3 ms·

I addition to thesuperbigfrog's answer [0], PDF files tend to be static, and distributed in such a manner that you don't want them being changed without a relat

I addition to thesuperbigfrog's answer [0], PDF files tend to be static, and distributed in such a manner that you don't want them being changed without a relative high level of effort (yes, I know there are PDF editors) >a small visual gif or video component would go a long way to show things compared to a series of sequential images Tell me how a small GIF or video is going to work when you print a paper or collect it into a book or journal, please :) -------- [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33787463 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33787463

fakedang 4y ago
I guess I forgot to mention that with the greater prevalence of documents being online (including formal government documents which in fact penalize you for sending them in-paper documents), a lot of printing should not exist and should instead be on phones and tablets.
- warrenm 4y ago
  You may wish there was less printing It may even be desirable overall But physical copies of papers, books, etc have a major place in peoples' lives (and will for beyond the foreseeable future) :) ...and gov't forms aren't going to have embedded videos or GIFs ;)
  - fakedang 4y ago
    I guess that was my motivation to ask the question. :) It seems everyone around me (in the developed world) is using a tablet or an iPad or a laptop to read a document, with very little work printed out. I would argue that quite a few government forms for newly created agencies and even tax havens have migrated from plain PDF to forms with embedded JS, for buttons, etc. And with each passing year, books seem to have lesser impact in my life as well as that of my peers - most reading is done on a very portable tablet or desktop. Most reading that is done with a paperback is casual and light. And of course, reading seems to be a dying habit these days.
    - warrenm 4y ago
      >And with each passing year, books seem to have lesser impact in my life as well as that of my peers...reading seems to be a dying habit these days. So sad to hear you and your peers aren't spending reading time with physical copies more! I read more on a screen than physical books/papers/magazines, but appreciate physical copies more with every passing day ...the ability to hand something to someone and tell them "you should read this" is amazing! As is the ability to give/sell what I no longer want ... and to buy what isn't available electronically Electronic resources are all well and good ... but they lack permanence For lots of stuff, that's fine But for something you want/expect to last more than a few hours, week, or years, it's not I'd much rather augment a physical book with electronic resources (be it a website, QR-linked video, AR, or something not yet invented) than to rely exclusively on ethereal data whose formats are superceded on a frequent basis

fakedang 4y ago

I guess I forgot to mention that with the greater prevalence of documents being online (including formal government documents which in fact penalize you for sending them in-paper documents), a lot of printing should not exist and should instead be on phones and tablets.

warrenm 4y ago
You may wish there was less printing It may even be desirable overall But physical copies of papers, books, etc have a major place in peoples' lives (and will for beyond the foreseeable future) :) ...and gov't forms aren't going to have embedded videos or GIFs ;)
- fakedang 4y ago
  I guess that was my motivation to ask the question. :) It seems everyone around me (in the developed world) is using a tablet or an iPad or a laptop to read a document, with very little work printed out. I would argue that quite a few government forms for newly created agencies and even tax havens have migrated from plain PDF to forms with embedded JS, for buttons, etc. And with each passing year, books seem to have lesser impact in my life as well as that of my peers - most reading is done on a very portable tablet or desktop. Most reading that is done with a paperback is casual and light. And of course, reading seems to be a dying habit these days.
  - warrenm 4y ago
    >And with each passing year, books seem to have lesser impact in my life as well as that of my peers...reading seems to be a dying habit these days. So sad to hear you and your peers aren't spending reading time with physical copies more! I read more on a screen than physical books/papers/magazines, but appreciate physical copies more with every passing day ...the ability to hand something to someone and tell them "you should read this" is amazing! As is the ability to give/sell what I no longer want ... and to buy what isn't available electronically Electronic resources are all well and good ... but they lack permanence For lots of stuff, that's fine But for something you want/expect to last more than a few hours, week, or years, it's not I'd much rather augment a physical book with electronic resources (be it a website, QR-linked video, AR, or something not yet invented) than to rely exclusively on ethereal data whose formats are superceded on a frequent basis