Microsoft XPS versus Adobe PDF
Not for the first time, I have some anxiety about latest and greatest technology and software releases. This time Microsoft is causing that anxiety. Because of their market share, the release of Vista yesterday was a big deal, though it seemed generally underwhelming compared with the ‘it factor‘ of the iPhone and also, because a lot of what Gates was hailing as new, has already been done and is available via other technologies and software applications. However, what is upsetting me is the few sneaky inclusions in Vista, that demonstrate how Microsoft is yet again trying to use its market share to obliterate the competition. It happened before with Explorer and Netscape’s Navigator, remember that? Anyway, thank God for Firefox. This is par for the course in the general scheme of a capitalist economy but what is really annoying is that Microsoft’s offering is not new nor is their own idea.
XPS is Microsoft’s version of Adobe’s PDF. Here is their description, does it sound familiar?
‘The XML Paper Specification (XPS) makes modern documents possible for all. Simply put, XPS describes electronic paper in a way that can be read by hardware, read by software, and read by humans. With XPS, documents print better, can be shared easier, be archived with confidence, and are more secure.
Microsoft has integrated XPS-based technologies into the 2007 Microsoft Office system and the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system, but XPS itself is platform independent, openly published, and available royalty-free. Microsoft is using XPS to bring additional document value to its customers, its partners, and the computing industry.
For the IT professional, Windows Vista enables you to design document workflows that allow you to identify, digitally sign, and manage the access and distribution rights of your documents by using XPS Documents and documents created with 2007 Microsoft Office system applications.’
Microsoft is attempting to replace an existing and widely used format with its own proprietary document format but it doesn’t seem to offer any real benefits over PDF. They are going to include a “Save as XPS” option in their upcoming Office 12 product, so users won’t have to install anything extra (even though ‘Save as PDF’ already exists in current version). The automatic ability to view XPS files in Explorer 7 compared with using something like Acrobat Reader or installing a PDF browser plugin will also probably help XPS gain popularity.
Either way, I feel uneasy, the ground is shifting again and I am not sure its for the better. We all want competition, we all support the small enterprise and don’t want unfair competition (not that Adobe isn’t huge too). But we all want a standard format because its such a pain to have to design and modify content for so many variable displays.
Last week Quark Xpress came to the college where I teach, they were demo’ing the lastest release and really pushing hard to sell it to students. The latest bolt-ons for web and motion graphics are crude and you have to wonder why the did it (Adobe’s Creative Suite, of course). I am of the generation who grew up on Quark, its simplicity and dedication to detail in one area was always its appeal. Now I am wondering whether it can even hope to compete against Adobe’s InDesign.
As for XPS versus PDF, it won’t be designers that decide. Good luck…
