Thread: which format will win?
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Old 02-20-2010, 07:36 PM   #49
delphidb96
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Quote:
Originally Posted by frabjous View Post
Bill, again, please separate the format from the DRM. DRM sucks. We all know that. But none of that will affect the viability of the ePub format generally.



What do you mean? PDFs are in general much more readable than ePubs are. It's important to have good typography mainly because bad typgraphy detracts from readability -- I find it very distracting trying to read something in ADE, for example, which makes even well made ePubs look atrocious.

PDF only has a bad reputation in the ebook crowd because most PDFs currently in existence were made for A4 or letter sized paper, which doesn't fit on their ebook reader. Of course, a file not made with ereading in mind isn't going to good for ereading. But that's not a problem with the format. PDFs actually made to be ebooks, formatted for device screens, are awesome.

No, they're not as portable, which is why I hope in the future ePub renderers get better typography.
Design a PDF-formatted ebook that I can download and read on a 240x240 pixel mono-LCD display, a 640x480 3.5" color-LCD display, a 600x800 6" grayscale e-ink display and a 21" flat-panel monitor at 1650X1050 pixels - AND have it be an enjoyable experience (all as a single file - no cheating by forcing me to download multiple files, nor by choosing a single font size that displays HUGE on the 21" and microscopic on the 240x240 display) and I'll agree with you. Can't be done.

Derek
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