After months of being continually reminded that a download was ready, I finally allowed Adobe to update Reader 8.  I hate Adobe Reader.  I hate the splash screen  I hate the delay in getting to a screen where I can actually use the program.  And I hate the reboot that is required after every update.

But today, I had something else to hate.  After just being updated yesterday,  I found that today after clicking a PDF file and waiting for 45 seconds,  I got a message saying that Acrobat Reader couldn’t open the file. It was a file that I had uploaded and linked in a post I made on another website.  Naturally, I thought that the upload, or the link were defective.  So I went to work.

When I discovered that Adobe Reader wouldn’t open anything,  I had enough.  I decided to rid myself of the problem for good.  Yes, I uninstalled Adobe Reader 8 from my computer.  And as you might suspect, a reboot was necessary to clear the trash from my computer.  This time I didn’t object and allowed the reboot,  all the time thinking "free at last".

Good riddance to this behemoth 20 megabyte program that has only one function; read a file.  It did that job slowly, with great fanfare, and just as I would do with an employee who committed these acts continually and without any sign of remorse, I fired it.  I fired Adobe Reader 8.  I suggest you do the same.

Immediately after dumping Adobe Reader, I downloaded FoxIt Reader 2.0 for Windows, a free PDF reader that is small, quick, and is willing to do its work without continually telling you who it is.  It doesn’t have to brag.  It’s just good.