Touch New to the Touch... what should I know?

smirnoff · 12-14-2012, 09:30 PM

I happened to win one of these and so I'm thinking it's time to retire my 5 year old Sony 505 and experience an ebook reader with a dictionary and other useful features.

Being completely unfamiliar with the Touch I'd appreciate any advice y'll could share about working with it. Things you think would be good for a new user to know before investing a bunch of time getting it tuned the way they want it.

My old 505 was pretty low maintenance, and didn't require much fidgeting. Throw in the flexibility that working with Calibre offers and it was one fine reader. Over all those years it crashed once or twice but never lost a bookmark. I'm hoping the Kobo will be as friendly.

That seems like a reasonable wish... no?

BWinmill · 12-14-2012, 10:06 PM

The good news is that it should be an easy transition since most of what you do know should work. You will gain a few extra features, but you'll probably find a few are missing too.

If you are looking for hassle free, update the firmware when you get it and then disable the Wi-Fi. Don't load the Kobo desktop software. Load books onto your Kobo with Calibre (or ADE or via the filesystem) instead. This will circumvent automatic updates, which Kobo sometimes botches.

meeera · 12-14-2012, 10:09 PM

Check out the alpha plugin in the Developer forum if you're uninterested in Kobo store guff and Reading Life awards malarkey.

If you're used to working with Calibre, you're already way ahead of the game. I choose to do epub-epub conversions to strip line spacing/margin/font/etc pre-sets; your mileage may vary. You can manage your shelves with Calibre, too - there are detailed instructions in the stickies.

Lastly in fidgeting, you can upload your own fonts if you're not satisfied with the built-in ones. Make sure they're named properly, then just drag n drop into a folder called "fonts" in the Kobo (you'll need to create this; name it exactly.)

smirnoff · 12-14-2012, 10:50 PM

This is just the kind of guidance I was hoping for. Y'all are so helpful!

With luck I'll be up and reading next week.

TechniSol · 12-14-2012, 11:26 PM

Use Calibre, it is your Kobo's friend. Be certain to eject the Kobo before disconnecting the USB cable -wait for the checkmarks next to the books on your reader to disappear. Set up Calibre to remove margins, fonts, etc.

See the sticky thread above concerning shelf management in Calibre.

You can add a "fonts" directory to your device's root and add fonts. Apparently they must be named based on the internal fontname -dblclick the font in Windows to see the name. The variants must be named "fontname"-Bold, -Italic, -BoldItalic.fileextension(ttf,oft) Like Times New Roman-BoldItalic.ttf, etc.

I'm sure there is lots more and others will be glad to add. (Certain as three posted while was typing.)

Lynx-lynx · 12-15-2012, 03:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWinmill

The good news is that it should be an easy transition since most of what you do know should work. You will gain a few extra features, but you'll probably find a few are missing too.

If you are looking for hassle free, update the firmware when you get it and then disable the Wi-Fi. Don't load the Kobo desktop software. Load books onto your Kobo with Calibre (or ADE or via the filesystem) instead. This will circumvent automatic updates, which Kobo sometimes botches.

As a new Kobo owner I'm curious how you get notified of Kobo software upgrades?

I don't use the Glo's wifi, and I have 2 Kobo Desktop accounts, one I use to purchase Kobo books, and the other is assigned to my Glo in order to receive updates only because I'll never purchase using that account.

So does Kobo email notify you of upgrades, or?

And can you upgrade via wifi or via desktop? And won't upgrading via either manner mean that it will auto sync all the kepubs sitting in that account.

Basic questions I know - but I'm new to a Kobo ereader.

davidfor · 12-15-2012, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

As a new Kobo owner I'm curious how you get notified of Kobo software upgrades?

I don't use the Glo's wifi, and I have 2 Kobo Desktop accounts, one I use to purchase Kobo books, and the other is assigned to my Glo in order to receive updates only because I'll never purchase using that account.

So does Kobo email notify you of upgrades, or?

And can you upgrade via wifi or via desktop? And won't upgrading via either manner mean that it will auto sync all the kepubs sitting in that account.

Basic questions I know - but I'm new to a Kobo ereader.

You get notified during a sync. For a WiFi sync, the devices detects the update and downloads it. Then it prompts you to restart. For a desktop sync, the desktop detects and download the update and copies it to the device.

I don't believe that Kobo email notifications about the firmware. In any case, I've never seen one.

TechniSol · 12-15-2012, 06:22 AM

I generally get notified about new firmware by reading a thread about the new firmware a month or more before any of us seem to get the finished legit version... often whomever has started said thread neglects to mention said firmware is only available in some far off locale, of late, Japan.

Great system really, scuttlebutt not only travels at the speed of light, but now apparently appears in the continuum a month or so early.

Lynx-lynx · 12-15-2012, 03:38 PM

Thanks for your answers.

Oh yes, rumours have a habit of pre dating fact (or otherwise)

12-14-2012, 09:30 PM	#1
smirnoff Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: prs 505	New to the Touch... what should I know? I happened to win one of these and so I'm thinking it's time to retire my 5 year old Sony 505 and experience an ebook reader with a dictionary and other useful features. Being completely unfamiliar with the Touch I'd appreciate any advice y'll could share about working with it. Things you think would be good for a new user to know before investing a bunch of time getting it tuned the way they want it. My old 505 was pretty low maintenance, and didn't require much fidgeting. Throw in the flexibility that working with Calibre offers and it was one fine reader. Over all those years it crashed once or twice but never lost a bookmark. I'm hoping the Kobo will be as friendly. That seems like a reasonable wish... no?

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12-14-2012, 10:06 PM	#2
BWinmill Nameless Being	The good news is that it should be an easy transition since most of what you do know should work. You will gain a few extra features, but you'll probably find a few are missing too. If you are looking for hassle free, update the firmware when you get it and then disable the Wi-Fi. Don't load the Kobo desktop software. Load books onto your Kobo with Calibre (or ADE or via the filesystem) instead. This will circumvent automatic updates, which Kobo sometimes botches.

12-14-2012, 10:09 PM	#3
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,659 Karma: 66420972 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	Check out the alpha plugin in the Developer forum if you're uninterested in Kobo store guff and Reading Life awards malarkey. If you're used to working with Calibre, you're already way ahead of the game. I choose to do epub-epub conversions to strip line spacing/margin/font/etc pre-sets; your mileage may vary. You can manage your shelves with Calibre, too - there are detailed instructions in the stickies. Lastly in fidgeting, you can upload your own fonts if you're not satisfied with the built-in ones. Make sure they're named properly, then just drag n drop into a folder called "fonts" in the Kobo (you'll need to create this; name it exactly.)

12-14-2012, 10:50 PM	#4
smirnoff Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: prs 505	This is just the kind of guidance I was hoping for. Y'all are so helpful! With luck I'll be up and reading next week.

12-14-2012, 11:26 PM	#5
TechniSol GranPohbah-Fezzes r cool! Posts: 1,056 Karma: 3151024 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Nook STRs, Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo	Use Calibre, it is your Kobo's friend. Be certain to eject the Kobo before disconnecting the USB cable -wait for the checkmarks next to the books on your reader to disappear. Set up Calibre to remove margins, fonts, etc. See the sticky thread above concerning shelf management in Calibre. You can add a "fonts" directory to your device's root and add fonts. Apparently they must be named based on the internal fontname -dblclick the font in Windows to see the name. The variants must be named "fontname"-Bold, -Italic, -BoldItalic.fileextension(ttf,oft) Like Times New Roman-BoldItalic.ttf, etc. I'm sure there is lots more and others will be glad to add. (Certain as three posted while was typing.)

12-15-2012, 06:22 AM	#8
TechniSol GranPohbah-Fezzes r cool! Posts: 1,056 Karma: 3151024 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Nook STRs, Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo	I generally get notified about new firmware by reading a thread about the new firmware a month or more before any of us seem to get the finished legit version... often whomever has started said thread neglects to mention said firmware is only available in some far off locale, of late, Japan. Great system really, scuttlebutt not only travels at the speed of light, but now apparently appears in the continuum a month or so early.

12-15-2012, 03:38 PM	#9
Lynx-lynx Treachery of images ... Posts: 4,069 Karma: 91561091 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Australia Device: Blackberry Playbook, Sony 650, Kobo Glo, H2O, Aura One, Forma, Libra 2	Thanks for your answers. Oh yes, rumours have a habit of pre dating fact (or otherwise)

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