News from Bookeen about firmware upgrade

[bob_ninja]

Originally Posted by JWLaRue

...Rather I find that there is an emotional reaction to the flow of the story. This is primarily evident when approaching the end of the book where there is an expectation that the author will (or needs to) begin wrapping up various loose ends of the plot. There is a build-up in anticipation that adds to the reading experience.

YMMV, but it does exist for some of us.

As long as I can tell how far into/through the book I am, I don't really care how the information is presented.....page numbers, percentage, slider, etc.

-Jeff

And that is my point. The progress bar is perfectly fine without page numbers.

As for the original point, it is not always the case. I read a book where the main plot was sort of closed, but several new ones were opened right at the end. I didn't know if a sequel was being made or not. Clearly the author decided to have more books to follow. So you don't always know what if anything shall be resolved towards the end.

[bob_ninja]

Originally Posted by tompe

But 900 pages read of a total of 1000 is rather different from 90 pages read of a total of 100 so you need the total number of pages also. But I totally agree that your exectations add to the reading experience in a positive way.

Menu - Go To selection will give you the total.
Besides after reading 90 or 900 pages you should have a fairly good idea of the total length. In fact right from the starts simply by observing progress of the position bar you get a good feel for the total length, as in short/medium/long book. Again, the exact number of pages is never important.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ProfJulie

Isn't that what bookmarks are supposed to do?

Some people are having issues with bookmarks which is why they want page numbers. But if the next firmware fixes the bookmarks then there really is no need for page numbers.

[bob_ninja]

Ralob,
These kinds of comments are really annoying.
If you found "the software is not perfect" yet at the same time "current software works well enough" then why would a new "firmware is a disappointment" be cause for "collective outcry"?????? Does that imply that the current software is a "disappointment" as well even though it "works well enough"? Does it mean that you expected an update sooner that would make this software/device almost perfect?

Sounds to me you and the minority have very high expectations. You should simply forget about Cybook and look at iRex Iliad and other more expensive devices. You only get so much for the money you pay. A perfect device having perfect software costs. Cybook *NEVER* had such goals. Like most other eReader makers they made certain compromises. Software clearly took the back seat as they pushed hardware design to get the device out sooner.

Frankly there are times when I wait for version 1.3 or even 2 of something new to let others deal with the initial problems. You want to see problems and hassles of a brand new tek, just go look at iRobot cleaner bots. Some problems actually reappeared in a newer gen.

The bottom line is pay more money for a higher end device that will meet all you expectation, or wait for Cybook V3 that should have 99% of the issues resolved by then. You simply won't get a problem free V1 device for cheap.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

Says who!?! It's still 90% of the story.

Furthermore, I've read some 100-page novels which had me begging for more and some 1,000-page opuses which left me sickened by the waste of time. And the reverse is true for other stories. But in no case did I view length-qua-length as the determining factor. Rather, it was the storytelling methods used. Filling 100, 200 or more pages with lifeless, unimaginative, repetitious and dense, non-descriptive prose kills a story for me. But those same 100 or more pages packed with vivid descriptions of scenery and character motivation as well as action, thought and dialog can force me into a state where I am less 'reading' the story than I am 'imagining' it-where I literally step into the author's world.

Derek

Have you ever read Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard? I read it because a friend recommended it to me. The real problem with it was that it looked like it could have ended in a number of different places and that Hubbard just kept taking on mare words that had no real baring on the story.

[JSWolf]

Question... without page numbers, how does the Gen3 handle going to a specific part of the book?

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Have you ever read Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard? I read it because a friend recommended it to me. The real problem with it was that it looked like it could have ended in a number of different places and that Hubbard just kept taking on mare words that had no real baring on the story.

On that book you are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! And the very FIRST go/throw point was Page 1, Paragraph 1, Word 1!!!

Derek

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Question... without page numbers, how does the Gen3 handle going to a specific part of the book?

Alright already! [Grumble. Grumble. Grumble.]

One goes to the 'Go To' menu choice and when that choice's dialog appears, one selects 'Page...'. That causes a numeric-grid dialog box to appear. That dialog box clearly shows the total number of pages. The only beef I have with it is that when it first pops up, it does not show the current page number.

Derek

P.S. RTFM (Research The Flipping Menus)

[Ralob]

Originally Posted by bob_ninja

Ralob,
These kinds of comments are really annoying.
If you found "the software is not perfect" yet at the same time "current software works well enough" then why would a new "firmware is a disappointment" be cause for "collective outcry"?????? Does that imply that the current software is a "disappointment" as well even though it "works well enough"? Does it mean that you expected an update sooner that would make this software/device almost perfect?

You find the type of post I made annoying? Guess I better cry myself to sleep tonight.

I meant that the whole idea that the software being "beta" is not accurate in my opinion. It is usable, has no show-stopping bugs, and is reasonably stable (for me). And if you read my statement before, you will obviously see that I said there is room for improvement. It is what I would call "average". The CyBook is still somewhat new to the market, so I would not call the current firmware a "disappointment" as it was released some time ago. I feel it does need to be updated.

And no, firmware updates will never make the device perfect. No device is perfect regardless of how much money you spend.

As for the "outcry". I will be mad if folder support is not added when it is clearly important to most users. It is not imperative for the software to work, but it would make things so much easier. I will not return my device if it is not fixed this week, but I will question Bookeen as to whether or not there is an ETA for it.

And yes, I expected an update sooner.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by Ralob

. . .

As for the "outcry". I will be mad if folder support is not added when it is clearly important to most users. It is not imperative for the software to work, but it would make things so much easier. I will not return my device if it is not fixed this week, but I will question Bookeen as to whether or not there is an ETA for it.

And yes, I expected an update sooner.

"Sooner"??? I expected the update on March 1st! Didn't happen. Now I'm just circling, circling, circling the drain.......


Derek

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Ralob

As for the "outcry". I will be mad if folder support is not added when it is clearly important to most users.

It may be important to most users on this forum but we are not representative of "typical" eBook user - people who seek out a forum such as this are, almost by definition, eBook enthusiasts.

You don't honestly think that there's no folder view because Bookeen couldn't implement one, do you, or that it's just a coincidence that no eBook reader (other than the iLiad, which is rather a different type of device) has them?

The reason that folders aren't supported is almost without doubt because the market research that these companies do shows them that the typical "non-expert" user gets confused by folders, and loses things put in them.

I'll be happy to see folders if we get them, but I completely understand why it is that we DON'T have them in the current firmware.

[Ortep]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It may be important to most users on this forum The reason that folders aren't supported is almost without doubt because the market research that these companies do shows them that the typical "non-expert" user gets confused by folders, and loses things put in them.

I'll be happy to see folders if we get them, but I completely understand why it is that we DON'T have them in the current firmware.

I agree, if you go to www.mobipocket.com en check out the 'big' reader for windows, you can see they have no folder support at all. It is even worse than on the cybook. If you put a book in a subfolder from your main folder the books won't be visible in the library. On the cybook they do show up when you use subfolders. You can even use it as a primitive "sort on author"

The Windows reader does have the option to select and sort on various things like subject, title and author. That makes life better.

If you read the mobipocket forum you can see that people are asking for folders for years now. The response is alway: Use the library software and you do not need folders.

I think the best we can hope for is a better search/sort/select mechanism.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

Alright already! [Grumble. Grumble. Grumble.]

One goes to the 'Go To' menu choice and when that choice's dialog appears, one selects 'Page...'. That causes a numeric-grid dialog box to appear. That dialog box clearly shows the total number of pages. The only beef I have with it is that when it first pops up, it does not show the current page number.

Derek

P.S. RTFM (Research The Flipping Menus)

Given that the progress bar does not show page numbers, how do you know what page number it is you might want?

[Ortep]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Given that the progress bar does not show page numbers, how do you know what page number it is you might want?

The same way I do it in a p-book.

I was somewere in the middle, total size is 700 pages, so it must be around 350. Hmmmm...I already read this part, so it must be 50 higher...Aha...that is new. So it must be 25 lower. Aha...read that part. I'n within 25 pages now, on the avarage 12. Page forward from here

[tompe]

Originally Posted by bob_ninja

Software clearly took the back seat as they pushed hardware design to get the device out sooner.

But Bookeen has not done the hardware design and they have not written the operating system. The only thing they have done is written or licensed the application software.

Expecting bug free software is unrealistic. But it is not unrealistic to expect working navigation if you have a couple of hundreds books on the device.