We want to provide Google users with a more convenient way to convert files to PDF within their personalized iGoogle Homepage. We are also excited to introduce a quick and easy way to document Internet browsing and research. By allowing the user to add multiple URLs and then convert those pages to one combined PDF, we will help simplify the Internet research and browsing experience.

We expect to have our new Gadget formally listed under Google Gadgets in early December. You can start using LOOP on iGoogle today by clicking here to add it to your iGoogle homepage.

“I am a graduate student, and I spend a lot of time doing research on the Internet. I found your LOOP service on Firefox which has allowed me to document web research more efficiently. I can now capture web pages and convert them to PDF files by clicking the add URL button. Even better, it allows me to quickly package them into a single PDF, bookmark each website and then name the new combined PDF file. When LOOP converts the web page to PDF, it automatically places the web address at the bottom of the page so I have record of where I found the information. I also discovered that it allows me to create PDF files from a variety of file types and package them into one PDF file, including my web pages. Not only did LOOP save me a TON of time it also helped me better organize my web research. Overall, this tool is WAY COOL! Thanks Drawloop!”

This month Intel opened a new website called CoolSW that uses “crowd sourcing” to highlight software. “The CoolSW site is an online community of people passionate about software,” says the site. Members post information about an interesting software company, and site visitors vote on whether that company is “cool.”

If you sometimes need a PDF but don’t want to spend $299 for Adobe Acrobat, this free service could be the answer. LOOP is a SaaS offering that creates PDFs from MS Office files, graphics, or web pages. It can even combine numerous files into a single PDF.

One obvious use: Packing a mess of files into a single attachment that’s easier to send and receive by e-mail. LOOP doesn’t offer all the advanced features of the full Acrobat package, but how often do you need those anyway?

This free PDF-making software comes from Irvine, Calif.-based Drawloop Technologies, which claims 30,000 users. The company provides more powerful document packaging services for a fee. This is one example of the kind of disruptive technology that established software firms need to watch out for. Note to Adobe: Consider buying these guys before you-know-who discovers them. Copyright (c) 2007, Computing Technology Industry Association, Inc.