jetBook Firmware - Round Three

jgray · 08-10-2009, 08:14 PM

For those who were having a problem with the display of the Ectaco provided text ebooks, a new firmware is on the way. I don't know when, but I expect it will be soon.

I did not test text ebooks with the 0.33c firmware, so I don't know first hand what the problem was. However, I just tested 0.33g and the Ectaco provided text ebooks display just fine.

I also downloaded the text version of "A Study in Scarlet" from Gutenberg to test. This text file has multiple hard returns within each paragraph, to format the text for an 80 character screen. The file I downloaded was readable, but the extra hard returns made the lines break too often.

Personally, I think that this method of hard formatting the text for a particular number of characters is the wrong way to do things. The proper way is to have just one hard return at the end of each paragraph. This has been a standard way of formatting text files long before ebook devices came out.

I know that some will take issue with my opinion, especially since there are such a large quantity of badly formatted Gutenberg texts in existance. I did suggest to Ectaco that they either figure out a way to handle both formats, or provide an option to toggle Gutenberg formatting off or on. Hopefully, when the next firmware is available to the public, a suitable solution will be incorporated, so everyone is happy.

jgray · 08-10-2009, 08:16 PM

Oh, I almost forgot one thing. The rather large ebook "Terro-Human Future History Omnibus" that took several minutes to open with the 0.33c firmware is now opening in about three minutes. Still takes a while, but much better than before.

sein · 08-10-2009, 09:00 PM

Thanks for your announcement. Could you tell us what other new features or improvement the new firmware will hold? Thanks!

Kralik · 08-10-2009, 09:24 PM

Hopefully they fixed some of the other bugs?

As for Gutenberg, you can always download the book in some other format than TXT. Toggle switch makes the most sense, but restoring old behavior is probably the best.

jgray · 08-10-2009, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sein

Thanks for your announcement. Could you tell us what other new features or improvement the new firmware will hold? Thanks!

I didn't notice any new features. I've asked for a changelog, but I don't know if I'll get one.

jgray · 08-10-2009, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kralik

Hopefully they fixed some of the other bugs?

What, specifically? Tell me what you are having trouble with and I'll test it on the new firmware.

Kralik · 08-10-2009, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgray

What, specifically? Tell me what you are having trouble with and I'll test it on the new firmware.

-Justification settings not being saved (noticed in ePUB, not sure about others)
-Non-PDF books do not take up the entire screen -- there's a black area with the remnants of the text "by Author" at the bottom of the screen when reading.
-Overall sluggishness (particularly, when bringing up the menu in a book, it is visibly drawn in phases).

Dr. Drib · 08-10-2009, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kralik

Hopefully they fixed some of the other bugs?

As for Gutenberg, you can always download the book in some other format than TXT. Toggle switch makes the most sense, but restoring old behavior is probably the best.

When I downloaded TXT files from Gutenberg, I never encountered the problem with those files. It was only after updating the firmware that I had a problem with the TXT files already on the Reader.

Again, for me, the Gutenberg files have, so far, worked fine. I imagine there needs to be further testing on this by we jetBook owners.

Don

Dr. Drib · 08-10-2009, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kralik

-Justification settings not being saved (noticed in ePUB, not sure about others)
-Non-PDF books do not take up the entire screen -- there's a black area with the remnants of the text "by Author" at the bottom of the screen when reading.
-Overall sluggishness (particularly, when bringing up the menu in a book, it is visibly drawn in phases).

I agree, it is a little more sluggish on this new Beta update.

Please see my Review for more information.

Don

Kralik · 08-10-2009, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

When I downloaded TXT files from Gutenberg, I never encountered the problem with those files. It was only after updating the firmware that I had a problem with the TXT files already on the Reader.

The apparent bug strips single line breaks from TXT. SO... it's great for Gutenberg, as they have a break after each line and two breaks between each paragraph. Not so great for normal text or the preloaded texts.

jgray · 08-10-2009, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

It was only after updating the firmware that I had a problem with the TXT files already on the Reader.

Don

As I mentioned, the 0.33g beta displays the Ectaco provided text files properly. I didn't use text files with 0.33c, so I'll take your word that something got broken.

Kralik · 08-10-2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgray

As I mentioned, the 0.33g beta displays the Ectaco provided text files properly. I didn't use text files with 0.33c, so I'll take your word that something got broken.

Had a chance to check the other bugs?

Oh, and by the way... how does one get on the jetBook beta firmware inside track?

jgray · 08-10-2009, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kralik

-Justification settings not being saved (noticed in ePUB, not sure about others)
-Non-PDF books do not take up the entire screen -- there's a black area with the remnants of the text "by Author" at the bottom of the screen when reading.
-Overall sluggishness (particularly, when bringing up the menu in a book, it is visibly drawn in phases).

Using 0.33g firmware:

I just tested changing the justification setting in the epub version of "Terro-Human..." and the setting stuck, even through a power off. It took another three minutes to load this large ebook, but hey, I did it just for you

There is a slim black border on the L/R and bottom, along with the titlebar. I don't believe I've ever seen any text at the bottom, regardless of firmware version.

As for sluggishness, it does seem a bit slower for SOME things, compared to the old firmware that didn't do epub or mobi. I don't know whether this is due to the beta nature of the firmware, or whether the CPU just can't keep up with all the new features. As I mentioned, opening a huge epub is much faster with the 0.33g firmware than 0.33c was.

Just asking - did you do both parts of the flash procedure, as well as the "reset defaults" step?

jgray · 08-10-2009, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kralik

Had a chance to check the other bugs?

See above (or below, as the case may be).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kralik

Oh, and by the way... how does one get on the jetBook beta firmware inside track?

Email Ectaco and ask. That's what I did.

Kralik · 08-10-2009, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgray

There is a slim black border on the L/R and bottom, along with the titlebar. I don't believe I've ever seen any text at the bottom, regardless of firmware version.

This may then be fixed. In 0.33c the bottom area has a large black border, maybe 10px, with part of the white 'y' from 'By author' visible. In essence, the book reader is going on top of the books list, but it doesn't take up the full screen. Can you see the 'y' on yours?

As for the full firmware reset -- yes, I did it, but I'm not the only one who has noticed the problem. So it's not just me.

08-10-2009, 08:14 PM	#1
jgray Fanatic Posts: 548 Karma: 2928497 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: Clara 2E & Sage	jetBook Firmware - Round Three For those who were having a problem with the display of the Ectaco provided text ebooks, a new firmware is on the way. I don't know when, but I expect it will be soon. I did not test text ebooks with the 0.33c firmware, so I don't know first hand what the problem was. However, I just tested 0.33g and the Ectaco provided text ebooks display just fine. I also downloaded the text version of "A Study in Scarlet" from Gutenberg to test. This text file has multiple hard returns within each paragraph, to format the text for an 80 character screen. The file I downloaded was readable, but the extra hard returns made the lines break too often. Personally, I think that this method of hard formatting the text for a particular number of characters is the wrong way to do things. The proper way is to have just one hard return at the end of each paragraph. This has been a standard way of formatting text files long before ebook devices came out. I know that some will take issue with my opinion, especially since there are such a large quantity of badly formatted Gutenberg texts in existance. I did suggest to Ectaco that they either figure out a way to handle both formats, or provide an option to toggle Gutenberg formatting off or on. Hopefully, when the next firmware is available to the public, a suitable solution will be incorporated, so everyone is happy.

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08-10-2009, 08:16 PM	#2
jgray Fanatic Posts: 548 Karma: 2928497 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: Clara 2E & Sage	Oh, I almost forgot one thing. The rather large ebook "Terro-Human Future History Omnibus" that took several minutes to open with the 0.33c firmware is now opening in about three minutes. Still takes a while, but much better than before.

08-10-2009, 09:00 PM	#3
sein Connoisseur Posts: 84 Karma: 3427 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: U.S.A. Device: Kindle, inkBook, Kobo	Thanks for your announcement. Could you tell us what other new features or improvement the new firmware will hold? Thanks!

08-10-2009, 09:24 PM	#4
Kralik Guru Posts: 609 Karma: 1013897 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Rooted NST	Hopefully they fixed some of the other bugs? As for Gutenberg, you can always download the book in some other format than TXT. Toggle switch makes the most sense, but restoring old behavior is probably the best.

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