MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Sony Reader questions answered by Sony Reader Team

NatCh · 08-24-2006, 06:20 PM

Ah, now I see what you're talking about -- the way I read that is "if you have MS Word, and you use the Connect Software to put files on your PRS-500, the Connect Software can use MS Word to convert Word files to RTF before loading them onto the Reader, and this will be transparent to the user. But if you don't have MS Word, you'll have to convert your Word files to RTF yourself."

That interpretation fits with the other indications I've seen on the subject, and with question number one on the list (from right before the part you referenced):

Q) What File formats are supported natively and can be put directly on a Memory Stick or SD memory card?
A) With the Sony Reader you can take a file from your PC to an SD or Memory Stick™ media card and read on the Sony Reader the following file types:

1. TXT
2. RTF
3. PDF (Unencrypted)
4. BBeB (Encrypted and Unencrypted)
5. JPEG
6. GIF
7. BMP
8. PNG
9. MP3 (Unencrypted)
10. AAC (Unencrypted)

The recommendation that you use the Connect software to load files has to do with taking advantage of some sort of pre-rendering function, not with checking up on you to see if you have a right to have a given file type.

That being said, I do get what youre saying, and agree with you completely that the Connect Software must look to see if you have MSWord -- otherwise it wouldn't know whether or not you had Word available as a resource for it to use to convert Word files to RTF.

Does it also take a full system inventory of all the software you have installed (and maybe report it back to a darkened office somewhere in Tokyo)? It could, and we very well might have a hard time even noticing if it did.

On the other hand, I'm hoping that they learned something from the "root-kit debacle" -- Sony is under U.S. Federal investigation for that, they're facing a number of civil suits, they pulled the offending CD's and it was the Entertainment division that did it in the first place (the divisions are, by all accounts, pretty insular). I think it'd be too stupid for even a big corp like Sony to (exactly) repeat that error. They could always try something else, of course.

I'm not claiming to know what they will or won't do, you understand, just sharing my reasoning on the matter, so salt to taste.

Remember, I have been accused of being an optomist.

08-24-2006, 06:20 PM	#71
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Ah, now I see what you're talking about -- the way I read that is "if you have MS Word, and you use the Connect Software to put files on your PRS-500, the Connect Software can use MS Word to convert Word files to RTF before loading them onto the Reader, and this will be transparent to the user. But if you don't have MS Word, you'll have to convert your Word files to RTF yourself." That interpretation fits with the other indications I've seen on the subject, and with question number one on the list (from right before the part you referenced): Q) What File formats are supported natively and can be put directly on a Memory Stick or SD memory card? A) With the Sony Reader you can take a file from your PC to an SD or Memory Stick™ media card and read on the Sony Reader the following file types: 1. TXT 2. RTF 3. PDF (Unencrypted) 4. BBeB (Encrypted and Unencrypted) 5. JPEG 6. GIF 7. BMP 8. PNG 9. MP3 (Unencrypted) 10. AAC (Unencrypted) The recommendation that you use the Connect software to load files has to do with taking advantage of some sort of pre-rendering function, not with checking up on you to see if you have a right to have a given file type. That being said, I do get what youre saying, and agree with you completely that the Connect Software must look to see if you have MSWord -- otherwise it wouldn't know whether or not you had Word available as a resource for it to use to convert Word files to RTF. Does it also take a full system inventory of all the software you have installed (and maybe report it back to a darkened office somewhere in Tokyo)? It could, and we very well might have a hard time even noticing if it did. On the other hand, I'm hoping that they learned something from the "root-kit debacle" -- Sony is under U.S. Federal investigation for that, they're facing a number of civil suits, they pulled the offending CD's and it was the Entertainment division that did it in the first place (the divisions are, by all accounts, pretty insular). I think it'd be too stupid for even a big corp like Sony to (exactly) repeat that error. They could always try something else, of course. I'm not claiming to know what they will or won't do, you understand, just sharing my reasoning on the matter, so salt to taste. Remember, I have been accused of being an optomist.