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Old 08-13-2010, 08:58 PM   #18
ChaoZ
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Posts: 94
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Toronto
Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Mini, Kobo Touch
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomsem View Post
In fairness, ebook readers have pretty wimpy CPUs, in order to avoid draining the battery. InDesign and TeX don't have to worry about such constraints. So a full-blown solution is probably not feasible on today's ereaders.

Did you know Amazon has a typography team in Cupertino, where Kindle is developed? There's a current job listing for someone to manage it. Hope they get someone good...
I don't buy this as an excuse. The Kindle has a 532mhz CPU. Quark and InDesign have been around for years (in Quark's case, decades) running on lesser processors. It doesn't require a metric ton of processing power to load in a set of rules on where text goes.

The problem is that Amazon: a) Has no such engine b) Doesn't know good typographic principles c) Doesn't deem it a priority d) A combination of all three.
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