So, i’m browsing the web. Looking for something for the missus. She needs to find information about the distribution of waterstones loyalty cards in the west country or some such thing. I find a pdf link which looks like it has just the right info. Perfect. I click the link hopefully, waiting for my document to inevitably appear….

It doesn’t. An update to acrobat is available. Can it update in the background. Can it fuck. “Update now” it demands. Fine. I click update. Update complete it says after a few minutes of waiting. I click ok, hoping to see this document on fly fishing in the west indies or whatever.

No such luck. “Restart Now” it insists.

Fine, I’ll look at that later then. I turn back to my web browsing of recorded invasions of hong kong by space aliens.

“Restart Now” shouts acrobat.

I click on another page. Nothing happens. And another, and another. No response. I try to click the close icon on firefox. No response there either.

One button still works.

“Restart Now!!”

Grrrr.  So, Adobe, to view a simple pdf file, I need to update. You won’t let me update later, I must update now, which will mean a new plugin, and therefore a browser restart anyway.

But no, forcing a browser restart is not enough, apparently an update for what is a simple fucking file viewer needs to restart my whole operating system. And apparently inconveniencing me by not letting me view the pdf file until I restart isn’t enough either. Your shitty software now won’t let me use ANY web pages I had open until I restart my entire operating system.

You know what, there’s plenty of portable software out there that doesn’t require a restart to use or update, and if some companies don’t stop tieing simple file viewers into the system like they’ve become core components then I’ll just have to use the portable alternatives on a more permanent basis.

Adobe. You may view Acrobat reader as some essential operating system component. I however view it as a PDF viewer. One of many I could use.

Think about that.