RE: Identity-H encoding in PDFs on Linux?

[Dov Isaacs <isaacs@xxxxxxxxx>]

Peter,

I am sorry if you took my response to be any type of "attack" on
Linux or users of same. My "software socialist" reference was a
tongue-in-cheek reference to the small minority of users who
seem to believe that it is somehow sinful to pay for software or
intellectual property (unless it's their own product that is being
sold) or even use any product that isn't open source or otherwise
free. Clearly, I don't consider IBM as a "software socialist."

My point was and still is that Adobe makes available a "free" PDF
reader for the Linux platform that fully conforms to the most
recent PDF specification. I can understand why some users might
want, for whatever reason -- intellectual or to make a statement,
to have and use an "alternative" solution for reading PDF files.
But it isn't Adobe's fault for or for that matter our responsibility
to resolve problems due to such an "alternative" reader failing
to fully implement the PDF specification. The easiest "workaround"
doesn't cost the end-user anything -- use Adobe's free Acrobat Reader.
The more difficult workaround, forcing creation of PDF files that
don't have any double-byte encoding, can and will produce crippled
PDF files in many cases (PDF 1.2 has no support for gradients,
transparency, etc.) and certainly not support international character
set standards.

The issue of FrameMaker availability on Linux has been discussed here
quite a bit in the past. Adobe did try a public beta of FrameMaker 5.5.6
under Linux. As I recall, although I was not directly involved with the
endeavor, the product did not have any significant quality problems.
BUT our marketing research with potential customers and internal analysis
indicated that FrameMaker on Linux was not currently viable due to costs
(development, testing, marketing, and support), logistics of product 
distribution, and perceived market demand at a price comparable to that 
of the Macintosh and Windows versions of the product. Based upon the
financial success or lack thereof so far of desktop application products
from other vendors for the Linux platform, our decision seems to have
made sense. However, we continue to evaluate opportunities on any and
all platforms at all times.

        - Dov


At 5/10/2003 08:36 AM, Peter Ring wrote:
>While non-standard (i.e., not released by Adobe) PostScript interpreters
>frequently have been the source of frustration and questions (and answers
>from Dov) on this list, surely most of them have been commercial ones,
>embedded in printers from HP or IBM?
>
>IBM, by the way, is heavily involved in Linux and other realms of open
>source development. Do you see IBM as a "software socialist"? What about HP?
>Sun? SGI?
>
>Linux, by the way, is used by a lot of companies that in no way see
>themselves as "hackers". My day work is at a legal publisher. We run mission
>critical software (Oracle database servers, web servers) on Linux boxes for
>performance and stability. We do spend a good deal of money on Oracle
>licenses, and we do prefer Linux servers. Oracle plays nice with Linux,
>offers value for money, and makes a profit. Simple as that.
>
>I'm still kind of sad that FrameMaker was not released for Linux. I know the
>hassle of quality assurance on the diversity of Linux distributions, but
>even if we had to adapt our choice of Linux distribution, we'd prefer that.
>
>"Open source", as you may know, is about as well defined as "globalisation".
>To some, Open Source is a way to attract mindshare -- a cheaper and faster
>way to develop common infrastructure that your company need but wouldn't be
>able to sell for profit. To other, it's a political manifesto, it's about
>the freedom to express information, about not being controlled by suits and
>pointy-haired bosses. It's new to me that it should be connected with
>"socialism".
>
>Major parts of the infrastructure of the internet run on Open Source
>software; do you see the internet as a socialist endeavour? As far as I
>know, it was developed by DARPA, i.e. as an US defence project.
>
>Kind regards
>
>Peter Ring

*

>-----Original Message-----
>From: owner-framers@omsys.com [mailto:owner-framers@omsys.com]On Behalf
>Of Dov Isaacs
>Sent: 10. maj 2003 01:14
>To: Martha J Davidson
>Cc: framers@frameusers.com; framers@omsys.com
>Subject: Re: Identity-H encoding in PDFs on Linux?
>
>
>Dear "to be enlightened":
>
>Now "clone" PDF readers, oy ...
>
><snip />
>
>A better solution would be for your Linux hackers to use the Linux
>version of Acrobat Reader (I know that the "software socialists"
>don't like spending money for software, but the Reader is free)
>instead of XPDF. Or suggest to whoever created or maintains XPDF
>to fix their program.
>
>        - Dov
><snip />


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