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E-readers

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ChaosLove:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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?

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