Longhorn to feature rival to Adobe PDF.

[Dr Lobster*]

The next version of Windows will include a new document format, code-named "Metro," to print and share documents, Microsoft said Monday. Metro appears to rival Adobe Systems's PostScript and PDF (portable document format) technologies. Metro was demonstrated during Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates' keynote at the start of the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) on Monday in Seattle. The format, based on XML (extensible markup language), will be licensed royalty free and users will be able to open Metro files without a special client. In the demonstration, a Metro file was opened and printed from Internet Explorer, Microsoft's Web browser.

Printers and printer drivers can include support for Metro and deliver better and faster printing results than with today's printing technology, Microsoft said. On stage, a Xerox Corp. printer with Metro built in was used to print a sample slide. The Metro technology is likely to go head-to-head with Adobe's PostScript technology. "It is a potential Adobe killer," said Richard Doherty, research director with The Envisioneering Group in Seaford, New York. "But this is just the first warning shot. Adobe could put something that is even more compelling [on top of] Longhorn."

about time in my opinion. the adobe pdf reader used to be a useful utility, now it's a bloated piece of crap which takes eons to load even on the fastest of pc's.

must say, i'm rather looking forward to longhorn now. it looks like it's going to be a significant upgrade.

one thing microsoft should do, is bundle a "standard" version of office in with the os.

[Pete]

I think PDF in itself is a good thing it's just the reader is too bloated.

It appears something goes wrong with software on version 6. Netscape went crap due to basing it on a far from ready mozilla build. Opera's UI went insane which is only just about rectified now and Reader went massive and bloated and took 7 years to open and hung round like a bad smell.

v7 although not without faults ia a vast improvment on 6 in my mind. Maybe this thread will encourage them to trim down the reader again. I ahve no desire to print photos of my PDFs online despite what they put in my start menu.

[Fireboy]

Well PDF on Mac (Read with Apple's own 'Preview' Application) loads almost instantly. It really is a pain on Windows though.

[Nick Harvey]

I think PDF in itself is a good thing it's just the reader is too bloated.

Quite agree.

Adobe Reader version 7 also buggers about with Cool Edit Pro in order to get you to pay to upgrade to Audition.

Hate to think what will happen to old versions of Flash, now they're in the same stable.

For once I say, good for Microsoft.

[cat]

It is very easy on Mac, that's true. But I think there is a more compelling argument for it to be that way...

I hate transferring things from Word for Mac to Word for Windows, so always save it in PDF.

I never worked out how the hell to create a PDF on Windows.

[Jamez]

It is very easy on Mac, that's true. But I think there is a more compelling argument for it to be that way...

I hate transferring things from Word for Mac to Word for Windows, so always save it in PDF.

I never worked out how the hell to create a PDF on Windows.

Photoshop creates them easily enough.

[babyben]

It is very easy on Mac, that's true. But I think there is a more compelling argument for it to be that way...

I hate transferring things from Word for Mac to Word for Windows, so always save it in PDF.

I never worked out how the hell to create a PDF on Windows.

Photoshop creates them easily enough.

If you get a PDF print driver anything that has a 'print' option can create them.

I use: http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/

[James Martin]

OpenOffice.org can do it.

[babyben]

OpenOffice.org can do it.

That was one of the first reasons I chose to use OpenOffice instead of buying a new MS Office.

[DJGM]

one thing microsoft should do, is bundle a "standard" version of office in with the os.

Which would effectively at least triple (or even quadruple) the cost of a copy of Windows and would also
cause Microsoft to be (yet again) violating international anti-trust laws by abusing it's monopoly powers.

[Dr Lobster*]

one thing microsoft should do, is bundle a "standard" version of office in with the os.

Which would effectively at least triple (or even quadruple) the cost of a copy of Windows and would also
cause Microsoft to be (yet again) violating international anti-trust laws by abusing it's monopoly powers.

not neccessarily. many oem's do it with the works suite, i'm just thinking something like the worksuite should be a standard option in the windows os.

this is the one thing that really pisses me off with the "anti-microsoft" brigade is those who come out with crap like 'abusing their position'; it is their operating system, their product, why the hell can't they bundle whatever they want with it? i find it obscene that an eu ruling made ms bundle windows xp without media player.

perhaps if the so-called compeition didn't create media players are full of adverts and almost litterally take over your system with icons and background processes, people would use them.

i'm sorry djgm, you're way off on this one. if people don't like how microsoft operates, vote with your wallets, there are alternatives. but don't come out with absolute rubbish like 'monopolies', people use ms products because they are mature, stable, easy to use and easy to support. they have their problems, but i can't think of any other company which has consistantly innovated and brought the pc into almost every home in the developed world.