Run into this before
Had to submit an official document to a government agency. They send me a PDF and tell me to sign it. I sign it using my Apple Pencil on my iPad and send it back. They reject it saying that it wasn't a "wet" signature. A bit of arguing back and forth and I finally just sign my name on a sheet of paper, save it as an image on my computer, and then apply it to the document and neglect to mention I didn't just print the entire thing out, just to sign it, scan it, and send it back. This time they accepted it.
I don't feel the least bit bad about it or like I did anything wrong, since in all cases it was my actual signature, written by my own hand. The only difference is that one was done directly using an Apple Pencil and the other was done using a traditional ink pen on paper and then digitized. I'd have no problem going into court and saying under oath that I signed the document.
But, I agree with the overarching point of the article. PDF needs to die in an almighty conflagration, and even then it's too good a fate for it. eBooks have shown what things SHOULD be like. Most formats are a subset of HTML, without all the absolute positioning BS that people use these days, allowing the text to reflow based on the size of the screen. PDF is good for when you need to preserve the formatting exactly, but that represents a very small portion of documents out there.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
