Any new info about the ASUS DR-900/DR-950? - Page 11

BoldlyDubious · 03-19-2011, 08:31 AM

The DR-900 offer the possibility to zoom to (few) preset levels, or to adapt the zoom level automatically to fully exploit the width OR the height of the display. If the document had the exact aspect ratio of the screen, the latter two would have the same effect; in practice, you usually have to choose. If you want the print to be as big as possible without having (horror!) to pan to read the end of every single line of text, you will usually choose "fit to width", considering that print formats are "taller and slimmer" than the 4:3 display. (By the way, all of this works both in portrait and landscape mode.)

If you use "fit to width", you will have to pan manually (by dragging your finger) when you reach the end of the first part of each page, in order to be able to read the second part. In fact (first, lesser, problem) the current firmware of the DR-900 is not smart enough to know that when you press "page forward" after having read half of a page, what you really want is the second part of that same page, NOT the first part of the following page.

The second problem, the real one, is that the current firmware does NOT detect white borders at the edges of the pages. So, if you choose "fit to width", the whole width of the document, including the white margins, is zoomed to fit the width of the display. Which is usually what you don't want, as you want to read the text and not examine the white margins. What you usually end up with in this way is a print that is too small, and a lot of useless white space at the sides. I must add that, for a device that most buyers probably preferred to 6" models precisely for its capability to manage pdf files, this is a major omission.

In the end, if you want to use all of the available width for text, you have to do one of the following:

1: select, from the available zoom levels, the one that is closer to the correct level (i.e., the one which makes a line of text fill all the width of the screen). Then, by panning with your finger, you perform lateral centering of the first page on the screen (some practice is needed to get this right at the first attempt). Thankfully, then this centering is retained for the following pages, so you only have to pan vertically to see the second part of each page.
The problem with this solution is that the zoom levels are too few, and you usually end up with some white space nonetheless. Moreover, if you are not careful when you pan a page to read the second half, you mess up the lateral centering and have to readjust it. With practice, everything becomes almost automatic but it certainly detracts from the naturalness of reading, which is why I chose the following, alternative solution.

2: pre-crop the document, eliminating all margins, before loading it on the device. In this way reading is a breeze, as you don't have to adjust anything. You simply choose the 100% zoom level, and every page fills the screen in the best possible way (of course, you still get some white space if your document hasn't a 4:3 aspect ratio, but the result is good nonetheless thanks to the big 9" display). You don't have to pan at all.
As I said, I found a fantastic little program called pdfcrop that lets you do the cropping easily. (It's a Linux program because I use Linux, but I suppose there are alternatives for Windows too.)

To know if you are comfortable with reading scientific articles (typically formatted as A4 or Letter pages) on a 9" screen, the best way is to make a photocopy zoomed out so that the result has the correct dimension, and try to read it. If you like it, you will also like the electrophoretic screen, which I find remarkably similar to (greyish, but not annoyingly so) paper.

To conclude: I'm talking about the Asus DR-900 because I own one; I expect that similar problems can arise while using pdf files with the Kindle DX.

Cypriobrit · 03-19-2011, 01:45 PM

Cropping sounds like the way to go then.

Another question if you dont mind - does pdfcrop let you do crop the whole doc or do you do each page separately? i.e. saving your preferred settings and then just 'converting' the original file to the cropped one.

Thanks.

DaleDe · 03-19-2011, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cypriobrit

Cropping sounds like the way to go then.

Another question if you dont mind - does pdfcrop let you do crop the whole doc or do you do each page separately? i.e. saving your preferred settings and then just 'converting' the original file to the cropped one.

Thanks.

BRISS lets you set up even and odd page samples and then crops the whole document. It is also one of the few that maintains text instead of converting to images.

Dale

BoldlyDubious · 03-19-2011, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cypriobrit

does pdfcrop let you do crop the whole doc or do you do each page separately?

It crops all the document. Pdfcrop uses ghostscript to determine the bounding box of each page separately, and substitutes the page with its cropped version (so if the pages are different one from the other, every one of them is automatically optimized).
I use this command to call pdfcrop:

pdfcrop --resolution 72 --margin 10 --verbose NOMEFILE.pdf

--verbose make pdfcrop tell you what page it is currently processing
--resolution 72 avoids (useless) ultra-precision, greatly speeding up operations
--margin 10 puts a small margin (10pt) around text, to keep it from being too close to the screen's bezel

The program produces an output file called crop-NOMEFILE.pdf.
The only case when pdfcrop is prevented from doing a perfect work is when the original document has headers and/or footers close to the borders of the page, because the bounding box will include them.

BoldlyDubious · 03-19-2011, 02:43 PM

Whooops! Of course in English NOMEFILE should be read FILENAME (typical cut-and-paste error).
By the way, pdfcrop does not transform every page into an image.

Microcox · 03-22-2011, 10:40 AM

BoldlyDubious, it sounds like you are a researcher too, so i would like to have your opinion on the "note taking" function on the dr 900. Would you say it is usable in everyday research work to comment a pdf (lets say to review a paper for example?). Is the keyboard not to slow to be handy?
I currently have the PocketBook 903 and its note taking function is a pity so i'm considering to change for a dr900 (athough the PB 903 has an overall good hardware).

Also, is it handy to take some notes at a lab meeting for example?

Thanks a lot

BoldlyDubious · 03-22-2011, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Microcox

[...] the dr 900. Would you say it is usable in everyday research work to comment a pdf (lets say to review a paper for example?). Is the keyboard not to slow to be handy?
Also, is it handy to take some notes at a lab meeting for example?

Hi Microcox. Unfortunately, in its present state the DR-900 is unsuitable for any of the things that you have in mind. This is mainly due to a current firmware that (in my view) can be described as "beta" for everything except basic book reading. Ancillary functions (such as note taking) are strongly limited, are not easy to use, and their user interface is clunky. The overall impression that you are left with is that they are targeted only to a desperate user, stranded on a raft, with a deadline for the following day ;-)
Of course the hardware has its impact, but in my view it's the software that needs (much) work. The hardware is actually very good: what limitations it has (e.g., slow processor and slower screen) are due to the fact that this is an ebook reader and not a device with a focus on strongly interactive applications.
Asus' own Eee Note EA800 -which I have not had the possibility to try yet- should be much more suitable for your use case. Alas, it's an LCD-based device (but devoid of the dreaded backlight) with a stylus-based interface, and has a battery life of around ten hours. Horses for courses...

Microcox · 03-23-2011, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoldlyDubious

Hi Microcox. Unfortunately....

Hi BoldlyDubious, thanks a lot. I will see if this Eee Note could fit me. I'm afraid that a LCD based device will not be that better than my computer screen, even without backlight. And my primary goal was to protect my eyes... sigh

The solution would be to try one, but sadly they do'nt sell it in France.

mike_bike_kite · 03-23-2011, 09:53 AM

I thought reflective LCD screens were as good for the eyes as epaper. Obviously they use more power but they refresh faster to allow more interaction.

BoldlyDubious · 03-23-2011, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike_bike_kite

I thought reflective LCD screens were as good for the eyes as epaper.

After having used an electrophoretic (Sipix) display for some time, and backlit LCD ones for years, I expect the main operative difference between such screens and a reflective LCD to be the viewing angle. (Leaving aside response time, of course.) You can look at an electrophoretic screen from *any* angle and the image is as crisp as the one you get when you are directly in front of it: just as it is with paper. For instance, reading with the device lying on a table (or your knees) in front of you is perfectly normal and comfortable. This is far from true for LCD screens, at least for those used for laptops.

Unfortunately, this is *not* a trivial issue if you happen to use your device in many different locations, which is of course exactly what you are interested in doing :-)
If the angle between the screen surface and your viewing direction has to remain within a narrow range (as with LCD screens), you frequently end up with reflections of ambient lights into the screen area, and/or with having to choose accurately where to sit down. Both things are very annoying.

(Disclaimer: I do not have direct experience of reflective LCDs. Moreover, maybe black-and-white LCDs like the one used by the EA800 are not so directional as the color LCDs that I am used to. But I would definitely want to try the EA800 before buying one...)

Barty · 03-23-2011, 04:35 PM

A lot of LCD monitors on the market use cheap TN panels. Viewing angle is much better with IPS panels, and on smaller screen like the iPad, it's a non issue. Glare is a different matter.

I haven't seen reflective LCD. It still has the visible pixel structure, right?

BoldlyDubious · 03-24-2011, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barty

It still has the visible pixel structure, right?

Thanks Barty for the interesting information. I don't know if the pixel structure is visible on the EA800's screen: is that a feature that can be used to tell TN from IPS screens?

Barty · 03-27-2011, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoldlyDubious

Thanks Barty for the interesting information. I don't know if the pixel structure is visible on the EA800's screen: is that a feature that can be used to tell TN from IPS screens?

No, the pixels are visible on both. The differentiators are viewing angle and color reproduction (IPS panels are better). If you sit in front of a 27" TN panel, for example, and look at a solid background, you may notice the color is different in the center than on the sides.

annonymous1 · 03-30-2011, 03:27 PM

This is a very dumb question:
Which reliable seller sells the DR-900 reader in US and in Europe? Given that its not so easily visible, I am wondering how good the support is.

I am looking to buy one large (~9") ereader to read papers with equations. Kindle DX would have been good if it had Wi-Fi (their 3G doesnt seem to work in Germany).

AdamV · 04-02-2011, 04:19 PM

i have bought mine through the italian web store
http://store.simplicissimus.it/lettori-ebook/asus

the shippment in eu is free, delivery was like 3-4 days (ground service only)

they were very responsive and always nice and helpful, keeping me updated on my order status and responding to my nugging about the shippment etc.

I have not been experiencing any hardware issue so far so I cannot say anything about the service - the software has been updated twice since January and this is the only thing I am looking for improvement from... the device itself is awsome and I love it even more each day!

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03-19-2011, 08:31 AM	#151
BoldlyDubious what if...? Posts: 209 Karma: 750870 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: paper & electrophoretic	The DR-900 offer the possibility to zoom to (few) preset levels, or to adapt the zoom level automatically to fully exploit the width OR the height of the display. If the document had the exact aspect ratio of the screen, the latter two would have the same effect; in practice, you usually have to choose. If you want the print to be as big as possible without having (horror!) to pan to read the end of every single line of text, you will usually choose "fit to width", considering that print formats are "taller and slimmer" than the 4:3 display. (By the way, all of this works both in portrait and landscape mode.) If you use "fit to width", you will have to pan manually (by dragging your finger) when you reach the end of the first part of each page, in order to be able to read the second part. In fact (first, lesser, problem) the current firmware of the DR-900 is not smart enough to know that when you press "page forward" after having read half of a page, what you really want is the second part of that same page, NOT the first part of the following page. The second problem, the real one, is that the current firmware does NOT detect white borders at the edges of the pages. So, if you choose "fit to width", the whole width of the document, including the white margins, is zoomed to fit the width of the display. Which is usually what you don't want, as you want to read the text and not examine the white margins. What you usually end up with in this way is a print that is too small, and a lot of useless white space at the sides. I must add that, for a device that most buyers probably preferred to 6" models precisely for its capability to manage pdf files, this is a major omission. In the end, if you want to use all of the available width for text, you have to do one of the following: 1: select, from the available zoom levels, the one that is closer to the correct level (i.e., the one which makes a line of text fill all the width of the screen). Then, by panning with your finger, you perform lateral centering of the first page on the screen (some practice is needed to get this right at the first attempt). Thankfully, then this centering is retained for the following pages, so you only have to pan vertically to see the second part of each page. The problem with this solution is that the zoom levels are too few, and you usually end up with some white space nonetheless. Moreover, if you are not careful when you pan a page to read the second half, you mess up the lateral centering and have to readjust it. With practice, everything becomes almost automatic but it certainly detracts from the naturalness of reading, which is why I chose the following, alternative solution. 2: pre-crop the document, eliminating all margins, before loading it on the device. In this way reading is a breeze, as you don't have to adjust anything. You simply choose the 100% zoom level, and every page fills the screen in the best possible way (of course, you still get some white space if your document hasn't a 4:3 aspect ratio, but the result is good nonetheless thanks to the big 9" display). You don't have to pan at all. As I said, I found a fantastic little program called pdfcrop that lets you do the cropping easily. (It's a Linux program because I use Linux, but I suppose there are alternatives for Windows too.) To know if you are comfortable with reading scientific articles (typically formatted as A4 or Letter pages) on a 9" screen, the best way is to make a photocopy zoomed out so that the result has the correct dimension, and try to read it. If you like it, you will also like the electrophoretic screen, which I find remarkably similar to (greyish, but not annoyingly so) paper. To conclude: I'm talking about the Asus DR-900 because I own one; I expect that similar problems can arise while using pdf files with the Kindle DX.

03-19-2011, 01:45 PM	#152
Cypriobrit Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: none	Cropping sounds like the way to go then. Another question if you dont mind - does pdfcrop let you do crop the whole doc or do you do each page separately? i.e. saving your preferred settings and then just 'converting' the original file to the cropped one. Thanks.

03-19-2011, 02:43 PM	#155
BoldlyDubious what if...? Posts: 209 Karma: 750870 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: paper & electrophoretic	Whooops! Of course in English NOMEFILE should be read FILENAME (typical cut-and-paste error). By the way, pdfcrop does not transform every page into an image.

03-22-2011, 10:40 AM	#156
Microcox Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: PocketBook Pro 903	BoldlyDubious, it sounds like you are a researcher too, so i would like to have your opinion on the "note taking" function on the dr 900. Would you say it is usable in everyday research work to comment a pdf (lets say to review a paper for example?). Is the keyboard not to slow to be handy? I currently have the PocketBook 903 and its note taking function is a pity so i'm considering to change for a dr900 (athough the PB 903 has an overall good hardware). Also, is it handy to take some notes at a lab meeting for example? Thanks a lot

03-23-2011, 09:53 AM	#159
mike_bike_kite Digitally confused Posts: 500 Karma: 1500000 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: London, UK Device: KPW, K2i, Nexus 7 32gb, Kobo Mini	I thought reflective LCD screens were as good for the eyes as epaper. Obviously they use more power but they refresh faster to allow more interaction.

03-23-2011, 04:35 PM	#161
Barty doofus Posts: 2,549 Karma: 13089041 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	A lot of LCD monitors on the market use cheap TN panels. Viewing angle is much better with IPS panels, and on smaller screen like the iPad, it's a non issue. Glare is a different matter. I haven't seen reflective LCD. It still has the visible pixel structure, right?

03-30-2011, 03:27 PM	#164
annonymous1 Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: some large screen reader suitable to read arXiv papers	This is a very dumb question: Which reliable seller sells the DR-900 reader in US and in Europe? Given that its not so easily visible, I am wondering how good the support is. I am looking to buy one large (~9") ereader to read papers with equations. Kindle DX would have been good if it had Wi-Fi (their 3G doesnt seem to work in Germany).

04-02-2011, 04:19 PM	#165
AdamV Censored Posts: 105 Karma: 20724 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Warsaw, Poland Device: Kobo Aura HD (brown), Asus DR 900	i have bought mine through the italian web store http://store.simplicissimus.it/lettori-ebook/asus the shippment in eu is free, delivery was like 3-4 days (ground service only) they were very responsive and always nice and helpful, keeping me updated on my order status and responding to my nugging about the shippment etc. I have not been experiencing any hardware issue so far so I cannot say anything about the service - the software has been updated twice since January and this is the only thing I am looking for improvement from... the device itself is awsome and I love it even more each day!