Is Microsoft out to shaft Adobe after the recent aquisition of Macromedia? Is the insertion of a PDF engine into Office 12 suite a retaliation move? Microsoft, who see Adobe as a major threat after they recently aquired Macromedia have denied allegations that it has added support for the Portable Document Format (PDF) to the forthcoming Office 12 as a reaction to the recent aquisition by Adobe of Macromedia. More on the SmartOffice News site...
I believe PDF was added to give enough reasons for corporate guys to upgrade to Office 12. Don't forget Office 2003 languishes at 15% of Office users, and Microsoft must do just about anything to get back up to speed. Several factors like "good enough" software, and competition are limiting the upgrade.
As for Adobe, PDF is at the center of many niche markets. PDF generation is only one of these, and those who should feel the heat now are small ISVs. There are hundreds upon hundreds PDF generators out there (some of which are virtual printer drivers), and they'll have to come up with something new now. Basically Microsoft is screwing those ISVs.
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posted by Anonymous : Thursday, October 06, 2005 6:24:00 PM
