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#196
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
On 10/19/19 6:50 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Why the PDF format is so much used for document distribution instead of epub I do not understand. IMO, a much more familiar and used format than epub. -- Ken MacOS 10.14.6 Firefox 69.0.2 Thunderbird 60.9 "My brain is like lightning, a quick flash and it's gone!" |
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#197
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
On 10/19/19 6:11 AM, Bud Frede wrote:
[snip] Like most "anti-piracy" measures, DRM doesn't do much to stop piracy. It may stop some casual piracy, but it doesn't stop those making money from it. What DRM really does is inconvenience or harm people who pay for the content legitimately. They may not be able to make backup copies, the content may be tied to one specific device, if the vendor goes out of business the content may cease to be accessible, etc. I would prefer that the people who write the books I read are compensated. (I do think that they often get shafted by the publishing industry.) I'm not a proponent of piracy. However, I've seen so many attempts at copy-protection and anti-piracy measures over the years that just don't work, and inconvenience those who don't pirate or use pirated works. (Like it's possible to get pirated video discs without all of those annoying announcements and warnings. They're stripped out at the same time the DRM is. So people who use those have a _better_ viewing experience than those who bought the disc legitimately.) I definitely agree with the above. I support copyright laws (despite the ****** who assume otherwise). I still seriously disagree with the use of interference to "enforce" them. -- 67 days until the winter celebration (Wed, Dec 25, 2019 12:00:00 AM for 1 day). Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us/ "Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is not sinful--just stupid.) [Robert A. Heinlein] |
#198
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
On 10/19/19 7:50 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
[snip] PDFs do not resize well. They are designed for a certain screen size or bigger, and not for text reflow. Why the PDF format is so much used for document distribution instead of epub I do not understand. Also, HTML itself is designed to adapt to different screen sizes. For some strange reason, most web pages have code to defeat this. [snip] -- 67 days until the winter celebration (Wed, Dec 25, 2019 12:00:00 AM for 1 day). Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us/ "Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is not sinful--just stupid.) [Robert A. Heinlein] |
#199
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
In article , Ken Springer
wrote: Why the PDF format is so much used for document distribution instead of epub I do not understand. IMO, a much more familiar and used format than epub. epub didn't exist when pdf was created. |
#200
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
Bud Frede wrote:
"Carlos E.R." writes: On 19/10/2019 13.11, Bud Frede wrote: What DRM really does is inconvenience or harm people who pay for the content legitimately. They may not be able to make backup copies, the content may be tied to one specific device, if the vendor goes out of business the content may cease to be accessible, etc. Yes, but you can do a backup; in some countries it is legal. I live in the US, which is not very consumer-friendly at this point, and the state that I live in is not one of the more consumer-friendly states. So I just have to assume that if I purchase a DRMed ebook, I'm renting it and may not be able to read it more than once. (Maybe not even once if I wait too long.) You're not renting it. You bought a license to use it, often on several devices (which are all tied to you/your_purchase). Unlike renting, there is no time limit. Most of the time you can verify that it's not renting, because the price is in the same ballpark as the printed version. Yes, the publisher/distributor *could* revoke the license, if they think it shouldn't have been granted in the first place (for whatever reason), but that's not a normal event. As to backup: That's quite possible, but probably most people don't bother, so if their e-reader goes up in smoke and the publisher/ distributor has gone belly up, they're indeed out of luck. Don't get me wrong, I dislike DRM as much as anybody [1], but in most cases, for most people, it's not that big of a deal. There are some scenarios which are a problem or cumbersome for DRMed ebooks (and other media), which are not a problem for printed books (and other physical media), such as lending, giving away, selling, etc.. [1] Only in a year or so, I lost - access to - the very first DRMed song I purchased! :-( |
#201
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
On 19/10/2019 20.04, nospam wrote:
In article , Ken Springer wrote: Why the PDF format is so much used for document distribution instead of epub I do not understand. IMO, a much more familiar and used format than epub. epub didn't exist when pdf was created. Both things true, but do not explain why documents are not made preferably in epub format, being better and "gratis". Just click on it and read it. Doesn't matter that it is a pdf or an epub, really. -- Cheers, Carlos. |
#202
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
On 2019-10-19, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On 10/19/19 7:50 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote: [snip] PDFs do not resize well. They are designed for a certain screen size or bigger, and not for text reflow. Why the PDF format is so much used for document distribution instead of epub I do not understand. Also, HTML itself is designed to adapt to different screen sizes. For some strange reason, most web pages have code to defeat this. Mainly because there's too many graphic desighers doing web pages, and too many clueless clients paying them. -- When I tried casting out nines I made a hash of it. |
#203
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
In article , Carlos E.R.
wrote: Why the PDF format is so much used for document distribution instead of epub I do not understand. IMO, a much more familiar and used format than epub. epub didn't exist when pdf was created. Both things true, but do not explain why documents are not made preferably in epub format, being better and "gratis". because pdf is better suited for just about everything, other than ebooks. Just click on it and read it. Doesn't matter that it is a pdf or an epub, really. it does, since software to read epub is likely not installed on a desktop or laptop, whereas just about everyone can read pdf, particularly on a mac where it's a native format (no additional software required). |
#204
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
nospam wrote:
pdf is better suited for just about everything, other than ebooks. *everything* !? NOT. Sometimes terse is too terse and means reckless things. 'Just about' isn't sufficient qualifier. It comes down to '.pdf is well suited for some things', definitely not everything. So, the terse words are 'upside down' in the message they convey or imply. -- Mike Easter |
#205
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
In article , Mike Easter
wrote: pdf is better suited for just about everything, other than ebooks. *everything* !? you missed a couple of words in that sentence. NOT. Sometimes terse is too terse and means reckless things. 'Just about' isn't sufficient qualifier. it is in this case. It comes down to '.pdf is well suited for some things', definitely not everything. that's why i said 'just about' everything. |
#206
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
On 20/10/2019 02.03, Mike Easter wrote:
nospam wrote: pdf is better suited for just about everything, other than ebooks. *everything* !? Djvu is better suited than PDF for scanned text. PDF wins because it is popular, and because djvu is difficult to generate, but technically, djvu is better for that purpose. -- Cheers, Carlos. |
#207
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
In article , Carlos E.R.
wrote: Djvu is better suited than PDF for scanned text. not really. it can compress smaller, but size isn't an issue. PDF wins because it is popular, and because djvu is difficult to generate, those are two *very* good reasons, plus pdf can do *much* more than djvu can. but technically, djvu is better for that purpose. not enough to justify using it. |
#208
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
On 20/10/2019 13.02, nospam wrote:
In article , Carlos E.R. wrote: Djvu is better suited than PDF for scanned text. not really. it can compress smaller, but size isn't an issue. PDF wins because it is popular, and because djvu is difficult to generate, those are two *very* good reasons, plus pdf can do *much* more than djvu can. Maybe, but the point is that djvu is much better for some uses, yet very few people use it. That PDF can do more is irrelevant. but technically, djvu is better for that purpose. not enough to justify using it. For me, it is. For the people that know the advantages, it is. -- Cheers, Carlos. |
#209
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
On 10/19/19 1:21 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
[snip] [1] Only in a year or so, I lost - access to - the very first DRMed song I purchased! :-( So it wasn't a real purchase (you didn't get the thing, you were just allowed to use it temporarily). -- 66 days until the winter celebration (Wed, Dec 25, 2019 12:00:00 AM for 1 day). Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us/ "To rule by fettering the mind through fear of punishment in another world, is just as base as to use force." -- Hypatia (c. 370-415 CE) |
#210
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Goodbye Linux: Why am ditching linux and going back to Windows 10
On 10/19/19 5:11 PM, Jasen Betts wrote:
On 2019-10-19, Mark Lloyd wrote: On 10/19/19 7:50 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote: [snip] PDFs do not resize well. They are designed for a certain screen size or bigger, and not for text reflow. Why the PDF format is so much used for document distribution instead of epub I do not understand. Also, HTML itself is designed to adapt to different screen sizes. For some strange reason, most web pages have code to defeat this. Mainly because there's too many graphic desighers doing web pages, and too many clueless clients paying them. Sounds right. I'm not a graphic designer, and write the code for my own page. It's usable on a 240-pixel phone screen or a widescreen (without wasting half of more of the screen). -- 66 days until the winter celebration (Wed, Dec 25, 2019 12:00:00 AM for 1 day). Mark Lloyd http://notstupid.us/ "To rule by fettering the mind through fear of punishment in another world, is just as base as to use force." -- Hypatia (c. 370-415 CE) |
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