Microsoft Drops Pdf From Next Version Of Office

[thesidekickcat]

Adobe and Microsoft have settled it the hard way!!!

PC World article about Microsoft dropping PDF from next Office version

I wonder if the Foxit free reader/editor is a full replacement for whatever the Adobe one does that wont be in next Office?

Foxit Free Small PDF Reader

I've never figured out what's so special about PDFs anyhow? But then I am just a non-techie!

Pat

God bless everyone

[bobbynichols]

I've never figured out what's so special about PDFs anyhow? But then I am just a non-techie!

I agree (as a non-techie) that PDF is over-blown. Given the ability when researching in Google to view either a PDF document or the alternate HTML document, I always choose the HTML doc rather than waiting for Adobe's ap to load and then having to (seemingly) fiddle with the document to read it. I could be wrong but the PDF doc doesn't highlight my key words like the HTML doc does when using a Google link. When reading news and comments on some news aggregators Foxitt is a slam dunk when reading said offending PDF documents.

I thought the following quote from the article you cited was somewhat humourous: "As our CEO Bruce Chizen has stated publicly numerous times in the past, Microsoft has a monopoly and we are always concerned about the possibility that they might abuse that monopoly," she said."... kettle calling the pot overly oxidized?... or just a dig in stating that Microsoft has a monopoly and nobody has done anything about it (successfully)? Dunno.

It's about power and money and (pick your own epithet) with the end user.

[robroy]

pdf is a much better quality when you want to print line drawings, technical specs, etc. I can read the small fine print easier than with printing from a web page. If you are just viewing the page then html is fine.

[isteve]

PDF does a lot more then show up as a choice of documents and working on any platform. It can be secured so you can't change them, they can be used as a forms that will let you enter text but not change the original text. And that just some things.

After saying that os x has been able to view and write PDF for years without adobe. This makes viewing pdf from web much quicker. Also letting you save any document made on a mac as a pdf for portability and compatibility. Of course you still need adobe if you want all the bells and whistles.