Master LaTeX Without Errors: Top Alternatives to PDFs for Adobe vs. Vista Users

  • Context: LaTeX 
  • Thread starter Thread starter schlynn
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around issues related to using PDFs for learning LaTeX, particularly for users on the Vista operating system. Participants explore alternatives to PDFs and share personal experiences with software compatibility and performance issues.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant reports errors when opening PDFs on Vista and seeks alternatives for learning LaTeX.
  • Another participant suggests the issue may lie with the PDFs or the Adobe Reader, rather than Vista itself.
  • A suggestion is made to download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader as a potential solution.
  • One participant shares an anecdote about misattributing computer issues to Vista, ultimately discovering a hardware failure instead.
  • Another participant expresses frustration with PDFs, citing frequent crashes of the embedded Adobe Reader in Firefox.
  • A participant inquires about alternative cross-platform document formats and mentions Foxit Software as a potential alternative to Adobe.
  • Contrastingly, another participant expresses a positive view of PDFs, stating they find them cool.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing opinions on the reliability of Vista and the functionality of PDFs. While some suggest that the issues are related to software rather than the operating system, others share personal frustrations with PDFs, indicating a lack of consensus on the overall reliability of these formats.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference compatibility issues and personal experiences with software performance, but do not resolve the underlying technical problems or assumptions about the reliability of Vista versus other factors.

schlynn
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I have vista and when ever I try to open one of the pdf's in the topic on how to use LaTeX it gives me errors. Is there any alternatives to learning LaTeX than pdf's?
 
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Then there's something wrong with the PDFs. Or with your copy of Adobe PDF Reader. Don't see what has this has got to do with Vista. I can read PDF files fine on my Vista machine.
 
Go to adobe and try downloading the latest version of acrobat reader. Its free.
 
Yes I agree with the above posts.

While I also like to blame all the world's problems on Vista (I have a mac :approve:), this seems to be an issue with the adobe reader. Try downloading the new version.
 
I'll throw in an anecdote on how people tend to overblame Vista. I have a desktop which also runs on Vista. Over the past few months I noticed it freezes and hangs repeatedly, and my natural instinct was to blame it on Vista. Sometimes it even freezes while booting up just after and before it loads Windows.

Then one day my computer froze during startup. I didn't think it was particularly surprising so I restarted it by resetting the computer. It froze even during the startup, forcing me to reset it again. Finally it came to a point where it couldn't even load Vista, instead it pauses (though not freezes) at a blank screen with an active cursor indefinitely. Trying out the Vista startup recovery disc didn't help either.

I called in the technician and after performing a hard disc scan from the BIOS, he determined guess what? A hard drive failure. And all along I thought it was Vista. Moral of the story: Vista may be the 2nd incarnation of Windows ME but don't overlook other possible factors.

P.S. Owing to my misplaced conviction that it was Vista rather than hardware failure, I didn't back up my data. In hindsight it might have seem obvious that repeated hangs and freezes are a symptom of hard drive failure or possible virus/malware infection. I scanned my PC for the latter but never considered the former.
 
Woah woah woah, I thought that it was a compatability thing because it says capatability problem when it pops up, I love vista, I feel that people blame vista or say that it sucks without having any backing. But I said that because that's what the popup said. I'll download the newest version now.
 
I HATE with a passion pdfs. My embedded version of Adobe in Firefox crashes FF seconds after i open the tab that its on 90% of the time.Why, WHY do we have pdfs?
 
Do you know of another cross platform camera ready document format (ok there is postscript but that has it's own problems)

Rather than the 10Gb download that is adobe you could try http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php - at least on windows, small fast and free
 
I love PDF's. They're cool. :smile:
 
  • #10
Bleh, I use chrome(best browser ever), so I'll just be satisfied with the new version of adobe, it's free too.
 

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