What is Digg?115 Comments
- unclesaamm, on 10/12/2007, -17/+128Don't you just hate it when you click on an innocent-looking link, and then it turns out to be a ***** PDF file??
- Charlotte_Web, on 10/12/2007, -1/+47PAPER IS DEAD... paper covers rock, so the culprit must be SCISSORS!
- meechp123, on 10/12/2007, -2/+48I dont know about everyone else, but, I actually get excited when I get my magazines in the mail.
- Sirocco, on 10/12/2007, -14/+53The PDF format is wonderful if you want to take ~200Kb of useful content and stuff it into a 1.8Mb file. I won't miss it; that's for sure.
- anotherjeff, on 10/12/2007, -3/+41i love foxit.
- KSUdesigner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+33Paper is dead? Tell that to my desk, it's buried under a massive pile of paper.
- samadam, on 10/12/2007, -13/+43Nope. no problems here.
/me is a mac user.
That, or you could download foxit for windows. You can even turn off their banner ad in the settings menu. Very fast, and very compatible. - designer, on 10/12/2007, -4/+22I work in the printing industry and print is not dead. People have been predicting the end of print for many years now. Also, the PDF if used correctly can be useful.
- lukas88, on 10/12/2007, -12/+30I hate PDF mainly because adobe made such a bloated piece of ***** software for a reader. If it opened instantly, like a jpg or a mp3, then it would be fine. You can't tell me that simple text should take longer to load than a picture or a song. Also, why does it always have to open to the worst zoom possible? It is either 33% normal size so you have to squint to make anything out, or it is 300% normal size so you have to scroll down. Not to mention the pages. I hate the pages! Just make it one long page or give it hypertext. Why does it have to update every time I open it too? Do I really need the latest advancement in TEXT READING SOFTWARE?
Yes the PDF is the ultimate in ridiculousness and needs to go. Hell, it was obsolete even before paper. - DyDx, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21Because not every webpage looks the same on every computer. PDFs allow for strict control over formatting and are easier to create exactly what you want, looks wise, than writing in arcane (to the people that often make PDFs) HTML.
- JamesAhlschwede, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20This guy doesn't know what he's talking about. "Paper is dead - has PDF followed suit?" No.
Distributing PDFs on the web has always been the least of what PDFs are about. Adobe has made most of it's PDF money creating enterprise level products. PDF is the rare format that is required by law for legal filings. People will keep using PDF files for producing professional printed output, no matter what happens with PDF on the web.
And hey, what is going to happen with PDF on the web in the near future? It's a central part of Adobe's Apollo project. (Flash+PDF+HTML+Javascript for online and offline apps.) If anything PDF's future is looking up. At worst, it isn't really doing any worse now than it has been for years. The author doesn't know what he's talking about outside if his corner of the world. - bobcrotch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18You have to read something while you take a dump!
- scotticus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18pdf is nowhere near dead.
Every scientific journal uses pdf for their online versions.
It's here to stay... I just wish the ability to read pdfs was built into OSs / web browsers. They need to get on the licensing bandwagon. I hate having to install 10 pieces of essential software whenever I get a new pc. - Y0tsuya, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17"uh jpeg?"
No. - kyelewis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16Plain Text? :D that's pretty cross-platform.
- asif5th, on 10/12/2007, -28/+43I know many will agree with me when I say: Phux PDF
- bonyicecream, on 10/12/2007, -5/+20I hate PDFs. They might be better if Adobe hadn't ruined them with the crappiness of their 41MB reader.
Foxit rules when it comes to pdfs. - bootle, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18PDF only sucks in windows. It's wicked awesome in OS X and pretty much as cool in linux.
Gnarly dude! - ijeff, on 10/12/2007, -5/+19I haven't had any issues since my move to Mac OSX.. I do know that on Windows there are quite a number of issues with PDF viewing. It's a shame, I believe PDF is quite convenient.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16i like to have a self-contained copy of a web page on my pc for reference, in case the web page dies out. that is why i think its convenient to "print"web pages as pdf's using the open-source pdfcreator. pdf is the only format that can provide me with a means of faithfully archiving electronic documents.
- ricodued, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Atomic1Fire:
Hate me for saying this, but perhaps a format that is XML-based would do the trick...
Maybe. - playerZero, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16Nobody likes them? Huh. I love PDF. It's very useful for certain applications. I invoice clients with it, because it's not easily editable. I make printable styleguides with it, because it's easy to control print output, and i don't have to worry about what fonts the viewer has installed. I make user guides with it, because it's easily printable and can also contain live links (like support url/email).
The problem is not the format, it's the software. I use OS X, so i don't have to deal with Acrobat. When you eliminate Acrobat, it's a very useful format.
And my point is not to tout OS X as superior, merely to point out that the format is not the cause of the headache. - alecperkins, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13I agree wholeheartedly. PDF is definitely not even close to HTML for web only content and it was stupid of them to even try and use it instead of HTML. For printing, though, it's hard to find another format that's even comparable. I do a lot of printing, particularly of large format documents (24x36 posters and such) and PDF gives me great control over everything involved in the printing and ensures consistency. Whenever people have printing problems, it's almost always because they are trying to print from something other than a PDF (like a full JPG). Once I get them using a PDF for printing to the plotters, they never have another problem.
Also, yes they're generally larger than an HTML file, but a properly created PDF file, with appropriate compression and the like, can be quite small, even with lots of graphics - especially if you are using vector graphics. And it wraps everything in a single file that's portable (hence the name Portable Document Format). Unfortunately, only things like Creative Suite or the full version of Acrobat give you the proper control. - Anand999, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14I think PDF still has some very useful functions. It's great for printable forms, for example. Every printout of the PDF form will be practically identical. You can't say the same thing for HTML where differences in layout engines, system fonts, etc. can cause the printouts to be different computer to computer and makes the processing of the forms more complicated. It's also good for product manuals. However, I do agree that there are some completely boneheaded uses of PDF out there. Remember a few years ago when Adobe tried to position PDF as an alternative to HTML? Thank god that didn't last long but unfortunately not everyone got the memo that the idea was dead.
And before anyone gets the wrong idea, my "support" of PDF isn't so much for the format itself, rather what it accomplishes. Acrobat Reader is the devil. - Ligeia, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12PDF's work great for long eBooks.
If you haven't already, drop Adobe's bulky garbage and pick up Foxit: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader_2/down_reader.htm - mt4055, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10See this is why I keep reading Digg. I had never used Foxit before and now I have been liberated from another piece of humungous software. (adobe reader)
Thanks Diggers! - SteveMax, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10PDF != Adobe Acrobat. If you don't like a piece of software that reads a free format, change the software, don't blame the format.
Example: Internet Explorer sucks. Does this lead you to dump HTML files, or to look for an alternative browser? - ExtremeRyno, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11I use PDF daily. I rarely come across someone in the office with access to InDesign or even a simple image viewer for PSD files, but everyone and their grandmother has a PDF reader (so I save the aforementioned files in the PDF format for everyone else). If I am downloading something such as Origami or Paper Model diagrams, I would choose PDF over individual image files and/or DOC any time. Microsoft has a new document format known as XPS. It's supposed to be the new PDF rival. I'll continue using PDF and rather enjoying it until the new XPS becomes more available.
- LogicBomB, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Am I the only one who loves PDF files? For things like online-magazines, brochures, store-ads, etc.. they are PERFECT. The only problem is when people make pdf files for no good reason.
I don't have a terribly new computer and pdf's open in adobe reader in just seconds... almost immidiately. Not sure why the hate... - Decimal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Why do so many people whine about PDF? If your reader sucks, use something else. It's an open spec, and there are plenty of options.
PDF is extremely useful as a distribution format... Within a single file it can preserves fonts, vectors, page breaks, and image separations with no loss of quality. If you are publishing documentation, it's just about the only practical way to guarantee that your audience can view it exactly how you intended.
If you still want to complain about PDF, at least suggest some alternatives (I'd love to hear what they are). - alecperkins, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8@AtomicFire
JPG is just a bitmap with some compression. It doesn't support text, vector graphics, multiple pages, or size control beyond number of pixels. A full page of text saved as a JPG will be giant compared to the same page saved as PDF.
Y0tsuya said it best. - Zippo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Paper is far from dead. It is actually alive and well, especially in the design industry. You need to print out stuff on paper to proof it, and ultimately, much of the final product is printed on some form of paper.
Likewise, the PDF is alive and well, and crucial for the design industry. It's the best method for transmitting both vector and raster data, quickly and efficiently while maintaining quality at the same time.
I can't speak for other industries, but as long as the media industry is around, paper and PDFs aren't going anywhere anytime soon. - DyDx, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10PDF is overused, surely, but it definitely has its place. It is very useful in situations where you want to provide information in a manner that is not easily editable (for example, I worked in a medical office where the docs wanted to provide their CVs online but Word documents can be edited in a cinch). It is also cross-platform and feature-rich.
I'll reiterate: It's overused but, for some purposes, I am not aware of a better alternative. Almost everyone has a PDF reader installed. If a company needs to distribute, electronically, information about a product in a robust manner, with graphics and charts and the like, in a way that will look the same no matter what computer you view it on, PDF is the way to go. It is equally useful in academia. Almost all research papers are distributed in PDF because of the strict control over formatting and the ease with which LaTeX and TeX is converted to PS and PDF.
Don't knock PDF just because a lot of people don't know what they're doing! - micklerlop, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Reader 8 performs really well compared to Reader 7.
- Nick519, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6speaking as a graphic designer, PDF rules. the ability to create and send PDF files to our vendors has made my job so much easier, and the frustrations i avoid by being able to accept PDF files from clients for artwork is worth every penny i paid for acrobat.
- bonexaw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Makes some decent points, but:
"PDFs tend to be big, monolithic files, whereas web sites are made up of smaller pages. Big monolithic files are every web server's enemy."
Isn't really accurate.
PDF file compression generally makes image sizes SMALLER (however it will make text slightly larger because of formatting). BADLY created PDF files (or print ready ones) will be huge files. But that's the lazy creator who put the print ready version online, not the format.
Also PDF files are MUCH easier for a web server to load up. They are a server's DREAM. One request, one response. Web pages result in dozens of requests (for CSS, JS, images, ETC ETC ETC) and dozens of responses. Not to mention, reading it offline? Web pages saved to your desktop are generally a mess and (unless your using IE's .mtml) will create the file and a sub folder for image and JS (if it now even works) - jstevewhite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I don't have any trouble with PDFs. Windows, Linux, OSX, no problem. Admittedly, it's smoother under linux and OSX than windows, but there's a simple solution. Fix your delegation for pdfs to download the file, THEN open with acrobat or foxit or what have you. All of the problems I ever had were with acrobat reader as a web browser plugin. Once I quit doing that, I was golden.
As many people have pointed out, PDFs are nearly universal, and render the same format under any platform. That in and of itself is very valuable. - Nick519, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5scientific american?
http://www.sciam.com - dofe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'm not sure that paper is quite dead yet. Most of the data we generate in our research lab is electronic but we still are required to print them out on paper hard copies for legal and regulatory reasons. And four times a year we generate quarter reports to be submitted in pdf format. Neither of these are going to be gone anytime soon.
- Charlotte_Web, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Is your desk made of Rock?
- SicSevens, on 10/12/2007, -12/+17I don't even understand how PDFs became such a popular format. No one likes them, and I've had so many problems with them. Problems that are supposed to be solved by making a document into a PDF.
- consonance, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Paper is made of dead trees. Of course it's dead.
- knutert, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5As scotticus said, every scientific journal online uses PDF. I think it's an excellent format. It's not just for text, the great thing about PDF is that you can stuff just about everything in there-
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Thank you whoever pointed me to foxit. I had several ebooks in my documents that I didnt read because I hate pdf files but now with foxit I just opened them and it's so much more comfortable.
- Wolfboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4first line of the article:
"(Login to see the printer-friendly version of this article)"
paper is dead, but unintentional irony lives on - JavertHolmes, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6As someone who has the worst handwriting ever, I have to say that I love PDFs for filling out forms and printing them to send out to various institutions. It's nice to get a WYSIWYG view of what's being filled out and how it looks instead of filling out a web form and hoping for the best. I also like them sometimes over HTML because they don't suffer from the following:
---------- PAGE 1
Here's a very important essay on why an ingredient you use daily in your cooking can kill you.
Click here for the next page
----------- PAGE 2
Click here to skip this ad
----------- PAGE 3
This is an ingredient that all of us can find in our pantries, yet scientists are only beginning to learn what it does.
Click here for the next page
----------- PAGE 4
etc.
Of course, this is more of an *****/greedy page designer thing than something that makes HTML inferior. - tpink, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4One reason is because Postscript is huge. This evening I had to convert a Postscript file to PDF and it went from 111MB to 17MB (208 pages of a scanned manual). You can compress Postscript with gzip/zip/bz2/compressor of choice but then that just adds more complexity because in addition to having a Postscript viewer, your end-user now has to have the decompressor for whatever you used.
- schestowitz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4One thing that kills PDF is the bloat of Acrobat reader. Use xpdf or kpdf (among others) instead. Search, cut and paste and other stuff is still a pain and a true deficiency.
- aristotle0dude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4This paper is dead meme seems to show up every year along with the "this is the year of linux".
My desk at work is covered in paper. Try communicating with the government. You need to fill out paperwork. - mvone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I work in magazine publishing and if we used PS files we would never get a magazine shipped. PS files are huge compared to their PDF counterparts.
-
Show 51 - 100 of 115 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is