Adobe Reader V9.0 for Windows and Mac released

Alexander Turcic · 07-01-2008, 06:39 PM

Don't place your bets just yet, but according to various beta reports, the new Adobe Reader 9, released only an hour ago for Windows and Mac computers, is claimed to load two to three times faster than previous Reader incarnations. Since it's free, why don't you give it a try?

Official reasons to upgrade:

Improved launch speeds
PDF Portfolios
Native Adobe Flash® support
Acrobat.com (beta)
Improved CAD and geospatial functionality
PDF Standards Pane
Security enhancements
Accessibility enhancements
Adobe Reader 9 MUI

Link: Adobe Reader 9.0 Download

[via Adobe Blogs]

zelda_pinwheel · 07-01-2008, 06:47 PM

my my, an adobe reader that loads faster... that *is* good news. (assuming it's true.)

philippd · 07-01-2008, 06:48 PM

does it support non-DRMed ePub files natively (without DE?)

Alexander Turcic · 07-01-2008, 06:52 PM

I added a link to the changelog. Doesn't look like anything has changed regarding ePub since 8.x.

philippd · 07-01-2008, 06:58 PM

thats a pitty - i kind of hoped that. but the other features still sound nice

i'll get it via auto update later...

daffy4u · 07-01-2008, 06:59 PM

Downloading now. Thanks.

Hadrien · 07-01-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philippd

does it support non-DRMed ePub files natively (without DE?)

I don't think they'll add ePub to Acrobat Reader. I believe that Adobe created DE to be an e-book reader, and Acrobat Reader on the other hand is for documents.

Canterbury Tail · 07-01-2008, 08:46 PM

Yup it definitely loads faster, and scrolls much faster than 8. Good job.

zerospinboson · 07-01-2008, 10:01 PM

yeah.. acrobat 9 loads faster here than reader 8.12 did
that said, the improved PDF 1.7 'adobe extension level 3' (extension to ISO 32000 standard, i suppose.. backwards compatible in any case)
causes very impressive file size reductions (for scanned black/white pages, i've seen reductions of up to 70%)

DMcCunney · 07-01-2008, 10:07 PM

Installed here, and it certainly loads faster. It takes about 2 seconds on my WinXP Pro SP3 machine with a P4 CPU at 3.11ghz and a gig of RAM.

Adobe still loads their speedup utility on startup from the Local Machine registry hive. Disable that (which I haven't gotten around to doing for a test), and I expect that speed to drop a good deal.

On launch, Adobe Reader 9 uses 85MB of virtual memory, with a 27MB Working Set size (as reported by Sysinternal's Process Explorer.) Loading a random PDF (James Moffat's "Complexity Theory and Network Centric Warfare" kicks the Virtual size up to 117MB, and drops the Working Set size down to 2.5MB.

There have been tricks you could use to speed up Adobe Reader loading for years. Under old versions like Adobe 6, a good chunk of the startup time was the reader loading various plugins to support particular functionality. You could go into the reader plugins directory and remove or rename the ones you didn't need to speed loading.

One trick I still use was introduced in Adobe 7. When you are surfing the web, and you find a site with a PDF file you want to read, your browser will by default load the reader as a plug in and display it for you in a browser window or tab. This was a PITA: among other things, once loaded, the reader process stayed in memory. Closing the browser window or tab, or exiting the browser entirely didn't remove it. On slower machines with limited memory, this could be a problem.

Adobe 7 introduced a preference to control this. Under Edit/Preferences/Internet, uncheck Display PDF in browser. This makes the browser call Adobe Reader as an external program instead of loading it as a plugin. Exit the reader, and the process terminates and is removed from memory.
______
Dennis

xianfox · 07-01-2008, 10:22 PM

I'll stick to Foxit Reader until there's a compelling reason to switch.

MoSo · 07-01-2008, 10:56 PM

To paraphrase Indiana Jones several movies back: "It ain't the fast, honey, it's the bugginess."

I'll wait and see what happens.

RosanaE · 07-01-2008, 11:16 PM

Foxit reader is a small program, free, fast! Why bother with bloated Adobe Reader and its update downloads (9.01, 9.02, 9.03, etc...) that take an eternity at all?

Steven Lyle Jordan · 07-01-2008, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hadrien

I don't think they'll add ePub to Acrobat Reader. I believe that Adobe created DE to be an e-book reader, and Acrobat Reader on the other hand is for documents.

That's fine... but a DE fit to smaller devices, to read ePub on PDAs, phones, etc, would be nice.

Shadowplay · 07-02-2008, 12:06 AM

Yep Foxit for me most of the time, but once in a while I'll come across something strange that will only open in the actual Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

07-01-2008, 06:39 PM	#1
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,175 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	Adobe Reader V9.0 for Windows and Mac released Don't place your bets just yet, but according to various beta reports, the new Adobe Reader 9, released only an hour ago for Windows and Mac computers, is claimed to load two to three times faster than previous Reader incarnations. Since it's free, why don't you give it a try? Official reasons to upgrade: Improved launch speeds PDF Portfolios Native Adobe Flash® support Acrobat.com (beta) Improved CAD and geospatial functionality PDF Standards Pane Security enhancements Accessibility enhancements Adobe Reader 9 MUI Link: Adobe Reader 9.0 Download [via Adobe Blogs] Last edited by Alexander Turcic; 07-01-2008 at 06:51 PM. Reason: Added list of changes

07-01-2008, 11:16 PM	#13
RosanaE Member Posts: 23 Karma: 204 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Nashville, TN USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kindle 3G	Agree with xianfox Foxit reader is a small program, free, fast! Why bother with bloated Adobe Reader and its update downloads (9.01, 9.02, 9.03, etc...) that take an eternity at all?

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07-01-2008, 06:47 PM	#2
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	my my, an adobe reader that loads faster... that is good news. (assuming it's true.)

07-01-2008, 06:48 PM	#3
philippd Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 129 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Near Hamburg, Germany Device: Sony PRS-505	does it support non-DRMed ePub files natively (without DE?)

07-01-2008, 06:52 PM	#4
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,175 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	I added a link to the changelog. Doesn't look like anything has changed regarding ePub since 8.x.

07-01-2008, 06:58 PM	#5
philippd Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 129 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Near Hamburg, Germany Device: Sony PRS-505	thats a pitty - i kind of hoped that. but the other features still sound nice i'll get it via auto update later...

07-01-2008, 06:59 PM	#6
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	Downloading now. Thanks.

07-01-2008, 08:46 PM	#8
Canterbury Tail Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Sony Reader	Yup it definitely loads faster, and scrolls much faster than 8. Good job.

07-01-2008, 10:01 PM	#9
zerospinboson "Assume a can opener..." Posts: 755 Karma: 1942109 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Local Cluster Device: iLiad v2, DR1000	yeah.. acrobat 9 loads faster here than reader 8.12 did that said, the improved PDF 1.7 'adobe extension level 3' (extension to ISO 32000 standard, i suppose.. backwards compatible in any case) causes very impressive file size reductions (for scanned black/white pages, i've seen reductions of up to 70%)

07-01-2008, 10:07 PM	#10
DMcCunney New York Editor Posts: 6,384 Karma: 16540415 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: PalmTX, Pocket eDGe, Alcatel Fierce 4, RCA Viking Pro 10, Nexus 7	Installed here, and it certainly loads faster. It takes about 2 seconds on my WinXP Pro SP3 machine with a P4 CPU at 3.11ghz and a gig of RAM. Adobe still loads their speedup utility on startup from the Local Machine registry hive. Disable that (which I haven't gotten around to doing for a test), and I expect that speed to drop a good deal. On launch, Adobe Reader 9 uses 85MB of virtual memory, with a 27MB Working Set size (as reported by Sysinternal's Process Explorer.) Loading a random PDF (James Moffat's "Complexity Theory and Network Centric Warfare" kicks the Virtual size up to 117MB, and drops the Working Set size down to 2.5MB. There have been tricks you could use to speed up Adobe Reader loading for years. Under old versions like Adobe 6, a good chunk of the startup time was the reader loading various plugins to support particular functionality. You could go into the reader plugins directory and remove or rename the ones you didn't need to speed loading. One trick I still use was introduced in Adobe 7. When you are surfing the web, and you find a site with a PDF file you want to read, your browser will by default load the reader as a plug in and display it for you in a browser window or tab. This was a PITA: among other things, once loaded, the reader process stayed in memory. Closing the browser window or tab, or exiting the browser entirely didn't remove it. On slower machines with limited memory, this could be a problem. Adobe 7 introduced a preference to control this. Under Edit/Preferences/Internet, uncheck Display PDF in browser. This makes the browser call Adobe Reader as an external program instead of loading it as a plugin. Exit the reader, and the process terminates and is removed from memory. ______ Dennis

07-01-2008, 10:22 PM	#11
xianfox Ebook Addict Posts: 225 Karma: 2136 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Appleton, Wisconsin, USA Device: Onyx BOOX Note Air 4C, Palma	I'll stick to Foxit Reader until there's a compelling reason to switch.

07-01-2008, 10:56 PM	#12
MoSo Crankier than average Posts: 143 Karma: 345 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Southern Oregon mountains Device: Kindle #1, Kindle #2; internet appliance - The Chumby.	To paraphrase Indiana Jones several movies back: "It ain't the fast, honey, it's the bugginess." I'll wait and see what happens.

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07-02-2008, 12:06 AM	#15
Shadowplay Groupie Posts: 185 Karma: 1096228 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Colorado Device: Kindle Oasis	Yep Foxit for me most of the time, but once in a while I'll come across something strange that will only open in the actual Adobe Acrobat Reader software.