convertible

Microsoft Word is the No. 1 word processing program, but not everyone has it. That can be a problem if you need to submit something as a Word document (DOC format), but it's hardly insurmountable, thanks to tools like Free PDF to Word Doc Converter. It takes your PDFs, extracts and converts the data, and saves it in a DOC file that can be opened and edited with Word. It handles multiple pages, and it can reproduce images or remove them, depending on which suits your needs.

Free file converters tend to have simple GUIs, and Free PDF to … Read more

MediaHuman Audio Converter for Mac handles the task of converting audio file formats in a simple application. Designed to provide cross-conversion capabilities for WMA, AAC, WAV, FLAC, OGG and Apple Lossless formats, MediaHuman Audio Converter for Mac is a free app that will likely become a staple if you need to convert audio files frequently.

MediaHuman Audio Converter for Mac installs cleanly. The interface is simple and attractive. Select the audio file (or use drag and drop to drop the file over the app), set the format you want to convert to, and let it run. The predefined conversion parameters … Read more

Coming soon, a veritable evolutionary explosion of Windows 8 devices will be bearing down on you. Big small, tablety, not tablety, full of touch, and ready to fold into strange shapes for your general amusement.

Welcome to the Windows 8 Field Guide, an Audubon's Birds-style attempt to help you identify the classifications and subphyla of this odd new computing world. It's not as hard as you think, once you break down the various common types. Be forewarned: these classifications are works in progress, and there could very well be more evolutionary variants coming soon. But, hopefully, this should help classify some of the multipurpose strangeness you're already starting to see on preorder pages.

Of course, you still have laptops, desktops, and tablets. Some of these tablets will have one of two operating systems: Windows 8 or Windows RT.

After that, the classifications get a little more diffused.… Read more

Update: According to software developer WonderFox Soft, iWonderSky Software is not allowed to give away WonderFox DVD Ripper licenses. Therefore, at the former's request, we have removed the link for the promotion.

Why settle for one freebie when you can get three?

From now until October 19, iWonderSky Software (which I believe was formally known as WonderFox Software) is offering CNET readers this exclusive: three Windows video utilities absolutely free.

First up: WonderFox DVD Ripper. Normally $39.95, it can convert just about any DVD into just about any digital format. It comes with profiles for a wide variety … Read more

YouTube hosts thousands of free songs in all genres, many posted with video montages, slideshows, and sometimes shots of a spinning turntable. While the quality is hardly the best, the quantity is staggering; YouTube is often the fastest and easiest way to hear a song. That's where DVDVideoSoft's Free YouTube to MP3 Converter steps in. Fast, simple, and free, it quickly downloads, converts, and saves audio tracks from YouTube videos as MP3s of several quality levels. It extracts audio from any YouTube video, not just songs, of course. You can save clips and play them on your audio … Read more

Converting videos to play on your phone or tablet isn't as easy as it should be, unless you have 4Free Video Converter. With the easy-to-use Profile wizard, you just pick your device or file type and add your files, and 4Free Video Converter does the rest. It supports the most popular video formats, including HD and Flash, and a lot of less popular ones, too. It also merges files; extracts audio, video, and images; edits video files; and adds effects.

While 4Free Video Converter's user interface isn't exactly a crowd-stopper, it's cleanly and logically configured with … Read more

Dozen of new PCs are launching alongside Windows 8. Some are inventive new designs with sliding keyboards and removable screens, others are simple retreads of existing products, occasionally augmented by a new touch screen.

Here you'll find links to all the major new Windows 8 hardware being released this holiday season, sorted by brand. Many of these systems are available to preorder now, and most will ship when Windows 8 launches on October 26 (a handful have yet to even be announced, so we'll add those to this list when they are).

We've … Read more

An IDC analyst doesn't like what he's seeing so far from PC makers and their pricing for Windows 8 products.

Lenovo and Acer this week began disclosing pricing for tablets and convertibles that range between $499 (Acer) and $1,099 (Lenovo). Bob O'Donnell, program vice president of clients and displays at IDC, doesn't think this kind of traditional PC pricing bodes well for the sales of newfangled hybrid devices.

"The problem is these things are priced way too high. Look at the history of tablet products priced above the iPad. Not pretty," he said … Read more

Converting videos to allow them to be shown on an iMac, iPhone, or iPad can be a tricky process if you don't know what to do. Dual-OS users already know the frustration of converting videos supported by Windows (such as WMV or AVI) into the MacOS environment. Any Video Converter Lite is a free product that can perform conversions several ways, readying your video clips for the supported formats of an iDevice.

Any Video Converter Lite installs on an iMac or MacBook Pro quickly and easily. The entire process took just a few seconds. Once installed, converting video files … Read more