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Subject:RE: Survey: how do you use PDFs From:Tom Murrell <trmurrell -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 9 May 2001 05:52:45 -0700 (PDT)
--- Jane Carnall <jane -dot- carnall -at- digitalbridges -dot- com> wrote:
> >--- Tom Murrell <trmurrell -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
> > They [PDFs} usually exist because the developing organization
> >finds shipping PDFs cheaper than shipping the printed counterpart. They
> >shove the printing cost onto their audiences. In fact, now that I think
> >about it, everything about a PDF document seems to be for the convenience
> of
> >the developer/developing organization not the convenience of the user.
>
> True. But OTOH, if the PDFs are available for free on the website of the
> developing organisation, then that's additional information on their
> products or on their area of expertise that I can get before I buy from
> them. It would be better to have a properly bound-and-printed manual for
> reference - but I'd rather have PDFs than no information at all. (If the
> PDFs are only available on the CD you get when you buy the product, then I
> strongly agree that's pure cost-cutting with no added value to the
> audience.)
Jane, you make a good point. When you need information, any information, you'll
take what you get. That may, in fact, be the strongest rationale for PDFs; at
least the organization is giving the user/reader SOMETHING. But let's not fancy
it up by saying they're doing us a favor.
And before others jump to the defense of PDFs, I know that they CAN be
formatted so that they are readable on most screens, and the CAN be rendered
much more useable than they generally are. I will even stipulate that there are
wonderful things that CAN be done with PDFs. Unfortunately, most of the PDFs I
see are little more than Brownie camera snapshots of manual pages, which makes
them not even useful for insulation, IMNSHO.
> >But of course, that's just MY humble opinion.
>
> Don't be modest, Tom, it doesn't suit you. <g>
My therapist says I need to express myself more. <g> (What's the emoticon for
tongue in cheek?)
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