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RE: Nielsen frags PDF with misinformative Alertbox... AGAIN!
Subject:RE: Nielsen frags PDF with misinformative Alertbox... AGAIN! From:Michael West <mbwest -at- bigpond -dot- net -dot- au> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:39:53 +1000
> I was simply responding to a question about whether good
> pdf for screen viewing is possible - I think it is, with care.
So, based on the responses so far, it
would seem to me that Nielsen's main point --
that PDF is generally not a good medium for
putting information on a web site -- seems
to be pretty close to the mark. Most people
here seem to agree that in its typical
implementation, PDF is inferior as an online
medium to HTML in its typical implementation.
Somewhere, there may exist an outstanding
PDF as an online format, but examples are
hard to find, and when we do find one, we
find that it doesn't work so well in the Web
browser that most people have.
Sure, he omitted to say that an extremely
knowledgeable, highly skilled designer *might* be
able to make it work well. I don't think he meant
to discuss whether the problem is more integral to
technical issues or more a matter of training and
education. (According to his comments, he will be
offering practical advice for PDF makers in a follow-
up article).
As I understand it, his comments were intended as
an antidote to the "PDF is the answer for everything"
stuff that Adobe is spouting, as a caution to business
people who probably wouldn't think very much about
usability issues unless a high-profile guru like Nielsen
told them what to think.
So, looking at the subject line, and comparing it to the
responses that everyone has posted -- what exactly did
Nielsen screw up?
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