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I remember past requests on the list for cheap and easy-to-distribute
alternatives to Acrobat files. Thought I'd let folks know that a client of
mine, JetFax, has announced a free tool called HotSend.
HotSend (http://www.hotsend.com) puts an extra menu in applications. You
can use the "Send this document" command in this menu to
send a self-viewing document as an email attachment. The file
is ~100 KB plus whatever for content. Since it contains its own viewer,
you don't need to worry about whether your audience has Acrobat
or whatever application was used to create the document installed.
It basically uses your application's print function with a different
printer driver. The files can be viewed on Win3.1, 95, 98, and NT. A Mac
viewer is planned.
They plan to offer an add-on within 3 months that will allow you to
annotate and hyperlink HotSend documents. Estimated cost is about $25, so
this will be an cheap-and-easy way to send around documents for online
reviews. (The annotation capabilities are basically the same ones you get
with JetSuite Pro, which ships with the HP3100 printer/fax/copier/scanner.)
