Quote:
Originally Posted by charmian
I think it's difficult for us to understand what you mean by open source, given that all of the ereaders are using an operating system specific to their device, which I assume aren't legally open source even if they are based on Linux or Android. By open source do you mean that the code of the operating system is under GPL, or that they release their source?
What do you define as "making the effort" and which ereaders pass this standard? I think you would get more helpful responses if you were very specific on this point. You seem to be saying the Kobo is acceptable on this point, but the Nook is not? Why?
Re: the course readings. It REALLY depends on the format of the readings, and how much tolerance you have for reading PDFs sideways or zooming in. If the readings are in HTML form, there should be no problem.
But, assuming they are PDFs, if your reader can do landscape mode, reading PDFs formatted for a normal size page is......tolerable, but not really pleasant. What I would do is look for videos on youtube of the reader you're interested in displaying PDFs, and see what you think about the performance. You can also try reflowing PDFs, but the results are very mixed.
Based on what you're saying, you had might as well get the Kobo touch. If you are going to be reading PDFs, I would not get Nook STR because it doesn't allow you to do landscape mode for PDFs. Bookeen is out of your price range. All the Pocketbooks except for the 360 (the 5" model) probably are as well.
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To be honest, I am not really sure how th Kobo deals with DRM in their store. I'm finding that hard to get a solid answer on as I'm researching.
If their store is mostly DRM, I suppose that puts it on the same footing as the Nook, which is on better footing to me than the Kindle.
What I mean is that for the Kindle, they want you to use an uncommon file format with DRM for the specific reason that they want to lock you into their device only, and they want to have control over your content. It's basically the same thing Apple tries to do (and to an increasing extent, Windows as well).
I don't want that. It may not be possible to escape that entirely but I want to get as close as I can.
Open-source in this context can mean a lot of things.
1. Open-source firmware. I can't seem to find any e-book out there that comes with this as native, though I have looked at OpenInkpot.
2. Open-source in terms of accepting file formats (as opposed to walled garden). Kindle, for example, is not open-source in this sense - it explicitly tries to prevent you from reading the most common e-book file format.
3. Open-source in terms of allowing the publisher/author to decide whether to DRM their content. Kindle, B&N, and Kobo do allow this. Sony and Apple do not, last I heard - they will force you into DRM before you can sell through them.
I consider #2 and #3 particularly unlikable. This is why I'd rather have a Windows computer than a Mac, if I had to pick.
But I'd like an e-reader that does as many of these as possible. If there is an e-reader whose personal bookstore is completely DRM-free, that would tilt me very significantly in their direction.
But open-source format reading and allowing creators to choose how to sell their work is the most important to me, and I don't want something that prohibits either of those things. If I have to compromise on #3, then that's how it's gotta be.