Rob Eberhardt

There are several alternatives to writers of .pdf files and you are seeing them more and more. We use PDFComplete at work and I noticed that new HP EVO Workstations are coming with that as part of the image. They may have the "reader" market, but I think that is more because no one else wants to develop a "free" reader for .pdf files, at least on a commercial level. PDF Complete is a LOT cheaper that Acrobat (full version). That is why we are using it here instead of Acrobat..
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<br>-Mike

Yeah, I use PDFCreator to make PDFs. It's for basic workstations where I just need to be able to view that format where I find myself dropping on Reader (which I prefer v5.1 over v6 for speed/simplicity). There actually are free readers, but I'm finding myself wanting support built-in or bundled.
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<br>New machine setup is a pain, but all the unsupported de facto standards make it moreso. Like: Acrobat Reader, Quicktime, RealPlayer, Flash, Shockwave, a RAR-capable file archiver.
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<br>At least Quicktime Alternative and Real Alternative help skip the extra junk (or better yet K-Lite Codec Pack include them both). And the file archiver 7-zip is pretty comprehensive with formats.
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<br>Still too much work tho. MS wrapped in basic ZIP support and a native defragger, now I need PDF and the rest.
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Maybe the IE 7 team should add those into the browser. :) I'm sure the Justice department would have a field day.

Well, they've bundled the Flash plugin before. Not sure why they don't anymore. They're free products -- seems to me like MS could find a mutually beneficial agreement with those products' vendors.