What industries badly need is a universal way to communicate documents across a wide variety of machine configurations, operating systems and communication networks. These documents should be viewable on any display and should be printable on any modern printers. If this problem can be solved, then the fundamental way people work will change.
Predictor: Warnock, John
Prediction, in context:In a 1991 memo, now known as the ‘Camelot Paper,’ John Warnock lays out the idea for the PDF. Warnock writes: ”What industries badly need is a universal way to communicate documents across a wide variety of machine configurations, operating systems and communication networks. These documents should be viewable on any display and should be printable on any modern printers. If this problem can be solved, then the fundamental way people work will change … Our vision for Camelot is to provide a collection of utilities, applications and system software so that a corporation can effectively capture documents from any application, send electronic versions of these documents anywhere and view and print these documents on any machines.”
Biography:John Warnock was the founder of Adobe, a major software maker of the 1990s. He introduced the concept of PDF in 1991. (Technology Developer/Administrator.)
Date of prediction: April 1, 1991
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Planet PDF
Title, headline, chapter name: Dr. John Warnock’s ‘Camelot’: The Document That Started Adobe Acrobat/PDF
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.planetpdf.com/mainpage.asp?webpageid=1851
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Wright, Laura C.