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Originally Posted by wgrimm
Well, is rtf a "standard?"
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Depends on how you define it I suppose.
Certainly it has to be considered a standard
file type, as it's widely accepted and pretty much everyone can use it.
PDF also fits that definition, but it's fundamentally flawed as an e-reading format, because it doesn't accommodate different screen sizes (re-flow) well. But now we're getting into the question of
which standard format is better for which application.
As an aside, I can (and do!) get books as RTF files from Baen, so there's at least one place that considers it a book file format.
I submit that these tech manuals you mention, if they're anything like the ones I'm familiar with (as I expect they are) are probably very dependant on the actual layout of the text on the page. That is the diagrams need to line up with the text in a way that makes sense to the reader, etc.
That sort of thing isn't really a candidate for reflowing in the first place (even if it worked the way it sounds like it's supposed to). That is to say that it's only going to look good on a display that's as big or bigger than the native size of the doc -- most likely A4. Yes, zoom and pan would help, but it'd be a massive pain on a 6" screen. I don't think
I'd be happy with it until there's an A4 sized e-reader.
There are a lot of things that need that form factor, this is just another example.
The Sony Reader is aimed at reading text. It doesn't do diagrams and layout dependant stuff very well, mostly because that's not what it was designed to do. However, it does do what it
is designed to do remarkably well.
I'll agree that the buttons could be larger and placed differently, but there's too much variation to accommodate the full range of humanity perfectly (an uncongenial fact, but still a fact), so while it could be better, it'll never be perfect for everyone.
As to the RTF crashing Connect thing, that
is odd. I've seen a few folks comment on it, but I haven't had the issue myself. I'll also merrily jump on the Connect Software bashing wagon, that thing is really in need of overhaul.
For older non PD stuff, I see a number of possible complications. But let's set aside, for the moment, the texts that don't already exist electronically, and the publishers/copyright holders who don't want to play in the e-sandbox. There's still a matter of starting from scratch with the Store and its offerings, and only being able to do so much in a given period of time with a given set of resources.
I want those older, non-PD books too, but I also want the new ones. I want it all, but I know that it's not reasonable. I ask for it all, hoping to get as much as I can, knowing that I won't get everything.
One bright point here is that Fictionwise.com is apparently looking into a Reader compatible format, if that comes to pass, then there will suddenly be a lot more depth in what's available.
