Quote:
Originally Posted by tomsem
There are a lot of things they can correct:
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Oh, no doubt about that.
Again, MS Reader works on 3-4 in screens and allows end-user font-sizing. But the first thing is it is true font-sizing, not zoom factors. This allows their kerning algorithms and font hints a chance to play out. You can do a fair amount of font up-sizing and not get rivers of white. Just load up MSReader on PC and check it out.
The thing to keep in mind with MS Reader is that the folks that did it at MS came from a typography background (not a cellphone background) and their intent was readability above all since they were working mostly with tiny QVGA screens.
One of the things Kindle and *other* readers need to copy is the way MS reader handles graphics: it has no size restrictions. What it does is automatically scale the graphics to fit the screen and then you can zoom in and pan to your heart's content. I've created LIT files with massive images (maps, on occasion) that take up most of a 1200x1600 portrait monitor and display fine on PDAs and cellphones.
It's early in the evolution of ebook readers, I know, but there is way too much focus on hardware and nowhere near enough on software.
My Kindle at least has the virtue of stability, which my first eink reader didn't, but they need to pay more attention to font support and get better rendering algorithms.
I know Amazon has a phobia about licensing stuff and paying royalties but at some point they need to stop trying to reinvent the wheel. Cough up some dough!
And, by god, let us read with something other than Caecillia!
