Quote:
Originally Posted by UXstudent
Hi Quoth! Nice to hear from you!
Calibre as focus is unfortunately set in stone at this point. My hope with this project is that the results of my work would actually be of use, as such I reached out to a FOSS forum asking which programs they saw needed improvements, of which Calibre was a prime candidate.
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Even on a basic phone/tablet it's possible to install Zoom, Viber, Signal, Skype etc, and once on a phone, you can install on a laptop (MacOs, Windows, Linux). Zoom only needs one user to have an account, they can share a link.
Viber and Signal work far better than Skype now and are easy to install on phone and then authorise on a tablet or laptop (or both).
What I'm saying about Calibre is that it's essentially an interface to a database more limited than a lending library. A database like this with loads of options to do stuff to the ebooks and database is by it's nature going to have a less friendly UX and GUI than say a Wordprocessor or even a CAD system. The actual ebooks are not in the database, but imported and exported from an ideally private and local filesystem. I looked at putting electronic documents actually INSIDE an SQL database (it's possible) over 20 years ago. It's a very bad idea. Most well designed document management systems use imported private files instead. Then the database has the file locations and all the metadata for each file.
But Calibre isn't a true document management system nor a lending library system. It's a store of the ebook files, set of utilities and metadata for the ebooks, all orientated to managing the ebooks on a physical ereader.
The ereaders with the current Kobo firmware work best because once the book is imported to the ereader's database, Calibre can access the ereader's native SQLight database to update all the metadata, hence some operations need a second reconnection to a Kobo after the book is sent to the Kobo. The Android or other devices with ONLY MTP mode were the Android app imports the ebook from where Calibre copied it to are the worst. The Kindle formats have about 90% of the English speaking market, and a majority of the users use the Kindle App on iOS or Android. There is no Calibre access to the Kindle eink reader database. The Amazon Fire is really a partially crippled Android tablet with a Kindle app. It's not a real Kindle ereader.
So I'd say you are genius if you come up with anything practical to improve the Calibre UX.
Also you need for testing:
Old DX / KK2 era Kindle
Kindle PW3 or later
Kobo
Android and iOS phones & Tablets with Apple Books, Google Playbooks, Kindle App, Kobo App, and Apps such as Aldiko, Lithium, Moonreader and sideloaded/USB installed koreader (not on Playstore). Also some Android need to be mass storage, MTP and some with integrated SD card adding to storage and some with Portable Storage SD card.
Maybe a Pocketbook and Boyue Lifebook too.
All these are very different Calibre UX. Because ultimately, while you can NOW use Calibre without a gadget, use the supplied ebook viewer, the whole point of it is to send ebooks to a reader (dedicated gadget or app).
Some Android Apps work better than others for Calibre. Best are ones that DON'T import the books, or only have that as an option, and that Calibre and the App can access the exact same directory.