To "Hack" Or Not To "Hack"?

Sonist · 12-08-2008, 02:59 PM

I got an iLiad Book Edition recently.

I was going to jump immediately and install a new reader, at least, but then decided to wait for the new OS version Adam and the OpenIliad community are working on.

Last weekend, I spent a few hours and tried to figure out my way around the stock iLiad (with all the latest updates.) I converted a few ebooks to mobi.

Then I installed Python 2.61 (32-bit, on Vista 64-bit) in order to use Format C's script, which did a great job of getting the metadata to show up on the iLiad (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...+mobi+metadata)

Now, I am actually happy with the iLiad, and wondering if I really need to be installing a different reader, etc..

But what would be the real-world benefits of changing the reader? Here are some wishes/questions:

1. EPUB: I know that FBReader can read EPUB, which would be great, since then I can keep one library for both the Sony and the iLiad. But is EPUB's implementation in FBReader stable and smooth?

2. GENRE SORTING: I'd love to be able to Sort by Genre, in addition to Author and Title (kind of looking to the future here, when I accumulate a large library.) Does FBReader support this?

3. DICTIONARY: Would love to be able to have a dictionary for instant look up of words in text. Does FBReader have an advantage, in terms of implementation or speed?

4. FOOTNOTES: What about the handling of footnotes, particularly without having to pull out the stylus every time I need to look one up. Is FBReader better for this (faster, easier?)

5. DRM: I think I know the answer to this one, but.... I plan to read mostly non-copyrighted (classic:-) books in the near future, but will also start buying ebooks. If I buy mobi, then I can strip the DRM and use the files both on the iLiad and the Sony. Is mobi the format of choice for purchases?

(Frankly, if I cannot strip the DRM, I'd never purchase an ebook - I've already spent a couple of hundred $$$ on Amazon DRM-ed video files, which are now useless to me, since I can't integrate them into my entertainment system - thus, no more DRM purchases for me.)

Of course, for me at least, the, the really BIG feature, for which I'd jump through hoops, would be Sleep. But that's in the future (I am really hoping.)

wallcraft · 12-08-2008, 03:51 PM

1. EPUB support isn't complete. The most significant issue for me is the lack of TOC support. FBReader also has no CSS support (in all formats), but I don't mind this because FBReader is very customizable for how you want text displayed.

2. GENRE SORTING: The latest FBReader does this, but only via its internal library view. See Book Tags in FBReader. This isn't in 0.8.14, and in any case the iLiad 0.8.14 does not have access to the library view. Ericshliao appears to be working on porting 0.8.17 to the iLiad, so I suggest waiting for this to be available.

3. DICTIONARY: not supported by FBReader on the iLiad.

4. FOOTNOTES: probably requires the stylus (I'm not sure I have even come across them in MOBI).

5. DRM: FBReader only supports DRM-free ebooks. It has good MOBI support, but I tend to buy LIT ebooks (for FBReader: explode them with ConvertLIT GUI, form a ZIP of the result, rename the .zip to .oebzip).

For me, the advantage of FBReader for MOBI is the much better screen layout and font support available in FBReader as opposed to the Java MobiPocket Reader.

12-08-2008, 02:59 PM	#1
Sonist Apeist Posts: 2,126 Karma: 381090 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The sunny part of California Device: Generic virtual reality story-experiential device	To "Hack" Or Not To "Hack"? I got an iLiad Book Edition recently. I was going to jump immediately and install a new reader, at least, but then decided to wait for the new OS version Adam and the OpenIliad community are working on. Last weekend, I spent a few hours and tried to figure out my way around the stock iLiad (with all the latest updates.) I converted a few ebooks to mobi. Then I installed Python 2.61 (32-bit, on Vista 64-bit) in order to use Format C's script, which did a great job of getting the metadata to show up on the iLiad (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...+mobi+metadata) Now, I am actually happy with the iLiad, and wondering if I really need to be installing a different reader, etc.. But what would be the real-world benefits of changing the reader? Here are some wishes/questions: 1. EPUB: I know that FBReader can read EPUB, which would be great, since then I can keep one library for both the Sony and the iLiad. But is EPUB's implementation in FBReader stable and smooth? 2. GENRE SORTING: I'd love to be able to Sort by Genre, in addition to Author and Title (kind of looking to the future here, when I accumulate a large library.) Does FBReader support this? 3. DICTIONARY: Would love to be able to have a dictionary for instant look up of words in text. Does FBReader have an advantage, in terms of implementation or speed? 4. FOOTNOTES: What about the handling of footnotes, particularly without having to pull out the stylus every time I need to look one up. Is FBReader better for this (faster, easier?) 5. DRM: I think I know the answer to this one, but.... I plan to read mostly non-copyrighted (classic:-) books in the near future, but will also start buying ebooks. If I buy mobi, then I can strip the DRM and use the files both on the iLiad and the Sony. Is mobi the format of choice for purchases? (Frankly, if I cannot strip the DRM, I'd never purchase an ebook - I've already spent a couple of hundred $$$ on Amazon DRM-ed video files, which are now useless to me, since I can't integrate them into my entertainment system - thus, no more DRM purchases for me.) Of course, for me at least, the, the really BIG feature, for which I'd jump through hoops, would be Sleep. But that's in the future (I am really hoping.)

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12-08-2008, 03:51 PM	#2
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,977 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	1. EPUB support isn't complete. The most significant issue for me is the lack of TOC support. FBReader also has no CSS support (in all formats), but I don't mind this because FBReader is very customizable for how you want text displayed. 2. GENRE SORTING: The latest FBReader does this, but only via its internal library view. See Book Tags in FBReader. This isn't in 0.8.14, and in any case the iLiad 0.8.14 does not have access to the library view. Ericshliao appears to be working on porting 0.8.17 to the iLiad, so I suggest waiting for this to be available. 3. DICTIONARY: not supported by FBReader on the iLiad. 4. FOOTNOTES: probably requires the stylus (I'm not sure I have even come across them in MOBI). 5. DRM: FBReader only supports DRM-free ebooks. It has good MOBI support, but I tend to buy LIT ebooks (for FBReader: explode them with ConvertLIT GUI, form a ZIP of the result, rename the .zip to .oebzip). For me, the advantage of FBReader for MOBI is the much better screen layout and font support available in FBReader as opposed to the Java MobiPocket Reader.

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