[plug] MS Curriculum at schools and TAFEs ...

[The Thought Assassin]

On Sun, 22 Apr 2001, Andrew Francis wrote:
> >From the PDF specifications at adobe.com:
> "PDFs standard encryption methods use the MD5 message-digest algorithm
> (de-scribed in Internet RFC 1321, The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm; see
> the Bibli-ography) and a proprietary encryption algorithm known as RC4.
> Note: RC4 is a copyrighted, proprietary algorithm of RSA Security, Inc.
> Adobe Systems has licensed this algorithm for use in its Acrobat products.
> Independent software vendors may be required to license RC4 in order to
> develop software that encrypts or decrypts PDF documents. For further
> information, visit the RSA Web site at <http://www.rsasecurity.com> or
> send e-mail to <products at rsasecurity.com>."

This is why I do not consider PDF to be an open standard.
Sure, it is fully and openly specified, but in order to implement it, you
must agree to restrict the use of your implementation and the freedom of
its users. It may be open, but it is proprietary, and that is not good
enough. It isn't even that the present situation particularly
disadvantages Free Software - there are gratis non-free modules as I
understand it - but it illuminates Adobe's attitude to their stewardship
of the standard. If we accept PDF as an open standard because it is "close
enough" for "practical purposes", we send a message that freedom is
unimportant and take the first step along a slippery slope.

-Greg Mildenhall