Calibre2opds and a new dropbox alternative

[ki5ck]

This device is advertising itself as a new Dropbox private alternative. Anyone have any idea if it will work the same as Dropbox for an OPDS catalog server?

http://www.filetransporter.com/why-transporter/

[itimpi]

Originally Posted by ki5ck

This device is advertising itself as a new Dropbox private alternative. Anyone have any idea if it will work the same as Dropbox for an OPDS catalog server?

http://www.filetransporter.com/why-transporter/

To be hones I have no idea. It would be nice to know the answer. I had seen some mentions of this device in news items, but no indications of how good it actually is.

If it does work, then it is a shame that only wired Ethernet is built-in, as that would mean you need additional hardware to sync with phone and tablets. I would be much more interested if it came with built-in WiFi.

The device I am now using for when 'on-the-move' is an Apotop Memory Card Readers. So far I have only used it for playing video files which works painlessly. It is not mentioned in the documentation but this device also has built-in Samba support so that it can expose files as network shares. I must try it with a Calibre library and Calibre2opds catalog on a SD Card/USB Drive. Off-hand I cannot see why it would not work but I should test it to find out for sure.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by itimpi

If it does work, then it is a shame that only wired Ethernet is built-in, as that would mean you need additional hardware to sync with phone and tablets. I would be much more interested if it came with built-in WiFi.

Other than a wireless router, which you plug it into, what other hardware would you need?

[itimpi]

Originally Posted by DoctorOhh

Other than a wireless router, which you plug it into, what other hardware would you need?

Yes - but if on the move that means you need to carry a wireless router around! Agreed these can be very small (e.g. this ), but it would have been better if that was built-in functionality.

The Apotop device I mentioned earlier can also function as a router so it may be a better alternative as it also support SD cards and USB drives.

The potential advantage I see of the Transporter is that it looks like it can emulate may of the popular cloud sync services and ths work with existing clients. Not sure if this is really true or I am reading something into its description that is not actually there.

[itimpi]

Just to confirm, as I expected, I was able to run a Calibre2Opds catalog and associated library via a USB drive plugged into my Apotop WiFi Reader that I mentioned earlier.

I was able to run both the HTML version of the catalog, and also the OPDS version via Marvin on my iPad. Something I need to remember as an easy way of taking my library with me when on the move and download books on demand to any Wifi enabled device.

In fact since the ApoTop also has a LAN port I can also do it via Wired LAN when at home. I must see what performance is like if I run Calibre2Opds to generate a new library and catalog over the LAN directly to the USB stick I have plugged into the ApoTop.

For me this means that the Transformer mentioned earlier is probably not what I want as the ApoTop already does sufficient at a fraction of the price (£26 vs £89+WiFi access point cost).

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by itimpi

Yes - but if on the move that means you need to carry a wireless router around!

Why? The whole point of the personal cloud is to hook it up and be able to access it from anywhere. Why would you even think of toting it around?

Thanks for the info on Apotop.

[At_Libitum]

I'm not even sure about the added value over a regular cloud service...

It doesn't seem much different from any other type of shared storage, and to be able to access it from outside means you need to get a DNS registration so your monthly fees just go someplace else...

[itimpi]

Originally Posted by At_Libitum

I'm not even sure about the added value over a regular cloud service...

i think the whole idea is to get TB of cloud storage without any monthly fees. Cloud services only give limited storage space unless you pay significant monthly fees.

It doesn't seem much different from any other type of shared storage, and to be able to access it from outside means you need to get a DNS registration so your monthly fees just go someplace else...

it is easy enough to get basic DNS redirection for free.