text to pdf to email

[Fairlight]

This public service announcement was brought to you by Harry K. Whacker:
> DEAR BILL:
> the "PDF" stands for "Portable Document File". it's defenitly better for 
> E-mail and Internet cause is portable. If you don't use "PDF" you can be 
> sure they see it? also "PDF" is always faster (hense the name "portable"!) 
> and. You can aslo get it from FREE from the Web. here is a man who will tell 
> you how: "PDF" on the Web. Also It's more secureity! and better reliable for 
> E-mail because it's portable. also E-mail is not supposed to be text! you 
> can get also do picture and animation and "PDF"! i even think FILEPro 
> datatables are PDF?? so it practically standard

Ooookay.

1) Portable Document FORMAT.  Not file.

2) If you didn't use PDF, how do you know we saw the mail to which I'm
   responding?  Gee, I guess mail transports work no matter what the
   content--even pure text, The Way God Intended.

3) PDF more secure?  Its security was broken quite early, and they tried to
   charge the guy that did it under the DMCA.  I think they revised their
   security, but I wouldn't trust it more than cursorily.  How many bits
   strong is their encryption, for instance?  If it's < 1024, I'm not even
   interested for persistant files.

4) Yes, email -is- supposed to be text.  The arrogant bloat of it was
   brought about by companies catering to the whims of the uneducated
   masses who think using a mail transport protocol to send every type
   of file under the sun is smarter than setting up a server and allowing
   access decently.  (MIME has come a long way, but it's abused rampantly,
   and beyond what it was originally intended to accomplish.)  You might
   talk to Wayne Smith though.  I think you'd be great pals.

5) filePro data tables are fixed-length records strung together, and the
   indexes are B+ Trees.  You have -no- clue about that which you are
   spewing forth.

Love the enthusiasm.  If we could just mix it with a Clue (or three), we'd
be in business.

mark->