PDF. It’s the format that everyone hates to deal with. However, when it comes to creating exact duplicates of documents, there’s nothing out there that can do it better. It’s perfect for businesses, allowing them to share pixel perfect copies of documents within the company. That’s why Microsoft figured its next Office suite should include an option to export as a PDF file. Adobe didn’t like this idea, and has spent the last several months trying to reach an agreement with Microsoft. The talks came to an end yesterday, with Microsoft now forced to removed the PDF export option, as well as its own upcoming proprietary format, XPS.
This kind of thing happens all the time in the tech world, but something about this particular case struck a nerve. PDF is an open format. Sure it was created by Adobe, but Adobe has allowed the format to be open for incorporation into applications. There are several programs out there now that will allow the creation of PDFs from office documents. OpenOffice, a free cross-platform office suite, has had this functionality for quite sometime. In fact Apple has PDF support built completely into the OS. You can read PDF files without installing anything, and you can create PDF files from any application that supports printing. Apple even takes it a step further and allows reading and writing of the PSD format, a file format Adobe wants to keep closed.
So why is Adobe pointing the finger at Microsoft? I think Adobe realizes that if Microsoft gives users free PDF exporting, Adobe is going to lose revenue. On the Windows platform, unless you want to deal with software from an unknown company, the only way to save as a PDF is to buy a version of Adobe’s Acrobat. Companies willingly do this since PDF is an important format in business, and they don’t want to deal with third parties. Most companies only buy Acrobat for this functionality, so giving it to them for free is going to translate into lost revenue for Adobe.
While businesses certainly have the right to make money, this just creates a double standard. Adobe is effectively telling the world that PDF is an open standard, as long as incorporating it into your product will not translate into less money for Adobe. That thinking is just ridiculous, and I hope Adobe will learn a lesson from this. If you’re going to make a format open, make it open for all. Don’t add stipulations to it, because then the format is no longer open.
2 Comments
You made some very strong points here, Ron, and I think you hit on nail on the head on why Adobe is pointing the finger at Microsoft.
You can’t blame Adobe for not letting Microsoft save as a PDF. This is just another example of what Microsoft has been doing for years. If software companies didn’t stand up and draw the line at some point, it would be the end all for all software companies besides Microsoft.
I think your post leads to another ethical question of a double standard. Why block Microsoft and not Apple? Apple has never been the PC of choice in business. You know MACs are mostly used by graphic artists, graphic designers who will inevitably be using Adobe products. I hope you get my point here. Often times, businesses make an agreement to benefit both parties. Too bad Microsoft couldn’t win this one for us, but that’s what capitalism is all about.
I agree with you completely on this. In fact Apple and Adobe do have a business partnership. Back when Apple released OS X, Adobe signed a contract with Apple allowing then to natively support many of their formats. In fact, the OS X GUI was originally drawn using PDFs (it’s now done with PNGs).
Regarding Microsoft’s lose, it’s been rumored that it may not be a total lose. Microsoft may be allowed to offer the feature as a free download. It’s an extra step for users, but in the end, they still get what they want.
Post a Comment