Macromedia is now letting web designers use Flash to distribute printable Documents on the web. Its called FlashPaper, and it is also compatible with PDF files.
Autodesk is extending its DWF format to compete with Adobe’s PDF. They claim DWF files are much smaller and more efficent than PDFs. They also offer a free DWF file viewer.
Well known web design writer recently wrote a paper bashing the use of PDF as a document distribution format. He acknowledges that its great for print uses, but claims that PDF files get used way too often. Companies that offer PDF files as a way to distribute information should re-think their strategy. As a web surfer, when you “get into a PDF, you can pretty much kiss goodbye any hope of quickly getting what you want. The first thing that happens is that your computer kind of goes out for lunch and starts up this new application,” says Nielsen.
(source, c|net’s news.com)
