MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Jetbook with New Formats Now at Bed Bath and Beyond

galavanter · 04-21-2009, 04:53 PM

I'm new at all of this. I started with a new Kindle 1 about 6 weeks ago. $225.00 got me into ebooks thanks to CL. I don't know squat about the different formats, conversions, etc.

But I did manage to dl the right stuff, use terminal on my Mac, get my PID, and convert an azw to mobipocket. Every damn google search seems to point back here, and every thread has been redacted, but enough hours allowed me to read between the lines. It's all about the path Mac users. Open HD, click your home folder, and put the files, books there. THEN run the apps in terminal.

The new software version is v0.30e, patch v12. The fonts are the same, Arial and Verdana, one more than my Kindle. I have seen nothing that indicates one can add fonts. The alignment appears to be the same as well. The photo shows what I think is "Justify" alignment setting, the other option being "Align Left". Not much difference, but I prefer "Align left" as it leaves some more pleasant looking asymmetrical margins on the right. I agree that the margins (there really aren't any) should be improved. The Kindle is much nicer in this regard.

I want to point out that the above photo is blurry. Next to my Kindle 1, the jetBook text is much blacker and appears much sharper to my eye. I've read other comments suggesting the Kindle has better contrast, but this seems highly subjective to me and more related to the Kindle gray vs the jetBook light green backround. I think I prefer the gray backround of the Kindle, but I also prefer the much blacker text of the jetBook.

PDF reflow support? I had to google to hazard a guess as to what that is, and I still am not sure. I can tell you this:

I have one pdf ebook, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. If they would make it available for purchase, I would buy it. A favorite of mine.

I loaded this on my Kindle [EDIT - Make that emailed it to Amazon, and they converted it], and it read fine. I could change font size, and everything seemed to format correctly. On the jetBook, a no go. To get the full page, the font is so small it is unreadable, even to a youngsters eyes I would think, and when one zooms scroll bars appear on the side and bottom, making pleasant reading impossible. I called Ectaco and I was not offered a solution. If that is pdf reflow, the jetBook doesn't have it. Maybe someone here has a conversion process/app to suggest for me?

04-21-2009, 04:53 PM	#107
galavanter Zealot Posts: 117 Karma: 958 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: jetBook, iPod Touch, Kindle 3	I'm new at all of this. I started with a new Kindle 1 about 6 weeks ago. $225.00 got me into ebooks thanks to CL. I don't know squat about the different formats, conversions, etc. But I did manage to dl the right stuff, use terminal on my Mac, get my PID, and convert an azw to mobipocket. Every damn google search seems to point back here, and every thread has been redacted, but enough hours allowed me to read between the lines. It's all about the path Mac users. Open HD, click your home folder, and put the files, books there. THEN run the apps in terminal. The new software version is v0.30e, patch v12. The fonts are the same, Arial and Verdana, one more than my Kindle. I have seen nothing that indicates one can add fonts. The alignment appears to be the same as well. The photo shows what I think is "Justify" alignment setting, the other option being "Align Left". Not much difference, but I prefer "Align left" as it leaves some more pleasant looking asymmetrical margins on the right. I agree that the margins (there really aren't any) should be improved. The Kindle is much nicer in this regard. I want to point out that the above photo is blurry. Next to my Kindle 1, the jetBook text is much blacker and appears much sharper to my eye. I've read other comments suggesting the Kindle has better contrast, but this seems highly subjective to me and more related to the Kindle gray vs the jetBook light green backround. I think I prefer the gray backround of the Kindle, but I also prefer the much blacker text of the jetBook. PDF reflow support? I had to google to hazard a guess as to what that is, and I still am not sure. I can tell you this: I have one pdf ebook, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. If they would make it available for purchase, I would buy it. A favorite of mine. I loaded this on my Kindle [EDIT - Make that emailed it to Amazon, and they converted it], and it read fine. I could change font size, and everything seemed to format correctly. On the jetBook, a no go. To get the full page, the font is so small it is unreadable, even to a youngsters eyes I would think, and when one zooms scroll bars appear on the side and bottom, making pleasant reading impossible. I called Ectaco and I was not offered a solution. If that is pdf reflow, the jetBook doesn't have it. Maybe someone here has a conversion process/app to suggest for me? Last edited by galavanter; 04-21-2009 at 07:57 PM.