Hello,
On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 6:03 PM, Kevin Kofler <kevin.kofler@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Oliver Ruebenacker wrote:
>> That NIH insists on using Adobe Reader is indeed disturbing. But
>> then, what is the alternative to Adobe Reader, if free software
>> apparently does not support the latest PDF?
>
> Paper, as they have used in the past? A set of regular PDFs, one per form
> (and the fancy JavaScript-loaded crap as an alternative for the people who
> can't figure it out)? There are plenty of alternatives which wouldn't lock
> users into proprietary software. You should not give those bureaucrats a
> free pass for this! (That you have to deal with it is one thing, but that
> you then defend their unreasonable choice doesn't make sense.)
We all hate bureaucracy. But I do appreciate a form that tells you
if you forgot to fill out something, or takes care of boring tasks
like copying or adding.
I wish the tax forms were like this, and not like they are (e.g. "if
line 5 is greater than line 4, subtract line 4 form line 5 and enter
the result in line 6. Enter zero in line 6 otherwise" etc.)
Instead, the US Revenue Service gives you a list of private tax
software, and when I try one, I discover after hours of work that they
don't support form 1046-S.
I definitely see a need that PDF fulfills. The free software
community should either fully support it or come up with an
alternative.
Take care
Oliver
--
Oliver Ruebenacker, Computational Cell Biologist
Systems Biology Linker at Virtual Cell (http://vcell.org/sybil)
Turning Knowledge Data into Models
Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling
http://www.oliver.curiousworld.org
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