<$BlogRSDUrl$> Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Internet Happenings, Events and Sources


Wednesday, August 25, 2004  

What Lies Beyond PDF?
http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/ArticleReader.aspx?ArticleID=6869

The PDF (Portable Document Format), Adobe's near-universal electronic distribution format, has undoubtedly come a good distance in the 11 years since its debut. But despite its inarguable position as the de facto standard for distributing documents on the Web, it has its share of critics who complain that it's not a particularly effective digital distribution method. Some complain that it's fine for printing out documents, but lousy for online reading. Others complain about its load time, particularly on Web sites. Although the PDF format will likely be with us for the foreseeable future, digital publishing continues to evolve, and there are a number of competing and complimentary technologies already on the market. The debate over whether online publishing should approximate print continues as well, with some competitors focused on creating a new paradigm for Web publishing, while others stress the need to maintain the integrity of the print layout. Spencer Ewald, NXTbook's CEO, explains, "There is a reason the way the book is laid out. We are conditioned to rest at the page flip. People get frustrated when scrolling because it's not laid out in the same way they are used to seeing and reading. Print is a type of interface, and we wanted to translate that onto the Web and marry the power of print with the assets of the Internet -- the depth, the quickness, the ease, and the distribution method."

posted by Marcus Zillman | 4:15 AM
archives
subject tracers™