New Kobo Aura HD eInk eReader 1440x1080

[robko]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Yes of course; if a publisher/calibre/whomever puts a <br /><br /> at the end of every line to create double spacing, instead of using proper CSS for that, then it'd be quite hard, maybe even impossible, to make the spacing smaller. Kobo could remove or ignore all <br /><br /> occurences and apply their own CSS in firmware for example. However, that would remove the double break at places where they are needed too.

(OK, you don't "need" them per se, as you can always use CSS, but not everybody marks up its eBooks as correctly as should be, and Calibre is not really good in creating clean code. It works very well, but it's not very clean.)

There are others with Sigil etc. experience that could answer this more accurately than I, but from what I remember there were a subset of epubs where the publisher set the spacing for X and the Kobo didn't override it. If it had no explicit setting it would let you change it. A newer firmware now allows it to override the settings on most (but not quite all) epubs even if the publisher has set it explicitly. That's why I would be surprised if the Aura didn't allow you to change this on sideloads. Kobo took a lot of grief on it the 1st time around, I don't think they'll regress on it.

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by joblack

So is Kobo spying upon the user? Can I disable these privacy violations?

Yes they are and maybe. There's a hosts file update floating around the forum that works on at least the Kobo Touch to block Google Analytics. Should work for the Aura.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by robko

There are others with Sigil etc. experience that could answer this more accurately than I, but from what I remember there were a subset of epubs where the publisher set the spacing for X and the Kobo didn't override it. If it had no explicit setting it would let you change it. A newer firmware now allows it to override the settings on most (but not quite all) epubs even if the publisher has set it explicitly. That's why I would be surprised if the Aura didn't allow you to change this on sideloads. Kobo took a lot of grief on it the 1st time around, I don't think they'll regress on it.

The Kindle does some of that stuff the same way as far as I can see. You can only set fonts if there is no "font-family" set in CSS. Otherwise the Kindle will try to display a font that is in "font-family", and if there is none, it'll display Caecilia, whatever you choose.

I'm not 100% sure though; I'd need to test it. However, on the epubs that I have had problems with (after conversion to AZW), removing "font-family" from CSS fixed that. Nowadays, I just run every book through "Modify EPUB" first to get rid of some stuff such as custom fonts and metadata, set the metadata in Calibre, and then export a new version for backup and storage.

[elemenoP]

Originally Posted by joblack

I'm a concerned about Kobo's privacy policy.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-lS...is6W8pOS6rgdrA

(from 1:15+)

At first that sounds half-innocent but it's none of their business what I read, how long I read and so on.

So is Kobo spying upon the user? Can I disable these privacy violations?

Amazon tracks this information too, and reports it back to publishers as well. The difference is, Kobo lets you do something with your own data.

eP

EDIT: to clarify, I know they report this information to publishers IN THE AGGREGATE. As in, last month we sold 2000 copies of X book and 20% of those read and finished the book. I don't think Amazon is transmitting any user information to the publishers.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

EDIT: to clarify, I know they report this information to publishers IN THE AGGREGATE. As in, last month we sold 2000 copies of X book and 20% of those read and finished the book. I don't think Amazon is transmitting any user information to the publishers.

Amazon certainly get the info, and certainly tell publishers how many of that publishers books they sold (they have to pay them after all), but this is the first I've heard of them reporting anything beyond that. Do we have a source somewhere that they're reporting reader stats, even in aggregate, to anyone?

[Gardenman]

To bad the Aura HD does not have page turn buttons

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Gardenman

To bad the Aura HD does not have page turn buttons

It's going to be increasingly difficult to find page turn buttons. They are obsolete.

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It's going to be increasingly difficult to find page turn buttons. They are obsolete.

...though superior in every way to touchscreen-only controls. Especially if the Aura turns out to be like the Touch and regularly stop accepting touchscreen input ('til you power down and reboot).

[Gardenman]

I guess The people at Kobo have never used an ereader when they were eating. That is one of the times when I like the page turn buttons.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Gardenman

I guess The people at Kobo have never used an ereader when they were eating. That is one of the times when I like the page turn buttons.

You can use a stylus or even a Q-tip to turn pages.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

...though superior in every way to touchscreen-only controls. Especially if the Aura turns out to be like the Touch and regularly stop accepting touchscreen input ('til you power down and reboot).

I haven't experienced this problem on any of my eink or LCD touchscreens.

[Frankr]

the onyx looks a little gray, is that correct, or is it very black. It is hard to tell on the tablet I'm using.

[Barty]

Sexy!

Bigger and higher res. also, hugely improved the light, it looks like.

Nice to see kobo kicking it up a notch.

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It's going to be increasingly difficult to find page turn buttons. They are obsolete.

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

...though superior in every way to touchscreen-only controls. Especially if the Aura turns out to be like the Touch and regularly stop accepting touchscreen input ('til you power down and reboot).

I disagree. Touchscreens are superior in every way to page turn buttons.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by Skydog

I disagree. Touchscreens are superior in every way to page turn buttons.

For myself, I agree as long as it isn't capacitive touch for me. My skin just doesn't play nice with that system at all. Resistive can be flakey for me too, it often registers a tap when I just want to slide a screen forward, or I end up just about pounding on it to register the tap, although the former is usually the most frequent. Not to mention that in the colder weather, I'm not about to buy a pair of $50 gloves to use my reader but doesn't keep my hands warm when it comes to capacitive. It's bulkier for resistive touch and harder to touch accurately with gloves, but it's more doable than capacitive. There's absolutely no way in the world I could live with a capacitive touch screen and would never buy one.

But the infrared system on my Sonys has been near perfect for me. Once in a great while I'll have to swipe again, but it's usually because I did it so fast I don't think it registered, and it's extremely rare. Yes, when I'm outside occasionally a bug will trigger a page turn, but it's too seldom to worry about. With the infrared touch, I only use the physical buttons on pages where it's necessary for menus.

It's all personal choice including if someone prefers buttons over touch, so variety between the various devices is always welcome.