the converted files to, and click to agree on Zamzar’s terms of service to start the conversion.
Zamzar offers four tiers of service: Free, which is ad-supported and limits file sizes to 100MB; Basic, which costs $7 per month and increase your maximum file size to 200MB, allows seven simultaneous conversions, and 5GB of online storage; Pro, which costs $16 per month and offers a 400MB maximum file size, 10 parallel conversions, 20GB of online storage, and does away with ads; and Business which allows 1GB files, 15 current conversions, 100GB of online storage, and secure transfers over SSL for $49 per month. Users of the Business version get the highest priority for conversions with Pro coming second, Basic next, and finally Free receiving the lowest priority.
Zamzar is a brilliant idea and definitely fits with one of the key directions of future personal computing: Off-boarding. Why have special software loaded that has very specific functionality when an organization that is expert in that area can provide you with an on demand service for reasonable price or for free?
