New PRS-505er

joedevon · 06-23-2009, 06:11 AM

Howdy all!

What a pleasure to run into a forum of crazed, obsessed fanatical e-book lovers!

Thought I'd introduce meself. I just got roped into jerning your club by an enthusiastic Borders sales guy. The 505 had a one day $100 off sale. He told me it was better than the new models because no backlight and better reading. He thought there were none left, but dug out a misplaced final one! So $200 is a good price, right?

Anyway, my main reason for getting one is that I'm a techie and there are a ton of PDF files and CHM's I'd like to read over @ starbucks instead of my computer. Like the PHP, MySQL, Zend Framework manuals cover to cover etc..

I've already learned a lot here.

How does Sony compare to Kindle for PDF files?

Should I reformat the PDF's to better handle the Sony?

Can Kindle files be read on Sony w/ some conversion program?

What does Calibre do that you guys are talking about?

Lots of questions, I know

No need to tell me to Google it, because I have about 20-30 windows open and am going to research the hell out of this site. (Do I sound obsessed like you yet

) But if you're driving by this thread and feel like answering any of 'em, feel free. If not, no prob.

BTW, the Sony already keeps freezing on me. I think the 1000+ Zend Framework PDF manual is scaring the little gremlins inside the E-Reader that run around turning on and off the pixels. Maybe reformatting it can help? Hmm, I used to have Acrobat on an old computer, but not this one. Anyone know of a good open source replacement for PDFs?

Anyway, I'm up too late and rambling, so excuse this sleep deprived book lover if I talk too much.

for everything!

Verencat · 06-23-2009, 08:32 AM

Hi Joedevon and welcome to Mobile Read!

I know nothing about the little gremlins running around in your Sony, but I'm sure someone here will help soon! You've come to the right place to ask your questions, and for now, all I can suggest is to calm down the obsessivity and wander in the forums a bit

!

Good luck!

kazbates · 06-23-2009, 11:29 AM

Welcome to MobileRead, joedevon!

I have a Sony 700 and absolutely love it. I haven't dealt with pdf files so can't help with that, but if you do a search on the Sony 505 forum or post your questions there, I am sure someone will be able to help. That's one of the best things about MR, all the posters that are so very helpful and don't consider any question too simple.

If your looking for ebooks, check out all the free books here that you can download for your Sony.

Enjoy!

MickeyC · 06-23-2009, 12:15 PM

Hi joedevon and welcome to MobileRead. Stand by and you'll be getting answers to your questions

rlparker · 06-23-2009, 12:24 PM

hi and welcome to MR--we're glad you're here!

joedevon · 06-23-2009, 01:36 PM

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Verencat

I know nothing about the little gremlins running around in your Sony

That's a tech secret I shouldn't have mentioned. We let the world think all these computers use electrons and bend spacetime so we can make good money "consulting", but in fact there's a race of tiny gremlins that love pushing buttons. We found a way to communicate with them w/ our walkie talkies and we pretend it's all hidden in code. We just have to put little bits of Gruyere cheese in the machine to attract enough of the little buggers. Now THAT's where the innovation really lies. In making the cheese bits small enough to fit in the machine without smelling noticeable to HU-mans. Great gig if you can get in the know

Bilbo1967 · 06-23-2009, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joedevon

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

That's a tech secret I shouldn't have mentioned. We let the world think all these computers use electrons and bend spacetime so we can make good money "consulting", but in fact there's a race of tiny gremlins that love pushing buttons. We found a way to communicate with them w/ our walkie talkies and we pretend it's all hidden in code. We just have to put little bits of Gruyere cheese in the machine to attract enough of the little buggers. Now THAT's where the innovation really lies. In making the cheese bits small enough to fit in the machine without smelling noticeable to HU-mans. Great gig if you can get in the know

That's right Jo, gremlins, attracted by tiny pieces of Gruyere cheese are what makes all of our technology work!

Time for your little lie down I think, with your special backwards jacket on

Lady Blue · 06-23-2009, 02:27 PM

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joedevon.

Can't help you with the gremlins, but I've got the key to the closet where pshrynk keeps those looong-sleeved pajamas with the shiny buckles that Bilbo1967 mentioned.

desertgrandma · 06-23-2009, 02:38 PM

Welcome to MobileRead, Joe.

Here is a link to our wiki on Calibre.

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Calibre

By the way......have you tried chocolate for the gremlins?

Its a big draw here...........

joedevon · 06-23-2009, 06:01 PM

Thanks for the wiki link, going to check it now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

By the way......have you tried chocolate for the gremlins?

Its a big draw here...........

Gosh you're getting all my secrets. Yes, they LOVE Swiss Dark Chocolate. Which is good, because I don't. Only Milk Chocolate for me. So we don't fight. At least not over food. But don't ask me about women....

===
You know I'm hearing weird voices. But I can't see them. They keep repeating, IGNORE BILBO AND LADY BLUE. I can't figure it out.... I'm going to take a nap.

Elfwreck · 06-23-2009, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joedevon

So $200 is a good price, right?

$200 is an excellent price, and the first e-ink device that has a standard price at that level will have trouble keeping it on the shelves.

Quote:

How does Sony compare to Kindle for PDF files?

Sony is better; it supports PDF natively. Kindle converts PDFs, and how well it goes depends on the original design.

Quote:

Should I reformat the PDF's to better handle the Sony?

Depends on the PDFs. Letter-sized pages can be hard to read on the Sony. (Or rather, are hard to read; it's more hardship for some people than others.) Most will reflow the text with the "+" button, but that doesn't always work; if the design was complex, it can scramble things a bit. (OTOH, if the design was simple, like journal articles, it usually works very well.) It won't reflow scanned image PDFs, though; those would need to be OCR'd and converted.

Quote:

Can Kindle files be read on Sony w/ some conversion program?

The DRM has to be removed first, which is of troublesome legality. Non-DRM'd Kindle-able books are Mobipocket, either .mobi or .prc, and would need to be converted before reading on the Sony; Calibre will do that easily.

Quote:

What does Calibre do that you guys are talking about?

It converts files to Sony Reader (LRF) format, and the new beta version converts to ePub as well. It can take files from several different formats, allows you to edit the metadata and put covers on them, and save to LRF with your choice of settings. (Font sizes, margins, chapter breaks, etc.)

Quote:

BTW, the Sony already keeps freezing on me. I think the 1000+ Zend Framework PDF manual is scaring the little gremlins inside the E-Reader that run around turning on and off the pixels.

The Reader doesn't deal well with very large PDFs--however, if you wait for them to load, they're generally okay. It could take several minutes, but it should only take that long the very first time it's opened. If you install it with the Sony Library software (which I don't touch), it may pre-load for you, and not need the extra time.

Quote:

Maybe reformatting it can help? Hmm, I used to have Acrobat on an old computer, but not this one. Anyone know of a good open source replacement for PDFs?

For ones without complex formatting, gmail it to yourself, and open as HTML; save out the HTML file.

Calibre can convert it, but it removes the pictures.

P.S. if the manual is openly available, I'd be happy to help convert it, or at least chop it into smaller pieces that'd be easier for the Sony to load.

joedevon · 06-23-2009, 09:23 PM

Thank you Elfwreck, some priceless information there!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

P.S. if the manual is openly available, I'd be happy to help convert it, or at least chop it into smaller pieces that'd be easier for the Sony to load.

I just noticed that they have one version split into a ton of html files. Maybe Calibre can handle that...:
http://framework.zend.com/docs/translations (the english one)
the pdf is here:
http://www.zend.com/community/downloads

under "programmers reference guide"....

However, they have lots of legal paperwork for most stuff. It's open source, but I don't know about redistribution.

Anyway, thanks for the offer, but I think I'll manage

Xiaopanda · 06-23-2009, 09:40 PM

Welcome Joedevon!

Dive on in, the water's fine and the people are (generaly) nice enough...

joedevon · 06-23-2009, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xiaopanda

Welcome Joedevon!

Dive on in, the water's fine and the people are (generaly) nice enough...

Thank you

BTW, now my "mark" button only works sometimes. But not when I want to delete any book, even excerpts.

joedevon · 06-24-2009, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

It converts files to Sony Reader (LRF) format, and the new beta version converts to ePub as well. It can take files from several different formats, allows you to edit the metadata and put covers on them, and save to LRF with your choice of settings. (Font sizes, margins, chapter breaks, etc.)

I tried to find some good defaults for those for the 505 but couldn't find any. Got some guidance?

06-23-2009, 06:11 AM	#1
joedevon Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 274 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: PRS-505	New PRS-505er Howdy all! What a pleasure to run into a forum of crazed, obsessed fanatical e-book lovers! Thought I'd introduce meself. I just got roped into jerning your club by an enthusiastic Borders sales guy. The 505 had a one day $100 off sale. He told me it was better than the new models because no backlight and better reading. He thought there were none left, but dug out a misplaced final one! So $200 is a good price, right? Anyway, my main reason for getting one is that I'm a techie and there are a ton of PDF files and CHM's I'd like to read over @ starbucks instead of my computer. Like the PHP, MySQL, Zend Framework manuals cover to cover etc.. I've already learned a lot here. How does Sony compare to Kindle for PDF files? Should I reformat the PDF's to better handle the Sony? Can Kindle files be read on Sony w/ some conversion program? What does Calibre do that you guys are talking about? Lots of questions, I know No need to tell me to Google it, because I have about 20-30 windows open and am going to research the hell out of this site. (Do I sound obsessed like you yet ) But if you're driving by this thread and feel like answering any of 'em, feel free. If not, no prob. BTW, the Sony already keeps freezing on me. I think the 1000+ Zend Framework PDF manual is scaring the little gremlins inside the E-Reader that run around turning on and off the pixels. Maybe reformatting it can help? Hmm, I used to have Acrobat on an old computer, but not this one. Anyone know of a good open source replacement for PDFs? Anyway, I'm up too late and rambling, so excuse this sleep deprived book lover if I talk too much. for everything!

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06-23-2009, 08:32 AM	#2
Verencat Wizard Posts: 2,615 Karma: 96491 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Montreal, Qc Device: xxx	Hi Joedevon and welcome to Mobile Read! I know nothing about the little gremlins running around in your Sony, but I'm sure someone here will help soon! You've come to the right place to ask your questions, and for now, all I can suggest is to calm down the obsessivity and wander in the forums a bit ! Good luck!

06-23-2009, 11:29 AM	#3
kazbates Wizard Posts: 2,627 Karma: 406616 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Northern Virginia Device: SurfacePro, SurfaceBook 2	Welcome to MobileRead, joedevon! I have a Sony 700 and absolutely love it. I haven't dealt with pdf files so can't help with that, but if you do a search on the Sony 505 forum or post your questions there, I am sure someone will be able to help. That's one of the best things about MR, all the posters that are so very helpful and don't consider any question too simple. If your looking for ebooks, check out all the free books here that you can download for your Sony. Enjoy!

06-23-2009, 12:15 PM	#4
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi joedevon and welcome to MobileRead. Stand by and you'll be getting answers to your questions

06-23-2009, 12:24 PM	#5
rlparker Ars longa Posts: 1,179 Karma: 17404 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: north carolina, usa Device: Kindle K1, K3 wifi	hi and welcome to MR--we're glad you're here!

06-23-2009, 02:27 PM	#8
Lady Blue the snarky blue one Posts: 6,001 Karma: 3877825 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: deep in the heart Device: PRS500, 505 & 600, PRST1 & T2, Kindle PW, Moto Razr, Galaxy Tab 2-10"	joedevon. Can't help you with the gremlins, but I've got the key to the closet where pshrynk keeps those looong-sleeved pajamas with the shiny buckles that Bilbo1967 mentioned.

06-23-2009, 02:38 PM	#9
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Welcome to MobileRead, Joe. Here is a link to our wiki on Calibre. https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Calibre By the way......have you tried chocolate for the gremlins? Its a big draw here...........

06-23-2009, 09:40 PM	#13
Xiaopanda Addict Posts: 230 Karma: 1290 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Brisbane Australia Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Welcome Joedevon! Dive on in, the water's fine and the people are (generaly) nice enough...

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