Windows 8 eReaders?

Jack Tingle · 01-12-2013, 05:19 PM

So, the 17" laptop died, and I really didn't need another laptop. A 20" screen sounded nice, and so, an HP Envy 20" Touchsmart AIO. I managed to get the laptop to disgorge its hard disk, duct-taped it into a 3.5-inch eSATA enclosure (it was a 2.5-inch) and pumped the laptop's 320 Gb over to the Envy's 1 Tb (it fit OK). Now I have all these ebooks.

Sigh. (OK, an embarrassment of riches is not really a tough problem compared to global warming or world peace.)

With Win8 you can have applications which run on notMetro or applications which run on the traditional Windows desktop. On the desktop, I wound up (for the moment) with my old friend fbreader and CoolReader, which I like on my Android handheld. Those cover almost all the possibilities. I think they're actually cousins under the skin, but they both have their virtues and faults and the two cover almost everything I need.

That leaves what to do in notMetro. I found quite a few epub options. Freda is good, and, surprisingly, so is Overdrive. I also like the look of Liberty. There's also one called Book Bazaar that holds some promise. Nothing for prc, mobi, pdb, fb2 or the other formats.

Does anyone have suggestions for Win8 notMetro (Modern?) ereader programs which handle anything other than epub?

Thanks,
Jack Tingle

Greg_E · 01-13-2013, 01:46 AM

Kindle is there so you should be able to get mobi working if you can find where it stores the books. Freda kept crashing on my Acer w500 tablet so I removed it.

I'm really more interested in epub3 so I can test making interactive books.

xendula · 01-13-2013, 10:29 AM

^Install Firefox and get the EPUBReader add-on. Not sure, but it may support ePub3.

xendula · 01-13-2013, 10:38 AM

Jack, it may be a problem finding readers that work on Win8 and support dead formats, and it will be getting more difficult with every new iteration of Windows. I remember articles warning us of this around the turn of the century.. And how right they were! I still have books in .lit somewhere on some drive.

Now may be a good time to convert your prc and pdb to ePub or kf8.

exscentric · 01-13-2013, 12:53 PM

Kindle on metro limited me to under 20 books. Downloaded from desktop and back to as many as I want.

Jack Tingle · 01-13-2013, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xendula

Jack, it may be a problem finding readers that work on Win8 and support dead formats, and it will be getting more difficult with every new iteration of Windows. I remember articles warning us of this around the turn of the century.. And how right they were! I still have books in .lit somewhere on some drive.

Now may be a good time to convert your prc and pdb to ePub or kf8.

To paraphrase the bard: "Jesus, Mary & Elvis--That's a lot of books!"

So mass conversion of prc and pdb to mobi? I don't even want to think of clit and some kind of OEBC software for all those lits. I may have to not hate Calibre so much, at least temporarily; either that or write shell scripts to use the CLI versions of the converters. I was afraid of this answer. Shell scripts ... [shudder].

Thanks,
Jack Tingle

xendula · 01-13-2013, 07:53 PM

Yeah, I've been procrastinating on that front as well. Converting straight to ePub or KF8 may be better than to mobi, since mobi is on its way out as well. There will come a time when Amazon no longer supports it.

Funny, how those 5000 year old clay tablets can still be read today.....

VaultBoy · 01-14-2013, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xendula

Yeah, I've been procrastinating on that front as well. Converting straight to ePub or KF8 may be better than to mobi, since mobi is on its way out as well. There will come a time when Amazon no longer supports it.

Funny, how those 5000 year old clay tablets can still be read today.....

With calibre, back ups, and the Internets... I could see the weird formats of today being readable in thousands of years. Assuming, of course, we are still reading in that sense by then.

sabredog · 01-14-2013, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xendula

Funny, how those 5000 year old clay tablets can still be read today.....

They didn't have DRM back then to lock in formats either....

xendula · 01-14-2013, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VaultBoy

With calibre, back ups, and the Internets... I could see the weird formats of today being readable in thousands of years. Assuming, of course, we are still reading in that sense by then.

Hmm, the OP already hit a wall on Win 8. At some point, we need to finally say good bye to the trusted formats that started it all.... May they rest in peace.

HansTWN · 01-14-2013, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xendula

Yeah, I've been procrastinating on that front as well. Converting straight to ePub or KF8 may be better than to mobi, since mobi is on its way out as well. There will come a time when Amazon no longer supports it.

Funny, how those 5000 year old clay tablets can still be read today.....

How many people in the world can read Cunei-form texts?

forsooth · 01-14-2013, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xendula

^Install Firefox and get the EPUBReader add-on. Not sure, but it may support ePub3.

thank you thank you thank you thank you

for telling me that

MikeB1972 · 01-14-2013, 04:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabredog

They didn't have DRM back then to lock in formats either....

Yeah? just try converting Clay Format to Papyrus Format.

sabredog · 01-14-2013, 05:24 AM

I an just imagine a scribe sitting there with a complicated 8 rune or hieroglyph passcode

xendula · 01-14-2013, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansTWN

How many people in the world can read Cunei-form texts?

Good point!

01-12-2013, 05:19 PM	#1
Jack Tingle Punctuation Fetishist Posts: 557 Karma: 1070000 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Bluest Commonwealth In East America Device: Kindle PW, Nexus 7 (2013), Galaxy S5 phone, Galaxy Tab 4 8.0	Windows 8 eReaders? So, the 17" laptop died, and I really didn't need another laptop. A 20" screen sounded nice, and so, an HP Envy 20" Touchsmart AIO. I managed to get the laptop to disgorge its hard disk, duct-taped it into a 3.5-inch eSATA enclosure (it was a 2.5-inch) and pumped the laptop's 320 Gb over to the Envy's 1 Tb (it fit OK). Now I have all these ebooks. Sigh. (OK, an embarrassment of riches is not really a tough problem compared to global warming or world peace.) With Win8 you can have applications which run on notMetro or applications which run on the traditional Windows desktop. On the desktop, I wound up (for the moment) with my old friend fbreader and CoolReader, which I like on my Android handheld. Those cover almost all the possibilities. I think they're actually cousins under the skin, but they both have their virtues and faults and the two cover almost everything I need. That leaves what to do in notMetro. I found quite a few epub options. Freda is good, and, surprisingly, so is Overdrive. I also like the look of Liberty. There's also one called Book Bazaar that holds some promise. Nothing for prc, mobi, pdb, fb2 or the other formats. Does anyone have suggestions for Win8 notMetro (Modern?) ereader programs which handle anything other than epub? Thanks, Jack Tingle

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01-13-2013, 01:46 AM	#2
Greg_E Zealot Posts: 103 Karma: 1180 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Acer Iconia a500, XP tablet PC	Kindle is there so you should be able to get mobi working if you can find where it stores the books. Freda kept crashing on my Acer w500 tablet so I removed it. I'm really more interested in epub3 so I can test making interactive books.

01-13-2013, 10:29 AM	#3
xendula eBookworm Posts: 2,300 Karma: 4525746 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: East Coast brrrrr Device: Kindle 4B/K ~ Nexus 7 ~ Kindle Paperwhite 1&2 ~ iPad Air	^Install Firefox and get the EPUBReader add-on. Not sure, but it may support ePub3.

01-13-2013, 10:38 AM	#4
xendula eBookworm Posts: 2,300 Karma: 4525746 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: East Coast brrrrr Device: Kindle 4B/K ~ Nexus 7 ~ Kindle Paperwhite 1&2 ~ iPad Air	Jack, it may be a problem finding readers that work on Win8 and support dead formats, and it will be getting more difficult with every new iteration of Windows. I remember articles warning us of this around the turn of the century.. And how right they were! I still have books in .lit somewhere on some drive. Now may be a good time to convert your prc and pdb to ePub or kf8.

01-13-2013, 12:53 PM	#5
exscentric Addict Posts: 379 Karma: 1033424 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: WY Device: Kindle keyboard	Kindle on metro limited me to under 20 books. Downloaded from desktop and back to as many as I want.

01-13-2013, 07:53 PM	#7
xendula eBookworm Posts: 2,300 Karma: 4525746 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: East Coast brrrrr Device: Kindle 4B/K ~ Nexus 7 ~ Kindle Paperwhite 1&2 ~ iPad Air	Yeah, I've been procrastinating on that front as well. Converting straight to ePub or KF8 may be better than to mobi, since mobi is on its way out as well. There will come a time when Amazon no longer supports it. Funny, how those 5000 year old clay tablets can still be read today.....

01-14-2013, 05:24 AM	#14
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	I an just imagine a scribe sitting there with a complicated 8 rune or hieroglyph passcode

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