Popular public OPDS catalogs

[kguil]

I'm working on a new feature for Marvin and would like ask you which public OPDS catalogs you currently use. I'd like to make sure I test as many as possible.

Thanks for your help.

[Philantrop]

Here's a list:

http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/OPDS..._OPDS_Catalogs

[kguil]

That's great. Thanks a million.

[edbro]

I hope there will be an option for custom catalogs.

[kguil]

If you mean multiple catalogs with custom URLs, then yes.

[kyteflyer]

So we will be able to access our own Calibre2OPDS catalogues when we have put them online? Nice, for those using that.

For me though, since Faterson mentioned on facebook about marking the Calibre library folder for syncing with Sugarsync, and I have tried it with various cloud options, and then, all changes go everywhere at once Add a book and sync. Then you can access your stuff wherever you are, without having to use a second program to have it online. I have not yet tried it with dropbox... perhaps that might be useful to try, given Marvin's Dropbox integration..

[kguil]

Kyteflyer, I currently store my calibre library in Dropbox so I can access it anywhere.

I've had a look at SugarSync's API and it requires more work than I anticipated. I'll continue looking into SugarSync but I don't think I'll have it done for the January update.

I had asked whether anyone was interested in Google Drive as a second "cloud option" for Marvin because it has a more straightforward API (as far as I'm concerned). GD doesn't seem to interest many so I'll probably put it in the "nice to have" feature bin for now.

[Faterson]

Kyteflyer, the only reason I have my Calibre folders synchronized via SugarSync instead of Dropbox, is that I keep running out of space on Dropbox. It doesn't really matter, because I'm sure any of Dropbox, SugarSync, Box.net, etc. would handle the task equally well.

Kris, I think Kyteflyer was saying it's not really necessary to have direct SugarSync support within Marvin. It's just like you said about GD: a "nice to have" feature, but not really necessary.

The Dropbox integration in Marvin is a good feature, especially because it allows the download of multiple books at once (also based on file-name filtering), but I still prefer accessing Calibre folders directly via the SugarSync app. That's because Calibre gives every author a separate folder, but Calibre folders won't be visible in Marvin, anyway, if you put them inside Dropbox.

[kguil]

I specifically didn't want to replicate Dropbox hierarchical browsing - it has been designed to quickly access recently added books without too much fuss. I reckoned that people who wanted full DB browsing would use the native app.

The next version (January update) will support web downloading, including Calibre web server (web downloads) using an integrated web browser and custom OPDS catalogs with HTTP/HTTPS authentication.

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by kguil

I specifically didn't want to replicate Dropbox hierarchical browsing - it has been designed to quickly access recently added books without too much fuss. I reckoned that people who wanted full DB browsing would use the native app.

Exactly.

Originally Posted by kguil

The next version (January update) will support web downloading, including Calibre web server (web downloads) using an integrated web browser and custom OPDS catalogs with HTTP/HTTPS authentication.

Marvin rocks!

[kguil]

Cheers.

[kyteflyer]

OK, I've put my library in Dropbox. It synced MUCH faster than either Sugarsync (which took x4 as long) or box.net (which must be throttled for free users, because that took a whole night and still didn't properly complete before I got the willies and stopped it). Another thing was that Sugarsync didn't seem to notice changed metadata inside existing books. Dropbox did, immediately. Dropbox FTW. I'll worry about space issues later if necessary... clearly I haven't nearly as many books as Faterson, I'll never get through what I have now, before I die <grin>. I also use dropbox for a number of other applications and yet I still have 4.5GB free. I think it will be fine.

[edit] As a matter of curiosity, the 1000 book limitation... is that a Marvin limitation, or a limit that Dropbox enforced in the API? All my books exist in the dropbox... Its no big deal because open in works just as well. I'm just curious.

[kguil]

I always noticed that DB is faster than other services. I have a 25gb Skydrive account and it is glacial compared to DB.

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by kguil

I always noticed that DB is faster than other services. I have a 25gb Skydrive account and it is glacial compared to DB.

Likewise. I never use it.

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

[edit] As a matter of curiosity, the 1000 book limitation... is that a Marvin limitation, or a limit that Dropbox enforced in the API?

I think Kris mentioned in the Marvin thread it was a Dropbox limit.

As to space issues, when it comes to old books, I prefer reading them in photographed PDF editions, and those can be extremely hungry in terms of megabytes. I'd prefer to read all books in EPUB in Marvin only, but I hate modernized editions, and modern EPUB editions of old classics tend to be sloppy. My no. 1 favourite writer is probably Leo Tolstoy, and his literary output was prodigious (dozens of volumes), so the Count on his own can devour a couple of PDF gigabytes of your quota. But, nothing beats reading Anna Karenina (or should I say Анна Каренина) exactly in the same 19th century original Russian edition as it appeared to a reader who purchased it during Tolstoy's lifetime. I wish there was reliable OCR software that could convert old editions into high-quality EPUBs without too much hassle, but even the best current OCR software, which I think is FineReader, is struggling with this.