Near Print and Beyond Paper

Summary:

• PDF's were revolutionary in there functionality. The Portable Document Format (PDF) is understood as a nonliving document that provides users with the ability to view a document that resembles a printed page.
• Adobe has a created a sort of authorship that is unbeknownst to most viewers by separating programs that allow readers to write only and write or edit the document that is displayed. Certain documents might not be provided in a write and edit format, giving the perspective that the text is permanent and not meant to be discussed for changes.  The opportunity to edit and write on an existing document allows for revisions by multiple users and changes the way people view PDF has just a document reader.
• Although PDFs are view as text and image reading documents, they don't classify their images as images but instead include them in the umbrella of text. In this way they do not have a alphanumeric tag that allows the image to be searchable, like those images displayed on Google, Pinterest or Flickr. To go even further, I would say that the decision to classify images as text instead of images by their lonesomes limits the way in which we can view, edit, or our computers reads these documents. 

Comment: Reading about the adverse opinions for PDFs was interesting because I share the same view in some ways. I hate how on some documents you are able to highlight the text but not copy it on a word document, I was not aware of any other reader programs that allow you to do this. I think that speaks to the popularity and "oneness" of using Adobe Reader as a personal and corporate respected software program that is omnipresent and accepted in the majority of work and home arenas.

Question: I found it interesting that the cursor used in Acrobat Reader is called a "hand tool" and not simply a cursor. Why is it referred to as this and how does this name supports the idea of PDF's being transferable in terms of image and text materiality and functionality?