The Size of Adobe Reader Installers Through the Years

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Graph design: log vs linear

  • Many readers found the log-scale chart confusing or misleading, especially since the “point” was perceived as showing how bloated Adobe Reader is vs Sumatra.
  • Several argued a linear chart (shared in comments) better communicates at a glance: “Adobe huge and exploding; Sumatra tiny and mostly flat.”
  • Others defended the log scale as more accurate for exponential growth and for conveying that early size jumps (e.g., from 2.5MB to 5MB in the 90s) were a big deal relative to the era.
  • There was confusion over point labels (version numbers vs MB) and criticism that the chart lacked clear labeling, units, proper time axis, and basic data‑viz best practices.

Perceived bloat and UX of Adobe Reader

  • Strong complaints about Adobe Reader being slow, heavy, bundled with extra software (e.g., McAfee), riddled with popups, ads, and AI upsell, even in paid Acrobat.
  • Some report it crashing on corporate machines or being painful to use for simple tasks.
  • Several say it’s the first app they don’t install on new systems.

Why some still rely on Adobe

  • Despite dislike, many keep Reader/Acrobat because:
    • Some government and business PDFs only work or display correctly in Adobe, sometimes intentionally.
    • Adobe uniquely supports certain advanced features: JavaScript-heavy forms, clickable metadata in engineering PDFs, robust commenting/signing workflows, and a powerful print dialog.
  • A note that historical additions like Flash and embedded JavaScript increased size and attack surface, while lighter readers avoid these.

Popular alternatives and trade-offs

  • Windows: SumatraPDF (tiny, fast, but limited compatibility and features), PDF‑XChange, Okular, Xodo (feature-rich but popups), browser viewers (Chrome/Firefox/Edge) for many use cases.
  • Linux/BSD: zathura (+ mupdf plugin), MuPDF, xpdf, evince; discussion that zathura’s real footprint includes dependencies.
  • macOS: Preview widely praised for speed, signatures, simple editing, PDF merging; but it breaks some forms or renderings. PDF Expert mentioned as a polished but non‑Windows option.
  • Command‑line tools (pdfjam, qpdf, pdftk) used for page reordering/merging.

Pop‑ups, notifications, and UX

  • Debate over whether popups are ever acceptable, with examples where interruption is desired (save reminders, impossible actions, 2FA prompts, “close 146 tabs?”).
  • Distinction and overlap between blocking modal dialogs, old‑school pop‑up ads, and non‑blocking “toast” notifications.

Package managers, platform choices, and bloat

  • Pushback against calling non‑Scoop users “insane”; most Windows users don’t use package managers, and some prefer choco or winget, while Scoop suits non‑admin environments.
  • Tangential concern about general desktop/mobile app bloat (e.g., k8s tools, social apps) eroding user trust.