The (THUMBS UP) Sign of Four

Uncle Robin · 10-04-2019, 09:50 PM

The purpose of this post is to say how much I love the new reader in version 4. There seems to be a torrent of "it's ugly" "it's bad", "give me 3 back", so I thought it might be helpful to post publicly to say that some users find the new minimalist reader simply AWESOME.

I often read on my Kobo while sitting in front of my PC so that when necessary I can open the book in the Calibre reader to better see images or to have non-English text in poetry anthologies on one screen while the English translations are on the other. In the old reader, this was a course of last resort. The visual clutter (as I perceived it) made me loathe to use it except when absolutely necessary. The difference with version four is quite literally astonishing. A sparse, spare reading experience that is likely to see me using the Calibre reader more than I ever imagined possible. THANK YOU, Kovid, and all the many beta testers and contributors to this fine evolution of your software.

kovidgoyal · 10-04-2019, 09:58 PM

You're welcome

Sirtel · 10-04-2019, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

The purpose of this post is to say how much I love the new reader in version 4. There seems to be a torrent of "it's ugly" "it's bad", "give me 3 back", so I thought it might be helpful to post publicly to say that some users find the new minimalist reader simply AWESOME.

I often read on my Kobo while sitting in front of my PC so that when necessary I can open the book in the Calibre reader to better see images or to have non-English text in poetry anthologies on one screen while the English translations are on the other. In the old reader, this was a course of last resort. The visual clutter (as I perceived it) made me loathe to use it except when absolutely necessary. The difference with version four is quite literally astonishing. A sparse, spare reading experience that is likely to see me using the Calibre reader more than I ever imagined possible. THANK YOU, Kovid, and all the many beta testers and contributors to this fine evolution of your software.

There are different use cases. For just reading, the new viewer is certainly more aesthetically pleasing. But it's less efficient and slower than the old viewer when you need to check the layout and formatting of a hundred books in quick succession. Different users, different needs.

Still, I personally have no complaints as long as I can use the old viewer in my workflow and leave the new viewer for those who enjoy reading with it.

Uncle Robin · 10-04-2019, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

There are different use cases.... Different users, different needs.
it.

A point I was careful to acknowledge several times in my post.

Human nature being what it is, many more have come to the forums to express their desire to bury Kovid's latest than to praise it, so some counterpoint seemed appropriate

Sirtel · 10-04-2019, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

A point I was careful to acknowledge several times in my post.

Human nature being what it is, many more have come to the forums to express their desire to bury Kovid's latest than to praise it, so some counterpoint seemed appropriate

People always find the will and energy to complain, but rarely do so to praise.

BetterRed · 10-04-2019, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

The visual clutter (as I perceived it) made me loathe to use it except when absolutely necessary. The difference with version four is quite literally astonishing. A sparse, spare reading experience that is likely to see me using the Calibre reader more than I ever imagined possible.

FWIW : what you get in V4 was available in the old viewer, see ==>> https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...7&postcount=11

All you had to do was press Ctrl+F11 or right click the text and select Hide Controls - I never realised how many didn't know this.

BR

Uncle Robin · 10-04-2019, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

FWIW : what you get in V4 was available in the old viewer, see ==>> https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...7&postcount=11

All you had to do was press Ctrl+F11 or right click the text and select Hide Controls - I never realised how many didn't know this.

BR

A simple, subjective post saying how much I enjoy the new version and even this one thread cannot be left in peace by those not happy with the changes. It seems that even ONE thread of unalloyed praise is one too many for some. QED.

BetterRed · 10-04-2019, 10:38 PM

You are not the only person reading these threads, now or in months or years from now.

There are some people who can't install version 4 - e.g. old versions of MacOS, some old video adapters on Windows. They might like to know that they can get a similar uncluttered UX from the V3 viewer as the V4 viewer provides.

BR

Uncle Robin · 10-04-2019, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BetterRed

You are not the only person reading these threads, now or in months or years from now.

BR

Those people will be amply served by the MANY threads generated by people expressing dissatisfaction with various elements of the changes. Having just one thread devoid of criticism or "but, but but...", just ONE thread that simply said "hey, some of us LOVE it" would in no way have imperilled those people for whom you express such concern. The several naysaying threads are not cluttered with contrary posts from the fans, I find it disappointing but unsurprising that the same is not true in reverse.

AnotherCat · 10-05-2019, 07:05 PM

I'm with you all the way Uncle Robin but unfortunately the reaction of some others is par for the course when change is involved.

Unfortunately fear of change is built into us but most can manage to look forward positively and constructively without harping back to the previous. In business change management I always ask the ones who express non forward looking viewpoints to me when they will be handing their notice in and if they don't do so I ensure they are at the top of any redundancy lists. No matter how "key" some others may regard an employee, closing them down like that has always been positive to the future success and organisational happiness of the business.

I think all that a software developer can do in this forum type public arena is just trawl through all the posts, ignore those that are just negative or destructive, or harp on about the old, then pick out and make use of the better constructive forward looking suggestions, and have a happy smile when the few (it is always a few) who are strong enough stick their heads up to make a positive comment in amongst the shark feeding frenzy.

10-04-2019, 09:50 PM	#1
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,661 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	The (THUMBS UP) Sign of Four The purpose of this post is to say how much I love the new reader in version 4. There seems to be a torrent of "it's ugly" "it's bad", "give me 3 back", so I thought it might be helpful to post publicly to say that some users find the new minimalist reader simply AWESOME. I often read on my Kobo while sitting in front of my PC so that when necessary I can open the book in the Calibre reader to better see images or to have non-English text in poetry anthologies on one screen while the English translations are on the other. In the old reader, this was a course of last resort. The visual clutter (as I perceived it) made me loathe to use it except when absolutely necessary. The difference with version four is quite literally astonishing. A sparse, spare reading experience that is likely to see me using the Calibre reader more than I ever imagined possible. THANK YOU, Kovid, and all the many beta testers and contributors to this fine evolution of your software.

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10-04-2019, 09:58 PM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 45,251 Karma: 27110894 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	You're welcome

10-04-2019, 10:38 PM	#8
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 21,660 Karma: 29711016 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	You are not the only person reading these threads, now or in months or years from now. There are some people who can't install version 4 - e.g. old versions of MacOS, some old video adapters on Windows. They might like to know that they can get a similar uncluttered UX from the V3 viewer as the V4 viewer provides. BR

10-05-2019, 07:05 PM	#10
AnotherCat .... Posts: 1,547 Karma: 18068960 Join Date: May 2012 Device: ....	I'm with you all the way Uncle Robin but unfortunately the reaction of some others is par for the course when change is involved. Unfortunately fear of change is built into us but most can manage to look forward positively and constructively without harping back to the previous. In business change management I always ask the ones who express non forward looking viewpoints to me when they will be handing their notice in and if they don't do so I ensure they are at the top of any redundancy lists. No matter how "key" some others may regard an employee, closing them down like that has always been positive to the future success and organisational happiness of the business. I think all that a software developer can do in this forum type public arena is just trawl through all the posts, ignore those that are just negative or destructive, or harp on about the old, then pick out and make use of the better constructive forward looking suggestions, and have a happy smile when the few (it is always a few) who are strong enough stick their heads up to make a positive comment in amongst the shark feeding frenzy.

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