Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Drib
What devices (as you list that own) don't quite work for you anymore, in terms of your disability? Here are your devices:
Iriver Story HD
Amazon Kindle 5
Amazon Kindle DX
Once that's answered, we will be more informed on where to recommend places for you to secure a more modern ebook reader.
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Iriver Story Hd works well for epubs. I can't move them between collections as I finish them, so I tend to reserve it for longer novels and for reference books. It can usually display pdfs without trouble, but I can't read some pdfs depending on the fonts and font sizes.
I tried a magnifying glass and reading glasses over my regular glasses, but I got awful migraines.
Icarus Illumina would sometimes start zooming, so I got awful migraines. And then it broke.
iPad Mini, Nuvision, and one other tablet, I couldn't see the screen, because it was too bright. I experimented with apps to reduce brightness, I experimented with a bluetooth wraparound controller to avoid touchscreen trouble, etc. but nothing worked. Each device would start at full brightness, and without the appropriate apps, and each device would start with touchpad controls only, and the controller was designed for 2 hands at once. I was able to return the iPad Mini and the other.
Amazon Kindle 5 works great for mobis. I can move stories between collections as I finish them, so I tend to use it for shorter stories and for articles. It can display *some* pdfs without trouble, but again I can't read most. Splitting collections between the Dx and K5 saves a lot of trouble with memory and disk space.
Amazon Kindle Dx works great for mobis and for *some* pdfs. But not other pdfs. Using Librerator it works for more pdfs, but doesn't let me reorganize collections. Using KOReader on it is a pain and a half.
So what are the problems with pdf?
* Some pdfs are designed with layers, and with the assumption that users can swap out layers. Neither my usual pdf software nor my e-readers are good at hiding layers. Adobe Reader and PDF Studio Viewer can hide layers, but neither are accessible with my visual issues. I can sometimes manually edit the code, but I don't want to do that too often.
* A lot of pdfs use jpeg200, jp2, or jpx compression. My usual pdf software, the Story Hd, Librerator, and KOReader can show these, but the usual Kindle software can't. K2pdfopt and Ghostscript can convert these, but K2pdfopt has to rasterize the text, so it's only ideal for scanned pdfs, and Ghostscript handles transparency differently from my usual pdf software, and Preview, and my Kindle, so it results in large gray rectangles.
* A few pdfs rely on composite images, e.g. involving small tiles. Which can make files freeze or crash. And Ghostscript can't handle these.
* In my experience, K2pdfopt can screw up paragraph detection and table detection. Same for various pdf to epub tools.
* A lot of pdfs have backgrounds or frames around each page. Occasionally they obscure text. Often they cause more trouble for pdf to epub tools, so I'd prefer to be able to display original pages.
Zoom and Pan isn't an option with my visual issues. Top/Bottom is frustrating with multi-column pdfs, but may be an option. With some troublesome pdfs, it requires a larger screen than the Story HD, but would probably work with the Kobo Libra or Kindle Oasis. Full-page display should work once we reach the size of the Kobo Forma, Likebook Mars, Nook Glowlight Plus, and so on. But prices for e-ink devices spiral out of control. So I'm also trying to see if there are accessible led or lcd devices with suitably low minimum brightness.