Quote:
Originally Posted by achiral
I blame Amazon and iTunes for the problems. I mean of course a customer is going to do a search for epub3 specs, find something cool they want to implement and then have a reasonable expectation that they can get what they want.
And yes--the answer we have to give these folks is different apps and devices, different code rendering. But honestly that's just covering for Amazon and iTunes. We're not talking about insanely difficult implementations here. Ebook code is after all still very simplistic. Shouldn't be hard for these companies to issue fixes for these problems. Same with Amazon. How hard would it be to make embedding fonts a painless process? Apparently pretty hard. But if they did make it simple, wouldn't they get much better products on their store and better reviews and more sales? I do realize it is too much to ask though  |
Embedded fonts? You're giving me whiplash here, lol. That's hardly hard to do. The biggie isn't the fonts; it's the licensing. Not sure I'm following what you mean about the embedded fonts, to be honest.
In terms of "covering" for Amazon and iTunes, I disagree with you. Firstly, I respect the fact that unlike Apple, which throws its customers and products under the bus every time they even sniff the opportunity to sell something new or make a penny, Amazon still supports the first Kindle it ever sold.
I have
NO problem with the aggro of making KF7 files for those people that still use them. I remember how livid I was when Apple announced that my nearly brand-new iPad--all $1600 USD of it--was going to be a doorstop, because they were coming out with a new one, with a new iOS, and mine was basically abandoned. I hadn't even had it a few months. Their blatant disrespect for their clients is pretty appalling and I am certainly not the only person to ever notice it or be burned by it.
Apple has thrown its weight around with the IDPF--that's hardly a secret--and thus all the focus on worthless crap like multimedia (which doesn't even SELL, FF*), instead of addressing things that we could actually use, for eBooks. For that, yes, I blame them.
We all know that Amazon sells devices in order to sell books; Apple sells books as an accommodation whilst selling devices. Two completely different mindsets. Sure, Apple went with ePUB, which makes all the OG nerds happy. as if that makes them purists, but they don't even bother to pretend that they follow the specs. They just do whatever the hell they want, and always have. Sure, Amazon went with MOBI, buying Mobipocket way back (and, I'd point out, unlike ePUB format, a format that was relatively easy and simple for DIYers....), but today you can upload an ePUB3 and make a mobi, so people should get off that hobbyhorse.
They're major corporations, and they'll do what they do. We--you and I--we're not even fleas on the ass of the elephant. Hell, if anything, we're fleas on the ass of flies on the ass of elephants. All we can do is ride it while it's walking, and hope that they don't wall the garden so much that we can't get in.
Hitch