Comments on: PDF – From Open Format to Open Standard: The Q&A

By: James Governor’s Monkchips » On blogging, AR, Adobe Getting It, David Mendels and “Rich Internet Apps: How We Live Now”

Tue, 27 May 2008 11:11:24 +0000

[...] the company’s platforms, setting it on a new course. Think Flex (open sourcing the SDK), PDF (From Open Format to Open Standard), Tamarin, Open Screen Project and so on. David is a deep thinker and it has been a privilege [...]

By: People Over Process » Blog Archive » Adobe Engage: Good Morning Apollo

People Over Process » Blog Archive » Adobe Engage: Good Morning Apollo — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:40:46 +0000

[...] Since Adobe MAX Adobe has done quite a lot to build trust with me that they’ll stay true to “giving away” the core technology and try to compete on tools and tools integration. I’m still very cautious, but I no longer have a knee-jerk reaction that Adobe will chase the fast-buck in favor of lowering barriers to entry. There is still much to be proved and done on an ongoing basis, but at least they are moving and doing. Open source is by far the wrong comparison to pull in here. But, there is something more open happening than I’m used to from a closed source company. They’re trying to navigate the waters Sun did with Java before going open source in strategy, and it’s interesting to watch. [...]

By: Michael Jahn

Michael Jahn — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 00:08:02 +0000

You know, the last time Adobe opened up a private specification to the public was to combat a newly announced technology. I was there – infamous keynote session in 1989 in which Apple’s Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s Bill Gates announced a new type format called TrueType that threatened the stranglehold Adobe’s Type 1 format had on the publishing business, much to the visible dismay of Adobe’s John Warnock.

So, if you people are asking “why” – well, that why – XPS and 00XML are threats to the PDF Castle – so Adobe drains the moat and removes the drawbridge door.

In the world of poker, we might call this an ‘all in’ moment – and while it appears that Adobe winds this game, some feel that they are still playing in the Gates casino.

No business does these things because ‘it is the right thing to do’. They do this when someone changes the game, and you need to stay in the game.

By: sogrady

sogrady — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 20:11:29 +0000

Stacy: thanks very much for that input; should answer the question for the time being. not sure i can agree on the Adobe front, however. while they can still exert indirect influence, of course, via implied or implicit behaviors, once it’s in ISO they can’t directly stop anyone. and strong arming would be a tactic frowned upon severely, i would think. severely enough to make it non-practical.

Mike: i agree, and although the jury’s still out i can tell you that Adobe has some very good standards advocates internally.

By: willisbros.net » Some software updates of note

willisbros.net » Some software updates of note — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 14:19:29 +0000

[...] In other somewhat esoteric software news, the PDF spec has moved from an open format to an open standard. Something that I’d been betting on for a while but it’s still good to know that Adobe did the right thing here. Stephen O’Grady has some good discussion of the shift in openness here. Posted by jim on Feb 02 2007 under General | | [...]

By: Simon Phipps, SunMink

Simon Phipps, SunMink — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:39:44 +0000

Adobe Adds Non-Assert…

I just got home from a great day at JFokus in Sweden , so this is my first chance to pass longer comment on Adobe’s excellent move to turn PDF into a ratified international standard like ODF. I first saw the news in Duane’s blog and saw from there…

By: Mike Dolan

Mike Dolan — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 03:45:07 +0000

The interesting question will be the long term roadmap Adobe has chosen. Is this Adobe facing the inevitable need to open PDF for it to survive in an “ODF world” and still compete with Metro or has Adobe made a strategic change and is heading towards an approach embracing open standards as a growth mechanism? Interesting times – it’s like watching standardization of the railroads way back when. Slowly the industry starts to coalesce around standards, those who oppose may fall by the side, and the standards fuel new growth.

By: Michael Dolan Dot Com: Linux, Law, Open Source » SOG: Adobe PDF Q&A

Michael Dolan Dot Com: Linux, Law, Open Source » SOG: Adobe PDF Q&A — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 03:27:37 +0000

[...] http://redmonk.com/sogrady/2007/01/30/iso_pdf/ [...]

By: Stacy

Stacy — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 02:18:11 +0000

It doesn’t necessairily resolve the Microsoft standoff. At the Vista launch yesterday, I asked Chris Capossela whether the PDF announcement meant Microsoft would revisit the issue of building PDF into Office. The gist of his answer: No. For Microsoft, it sounds like it’s less about the legal situation with PDF’s openness and more about the backroom politics of not overly annoying Adobe. Chris’s answer basically boiled down to ‘in the interests of the partnership, this is what we think is best.’ (Observers can feel free to speculate on what Adobe said or threatened that successfully cowed Microsoft …) I definitely think setting PDF free is an interesting and positive step, but it doesn’t entirely prevent Adobe from continuing to put its thumb on the scales in dealing with The Redmond Menace.