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vxf · 09-30-2011, 02:40 PM

I have been toying with this software a bit longer. I am giving up now, because it seems fundamentally broken. Some of the problems I was not able to solve:

1) Frequent freezes. There does not seem to be a trigger. It freezes when adding books, when loading, when closing, when plugging in a device or when removing it. It froze when I was renaming books. It froze when adding books to collections. It just freezes. I tried it on two different PCs, both running Windows 7, both with the same, frequent, problems.

2) I can't get it to see external memory in my PRS900 or PRS950. If I plug in anything with an SD card or a memory stick, it freezes.

3) It seems to have tons of bugs related to periodical classification. I have imported the same files (old Wall Street Journal issues) multiple times - sometimes they all go under 'books', sometimes they all go under 'periodicals', sometimes they get split. I can't figure it out. By adding/removing/adding again I was able to eventually have most of the stuff show up under 'periodicals'. But some of the magazines I purchased are still under the wrong tab - and I have not been able to fix this. Note that the same files are correctly classified as 'periodicals' under the old software.

4) Some files just won't import. Again, stuff purchased through SONY's own store and that works perfectly with the old software. No error message, no feedback. The file simply does not appear in the library.

5) You can't display handwritten notes on screen like with the old software. Tools to export the same are broken. Old highlights/bookmarks are often missing as well.

6) Page sync works, but it's clumsy (it will sync progress only once you open the file on your pc and accept the sync option in a dialogue box). But I was not able to sync pages/highlights/annotations between my PRS950 and PRS350 by using the PC as a bridge.

7) Some of the purchased content, you just can't delete.

7) A frozen SYNC has forced already 4 factory resets by temporarily bricking my device.

The good? A slightly smarter file management system (the database is one single file now). The sync of page/notes/annotations works only partially (not across multiple devices), but it would be a nice feature - if it worked. The reading pane is much nicer, if you read on screen. You can import files by just dragging them from your desktop into SONY's software.

Overall, SONY has truly outdone itself and surprised me by managing the impossible - a piece of software that sucks even worse than the previous 'Reader Library'. This has the same problems, plus many new bugs.

I have stuck with SONY's software (instead of Calibre) because of its ability to handle annotations. But that is utterly broken, now, so I think I will just give up, uninstall this garbage and either revert to the old Reader Library (which I have still installed - no need to uninstall and no overwriting with the new software) or switch over to Calibre and give up on annotations...

09-30-2011, 02:40 PM	#59
vxf Guru Posts: 944 Karma: 1490348 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Norman, OK Device: Sony PRS 350, 900, 950; Kindles (ALL of them!); Kobo Aura One	I have been toying with this software a bit longer. I am giving up now, because it seems fundamentally broken. Some of the problems I was not able to solve: 1) Frequent freezes. There does not seem to be a trigger. It freezes when adding books, when loading, when closing, when plugging in a device or when removing it. It froze when I was renaming books. It froze when adding books to collections. It just freezes. I tried it on two different PCs, both running Windows 7, both with the same, frequent, problems. 2) I can't get it to see external memory in my PRS900 or PRS950. If I plug in anything with an SD card or a memory stick, it freezes. 3) It seems to have tons of bugs related to periodical classification. I have imported the same files (old Wall Street Journal issues) multiple times - sometimes they all go under 'books', sometimes they all go under 'periodicals', sometimes they get split. I can't figure it out. By adding/removing/adding again I was able to eventually have most of the stuff show up under 'periodicals'. But some of the magazines I purchased are still under the wrong tab - and I have not been able to fix this. Note that the same files are correctly classified as 'periodicals' under the old software. 4) Some files just won't import. Again, stuff purchased through SONY's own store and that works perfectly with the old software. No error message, no feedback. The file simply does not appear in the library. 5) You can't display handwritten notes on screen like with the old software. Tools to export the same are broken. Old highlights/bookmarks are often missing as well. 6) Page sync works, but it's clumsy (it will sync progress only once you open the file on your pc and accept the sync option in a dialogue box). But I was not able to sync pages/highlights/annotations between my PRS950 and PRS350 by using the PC as a bridge. 7) Some of the purchased content, you just can't delete. 7) A frozen SYNC has forced already 4 factory resets by temporarily bricking my device. The good? A slightly smarter file management system (the database is one single file now). The sync of page/notes/annotations works only partially (not across multiple devices), but it would be a nice feature - if it worked. The reading pane is much nicer, if you read on screen. You can import files by just dragging them from your desktop into SONY's software. Overall, SONY has truly outdone itself and surprised me by managing the impossible - a piece of software that sucks even worse than the previous 'Reader Library'. This has the same problems, plus many new bugs. I have stuck with SONY's software (instead of Calibre) because of its ability to handle annotations. But that is utterly broken, now, so I think I will just give up, uninstall this garbage and either revert to the old Reader Library (which I have still installed - no need to uninstall and no overwriting with the new software) or switch over to Calibre and give up on annotations...