Academic PDFs and Diagrams

Mr. Blue Tape · 08-26-2010, 07:32 PM

Hi,

I'm a graduate student and I read a lot of pdf papers. I've yet to see a really good review of the pdf support in the Kindle 3. Can anybody comment on how well it displays mathematical forumla's (i.e. from LateX?). The other thing I read a lot in pdf format is articles on chess. Will small diagrams of chessboards look fine?

Two examples of the types of things I want to look at:
http://www.danicamckellar.com/math/percolation.pdf
http://www.chesscafe.com/text/dvoretsky99.pdf

cleanskin · 08-26-2010, 08:27 PM

Hey Mr. Blue Tape,

I downloaded your example files onto my Kindle DX and took some photos to show you how they appear. I had to take the photos without flash with a wide aperture, so some areas of the photo are a bit soft from a narrow depth of focus. But everything on the screen is very clean and sharp. I zoomed in 200% on the column of text of the chess PDF in the second photo. The pen is beside the Kindle to show scale. The types of PDFs you would like to use appear fine on the screen. But I highly recommend you consider the DX model over the Kindle 3 as I can't imagine reading many of these documents on a smaller screen than this without a lot of zooming and panning.

Click on the thumbnails to get a larger view (use the zoom button the following page to see them as 1200x800 photos):

guiyoforward · 08-26-2010, 09:17 PM

In my experience, formulas from PDFs created from word (with equation editor) and with Latex display correctly. HAven't had a problem yet. Though of course it's bound to happen at some point.

Mr. Blue Tape · 08-26-2010, 10:10 PM

wow. Thanks for the pictures. They look surprisingly good. I'm thinking about the DX version, but I'd have to convince the wife because of the difference in price point.

cleanskin · 08-27-2010, 04:52 AM

Hey no problem! Glad I could help. Let me know if you have any other questions about the device or would like to see any more pics of displayed items. I hear you on the price of the device. I'm still deliberating on whether I should keep it before the return window closes. For your type of usage though (reading black and white PDFs of text, such as journal articles), the device is rather useful.

08-26-2010, 07:32 PM	#1
Mr. Blue Tape Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle 3	Academic PDFs and Diagrams Hi, I'm a graduate student and I read a lot of pdf papers. I've yet to see a really good review of the pdf support in the Kindle 3. Can anybody comment on how well it displays mathematical forumla's (i.e. from LateX?). The other thing I read a lot in pdf format is articles on chess. Will small diagrams of chessboards look fine? Two examples of the types of things I want to look at: http://www.danicamckellar.com/math/percolation.pdf http://www.chesscafe.com/text/dvoretsky99.pdf

08-26-2010, 08:27 PM	#2
cleanskin Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle DX	Hey Mr. Blue Tape, I downloaded your example files onto my Kindle DX and took some photos to show you how they appear. I had to take the photos without flash with a wide aperture, so some areas of the photo are a bit soft from a narrow depth of focus. But everything on the screen is very clean and sharp. I zoomed in 200% on the column of text of the chess PDF in the second photo. The pen is beside the Kindle to show scale. The types of PDFs you would like to use appear fine on the screen. But I highly recommend you consider the DX model over the Kindle 3 as I can't imagine reading many of these documents on a smaller screen than this without a lot of zooming and panning. Click on the thumbnails to get a larger view (use the zoom button the following page to see them as 1200x800 photos): Last edited by cleanskin; 08-26-2010 at 08:42 PM.

08-27-2010, 04:52 AM	#5
cleanskin Member Posts: 16 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle DX	Hey no problem! Glad I could help. Let me know if you have any other questions about the device or would like to see any more pics of displayed items. I hear you on the price of the device. I'm still deliberating on whether I should keep it before the return window closes. For your type of usage though (reading black and white PDFs of text, such as journal articles), the device is rather useful. Last edited by cleanskin; 08-27-2010 at 05:00 AM.

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08-26-2010, 09:17 PM	#3
guiyoforward Zealot Posts: 101 Karma: 7104 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle DX Graphite	In my experience, formulas from PDFs created from word (with equation editor) and with Latex display correctly. HAven't had a problem yet. Though of course it's bound to happen at some point.

08-26-2010, 10:10 PM	#4
Mr. Blue Tape Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: Kindle 3	wow. Thanks for the pictures. They look surprisingly good. I'm thinking about the DX version, but I'd have to convince the wife because of the difference in price point.

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