kepub: why does it exist?

[Jane Eyre]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

That's why I patch mine. With patches, I like them much more than I ever did Kindles. Without patching I wouldn't want to read on them. But then I no longer want to read on Kindles either, which are also lacking and you can't even patch them like Kobos.

Sorry, but..all that goes beyond my feelings, my understanding. Don't you care about risking a jailbreak? To me, this would be a good reason for preventing me to do such an activity.
Otherwise, I don't see why getting a kobo if you then change it into something different..why did you buy them? Maybe I'm wrong.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Jane Eyre

Sorry, but..all that goes beyond my feelings, my understanding. Don't you care about risking a jailbreak? To me, this would be a good reason for preventing me to do such an activity.
Otherwise, I don't see why getting a kobo if you then change it into something different..why did you buy them? Maybe I'm wrong.

You don't need to jailbreak a Kobo to patch it or to edit the config file. Kobos have an open OS; no jailbreaking needed. Patches are easy to install and to undo. There's no risk.

I got a Kobo knowing I'd probably patch it, to get my perfect reader. I was dissatisfied with Kindles by that point, because unlike Kobos you can change very few things about them. I didn't like an unpatched Kobo much either, but I love my patched Kobos.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Claude_C

So, an invisible fact. Cool.

Ultrasound is invisible; word spacing and typography are plenty visible, even if you personally are unable to see them. I've compared epub and kepub (with the same font settings) side by side via screenshots; their different word spacing was perfectly visible.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Claude_C

Come on… That is just not true. Period.

It is true.

[deleted2]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

You don't need to jailbreak a Kobo to patch it or to edit the config file. Kobos have an open OS; no jailbreaking needed. Patches are easy to install and to undo. There's no risk.

I got a Kobo knowing I'd probably patch it, to get my perfect reader. I was dissatisfied with Kindles by that point, because unlike Kobos you can change very few things about them. I didn't like an unpatched Kobo much either, but I love my patched Kobos.

One thing, tough, with patches : you have to go through the process every time you update the Kobo firmware. There used to be updates often. Now, it's been a while.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Claude_C

So, an invisible fact. Cool.

Just because it's not noticed doesn't mean it's not there. If you didn't notice a lack of kerning, that doesn't mean it's not there.

[deleted2]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It is true.

Sure, whatever.

[deleted2]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Ultrasound is invisible; word spacing and typography are plenty visible, even if you personally are unable to see them. I've compared epub and kepub (with the same font settings) side by side via screenshots; their different word spacing was perfectly visible.

Good for you.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Claude_C

One thing, tough, with patches : you have to go through the process every time you update the Kobo firmware. There used to be updates often. Now, it's been a while.

Yes, if you want to install every update Kobo sends out, it could be a bother. I don't install every update, but only those having a fix or a feature I want. So for me patching has never been particularly bothersome, but a major advantage of Kobos over Kindles.

Of course, I like to tinker. I love to tinker with my books in Calibre and with the device settings to get that perfect look (I'm fussy). You, on the other hand, seem to be the type who has no particular love for tinkering, so it makes sense you'd prefer Kindles over Kobos. People are different.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Claude_C

One thing, tough, with patches : you have to go through the process every time you update the Kobo firmware. There used to be updates often. Now, it's been a while.

If you setup the patches using the file kobopatch.yaml to put in the names of all the patches and select the ones you want, redoing the patches for the next firmware update is very easy. You only have to make changes if there are changes to any of the patches.

[deleted2]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Of course, I like to tinker. I love to tinker with my books in Calibre and with the device settings to get that perfect look (I'm fussy). You, on the other hand, seem to be the type who has no particular love for tinkering, so it makes sense you'd prefer Kindles over Kobos. People are different.

I used to like tinkering. I ran Linux on my laptop. I used Android and tried different roms. I applied many patches on my Kobo. etc.

But I guess I'm getting old. Now, I just want things to work.

[pikachuyann]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

As for KePub being faster, that used to be true, but not any longer.

Some of the technical/coding epubs I've got from (the recent bundles on) humblebundle work fine on koreader, but not on the default software of my Kobo Elipsa - it hangs up several tens of seconds (sometimes even enough to have the kobo restart).

Converting it using kepubify and loading the kepub instead, it loads within 5 seconds and page turns are instant.

Also, it is one of the possible fixes to get the missing mathematical symbols from an epub (here using an epub from EDP sold by Eyrolles that works fine on other readers (like calibre or koreader)).

Still, I'm curious of the actual technical reason behind this; felt a bit frustrating.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pikachuyann

Some of the technical/coding epubs I've got from (the recent bundles on) humblebundle work fine on koreader, but not on the default software of my Kobo Elipsa - it hangs up several tens of seconds (sometimes even enough to have the kobo restart).

Converting it using kepubify and loading the kepub instead, it loads within 5 seconds and page turns are instant.

Also, it is one of the possible fixes to get the missing mathematical symbols from an epub (here using an epub from EDP sold by Eyrolles that works fine on other readers (like calibre or koreader)).

Still, I'm curious of the actual technical reason behind this; felt a bit frustrating.

As has been said, the version of RMSDK Kobo is using does not handle ePub 3 specific features because it's not the latest version. The renderer used for KePub handles ePub 3 specific features. That's it in a nutshell.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Claude_C

So, an invisible fact. Cool.

The differences between how the RMSDK renderer and the WebKit renderer display text may be invisible to you. There are quite a few people who do notice those differences. Probably quite an bit of an overlap with the group that notices which fonts are used and have opinions on which fonts are better for certain purposes.

Perhaps I am getting persnickety as I age and am not willing to accept good enough when a minimal effort is needed to move the quality setting to very good or better.

Originally Posted by Claude_C

But I guess I'm getting old. Now, I just want things to work.

I'm surprised that given your posts in this thread that you are getting old. "Sure, whatever." and "Good for you." tend to suggest someone in the early twenties or younger compensating to their lack of ability to debate by attempting to appear "cool".

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Perhaps I am getting persnickety as I age...

So do I. I was less fussy and more laid-back when young; the older I get, the fussier and less likely to be satisfied with things out of the box I seem to grow.

And it seems to be vice versa with others.