Adobe has new hope for e-books with Adobe Digital Editions - Page 2

Alexander Turcic · 10-24-2006, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by da_jane

... from the major publishers that were given as a "free tryout" had resizable text making the books virtually unreadable. The eye strain would kill you.

OK, jane, try the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes book (from here). While you read it, try resizing the fonts. Or the window dimensions.

Laurens · 10-24-2006, 10:59 AM

For reflowable books, try the samples that say "XHTML ebook".

I think it's a great concept and application. Let's hope it gets ported to the Sony Reader.

Alexander Turcic · 10-24-2006, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radleyp

Alex, I fail to understand your enthusiasm. Reading ebooks on a computer is something no one I know who reads ebooks wants to do. This would be significant if the reader were aimed at a handheld: as it is, the Adobe Reader for handhelds is simply the worst reader there is, and it is that reader that Adobe should be attempting to improve.

Radleyp, you've hit the nail on its head! I believe no matter how hard Adobe tries to improve their Adobe Reader for handhelds and/or to make the PDF format more "mobile-friendly", they'll continue to fail. PDF was not made for mobile devices, and Adobe has finally acknowledged that. This is why I am enthusiastic. The company who has tried so hard over the past ten years to promote PDF as the e-document standard, a standard that works well for some things but definitely not for mobile devices and reflowable content, is suddenly shifting gears. To me this is definitely good news for all e-book fans.

Alexander Turcic · 10-24-2006, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurens

For reflowable books, try the samples that say "XHTML ebook".

I think it's a great concept and application. Let's hope it gets ported to the Sony Reader.

Not that I know anything for sure, but from what I've heard, it reasonable that a future firmware upgrade for the Sony will embed this technology. In fact, the Sony is already using the same PDF engine that is used in Digital Editions.

da_jane · 10-24-2006, 11:14 AM

okay - but this only works if the publishers comply with these output methods because the samples that I downloaded don't allow the resize of text.

TadW · 10-24-2006, 11:17 AM

Jane, think of it as two different e-book formats.

Most of the samples are in PDF. But a few are in OEB (which stands for OEBPS or Open eBook Publication Structure).

You are right in that publishers need to convert their books to OEB or Digital Editions is going to fail.

igorsk · 10-24-2006, 11:20 AM

Here's the book list in readable format

radleyp · 10-24-2006, 12:09 PM

Alex, if ,as you say, the Adobe reader cannot be ported to handhelds, and what Adobe is now doing is to make their reader more like other readers, who needs it? There are already numerous good readers - both for desktops and handhelds - out there, and I fail to see what Adobe can add, at least on the handheld side. Incidentally, I know no one outside of the academic world (I used to be one myself, but before there were decent handhelds) who reads entire books on desktops and laptops. Research is quite doable on a desktop, and you can read law cases on a desktop screen, but reading more than 50 pages is an unpleasant chore.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 10-24-2006, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radleyp

...Research is quite doable on a desktop, and you can read law cases on a desktop screen, but reading more than 50 pages is an unpleasant chore.

For me, reading 50 pages of reference books or textbooks in ANY medium is a chore...

But seriously, folks, I think the advantage here is simply that it's Adobe, a major player, and if they create an e-book standard (and assuming they do it right), they have the weight and the name to get people and organizations behind it... something that most of the present e-book format providers can't say. (It puts them equal with Microsoft, but at least Adobe has better street cred.) If the result is fewer formats, and less trouble finding an e-book in the format you want, I'm down with that.

Combined with a reader from a major player like Sony, they could be an effective combination. And if it's better than PDF for handhelds/smartphones, so much the better. (I'll have to look into converting to the new standard myself!)

NatCh · 10-24-2006, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TadW

You are right in that publishers need to convert their books to OEB or Digital Editions is going to fail.

And consider that the pubs conversion costs will drop if they only have a single format to convert to -- they ought to love that.

radleyp · 10-24-2006, 01:37 PM

Steve, I applaud your optimism but I do not share it. Adobe has been around a long time, and its reader formatting remain its own exclusive thing. If Microsoft can't get a standard set, why do you think Adobe can? There are all kinds of major publishers involved in this, and Adobe is no Random House or Axel Springer. It's going to take a lot more than Adobe to get something like this done.

da_jane · 10-24-2006, 02:11 PM

So, in order for digital editions to work, the publisher has to offer the Adobe OEB format in addition to PDF, Mobipocket, Ereader and MS Lit. Then you have to have a reading device: laptop, handheld, dedicated ereader than can read the OEB format. Right? This sounds more confusing than simplifying. Doesn't adding still another format feed the "DRM Tower of eBabel" that Dave Rothman likes to talk about?

I don't get why this is better than say. . . Mobipocket or Ereader which allow for a) reading on the laptop or b) handheld reading in addition to font resizing and text flow already.

As for reading on the laptop, I must concur with radleyp that no one likes reading on the laptop. In fact, everyone that posts at DearAuthor and elsewhere about how they don't like e-reading equates e-reading to laptop reading. Laptop or desktop reading is not going to capture new readers.

It's the portable handheld device that will revolutionize reading, if anything will.

yvanleterrible · 10-24-2006, 03:49 PM

When I first tried it, it reminded me of microsoft reader, but it quickly changed when I noticed that color images were so fast. I put my entire woodworking machinery catalog collection in it. It is many times faster than Acrobat. I guess I'll use it instead and set it as default for PDFs.

mariodrss · 10-24-2006, 07:08 PM

I'm waiting for a HPC/PPC version to equip my new (used) Sigmarion!

tcv · 10-24-2006, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

now, we need this for the Iliad...^^

I'm not going to read books on my desktop...ever!

I couldn't read them on a desktop either.

Now my MacBook? Or another laptop. Possible. Those clear view LCD screens really do help.

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10-24-2006, 10:59 AM	#17
Laurens Jah Blessed Posts: 1,295 Karma: 1373 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: The Netherlands Device: iPod Touch	For reflowable books, try the samples that say "XHTML ebook". I think it's a great concept and application. Let's hope it gets ported to the Sony Reader.

10-24-2006, 11:14 AM	#20
da_jane Evangelist Posts: 405 Karma: 692 Join Date: Sep 2006 Device: Samsung Galaxy Note 3 \| Kindle Paperwhite \| iPad Mini	okay - but this only works if the publishers comply with these output methods because the samples that I downloaded don't allow the resize of text.

10-24-2006, 11:17 AM	#21
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	Jane, think of it as two different e-book formats. Most of the samples are in PDF. But a few are in OEB (which stands for OEBPS or Open eBook Publication Structure). You are right in that publishers need to convert their books to OEB or Digital Editions is going to fail.

10-24-2006, 11:20 AM	#22
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	Here's the book list in readable format

10-24-2006, 12:09 PM	#23
radleyp Evangelist Posts: 499 Karma: 20623 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Salem & NYC, NY Device: Kindle Global, iphone4, ipad	Alex, if ,as you say, the Adobe reader cannot be ported to handhelds, and what Adobe is now doing is to make their reader more like other readers, who needs it? There are already numerous good readers - both for desktops and handhelds - out there, and I fail to see what Adobe can add, at least on the handheld side. Incidentally, I know no one outside of the academic world (I used to be one myself, but before there were decent handhelds) who reads entire books on desktops and laptops. Research is quite doable on a desktop, and you can read law cases on a desktop screen, but reading more than 50 pages is an unpleasant chore.

10-24-2006, 01:37 PM	#26
radleyp Evangelist Posts: 499 Karma: 20623 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Salem & NYC, NY Device: Kindle Global, iphone4, ipad	Steve, I applaud your optimism but I do not share it. Adobe has been around a long time, and its reader formatting remain its own exclusive thing. If Microsoft can't get a standard set, why do you think Adobe can? There are all kinds of major publishers involved in this, and Adobe is no Random House or Axel Springer. It's going to take a lot more than Adobe to get something like this done.

10-24-2006, 02:11 PM	#27
da_jane Evangelist Posts: 405 Karma: 692 Join Date: Sep 2006 Device: Samsung Galaxy Note 3 \| Kindle Paperwhite \| iPad Mini	So, in order for digital editions to work, the publisher has to offer the Adobe OEB format in addition to PDF, Mobipocket, Ereader and MS Lit. Then you have to have a reading device: laptop, handheld, dedicated ereader than can read the OEB format. Right? This sounds more confusing than simplifying. Doesn't adding still another format feed the "DRM Tower of eBabel" that Dave Rothman likes to talk about? I don't get why this is better than say. . . Mobipocket or Ereader which allow for a) reading on the laptop or b) handheld reading in addition to font resizing and text flow already. As for reading on the laptop, I must concur with radleyp that no one likes reading on the laptop. In fact, everyone that posts at DearAuthor and elsewhere about how they don't like e-reading equates e-reading to laptop reading. Laptop or desktop reading is not going to capture new readers. It's the portable handheld device that will revolutionize reading, if anything will.

10-24-2006, 03:49 PM	#28
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	When I first tried it, it reminded me of microsoft reader, but it quickly changed when I noticed that color images were so fast. I put my entire woodworking machinery catalog collection in it. It is many times faster than Acrobat. I guess I'll use it instead and set it as default for PDFs.

10-24-2006, 07:08 PM	#29
mariodrss Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2006 Device: NTT DoCoMo Sigmarion III	I'm waiting for a HPC/PPC version to equip my new (used) Sigmarion!

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