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July 19, 2003

PDF: Unfit for Human Consumption

Users get lost inside PDF files, which are typically big, linear text blobs that are optimized for print and unpleasant to read and navigate online. PDF is good for printing, but that's it. Don't use it for online presentation.

PDF is great for one thing and one thing only: printing documents. Paper is superior to computer screens in many ways, and users often prefer to print documents that are too long to easily read online.

For online reading, however, PDF is the monster from the Black Lagoon. It puts its clammy hands all over people with a cruel grip that doesn't let go.

AKS Suggests Solution: Get rid of fear of managing PDF files with our Advanced PDF Manager

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Blogged by Bob Simpson, 19 July 2003

Picking Up the Pieces

Advanced scanning technology makes it possible to reconstruct documents previously thought safe from prying eyes, sometimes even pages that have been ripped into confetti-size pieces. And although a great deal of sensitive information is stored digitally these days, recent corporate scandals have shown that the paper shredder is still very much in use.

"People perceive it as an almost perfect device," said Jack Brassil, a researcher for Hewlett-Packard who has worked on making shredded documents traceable. If people put a document through a shredder, "they assume that it's fundamentally unrecoverable," he said. "And that's clearly not true."

AKS Suggests Solution: Delete totally (wipe) sensitive files on your computer with QuickWiper

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Blogged by Bob Simpson, 19 July 2003

PDF Format Shifting to XML

The new software, which Adobe plans to combine with its server solutions, is intended to provide tools that will make forms more flexible and efficient for industries like financial services and manufacturing, as well as public sector organizations.

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The software will allow users to deploy forms in PDF. They can then be processed as PDF files, as is the current norm, or be delivered as an XDP which can be processed as XML. Adobe noted that because XDPs consist of XML files that contain XML form data, XML form templates, PDF documents and other XML information, they can easily be integrated with enterprise applications through XML tools and Web services.

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Blogged by Bob Simpson, 19 July 2003