On Saturday 05 April 2003 03:02 am, you wrote:
> >[snip]
>
> Also do we expect M$ to release XDoc readers for non M$ platforms? I would
> rather use RTF than use some new M$ format if I have this kind of
> requirement. For online document delivery it is the only true cross
> platform file format that gives consistent results. I seriously doubt if MS
> XDoc can replace PDF.
>
i do expect M$ to release XDoc Readers for other platforms. its also a file
format standard. better yet, M$ will expect someone else to create the
readers for the GnuLinux market, while they concentrate on win and Mac
markets. we have to wait and see.
XDoc is based on XML, so its not that complicated, according to various
reports.
RTF does not allow you to process forms. XDoc does. you cannot compare RTF to
XDoc.
the history of M$ entering adobe's sacred spaces in market niches has been
quite an interesting one, in which M$ has usually walked away with limited
success, or sometimes no success, or in some rare cases, total failure as
well.
the only time it trounced adobe was with powerpoint, that killed adobe
persuasion. their trutype fonts did not entirely obliterate postscript fonts,
and pagemaker is still holding on in some markets. meanwhile, Microsoft
Reader could not shake acrobat reader, and the eBook market overall never
took off.
so what will it be this time? i hope M$ gives adobe some fair competition,
which is good for all, and helps to grow the market. acrobat is still too
niche a product given its much broader appeal. with M$ entering the market,
hopefully this segment could really grow and become as ubiquitious as the
browser on every desktop. whether M$ holds the spoils of the war, whether
adobe, whether both divide it, or whether other players jump in as well, its
too early to tell.
but i hope PDF becomes the de facto file format standard for 99% stuff out
there, and the underlying acrobat technology becomes truly ingrained in every
box out there. something that adobe can not do single-handedly.
just my two paisa of nothingness.
:-)
LL
> Ambar
================================================
To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe in subject header.
Check archives at http://www.mail-archive.com/ilugd%40wpaa.org
