Hi Skillachie - thanks for replying!
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Originally Posted by skillachie
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You are looking at public or organizational libraries. The libraries section is not related to your personal bookshelf. You can upload your own files without even having to create an account by going to the bookshelf and selecting the upload icon.
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Ah, I found it. Honestly it wasn't the easiest (most intuitive) to find. Now that you pointed it out though I will be able to find it later. It may be that I'm used to referring to 'libraries' when referencing collections of books as that is what all the other software programs I've used over the previous 10+ years has called them...and even your webpage talks about the personal digital libraries one can access... so please excuse the confusion.
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Originally Posted by skillachie
We do not support OPDS but provide a Calibre plugin that can be used if you use a Calibre server
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That is a little confusing. Why would you support Calibre with a plugin, but not a standardized Open Publication Distribution System (OPDS) which Calibre uses to serve all the books an individual has in their library??
I long ago gave up plugging a wire into a computer to transfer my books. I needed to access my books from literally all over the world and Calibre's OPDS server provided that capability for me to download, upload, and edit my library from anywhere with an internet connection.
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Originally Posted by skillachie
This is an interesting take, one that is a first. We provide those options to not lock our readers in. Why should an app restrict how easily you can send your files to be used how you see fit? Other readers are happy to see that approach when compared to forcing the user to stay locked in the app.
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Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. I don't mind the ability to send a book to another app. As a matter of fact, that was the only way I could figure out how to open a couple of my books in Bookfusion. I used Marvin to download the books from my OPDS server, then I used Marvin to send the books to Bookfusion.
What I was concerned about was what Bookfusion's primary function was aimed at: a book management app, a book reading app, or an annotations syncing app. The description provided on the apple store gave me the impression that Bookfusion was trying to be a 'jack of all trades' rather than an awesome reading experience. Again, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't have an awesome reading experience while doing all those other things. It's just much more difficult to do if your focus is spread...and that's the impression I got from your description. (notice the ?? at the end of the paragraph)
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Originally Posted by skillachie
To be honest, it does not seem that you really gave the app a chance. You could have uploaded EPUBS or PDFs straight from the bookshelf but you did not for some reason. We respect publisher styles but you can customize the experience with one of the many options.
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I gave the app a chance as far as I could without being able to upload a book. It's kinda hard to give it a chance when I can't see it do its job
Now that I was able to work out a way to get books uploaded I was able to take a look at it. In general it did a much better job than I've seen in other apps in following the publisher's CSS...although I did find some errors from both books. I'm happy to let you know about them offline...The Marvin forum is probably not the correct venue for that. You say Bookfusion 'respects publisher styles' which is all well and good. However, it would be nice to know what you are respecting and what you are not. I noticed that Bookfusion was NOT respecting some of the publisher's CSS and since I was the publisher I want to see the results of my hard labor - not have an app disregard it because it thinks it knows better!
Marvin had a compromise which allowed the user to select "Publisher's Layout" if the user wanted the app to respect ALL of the publisher's CSS. Kris and I discussed the issues involved with presenting the vast majority of crap-formatted epubs on the market in as good a light as possible while still honoring the publishers formatting artistry. That settings switch was the result.
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Originally Posted by skillachie
It seems you already made up your mind and so could not actually try the app. We can only continue to build, the feedback speaks for itself but at the end of the day we won't be able to please everyone
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It also seems you already made up your mind about what I like and don't like
But no, I haven't actually made up my mind. I have been a big fan of Marvin since it's inception because it is the best reading app out there. That does not mean I do not look at other options. When I find one that exceeds Marvin, or Marvin ceases to function on my devices (which hasn't happened yet), then I will, of course, switch to something else.
I totally get that you are continuing to build...and that is a BIG PLUS. I certainly don't expect a perfect app on the first iteration. But I also am not one to shy away from stating any deficiencies I see. OPDS support and honoring publisher artistic layout when the user desires it are two big issues.
Hopefully, you don't dismiss my criticism outright??