Microsoft Readying A PDF-Killer?
One element of Microsoft's next OS will be Metro, a new document file-format that will support printing the fancy graphics effects in the client interface.
Source: Internet NewsMetro is the code name for a new XML-based document technology framework, to appear in Longhorn, Microsoft's next generation of Windows. Metro is an open-format page description language that allows users to share, print, view and archive the layout versions of documents. It's designed to improve print fidelity while reducing file size to make printing more efficient.
A Microsoft executive downplayed the similarity, but the company's description mirrors many elements of Adobe's PostScript/PDF technology.
Bit-mapped printing loses some special effects visible on-screen, such as Longhorn's "Aero Glass" transparent windows. Metro is designed to improve print fidelity and performance, according to Greg Sullivan, lead product manager for the Microsoft Windows division.
The problem Microsoft wanted to solve, Sullivan said, was, "with the increasing use of graphics, transparency and rich gradients in documents and in the system itself, how do you view, share and print it?" He said Metro aims to provide the same view in print that graphics have on the screen, while also addressing some of the built-in printing performance issues of the aging Windows.
Metro also allows document creators to "lock down" the file, so it can't be altered. It supports the application of digital signatures within documents, and Microsoft plans to work in Windows Rights Management Services in Metro documents.
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