What would you like to see in a firmware update?

[pdurrant]

Folders is difficult not because of technical problems, but because of the effort involved in re-working the user interface. The main library interface would need to change.

Contrast with the effort involved in adding a "Goto Page xxx' dialog for library pages. The dialog already exists, it just needs to be used in a different context.

Paul

Originally Posted by brudigia

Good job, I sincerely applaud you for the effort in resming and categorizing.

Just a question though, due to my ignorance. Why do you feel that folder could be difficult to implement. I understand that the Cybook has a Linux internally, which is able to read devices (the SD for system upgrade) therefore it has some rough device / directory support embedded. Why should it be difficult to make it explicit ?

[pdurrant]

An excellent idea. I often forget that posts are editable.

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

Good summary

Might it be worth it to add all the suggestions to the first post so that there is a easy reference of suggestions already made as opposed to starting a new post for every new suggestion

[tompe]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

How is remembering a tag different than remembering the folder name? If you use the same tags as you would folders then you have to remember the exact same thing. That argument just doesn't make any sense to me.

When you copy the file to the correct directory you see the available folder names. I use only Linux and I want to handle my files using command line tools.

To set a tag you have to look at an old book to see which tags you happened to choose for them.

[brudigia]

Originally Posted by Ortep

I'm not a native English speaker and that is exactly why I do use the dictionary lookup. While I am reading I sometimes run into words that I'm not familiar with. Most of the time I can guess the meaning from the context and read on. I almost never pick up a p-dictionary to check it..

......

The word 'meet' in English is pronounced the same as the German word 'miet' . But don't say to a German woman you want to 'miet' her. Unless you want to be slapped in the face. In German it means: to rent. And In Dutch 'rent' means (he) runs

Ok, I understand what you mean. I did not want to appear as not humble, it is probably how you approach your reading in English. I used to consult dictionaries when I was learning Enlish as a youngster, but I found it stopped too much the flow of my reading. I decided to go on anyway, maybe do a lookup when I really could not understand it at all, and sooner or later you catch the meaning. I remember having stumbled a lot, when I was much much younger, for the words 'branch' (I was reading tarzan, jumping from branch to branch. Sooner or later you get the hint of what it means) or 'creep', but I kept going on as it did not hamper my comprehension of the text. Sometimes you understand it at a lower level than the verbal and you may not just be able to translate, but my aim is to think in English, not to translate it while I read. A word like 'Creepy' might have approximations in some languages and exact corrispondences in other. It' s like the eskimo people having 11 words to describe the snow. Don't remember whether it's a higher or lower number, but you get the idea.
But certainly for my own native language I would not dream of often consulting the dictionary to get the meaning.

If you are interested, there is a joke I found on internet, where you are asked how to pronounce 'ghost' in English. It can be demonstrated that the correct pronounciation is 'fish'. English is peculiar, sometimes, but always interesting.

Conclusion is, I personally do not see a need for a dictionary but I respect the requirement of others needing it.

[peterbbb]

Actually Eskimo people do not, apparently, have any more words to describe than we have in English.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by brudigia

Conclusion is, I personally do not see a need for a dictionary but I respect the requirement of others needing it.

I used to think that; however, I find that I quite like having easy dictionary access -- to the point that I would not consider a device that didn't support it (e.g., Sony).

My vocabulary is good, and I don't need to use the dictionary all that often. However, when I am reading old texts, I find that it comes in handy to look up unfamiliar words (or the etymology for words that have changed in use over the years).

[brudigia]

Originally Posted by bwaldron

I used to think that; however, I find that I quite like having easy dictionary access -- to the point that I would not consider a device that didn't support it (e.g., Sony).

My vocabulary is good, and I don't need to use the dictionary all that often. However, when I am reading old texts, I find that it comes in handy to look up unfamiliar words (or the etymology for words that have changed in use over the years).

As I wrote, I respect it. Each of us has different ways of doing things.

Back to the thread subject, do you think there are any chance Bookeen will do something along the lines of what was summuried in previous posts ?
I suppose they are familiar with the site and forums. It could be nice to have their opinion.

[brudigia]

Originally Posted by peterbbb

Actually Eskimo people do not, apparently, have any more words to describe than we have in English.

I thought I had read it on a scientific magazine, but it looks like I remembered wrong.
I apologize.

Hereafter a link for more info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo_words_for_snow

[ProDigit]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

What enhancements would you like to see in a future firmware update for the Gen3? I'm thinking of specific features rather than vague wishes like "longer battery life".

[EDIT]
Please add suggestions to the end of this thread, and every so often I'll copy them into this message for easy reference.

I've split the suggestions into two categories.
1. Those that should be easy to the existing firmware/interface
2. Those that would require large changes to the code and/or interface.

In the first category we have:
* Battery life on reading pages
* Easily read while charging
* Delete Book function
* Re-open last book on startup
* Current page number in Goto Page dialog
* Margin size preference
* Goto Page... for library view
* Library pages should wrap from last page to first page
* Sort by Author option
* Dictionary lookup to be first option in menu

In the second we have:
* Folder display in library
* Support for adding/sorting/searching tags and other meta data
* Caching of library contents for constant boot time
* Text library view - just the titles/authors, no cover images
* Global bookmarks - not just per-book
* Button configuration preferences
* Landscape mode for Mobipocket, etc.
* Upside down mode
* Notes with virtual keyboard
* Standalone dictionary lookup (using virtual keyboard)
* After a dictionary lookup, remember the word looked up, and return to that word if visible at next look up request,
* Zip archive support (treat as a folder)
* Time Display
* PDF reflow
* ePub support (full support - embeded fonts, etc)
* html/mobipocket links to other books
* Option to replace library view by index.html file
* .lit support.

I have to say I don't have a Cybook, and I don't know how far it's possible to support these feats, so I'm just gonna fire some ideas ok?

How about:
- a searchfunction
- shell os like DOS or linux shell
- Package manager
- games ( minesweeper, Sudoku, tic-tac-toe, 4 in a row, cards like solitaire and freecell, mahjong, chess, dammen, go, backgammon, some games like LOOM or qbasic gorilla or RPG which don't require lots of graphics, or moving graphics, or require a fast latency to play the game, and can be played in B&W/16color mode, text based games,... )
- agenda
- clock
- alarm (blinking screen if no speaker available)
- I don't know about the cybook, but the Sony reader seems to suffer from a slow indexing process once new books have been uploaded, or lots of books are found on the card. So background indexing when connected to AC?
-

[pdurrant]

A search, especially across all books, or a range of books would be very useful.

Your other suggestions all seem to come down to: allowing third-party applications.

The CyBook does take some time on start-up when you have lots of books. With around 1700 on mine, start-up takes two and a half minutes or so.

Originally Posted by ProDigit

I have to say I don't have a Cybook, and I don't know how far it's possible to support these feats, so I'm just gonna fire some ideas ok?

How about:
- a searchfunction
- shell os like DOS or linux shell
- Package manager
- games ( minesweeper, Sudoku, tic-tac-toe, 4 in a row, cards like solitaire and freecell, mahjong, chess, dammen, go, backgammon, some games like LOOM or qbasic gorilla or RPG which don't require lots of graphics, or moving graphics, or require a fast latency to play the game, and can be played in B&W/16color mode, text based games,... )
- agenda
- clock
- alarm (blinking screen if no speaker available)
- I don't know about the cybook, but the Sony reader seems to suffer from a slow indexing process once new books have been uploaded, or lots of books are found on the card. So background indexing when connected to AC?
-

[Pulp]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The CyBook does take some time on start-up when you have lots of books. With around 1700 on mine, start-up takes two and a half minutes or so.

That reminds me of something else:
A quick-startup feature like Sony readers provide would be great - where the reader does not shutdown completely, but goes into standby and comes back almost instantly.

[jljones]

Originally Posted by brudigia

Back to the thread subject, do you think there are any chance Bookeen will do something along the lines of what was summuried in previous posts ?
I suppose they are familiar with the site and forums. It could be nice to have their opinion.

From http://bookeen.blogspot.com/

How to Send Suggestions

* Your feedback is very much welcome.
* Please avoid using blogs, forums or mailing lists.
* Simply send an email to support_at_bookeen.com.
* All suggestions are taken into account as much as possible in our development schedule.

[pdurrant]

I have sent an email to Bookeen, giving the list of suggestions, and referencing this thread.

I have no idea what plans Bookeen have for future firmware, but perhaps it'll have a little influence.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I have sent an email to Bookeen, giving the list of suggestions, and referencing this thread.

I have no idea what plans Bookeen have for future firmware, but perhaps it'll have a little influence.

There was a thread somewhere here with links to a presentation from bookeen on their plans for CyBook Gen 4... you may want to look at that and see what they have in mind.

BOb

[leequick1]

I think I have two subjects in my wish list.
First would be hardware.
I would love an easier page forward. I just had a two week vacation, I read 26 books, on the cybook, I needed that easier to push, easier to find button after the 3rd ebook. That little four button with the square one in the middle sucks big time, almost enough to become a world class vacuum.
I can live with everything else. After the 14th book, I would have paid for a newer version of the cybook if it came with a better page forward.
.
Second, the software.
It would indeed be nice to have the ability to have the choice of opening onto the library or to the last page you were on. Putting it in the preferences would do the trick.
I would love to have a way of keeping my ebooks cataloged, and you all have gone through the problems. I usually use, in my other ebook readers like my pda, a simpler method to keep track of my authors and the books in series or not. I simply make a list of the authors, and when opening the file for any of them I have a list of ebooks, the order of the series, or sometimes simply the name of each book I have, even how many I own or are in ebook format. Not the best way, but as all of you can see, cataloging your library and making it suit the next guy is not an easy task.
I would like to put my name on the list for the ability to delete an ebook from card. Trying to figure out which icon stands for which ebook is enough to make even me grumpy.
Although I hadn't thought about it, the margin sizing sounds like a good idea. My palm and my rocket/rb1100 all have the ability to go from landscape to portrait. So I know mobipocket has that ability. Just have to program it into the ebook software.
Speaking of Mobipocket. With the push that eReader is on, it should be easy pickings to get them to agree to be on the cybook. I wouldn't mind another full sized reader that would "play" my eReader format ebooks. It also insures the longevity of the reader if it does more than one commercial ereading program.
Well, that is my xmas list. Lee