Author Topic: E-readers (Read 2075 times)

ChaosLove · « **on:** July 28, 2011, 05:18:03 AM »

What is your thoughts on E-readers?

I have the Nook myself, but I seem to run into a few problems with it that I have no way of fixing (books won't open, there is nothing inside of a document, multiple blank pages, etc). I would say the only real drawback outside of those things is that it can only take EPUB and PDF book formats, which means I'm more or less screwed if I download something that comes in HTML, LIT, TXT, Mobi (the list goes on).

Sosseres · « **Reply #1 on:** July 28, 2011, 05:27:09 AM »

1. Download the program Calibre.
2. Install Calibre.
3. Setup Calibre for your reader.
4. Watch it autoconvert 90%+ of everything you have problems with. (Those that doesn't work, open in whatever program on a computer, select all text. Copy all text. Create a txt file with that content in it. Let Calibre convert that instead.)

My reader can handle a lot more formats than yours can so I have less issues than you. Calibre is made to handle those issues, I suggest you try it out.

The worst problem I have had with books not opening was one that had a character my reader couldn't read in the author name. It started a restart cycle where it each time tried to open the file prior to shutting down and starting up again. I had to connect it to my PC and fix the author name.

Things like blank pages would on my reader be the result of one-two blank page(s) in the book it was scanned from. This often results in several pages on my reader since it has a lower resolution compared to what most books are printed in. It is a common problem, there are for example 454 pages in the epub. I have to go through ~1k pages on my reader since each of my pages is only half the content of the full page (I have a smallish reader, so I tend to increase the text size).

ChaosLove · « **Reply #2 on:** July 28, 2011, 05:36:23 AM »

I've never heard of Calibre before, so I will definitely check it out. It is such a pain because there are so many books and not all of them in the formats I need. So, this will help a bunch.

What type of reader do you have?

Sosseres · « **Reply #3 on:** July 28, 2011, 05:41:18 AM »

I have a Sony PRS 350. Touch screen (pointless feature, except for decreasing size due to less buttons needed) and small enough to fit in most of my pockets. I basically went for a small and decent looking one while having many formats that it supported (just to avoid the problems you stated). Having txt support is probably the most important of all formats. It is so easy to create and decently small due to minimal formatting allowed, great for taking notes on a PC and dumping them on the reader (I could use the notes system or whatever it is called but it is more cumbersome).

The downside for many users is that you have to use a wire to update it. I don't care, I don't have wifi anyhow (so having a reader that can connect to it would be a bit pointless).

Bleh, lost a longish edit to SMF database being buzy.

Shorter edit

Downsides: Software related. Can't turn off touch screen, can't turn off dictionary, can't set touch screen to always mean 1 page forward when touched, can't set it to always cut margins (have to set per book, if needed), was a few more points I can't recall right now.

Upside: Surprisingly sturdy. Dropped several times (even on concrete), scratches and a single dead pixel are the results.

ChaosLove · « **Reply #4 on:** July 28, 2011, 06:12:03 AM »

I looked it up and it looks interesting, I'm not sure if I like were the buttons are placed on it though. On the Nook, to turn the page the buttons are on the sides of it where you are holding it, so its really convenient. It is nice that its sturdy, on the Nook the framing is plastic and easily breakable, after reading so many books, its cracked on the buttons.

Does it ever give you error messages saying "Sorry, unable to open book" or just completely freeze on a certain page? There is this one book in particular that I've downloaded (different formats, different people, multiple times) and each time the book freezes on a particular page and I'm unable to continue on with the book. Now, that only happens when its on the Nook, I'm able to open the book up on the Nook Desktop reader. Any suggestions on that one?

Duki3003 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 28, 2011, 06:31:39 AM »

Once upon a time people just carried books with them...
They're surprisingly sturdy, you can drop them on most surfaces and you won't ever have a dead pixel

Only downside is that they are not as compact...

ChaosLove · « **Reply #6 on:** July 28, 2011, 07:10:17 AM »

Quote from: Duki3003 on July 28, 2011, 06:31:39 AM

Once upon a time people just carried books with them...
They're surprisingly sturdy, you can drop them on most surfaces and you won't ever have a dead pixel
Only downside is that they are not as compact...

This is true and I have my own library of books (no, really, I have over 3,500 and then I stopped counting), but books are expensive and overtime they take out a large chunk of money that could have been put to something else. Plus, they take up a large amount of room.

Now, I just torrent all of my books. I save space, but more importantly, I save the money.

kitamesume · « **Reply #7 on:** July 28, 2011, 07:11:17 AM »

Quote from: Duki3003 on July 28, 2011, 06:31:39 AM

Once upon a time people just carried books with them...
They're surprisingly sturdy, you can drop them on most surfaces and you won't ever have a dead pixel
Only downside is that they are not as compact...

agreed, plus they're as heavy as they look... plus pictures doesn't move! dang papers.

Sosseres · « **Reply #8 on:** July 29, 2011, 02:01:23 AM »

Quote from: ChaosLove on July 28, 2011, 06:12:03 AM

I looked it up and it looks interesting, I'm not sure if I like were the buttons are placed on it though. On the Nook, to turn the page the buttons are on the sides of it where you are holding it, so its really convenient.

Does it ever give you error messages saying "Sorry, unable to open book" or just completely freeze on a certain page? There is this one book in particular that I've downloaded (different formats, different people, multiple times) and each time the book freezes on a particular page and I'm unable to continue on with the book. Now, that only happens when its on the Nook, I'm able to open the book up on the Nook Desktop reader. Any suggestions on that one?

The buttons actually work better than one would think. I hold it with my left hand, my thumb on the next page button, two fingers below and two fingers behind. That it has a touch screen means I can hold it however and simply "drag" the next page. I tend to use the next button more than the touch screen though, even though I could use the touch with whichever hand it tends to mean I use both hands or have it leaning against something.

As I said earlier with formats. Try letting Calibre convert your books and see if that helps. I have had three books I havn't been able to get functioning without doing extra work on the PC for them (opening them up, copying the text into another format). Mostly those have been html to EPUB conversions that havn't worked properly. Generally HTML tends to be problematic for readers due to how poor most things are at converting it, especially when it is split over multiple files. Generally I tend to assume HTML won't be converted properly and simply drop it into a txt file, losing/removing all formatting (the majority of the time it will work properly).

lompocus · « **Reply #9 on:** August 02, 2011, 06:56:57 AM »

On a pc: mobireader and whatever microsoft's reader is called.
On android: kobo reader or kindle. Anyone use something else w/ portable devices? I hate those two programs.

Sosseres · « **Reply #10 on:** August 02, 2011, 10:42:55 PM »

Found another problem with my reader. Its stylus has an aluminium casing for most of its length. At the edge where the inner plastic continues to the top plastic (that is actually visible when it is inserted into the device holder) stress can be formed and it can be broken. I just did that (it got stuck and I continued the movement with more force), I have no glue...

I wonder if a better design would have been to have aluminium with "pegs" sticking out that the plastic is connected to instead of having a plastic core and plastic at either end. That way you still have a full length one that can used if the plastic is removed by accident. As it is I don't dare put the stylus into the holder due to a fear of not being able to get it out again. Edit, tested it, without that top portion I can easily knock the stylus out, seems most of the friction was in that portion. Edit 2, I was wrong, plenty more friction when I didn't just test it but let it go to the correct position. Wonder what tools I have for this... Edit 3, ok, hitting it hard allows me to get it out. Violence works, as usual. Good, then I can keep using it without bothering to glue things together.

I wonder if it is the same way in the larger Sony PRS model, since that has more aluminium than this one in its casing.

edit 6 and 10, Oh, seems it is a quite common problem. Seems there are quick fixes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxnlq5EEseU&feature=related I think I'll just leave it broken though.

Edit 7 and 8, http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iQloMtiR6pC_u2cwK104XgxVDpAuWRz4A_ocVjJjaw4?feat=directlink zoomed picture of the problem area, same break as me. How mine looks (not my own picture): http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BWQx9YPEpVscVJuXZIRa6wxVDpAuWRz4A_ocVjJjaw4?feat=directlink

edit 9, got a good laugh from the various replacement suggestions at http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103091 .

Proin Drakenzol · « **Reply #11 on:** August 04, 2011, 08:13:20 AM »

I have a Kindle DX, and I love it!

kurandoinu · « **Reply #12 on:** August 04, 2011, 08:38:57 AM »

I have a Kindle as well and i have to say it was one of the best purchases I ever made.

I've always read tonnes and always carried a book with me in my bag, but one of the biggest problems I've found is that sometimes books are just too big. If I'm reading a series and I happen to have one of the books in hardback it becomes a real pain to try and take it anywhere with me, I already have quite a large bag but with sketchpads and markerpens and all the other stuff I carry round a huge book just doesn't always fit.

Now that I have a Kindle I can just pop it in my bag and I have access to over 1,000 books at once. Which is brilliant, especially for long train journeys. I don't have to worry about having got almost to the end of a book and having to carry 2 round for a day now as well.

I still love the printed word, but I can now dedicate more of my money and space to Graphic Design and Illustration books rather than paper backs I might read once.

It doesn't work too badly with manga and comics either.

Saras · « **Reply #13 on:** August 04, 2011, 11:22:40 AM »

Had a kindle, the bloody screen died on me a few weeks ago. Was very pissed, thinking about buying a new one. Sadly, the warranty doesn't cover broken screens.

That aside, I'm very supportive of the thing.

Tegh · « **Reply #14 on:** August 05, 2011, 11:01:50 AM »

Sorry I'll stick to books. I'm a bibliophile anyway...

Plus, when the zombie apocalypse comes, and no one can read their reader because all the power plants have been destroyed...I will laugh as i enjoy my books in the sun! lol

kurandoinu · « **Reply #15 on:** August 05, 2011, 11:14:14 AM »

What's saying that people who have e-readers don't have physical books as well? I still have hundreds.

Sosseres · « **Reply #16 on:** August 05, 2011, 11:18:15 AM »

Quote from: kurandoinu on August 05, 2011, 11:14:14 AM

What's saying that people who have e-readers don't have physical books as well? I still have hundreds.

I don't have room for hundreds, so I don't have hundreds. I only have like one hundred. :/

kurandoinu · « **Reply #17 on:** August 05, 2011, 11:21:05 AM »

I don't have room for hundreds anymore either sadly. But as I'm moving again in a week or so I don't have the time to deal with them. Or even know where half of them are... I sent my sister a lot of books in the post last month. About 150ish.

surdumil · « **Reply #18 on:** August 05, 2011, 11:38:34 AM »

Until a few months ago, I stuck to books as well. The drawback was that there were a bunch of old, fairly high-profile books that I wanted, but they were never stocked by local libraries and local book stores (Coles, McNalley-Robinson, Chapters, Indigo) and I could never find them at used books stores or used book sales events. Online book stores had a few of these, but the prices were wild and had shipping charges tacked on top. Also, I like to keep my books, and storage has been getting difficult.

So, I finally decided to buy an e-book. I bought a Kobo with Wi-Fi (but not with touch-screen. I'm familiar with touch-screen UI's, I know it's popular, and I don't particularly care for it on handheld devices for several reasons). I've since been able to find and buy the books I was after on-line, and I've solved my book storage problem. And, wow! The on-line selection is vastly better than book shop and used book store selections. I've even been able to buy and capture books from authors who had been screwed over buy publishers and had never had their excellent works available through traditional channels.

The Kobo is a minimalist e-book. It only works with ePub, PDF and (I think) txt. It doesn't have a qwerty keypad, just a few buttons and a directional cursor keypad. For me, it's perfect! It came pre-loaded with 100 books (from Guttenberg project and from a pool of free books as well) which also attracted me.

I have been using Calibre to convert other formats to ePub, usually from PDF, and to add my own book cover graphics to e-book files.

I'm been removing DRM from purchased e-book files as well, so that I can archive them properly for future reference, and so that I can buy a book for someone else and transfer it to them (Geez! Everything that DRM touches just reeks of uselessness, doesn't it?! My country hasn't passed an American-style DMCA bill yet... fingers crossed). The tools to do so are pretty easy to find.

Tegh · « **Reply #19 on:** August 05, 2011, 11:42:54 AM »

Quote from: kurandoinu on August 05, 2011, 11:14:14 AM

What's saying that people who have e-readers don't have physical books as well? I still have hundreds.

I just don't want you E-reader types doing what cd's did to the record!!!

Just jking, but I honestly dislike how book stores are now closing, etc. So books take up some space? So what? When you run out of room give some away, and spread the awesome that is reading. It also makes older books cheaper, as long as there aren't missing pages or old coffee stains, you know got 50 books for like 5 dollars at a yard sale, you think that they'll do the same with the E-reader? Drop the price just because it's a bit older? Heck no! Sure it's not the price of a new hard back, but you aren't getting 50 for 5$ i'll guarantee you that!