Sony firmware update wish list & tech suggestions

Dahak · 07-04-2009, 10:35 AM

Well...

I've had my 505(LC) for almost two weeks now.

After using it for less than a week, my old dinosaur Rocket eBook reader feels like a bag of bricks when I pick it up. I'll have to remember to spank my friend for suggesting I get one of these... my dear Rocket is feeling a bit abandoned these days.

But what I wanted to do was find out if Sony had any kind of feature suggestions mail box that could be written to. Sending something to a general support mailbox would possibly be round-filed. Does anyone know if there is any sort of techie-related suggestion mailbox?

I've already started a wish list of things I'd like to see in an update:

Better font support.
Being able to select a font to replace the general system font from a general font folder would be nice, even if it required a system reboot to rebuild any Linux font tables. Being able to select plain, italic, bold and bold/italic typefaces would be nice, given how they only have pseudo-italics now.

It's a dedicated reading device. With its inherent flexibility, changing the default system font would go a long way toward making me a happier reader.

That should eliminate the need to embed fonts into LRF files which, as far as I have seen, is only partially supported.

Of course, fully supporting embedded fonts would be nice, too. I'd like a system font change, but I'd settle for fully supporting embedded fonts.

Also, just allowing the LRF files to reference a external fonts via CSS, as the ePub files seem to support, would work too, plus avoid the idiocy of embedding the same font in every LRF file.

Fully-justified text in ADE.
As well as switching off those page numbers and reclaiming that margin space they use.

That's really an Adobe issue, not Sony, but I figure I'd toss that in.

Better HTML support.
Both for styling CSS and for tag-handling. As an example, I use horizontal rules in my HTML source for scene breaks. While the rules do appear in the files, they do not seem to support the width attribute. Despite having width set to "200" all the rulers I've seen in my LRF files are full-width. Not liking it.

A real landscape mode.
What's with the landscape mode feature? It doesn't work as it should.

If I make a page wider in a web browser (or use landscape mode on my Rocket) the text reflows and I get more text per line.

What the PRS seems to do is bump the font up so that the same amount of text stays on the line. So, I don't get more text-per-line with the wider display, but bigger text. Orientation should not affect the size of the text. It acts like a zoom/rotate, not just a rotate.

Real-time clock.
The clock hack is a neat touch. I like it. They should make something like it an official feature. Maybe even add it as a switchable feature for the picture viewer.

Screen saver.
Speaking of picture viewer... seeing that just displaying a picture takes no power, they might consider a folder of images to randomly display as a 'screen saver.' I have the impression that Kindles have a feature like this. It shouldn't be too tough to implement. I wouldn't mind having my site logo appear on the reader when not in use.

So... while I'm whistling in the dark for any of these to happen, what else would people like to see for firmware updates (no hardware changes... that could be another thread)?

-JPB

DanielCoffey · 07-04-2009, 02:11 PM

I don't know of a specific tech contact, but I wish you luck in finding the correct person to forward this to.

The well-written post alone has definitely earned you +karma, especially when added to the font suggestion which I endorse!

dpierron · 07-06-2009, 10:25 AM

Dahak,

I second all the wishes you listed ; if only we knew someone at Sony !

Cheers,
David.

HarryT · 07-06-2009, 10:45 AM

Moved the thread, because this is not related to the LRF file format.

Dahak · 07-06-2009, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Moved the thread, because this is not related to the LRF file format.

Thanks.

All my font-related blathering was in response to my attempts to get decent LRF-formatted files and I had that stuck in my head when I posted.

-JPB

FizzyWater · 07-07-2009, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dahak

Fully-justified text in ADE.
As well as switching off those page numbers and reclaiming that margin space they use.

That's really an Adobe issue, not Sony, but I figure I'd toss that in.

How about "configurable text justification"? Some of us prefer left-justified...

HansTWN · 07-07-2009, 11:30 PM

we can always dream... I would even add something. Full support for all characters in Unicode fonts (Eastern European, Asian languages) out of the box.

07-04-2009, 10:35 AM	#1
Dahak Zealot Posts: 125 Karma: 1031580 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony PRS-505(LC) & Rocket eBook	Sony firmware update wish list & tech suggestions Well... I've had my 505(LC) for almost two weeks now. After using it for less than a week, my old dinosaur Rocket eBook reader feels like a bag of bricks when I pick it up. I'll have to remember to spank my friend for suggesting I get one of these... my dear Rocket is feeling a bit abandoned these days. But what I wanted to do was find out if Sony had any kind of feature suggestions mail box that could be written to. Sending something to a general support mailbox would possibly be round-filed. Does anyone know if there is any sort of techie-related suggestion mailbox? I've already started a wish list of things I'd like to see in an update: Better font support. Being able to select a font to replace the general system font from a general font folder would be nice, even if it required a system reboot to rebuild any Linux font tables. Being able to select plain, italic, bold and bold/italic typefaces would be nice, given how they only have pseudo-italics now. It's a dedicated reading device. With its inherent flexibility, changing the default system font would go a long way toward making me a happier reader. That should eliminate the need to embed fonts into LRF files which, as far as I have seen, is only partially supported. Of course, fully supporting embedded fonts would be nice, too. I'd like a system font change, but I'd settle for fully supporting embedded fonts. Also, just allowing the LRF files to reference a external fonts via CSS, as the ePub files seem to support, would work too, plus avoid the idiocy of embedding the same font in every LRF file. Fully-justified text in ADE. As well as switching off those page numbers and reclaiming that margin space they use. That's really an Adobe issue, not Sony, but I figure I'd toss that in. Better HTML support. Both for styling CSS and for tag-handling. As an example, I use horizontal rules in my HTML source for scene breaks. While the rules do appear in the files, they do not seem to support the width attribute. Despite having width set to "200" all the rulers I've seen in my LRF files are full-width. Not liking it. A real landscape mode. What's with the landscape mode feature? It doesn't work as it should. If I make a page wider in a web browser (or use landscape mode on my Rocket) the text reflows and I get more text per line. What the PRS seems to do is bump the font up so that the same amount of text stays on the line. So, I don't get more text-per-line with the wider display, but bigger text. Orientation should not affect the size of the text. It acts like a zoom/rotate, not just a rotate. Real-time clock. The clock hack is a neat touch. I like it. They should make something like it an official feature. Maybe even add it as a switchable feature for the picture viewer. Screen saver. Speaking of picture viewer... seeing that just displaying a picture takes no power, they might consider a folder of images to randomly display as a 'screen saver.' I have the impression that Kindles have a feature like this. It shouldn't be too tough to implement. I wouldn't mind having my site logo appear on the reader when not in use. So... while I'm whistling in the dark for any of these to happen, what else would people like to see for firmware updates (no hardware changes... that could be another thread)? -JPB

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07-04-2009, 02:11 PM	#2
DanielCoffey Connoisseur Posts: 66 Karma: 26 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Edinburgh, UK Device: Sony PRS-505	I don't know of a specific tech contact, but I wish you luck in finding the correct person to forward this to. The well-written post alone has definitely earned you +karma, especially when added to the font suggestion which I endorse!

07-06-2009, 10:25 AM	#3
dpierron calibre2opds guru Posts: 533 Karma: 8792 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Metz, France Device: iPhone, iPad, PRS-650	Dahak, I second all the wishes you listed ; if only we knew someone at Sony ! Cheers, David.

07-06-2009, 10:45 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Moved the thread, because this is not related to the LRF file format.

07-07-2009, 11:30 PM	#7
HansTWN Wizard Posts: 4,538 Karma: 264065402 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Taiwan Device: HP Touchpad, Sony Duo 13, Lumia 920, Kobo Aura HD	we can always dream... I would even add something. Full support for all characters in Unicode fonts (Eastern European, Asian languages) out of the box.

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