Computer book publisher Visibooks is offering all 22 titles in it's In Pictures series free to the public, as downloadable PDF files at http://inpics.net/ until August 1, 2006. Users need the Adobe Acrobat reader, version 5 or newer, to open the files. In addition to providing free downloads, the company sells both electronic and printed books. Print-quality electronic book files are $3.95, while spiral-bound copies are $14.95 each. (While the graphics in the free download versions are lower resolution, they were perfectly legible in test prints we made.)

The In Pictures e-books feature step-by-step screen shots that illustrate how to use some of today's most popular office software, such as PowerPoint, Word, operating systems like Windows XP and Mac OS X, and even open source products like OpenOffice and Linspire Five-0 (Linux).

Unlike most electronic books sold online, the downloadable In Pictures e-books aren't restricted by a digital rights management system. In fact, In Pictures encourages those who download the e-books to freely to copy and share them. Users can also print out a hard copy of the e-book to keep on their desk as a reference or to make notes in the margins of the pages. The books' Creative Commons license only prohibits readers from selling or changing them without permission.

After August 1, the company will offer a "free book of the month" for download.