PRS-600 "Internal content invalid. Formatting" 600 crash (is it dead ?)

[HarryT]

All those <div> errors are obviously triggered by the nesting problem with the anchor tags, by the way; I've just checked one of my "corrected" ePub at the site you linked to, and it doesn't object to them, so I'm afraid that I must disagree with your opinion that it's "certainly not correct".

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

All those <div> errors are obviously triggered by the nesting problem with the anchor tags, by the way; I've just checked one of my "corrected" ePub at the site you linked to, and it doesn't object to them, so I'm afraid that I must disagree with your opinion that it's "certainly not correct".

it's not a question of agreeing with me, it's a question of following the spec. the paragraph tag is meant to be used for paragraphs, that's why it's called that. it's not my opinion ; that's just the way it is.

[HarryT]

I'm afraid we must agree to differ; both <div> and <p> are block-level elements that have an implied line break before and after them. There's absolutely nothing wrong with using <div> for paragraphs - the ePub validator you kindly linked to certainly doesn't object to it. The reason we have both is simply historic - <p> long predates <div>.

We're straying rather off-topic here. If you wish to continue this discussion, it would probably be more appropriate to do so in the ePub forum.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm afraid we must agree to differ; both <div> and <p> are block-level elements that have an implied line break before and after them. There's absolutely nothing with with using <div> for paragraphs. The reason we have both is simply historic - <p> long predates <div>.

as i said, it's not a question of agreeing or disagreeing with me, but if you don't want to continue the discussion that's fine. the different uses of those tags seem quite obvious to me and i don't understand why you seem so attached to using div tags for paragraphs, but i'm sure i can't change your mind.

We're straying rather off-topic here. If you wish to continue this discussion, it would probably be more appropriate to do so in the ePub forum.

well, this is my thread after all, and i don't really mind if the topic strays a bit. so if anyone else wants to discuss this here that is fine with me, please feel free.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

as i said, it's not a question of agreeing or disagreeing with me, but if you don't want to continue the discussion that's fine. the different uses of those tags seem quite obvious to me and i don't understand why you seem so attached to using div tags for paragraphs, but i'm sure i can't change your mind.

I've no "attachment" to <div> tags; it's quite simply that the tool that I like to use to create my books (BD) happens to use them, and they works perfectly well, so I see no need to change them. You can do anything with a <div> tag that you can do with a <p> tag in terms of formatting (AFAIK - please correct me if I'm wrong).

When I write HTML code by hand I do use <p> tags (less typing!), but, as I say, BD just happens to use them and I really can't be bothered to change them.

When a tool comes along that I find as good to use as BD (Sigil is getting there, but it has a way to go yet), then I'm sure that I'll change.

[zelda_pinwheel]

in case anyone else is interested, i'm attaching here the first thorndyke book after fixing the code a bit. this is a very superficial and automated cleanup job ; i didn't go through everything with a fine-toothed comb, just used a lot of search-and-replace in sigil to get rid of whatever was causing problems after taking a look at the epubcheck results, and gave a cursory glance at the css to remove some of the extraneous code. epubcheck says it's valid now so *hopefully* it won't cause my sony to hiccup anymore when i go back to reading it.

[emonti8384]

They will replace it for you, I just know it! Keeps us posted anyway; stupid weekends. They should start counting Saturday as a business day. Afterall, everythings open anyway, you know?

[vivaldirules]

(doggie meekly raises paw to ask an innocent question)

Do I read that this is perhaps a common issue with some epubs, at least on Sony Readers - i.e., that there are coding issues with some books that can cause the device to behave badly? I don't think I've seen these issues at all in the past 2-1/2 years with my 500 or 505 but then I rarely read epubs. I suppose the point of my question is really, "Should I always test the validity of an epub before loading it onto my device or am I at a similar (low) risk with BBeB format books (for which I've never had a problem)?"

[HorridRedDog]

Sorry, wrong msg and I don't know how to delete

[happy_terd]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

so he spoke with the the head of Consumer Service, who proposed that they ask the technical center for a quote and depending on the cost of the repair, either they will pay for the cost themselves or they will propose an exchange (for "a french model". they guy didn't believe me when i said i was pretty sure they were all the same, but i guess i might find out...). i'm really pleased with the sony repair service here !

Did they give you the name of the French model they would be giving you? How soon until you can meet her?

congrats on your luck. It's nice to see Sony doing the right thing.

[happy_terd]

edit: bah...mispost

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

(doggie meekly raises paw to ask an innocent question)

Do I read that this is perhaps a common issue with some epubs, at least on Sony Readers - i.e., that there are coding issues with some books that can cause the device to behave badly? I don't think I've seen these issues at all in the past 2-1/2 years with my 500 or 505 but then I rarely read epubs. I suppose the point of my question is really, "Should I always test the validity of an epub before loading it onto my device or am I at a similar (low) risk with BBeB format books (for which I've never had a problem)?"

The Sony does seem to have less "resilience" to coding errors than other ePub devices - probably because it has the oldest implementation of the ePub reader of any device. Books which have problems on the Sony work flawlessly on other devices. Of course, it's easy to say "but books shouldn't have coding errors", and that's true, but they can easily happen with the best will in the world.

LRF files don't seem to have the same issues.

[zelda_pinwheel]

arg, i was almost at the end of my reply, and managed to close my tab by accident. now i have to start over and try to remember what i wrote.

Originally Posted by emonti8384

They will replace it for you, I just know it! Keeps us posted anyway; stupid weekends. They should start counting Saturday as a business day. Afterall, everythings open anyway, you know?

well, it's monday now already anyway, so we'll know soon !

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

(doggie meekly raises paw to ask an innocent question)

Do I read that this is perhaps a common issue with some epubs, at least on Sony Readers - i.e., that there are coding issues with some books that can cause the device to behave badly? I don't think I've seen these issues at all in the past 2-1/2 years with my 500 or 505 but then I rarely read epubs. I suppose the point of my question is really, "Should I always test the validity of an epub before loading it onto my device or am I at a similar (low) risk with BBeB format books (for which I've never had a problem)?"

if you mean "can an improperly coded book display incorrectly ?", then yes, that is certainly a possibility, the same way that a website made with invalid hmtl / css code may not display properly in a browser. however, it really should be the first reflex of anyone making an epub book to validate the code (and it's not hard to do ; there are tools available that will check the code for you and signal any errors), and as far as i'm concerned valid code is as basic a priority as getting the title right or making sure the name of the author is not mis-spelled. perhaps this is a professional deformation, as a webdesigner valid code is my holy grail and i really consider it primordial. on the other hand, if you are worried that an improperly made epub could cause damage to the system or anything else, let me reassure you, that is not a problem ; it's not anything like a virus on a pc. if you happen to have an epub which is behaving strangely, then sending the file through epubcheck is definitely the first thing you should try to diagnose the problem, but there's no need to do it systematically. epubcheck will tell you whether the epub is valid or not, and if it's invalid, what are the specific problems, so you can fix them, so it will display correctly. but at worst invalid code is a nuisance, not a danger.

Originally Posted by happy_terd

Did they give you the name of the French model they would be giving you? How soon until you can meet her?

i'll let you know.

congrats on your luck. It's nice to see Sony doing the right thing.

i agree. on the other hand, i just spent 300$ on this thing 3 months ago, so it would have been pretty despicable to send me away with no help !

[zelda_pinwheel]

update, i got a call from sony on tuesday (i was this close to calling back myself but i didn't want to badger the guy ) the head of consumer service decided to repair my 600 rather than replace it (despite the cost of 200€ for the new mother board ). this is not what i was hoping for, since it means it will take a bit longer (and also because i admit to being slightly worried that there might be another problem they won't catch, you never know... so getting a completely new unit would be reassuring) but on the other hand i'm glad they are taking care of the issue and repairing it for me ! the sony guy who is following my dossier told me they have requested an "expedited repair" so i am hoping that with some luck i may get it back by the end of the week.

[Kolenka]

I wouldn't worry too much about a repair I think. There is so little else that makes up these devices beyond the logic board that the odds of the logic board replacement missing something in your case is very low.