Comments on: Some more PDF haters http://www.foulwritersworld.net/blog/?p=93 A Technical Communication and Technology blog Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:02:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: noel http://www.foulwritersworld.net/blog/?p=93&cpage=1#comment-58 noel Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:48:40 +0000 http://www.foulwritersworld.net/blog/?p=93#comment-58 I can't agree more Charles. I hate PDFs from the point of view of someone that produces them and I am unhappy with the direction Adobe has chosen to persue. Acrobat has become more bloatware than is necessary and the functions they have added recently probably won't be used by 90% of the people that use. The idea of the eBook is something I have been looking forward to for a longtime. I've even just stumped up the cash for an eBook Reader. I can’t agree more Charles. I hate PDFs from the point of view of someone that produces them and I am unhappy with the direction Adobe has chosen to persue. Acrobat has become more bloatware than is necessary and the functions they have added recently probably won’t be used by 90% of the people that use.

The idea of the eBook is something I have been looking forward to for a longtime. I’ve even just stumped up the cash for an eBook Reader.

]]> By: Charles http://www.foulwritersworld.net/blog/?p=93&cpage=1#comment-56 Charles Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:41:01 +0000 http://www.foulwritersworld.net/blog/?p=93#comment-56 The funny thing about PDFs is, as I packed my apartment up to move this week I realized that content has become commoditized. I mean, the majority of weight that I'm moving is not furniture. It's not clothes. It's books. I have bookcases and bookcases of books. I have books and paperwork in storage. I have business receipts in binders of books. All of this is scannable content. It's all something that could easily, given the time and effort, be placed into a searchable and indexable PDF file. With the Netflix / XBox 360 deal, my XBox 360 now has access to about 10,000 titles of movies. My four year old son asked me twice this past week about why I was reading a book at naptime. I told him that it told a story, and reading before bedtime helped me to relax. Then I thought about the hundreds of pounds of books that I have to carry downstairs, pack into a truck, and unload and sort through at the new place. Content deliverable through an eBook is really the future. Too bad Adobe is bent on providing yet more media-driven content instead of core, solid readable material. I just don't think they get it over there. PDFs are great for eBook content, I would love it if I could access cheap content through a plentiful or disposable eBook reader. Of course Adobe will just bang their head against the wall and fight Microsoft for the Media Player (like, it's free to users) market would they try to corner the global market in something useful and recharge their PDF empire... The funny thing about PDFs is, as I packed my apartment up to move this week I realized that content has become commoditized. I mean, the majority of weight that I’m moving is not furniture. It’s not clothes.

It’s books. I have bookcases and bookcases of books. I have books and paperwork in storage. I have business receipts in binders of books.

All of this is scannable content. It’s all something that could easily, given the time and effort, be placed into a searchable and indexable PDF file.

With the Netflix / XBox 360 deal, my XBox 360 now has access to about 10,000 titles of movies. My four year old son asked me twice this past week about why I was reading a book at naptime. I told him that it told a story, and reading before bedtime helped me to relax.

Then I thought about the hundreds of pounds of books that I have to carry downstairs, pack into a truck, and unload and sort through at the new place.

Content deliverable through an eBook is really the future. Too bad Adobe is bent on providing yet more media-driven content instead of core, solid readable material. I just don’t think they get it over there. PDFs are great for eBook content, I would love it if I could access cheap content through a plentiful or disposable eBook reader.

Of course Adobe will just bang their head against the wall and fight Microsoft for the Media Player (like, it’s free to users) market would they try to corner the global market in something useful and recharge their PDF empire…

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