When I read the headline, I thought this sounded horrible. I recalled the "BUY ACROBAT!" buttons that flashed in earlier versions of Acrobat/Adobe Reader (maybe they're still there; I use Preview). If the ads are tasteful, and not distracting (e.g., no animated sheep enticing me to take out a mortgage), if it does lead to more people releasing content for free, it could be a plus.

Consider, for example, the Take Control of... series of eBooks, or other short, tutorial type documents. They seem good candidates for this means of distribution.

What I wonder, though, is what happens if you open them in a reader other that Adobe's. Do the ads display? Do the documents not open? It seems someone could/will develop a reader that suppresses the ads.

The FAQ PDF at Adobe Labs states that the ads only work when viewing the PDF in Acrobat 8.1 or Reader 8.1 and above. You'll be prompted to upgrade, of course, if you open in an older version. Also, you have the option to turn off the ads from within Acrobat and Reader. Opening in any other PDF-viewer will not display the ads. You also won't see ads if you're offline or if you print the PDF.

I guess I should have clicked the link and read about it, huh?

Here's something interesting from the FAQ:

"In the future, there will be support for additional ad formats including graphical display ads and rich media ads, as well as the ability to customize fonts, text and background colors."

So, the ads might not be annoying today, but they will be one day!

Just think. When you open a copy of Harry Potter on your Apple Tablet to read to your kid, you see a BUNCH of ads enticing you to buy Harry Potter merchandise. . . nice more stuff to fight your way through. . . . Or just think you bought a book ant the book store and when you open it there are a bunch of pop ups that 'magically' appear advertising anything from shampoo to viagra (if its a romance novel!) lol wouldn't you be annoyed?

I would rather Adobe first fix Acrobat so that it works well with Leopard.

I understand the need for ads to help pay for content. We read MacObserver for free because of the ads and I do click through when I need to shop for something. It is just that many web sites are starting to look like casinos with all the blinking, colorful, and tacky ads.