PDFs were invented by xxx in 199x. While there’s no concrete evidence to support it, my research of the Way Back Machine indicates that eBooks were invented on almost precisely the same day.
Why the correlation is so strong between eBooks and PDFs?
eBooks rely on the PDF (postscript document format) for distribution.
eBooks utilise the PDF format for 4 key reasons:
- PDF styling provides a lower barrier to entry for up-and-coming authors with limited capital investment available
- PDF documents are easily compressed and transferred from author to purchaser
- PDFs can be password protected, to limit unauthorised distribution
- PDFs mimic the ‘feel’ of a traditional book when browsed on most modern devices including laptops, tablets, mobile devices and can even be printed into hard copies
[Google trends graph of eBooks vs PDFs]
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