Quote:
Originally Posted by Turtle91
It seems most of the argument here has been about font type/style with a couple "I hate backgrounds" thrown in. That seems to ignore the artistic desire of the creator. If the author wants a specific font, they need to embed that in the ePub; likewise with a background. The real issue for those people who don't like the font/background is the ability to turn it off or change it with their current reader/app.
I continue to be chagrined at how much we limit ourselves because device x or app y doesn't support a particular feature...we cater to their limits. Some of that is understandable - I wouldn't create a book that only reads properly on a holo-projected wristwatch - but I should be able to create based on current technology. There are readers/apps that DO support changing font/background. If the end user wants that ability, then it is incumbent upon them to purchase the device that supports it - not force creators to limit themselves to old devices/technology.
Device/app developers provide what the customers demand...
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I agree about choosing a device and/or software that supports the features that you want rather than trying to force a ebook format to do things that it doesn't support or doesn't support well. One of the common complaints about PDF is that it doesn't work on a small screen, but my experience is that it is fine on small screens as long as the ebook is formatted for that size.
One of the features I like about PDF is that it is the only format I've found that will appear on my screen exactly as I intend. With other formats I had issues with getting it to consistantly display a general typeface (serif, san serif, or monospace). I know from experience the frustration of trying to get a document to appear the same on two difference systems when dealing with word processing documents. PDF solves this problem.
One of the reasons I use a NookColor (NC) as my main ebook reader is that it had good PDF support out of the box, not as good as my Sony ereaders but good support. I soon found that it's PDF support could be better so I purchased better PDF ereader software and I now find that my NC is a great ereader for PDFs. Better, I recently upgraded my NC's built-in PDF reader software and the new version is great, adding many needed features.
Returning to the thread's topic, I think one of the greatest features of ebooks is that you can alter the way the ebook appears based on your own preferences, provided your ereader software supports the changes you want. Unlike with printed books, there's no way to be sure what an ebook will look like on a specific ereader. The author/releaser can include coding in the ebook to suggest the way it should look like but there's no way to force it on the readers.