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[...]
> advantages. His claim
> that PDF produces a 300% reduction in readability is not only absurd, its
> outrageous. Moreover, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a 300%
> reduction in anything.
[...]
This is a misreading; Nielsen asserts that it results in a reduction in
*usability*, not readability, and more specifically in a reduction in *Web*
usability. This is a very narrow focus. Measuring usability involves
measuring the success users enjoy in carrying out tasks, and assessing the
ease with which they do them. Readability is one small part of it; finding
the right stuff to read (navigation) is probably what Nielsen is measuring.
He is reporting that he has watched people have problems when a Web browsing
session encounters a PDF without warning. Their Web browser no longer
behaves as a simple web browser; it changes its behaviour.
This is because loading a PDF switches to a completely new environment, with
its own metaphors and navigation rules; this breaks the user's mental model
of how the Web works. This is made worse by the use of plug-ins which
effectively hide the fact that you are no longer working strictly within the
Web environment.
This confuses users, and this confusion reduces usability. And we're not
talking about TechWhirlers, but the great unwashed you appear to disparage
later in your text, who do not have sophisticated mental models of their
computer systems.
The rest of your points about PDF vs HTML are exactly what Nielsen is saying
when he recommends you use PDF for longer document printout. He recognises
that HTML is for Web browsing, and not for printing. If you browse the rest
of the articles on his site, you'll see several that make this point.
I agree about the problem in interpreting the 300% figure, 'though! Not the
clearest statistic in the world -- and no data to back it up (he admits to
this, but it's still spurious accuracy).
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