[CLUE-Talk] PDF: Unfit for Human Consumption

[Jed S. Baer]

On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 19:33:38 -0600
"Timothy C. Klein" <teece at silverklein.net> wrote:

> 
> I found myself saying, Halleluja! as I read this.
> 
> http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030714.html
> 
> Do you folks find it annoying when you run across PDF?  In certain
> settings, it is nice (something like an IRS form or the like), but most
> of the time they drive me nuts.  They may be a nice option for
> downloading a printable version of an otherwise HTML-based page.
> 
> I absolutely hate PDF when I am searching for something on Google, and I
> have to download a PDF to read something that could have very easily
> been HTML.
> 
> I suspect a lot of folk, many of whom are print-oriented, like the
> absolute page control that the PDF offers.  Sadly, this is indicative of
> a simple fact:  these folks do not grok the web.

Amen.

Remember one of the original notions behind HTML? It was the it was up to
the browser to decide how to render the page. Hence, tags such as
<EM>emphasised</EM> rather than <B>bold</b>.

However, HTML has evolved to cater to the page-layout enthusiast. Just
look at how much control you have over positioning using various
attributes of the <DIV> tag. Would you like to see how well it works?
http://rockchucker.com/objects/html_oops_cnn.jpg

Hence, the appeal of PDF (and Flash). Because the implementation is much
more tightly controlled than HTML, such atrocities are more likely to be
avoided.

I rarely download a PDF, unless it is a treatise which works for that
format. Otherwise, I use the Google-provided view-as-HTML link, which
works pretty well for casual reading.

jed
-- 
... it is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could someday
facilitate a police state. -- Bruce Schneier