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The Beta / VHS thing makes sense to me. It may have been stupid, but I understand why VHS won out. Whatever happened to Microsoft's old 'Acrobat' format however, I don't know. I think it was built into a handful of odd applications and was basically free to use. They just never pushed it or developed it, which in hindsight was a pretty big mistake in their quest for world domination.
It either works or it doesn't. Acrobat frequently doesn't. I've serviced a lot of computers, and I've encountered plenty of instances where Acrobat just won't play ball. I'd say one in twenty installs goes south over a two-year time frame and requires a reinstall. Of those, one in ten can't be fixed without some serious tampering with the operating system. But, every single one wastes people's time and tests their patience while it gathers it's marbles together. With only a few exceptions, it's exclusively Adobe products that have the magic ability to briefly make time stand still at the click of a button.
For compatibility, HTML, JPEG, and ASCII text are about as universal as it gets. Just click and it opens. No additional software required. If you need to combine formats, then Acrobat must grudgingly be used. Why on earth anyone would use RealPlayer though, I have no idea. It clearly has no advantage.
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