04-20-2008, 06:12 PM | #1 |
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Laptop as e-reader for partially sighted
My dad is in his eighties, and his sight has deteriorated to the point where he can only read really big text. He's never used a computer, and his hands are a bit shaky, so using a mouse is out. He can't afford a modern e-book reader, and I'm not sure how he'd do with the little buttons anyway. But my plan is this:
I've got an old laptop, which runs Linux just fine. What I'd like to do is set it up purely as an e-book reader. The ideas would be that it would boot with the file manager maximised and no toolbars showing, with a list of book files in big print. (This would be in KDE). He could use the cursor keys to navigate to the file he wants to read, then just press enter. I'd probably paint the keys he needs to use in bright colours so he could see them easier. Once in the book, he could navigate up and down with the Page Up and Page Down keys. The thing I'm not sure about is software. I want something(s) that can read plain text, HTML, mobipocket and possibly PDF. The important thing would be that it would remember the last place he'd got to in the book, and not start at the beginning again the next time he loaded the file. Anyone any ideas for any Linux program or programs that could do that? |
04-23-2008, 10:06 AM | #2 |
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"FBReader" springs to mind as a possibility. Handles all those formats except, I think, PDF.
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04-23-2008, 11:48 AM | #3 |
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04-23-2008, 01:57 PM | #4 |
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FBReader should work, and it may be best to start up in FBReader and use its library mode for book selection. Just about every "action" can be bound to a key press, so there should be no need for a mouse.
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04-25-2008, 03:17 AM | #5 |
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You definitely want to checkout a freeware program "ybook" which reads txt and html, rtf and several other formats . Adobe has an option to save pdf to txt and there are other conversion text prpograms out there like ABC Lite which converts Lit to half a dozen other formats.
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04-25-2008, 10:36 AM | #6 | |
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http://www.spacejock.com/yBook.html Dale |
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04-25-2008, 02:38 PM | #7 |
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Sadly, these are Windows programs, and as I said, I'm running Linux. I did try Ybook using Wine, and it worked right up to the point when I loaded a book, at which point it froze... Better stick with the Linux software, I think!
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04-25-2008, 02:42 PM | #8 |
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Best to run Windows. Then you can run FBReader, MS Reader, Mobipocket Reader, eReader and most any other reader you want to use.
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04-25-2008, 03:39 PM | #9 | |
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Sure, just change the OS you are running so you can read eBooks.
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BOb |
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04-25-2008, 04:39 PM | #10 | |
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I'm quite happy with Linux, thank you, which has not only been my only OS for the last four years, but is what runs on my iLiad too. Let's not let this thread degenerate into OS wars, though! |
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04-26-2008, 01:46 AM | #11 |
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Pirated is such a "NASTY" word
Why not get Azeureus and " borrow" a copy from the torrent library?
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04-26-2008, 06:44 AM | #12 | |
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Besides, I'd rather use software that people are happily sharing, rather than stealing it from grasping billionaires! |
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04-26-2008, 07:44 AM | #13 |
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But the thing with Windows... Your dad can use such websites such as BooksOnBoard or Feedbooks to purchase eBooks and be able to read them till you can get to stripping out the DRM. Linux will make him stuck with DRM laden PDF for any sort of recent eBooks. Do you really want to do that to him? Saddle him with PDF? I hope the answer is no. Anyway, Windows does give more choices as it has the greatest number of eBook reading programs available for it.
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04-26-2008, 08:40 AM | #14 | |
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