MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Not trying to start an uprising... but...

melchioe · 12-11-2006, 11:07 AM

My main gripes about the Connect software (including in part the Connect Store):

- those nested scroll windows within scroll windows things are a royal pain when using a smaller screen such as a tablet PC. On my larger-format 19" screen set to very high resolution, it's not as bad, but as davec67 says, the design is terrible.

- software crashes while transferring (from Connect to Reader, and from Store to Connect) about 50% of the time. While I can usually handle that without much angst (I've been using microsoft products for a long time, I'm used to it), when coupled with the next issue, it drives me nuts! If I do books in smaller chunks, I have less problems, so now I transfer only one book at a time and crash much less frequently (perhaps 10% of the time) The downside is I spend more time waiting at my keyboard, instead of doing something else while waiting.

- YOU CANNOT RE-DOWNLOAD MULTIPLE BOOKS AT ONCE FROM THE STORE!

This causes me no end of anger. When re-downloading multiple books, I must call up my list of purchased books, and individually click on them to download them. I cannot select multiple books. And then, once a book is downloaded, the software pops up a focus-stealing dialog box (meaning it pops to the front and interrupts what I was doing) that demand I acknowledge that the book has finished downloading. This is the one place I wish it did that passive acknowledgding thing - e.g. the little status icon rotating. The popup keeps me from clicking ahead and downloading the next title while the first one is in process. This is an issue for me for three main reasons: 1) When the software crashes before I've fully downloaded 10+ books from one purchase, it does not automatically re-start the download when Connect starts back up - clicky-clicky-scroll-click-scroll-click-wait-click - repeat for each book - ARRRGGHHHH!... 2) I've had to fully reset my Reader a few times and uninstall and re-install the Connect software (per directions from Sony tech support), and re-downloading the 100+ books I've already purchased from the connect store is a pain. 3) My wife and I share our library on two separate computers and readers. Initial purchase only downloads to the purchasing computer. To get it to the second computer, we must individually click on each file and impatienlty wait for that consarned dialog box to tell me the file transfer is done.

- Connect does not play well with other software. Sony tech support has come to the conclusion with me that the reason I have had to reinstall Connect and reset reader multiple times is: I start by either purchasing some books and start the download, or transfer large numbers of books to the reader at once (like the entire Tom Swift collection from Project Gutenberg). Then, since I purchased a multitasking computer for a reason, while I wait for the software to take its time to completion, I do something else (delete spam, read news, or something else that's not processor intensive). Sony tech support says I shouldn't do anything else while downloading or transferring - just let the computer sit and don't click anything else. Indeed, since I have started letting it alone while processing, I have not had any problems requiring re-install or wiping the Reader. I have continued to experience crashes, just not the drastic stuff. Oh, and I have to let it alone while importing RTF files too, like the Tom Swift stuff.

- Can't they make the time stamps consistent? I have well over 200 books on my reader. Organizing these things is a pain. Date is one of the ways I would like to use to differentiate what I have where (2 computers, 2 readers, internal and card memory for each reader) - but the Connect software PUTS IN THE CURRENT TIME

There's probably more, but as I write, I'm getting madder about the Connect software, so I'm going to stop for the time being.

12-11-2006, 11:07 AM	#15
melchioe Addicted Posts: 22 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Wisconsin Device: iPad, Nooks, PRS-505, Kindles, lots of old ones	Connect software needs work My main gripes about the Connect software (including in part the Connect Store): - those nested scroll windows within scroll windows things are a royal pain when using a smaller screen such as a tablet PC. On my larger-format 19" screen set to very high resolution, it's not as bad, but as davec67 says, the design is terrible. - software crashes while transferring (from Connect to Reader, and from Store to Connect) about 50% of the time. While I can usually handle that without much angst (I've been using microsoft products for a long time, I'm used to it), when coupled with the next issue, it drives me nuts! If I do books in smaller chunks, I have less problems, so now I transfer only one book at a time and crash much less frequently (perhaps 10% of the time) The downside is I spend more time waiting at my keyboard, instead of doing something else while waiting. - YOU CANNOT RE-DOWNLOAD MULTIPLE BOOKS AT ONCE FROM THE STORE! This causes me no end of anger. When re-downloading multiple books, I must call up my list of purchased books, and individually click on them to download them. I cannot select multiple books. And then, once a book is downloaded, the software pops up a focus-stealing dialog box (meaning it pops to the front and interrupts what I was doing) that demand I acknowledge that the book has finished downloading. This is the one place I wish it did that passive acknowledgding thing - e.g. the little status icon rotating. The popup keeps me from clicking ahead and downloading the next title while the first one is in process. This is an issue for me for three main reasons: 1) When the software crashes before I've fully downloaded 10+ books from one purchase, it does not automatically re-start the download when Connect starts back up - clicky-clicky-scroll-click-scroll-click-wait-click - repeat for each book - ARRRGGHHHH!... 2) I've had to fully reset my Reader a few times and uninstall and re-install the Connect software (per directions from Sony tech support), and re-downloading the 100+ books I've already purchased from the connect store is a pain. 3) My wife and I share our library on two separate computers and readers. Initial purchase only downloads to the purchasing computer. To get it to the second computer, we must individually click on each file and impatienlty wait for that consarned dialog box to tell me the file transfer is done. - Connect does not play well with other software. Sony tech support has come to the conclusion with me that the reason I have had to reinstall Connect and reset reader multiple times is: I start by either purchasing some books and start the download, or transfer large numbers of books to the reader at once (like the entire Tom Swift collection from Project Gutenberg). Then, since I purchased a multitasking computer for a reason, while I wait for the software to take its time to completion, I do something else (delete spam, read news, or something else that's not processor intensive). Sony tech support says I shouldn't do anything else while downloading or transferring - just let the computer sit and don't click anything else. Indeed, since I have started letting it alone while processing, I have not had any problems requiring re-install or wiping the Reader. I have continued to experience crashes, just not the drastic stuff. Oh, and I have to let it alone while importing RTF files too, like the Tom Swift stuff. - Can't they make the time stamps consistent? I have well over 200 books on my reader. Organizing these things is a pain. Date is one of the ways I would like to use to differentiate what I have where (2 computers, 2 readers, internal and card memory for each reader) - but the Connect software PUTS IN THE CURRENT TIME There's probably more, but as I write, I'm getting madder about the Connect software, so I'm going to stop for the time being.