4 ms·

Does make you wonder - why port PDFs to be cross platform when they already are?

• dmoney 18y ago
  Makes me wonder, why put stuff on the web as PDF's at all. Cross-platform or not, browsers handle HTML much better than they handle Flash or PDF. IMO, PDF only makes sense for e-books, and then only if the book-like formatting is important enough and wouldn't work as a web page.
• joshwa 18y ago
  Because flash is faster, less bloated, and integrates with browsers better than most PDF viewers.
  • Andys 18y ago
    Interesting perspective. As a mostly non-Windows user, I would much rather spawn a lightweight XPDF process than have to deal with the flash plugin not working properly cross-platform. I guess I'm saying, with PDF I get a choice; with flash, you have to use the official flash player to get most things to work.
  • tx 18y ago
    No, flash is slower and more bloated. Both of my PDF readers (on mac and ubuntu) work much faster than flash plugins. But much more importantly, Flash completely ignores every single visual setting I have set up on my PC: from font rendering options to colours and default zooming. But what's even more important, is WHY THE F... do I need an animation plugin to read goddamn text on the internet?