Adobe today today a major leap from the desktop to the Web with its introduction of Acrobat.com, a suite of hosted services available for free as a public beta. The suite combines word-processing, Web conferencing, PDF creation, file sharing and file storage in a stylish and functional package built using Adobe Flash technology. The company today also introduced the latest version of its software, Adobe Acrobat 9, that provides integration with the Web site and that also more fully integrates Flash than any previous version, meaning your PDFs will now be able to play video and audio and do other cool tricks.
As for the Web site, its services include:
- Adobe Buzzword, a Web-based, WYSIWYG word processor similar in concept to Google Docs but distinct in both appearance and functionality through its use of Flash.
- Adobe ConnectNow, a personal Web conferencing service that includes desktop sharing, video and voice conferencing and integrated chat.
- Centralized online file sharing and storage with access controls.
- Online PDF conversion for up to five documents, and support for high quality, Web-embeddable documents.
- Developer APIs for real-time collaboration, file sharing and conversion.
The Web site integrates with the Adobe software through the ability of Acrobat 9 owners to use Acrobat.com as a central location for sharing forms and collecting forms data, conducting shared reviews, and co-navigating a PDF document with colleagues.