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Piper_ · 10-24-2010, 08:19 PM

I don't think such a widespread customer complaint should be so easily dismissed with the common Kindler response of "you just need to adapt."

It isn't as if Kindle's locations are the future for everyone, unless you believe all other e-readers and formats have no future.

Locations can't be standardized, because they won't match across formats, or even between Amazon editions, and the algorithm is flawed out of the gate for the intended purposes, because it counts code as well as what the readers sees, and what the reader sees is what matters.

In terms of usability, I very rarely see complaints about other e-reader's paging systems, and those have to do with a certain type of Sony that put page numbers in the margin.

On the other hand, complaints about Kindle's locations are so common, we're exhausted with them.

A survey taken at an e-book consortium showed that maintaining page numbers was #6 of 36 feature requests for e-readers to have.

So it doesn't take a decade as a usability guru to recognize that it isn't just a matter of people on the fringe who just won't "adapt."

All that said, the real question -- and answer - is how can we meet customer's needs in a way that that can be standardized and grow with more and widespread use and more sophisticated formatting?

Not everyone has the same needs:

Some would be happy enough with a screen count that is recalculated according to font size, etc.
e.g., Page 350/735, with 1 page = 1 screen.
Others would be happy if the pages were drawn and delimited according to a standard ebook "page" size.
Page 350.3/735, with 1 page often = to more than one screen.
Others need delimited pages for citations their professors can check without access to the .azw file. I have read that at least one group requires that they match an accessible paper version for academic purposes.
Then there is the section: paragraph option, which would be most reliable, but more of a hurdle to implement.

I don't know what the ultimate solution will be. I think the section

aragraph option would be most reliable, but I expect some sort of paging option to come eventually.

My reason? Amazon put forth pilot programs in schools to get user feedback, and at the shareholder's meeting in May, Jeff Bezos said:

"The concept of a page number becomes more complex with font changes. But for academic purposes, you often have to be able to cite a page number. We provide a citation method, it's called location numbers, but unfortunately it's not a universal standard.

For academic purposes you need some way of translating location numbers to physical book page numbers."

- Jeff Bezos

To me, that sounds like they're looking for a solution in that direction.

But who knows.

10-24-2010, 08:19 PM	#11
Piper_ ~~~~~ Posts: 761 Karma: 1278391 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle 3, Sony 350	I don't think such a widespread customer complaint should be so easily dismissed with the common Kindler response of "you just need to adapt." It isn't as if Kindle's locations are the future for everyone, unless you believe all other e-readers and formats have no future. Locations can't be standardized, because they won't match across formats, or even between Amazon editions, and the algorithm is flawed out of the gate for the intended purposes, because it counts code as well as what the readers sees, and what the reader sees is what matters. In terms of usability, I very rarely see complaints about other e-reader's paging systems, and those have to do with a certain type of Sony that put page numbers in the margin. On the other hand, complaints about Kindle's locations are so common, we're exhausted with them. A survey taken at an e-book consortium showed that maintaining page numbers was #6 of 36 feature requests for e-readers to have. So it doesn't take a decade as a usability guru to recognize that it isn't just a matter of people on the fringe who just won't "adapt." All that said, the real question -- and answer - is how can we meet customer's needs in a way that that can be standardized and grow with more and widespread use and more sophisticated formatting? Not everyone has the same needs: Some would be happy enough with a screen count that is recalculated according to font size, etc. e.g., Page 350/735, with 1 page = 1 screen. Others would be happy if the pages were drawn and delimited according to a standard ebook "page" size. Page 350.3/735, with 1 page often = to more than one screen. Others need delimited pages for citations their professors can check without access to the .azw file. I have read that at least one group requires that they match an accessible paper version for academic purposes. Then there is the section: paragraph option, which would be most reliable, but more of a hurdle to implement. I don't know what the ultimate solution will be. I think the sectionaragraph option would be most reliable, but I expect some sort of paging option to come eventually. My reason? Amazon put forth pilot programs in schools to get user feedback, and at the shareholder's meeting in May, Jeff Bezos said: "The concept of a page number becomes more complex with font changes. But for academic purposes, you often have to be able to cite a page number. We provide a citation method, it's called location numbers, but unfortunately it's not a universal standard. For academic purposes you need some way of translating location numbers to physical book page numbers." - Jeff Bezos To me, that sounds like they're looking for a solution in that direction. But who knows. Last edited by Piper_; 10-24-2010 at 08:49 PM. Reason: Fixed formatting, and killed that rogue smiley in section:paragraph ;)