PDF is well thought-out as a format with specific purpose
I really wish I could agree with you, but I've read parts of the specification of the pdf file format. Perhaps the goal was well-thought-out, but certainly the format itself is not.
Ignoring the barrier to entry involved in competing with a de facto standard like .pdf, are there any viable alternatives available?
I have often benefited from recommendations for Things I Didn't Know I Wanted.
Given that Less Wrong is a community of unusually intelligent, critical, and self-improvement-focused people, I suspect we can generate a pretty helpful thread of product recommendations — perhaps even a monthly thread of product recommendations.
Rules: