My Experiences with the DR1000S - Page 2

Mackx · 09-26-2009, 05:40 AM

Kent,

Thanks very much for the analysis. This was the first magazine that has this problem (although it might be unclear what page 26 is I realise now, its 26 of the document, which is named 24 in the magazine...). I think most of the pdf problems are 'due' to the open source poppler library that is used (V0.8.7 sept 2008, current version is V0.12.0). Since it was iRexs strategy to have an opensource firmware (as much as possible) and they wanted to have some level of confidence in the used library it seems logical that they chose for the 0.8.7 version and stuck to it. Since they chose to partner with Adobe several month ago, they do not want to spend effort=money on upgrading to a newer poppler release (I also would not do if it was my money). Unfortunately people using the pdf-format moved ahead creating more complex documents, which now leads to problems on the DR. (The easy work-around for the problem with the magazine was to avoid looking at page 26 and continue reading on page 27 after a reset...)

On the complexity of the document, as you might have seen there is also an on-line version, that has links to other pages. I assume that the complexity of the online version is reflected in the generated pdf. But it is a good idea to trigger the publisher asking them to also give attention to e-readers.

Lets hope that the new firmware with EPUB support also has a new pdf library from Adobe, which should get ride of the pdf problems (at least for a few years).

PS: On your remark: "or could it be that you have won the Gift Card?". I do not live in the US, so unfortunately I can not participate with the lotery.

Kent Walters · 09-27-2009, 12:14 AM

Mackx,

Yes, I checked the pdf page numbers, not the mag page numbers.

Inasmuch as this is a problem with one issue, only, I would dismiss it as an anomily; I would still contact the publisher. I would expect something like this from a labor-of-love/hobby websight, and not give it a second thought, but coming from a publisher of for sale merchandise, it looks too lazy/sloppy to be professional. But then I am of the Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS) school, and have little patience...

Though I did refer to the gift card tongue-in-cheek, I meant to suggest that page 26 contained the ‘bug’ the winner would find. I expect that it’s, like, a $5 card, or they would have said, “Win a $1000 gift card...” Myself, I wouldn’t spend the time looking...

If you are interested in boning up on PDF, go to:
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/
And
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/pdf/pdf_reference.html
and especially:
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/...32000_2008.pdf
(This is Adobe’s free copy of the doc that you would have to buy from the ISO.)
And, even if you don’t use a Mac, look in the Mac OS X developer docs (included on the OS X install disk) or check here for items of interest:
http://developer.apple.com/mac/libra...ion/index.html
(and search for ‘pdf’)
Lots of info here, from whatever angle you might look at a PDF--creation, hardware, software, graphics, text, and etc..

Have fun, Mackx, and keep up the Good Work!

Kent Walters

Mackx · 09-27-2009, 02:44 PM

Thanks very much for all the info.

Jürgen Hubert · 09-28-2009, 12:18 AM

Note: Those who want to test the "Eclipse Phase" PDF mentioned earlier which is causing some problems can download it legally from .torrent sites. The authors put the entire document under a Creative Commons license and uploaded it to such sites themselves.

09-26-2009, 05:40 AM	#16
Mackx Guru Posts: 999 Karma: 19985 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Netherlands Device: iRex DR1000S	Kent, Thanks very much for the analysis. This was the first magazine that has this problem (although it might be unclear what page 26 is I realise now, its 26 of the document, which is named 24 in the magazine...). I think most of the pdf problems are 'due' to the open source poppler library that is used (V0.8.7 sept 2008, current version is V0.12.0). Since it was iRexs strategy to have an opensource firmware (as much as possible) and they wanted to have some level of confidence in the used library it seems logical that they chose for the 0.8.7 version and stuck to it. Since they chose to partner with Adobe several month ago, they do not want to spend effort=money on upgrading to a newer poppler release (I also would not do if it was my money). Unfortunately people using the pdf-format moved ahead creating more complex documents, which now leads to problems on the DR. (The easy work-around for the problem with the magazine was to avoid looking at page 26 and continue reading on page 27 after a reset...) On the complexity of the document, as you might have seen there is also an on-line version, that has links to other pages. I assume that the complexity of the online version is reflected in the generated pdf. But it is a good idea to trigger the publisher asking them to also give attention to e-readers. Lets hope that the new firmware with EPUB support also has a new pdf library from Adobe, which should get ride of the pdf problems (at least for a few years). PS: On your remark: "or could it be that you have won the Gift Card?". I do not live in the US, so unfortunately I can not participate with the lotery. Last edited by Mackx; 09-26-2009 at 08:22 AM.

09-27-2009, 12:14 AM	#17
Kent Walters Connoisseur Posts: 79 Karma: 92 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Northern California, USA Device: iRex DR1000S, Astak EZreader (Hanlin V3)	More PDF stuff Mackx, Yes, I checked the pdf page numbers, not the mag page numbers. Inasmuch as this is a problem with one issue, only, I would dismiss it as an anomily; I would still contact the publisher. I would expect something like this from a labor-of-love/hobby websight, and not give it a second thought, but coming from a publisher of for sale merchandise, it looks too lazy/sloppy to be professional. But then I am of the Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS) school, and have little patience... Though I did refer to the gift card tongue-in-cheek, I meant to suggest that page 26 contained the ‘bug’ the winner would find. I expect that it’s, like, a $5 card, or they would have said, “Win a $1000 gift card...” Myself, I wouldn’t spend the time looking... If you are interested in boning up on PDF, go to: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/ And http://www.adobe.com/devnet/pdf/pdf_reference.html and especially: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/...32000_2008.pdf (This is Adobe’s free copy of the doc that you would have to buy from the ISO.) And, even if you don’t use a Mac, look in the Mac OS X developer docs (included on the OS X install disk) or check here for items of interest: http://developer.apple.com/mac/libra...ion/index.html (and search for ‘pdf’) Lots of info here, from whatever angle you might look at a PDF--creation, hardware, software, graphics, text, and etc.. Have fun, Mackx, and keep up the Good Work! Kent Walters

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09-27-2009, 02:44 PM	#18
Mackx Guru Posts: 999 Karma: 19985 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Netherlands Device: iRex DR1000S	Thanks very much for all the info.

09-28-2009, 12:18 AM	#19
Jürgen Hubert Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 548 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: iRex 1000S	Note: Those who want to test the "Eclipse Phase" PDF mentioned earlier which is causing some problems can download it legally from .torrent sites. The authors put the entire document under a Creative Commons license and uploaded it to such sites themselves.

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