Touch Kobo Touch future firmware feature request thread - Page 21

DaleDe · 08-24-2011, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exNookie

Not sure if people have suggested a sync feature where the kobo software tracks the current / last page read. When you close a book, enter sleep or shutdown a device your place in the book is saved to your account. Then if you open the same book on a different device it either prompts and asks you if you want to continue from the same spot last read on another device or automatically takes you there.

This feature would save a lot of work for people who read books on multiple devices (laptop, phone, KT).

I believe this already works, only for eBooks purchased from Kobo.

bibahbuzemann · 08-24-2011, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benjamin Buford

Page numbers are not some decoration, but a tool to find passages in a book, and ADE page numbers provide that, on every variety of ereader or e-reading app, and for every single ebook on this planet.

I like ADE page numbers! They are useful and practical. They are universal. They work, always.

Does "ADE" refer to Adobe Digital Editions? Because if it does, then I'll have to disagree.

In the last few years I've read over 300 ebooks and not one, not a single one, was an Adobe Digital Edition.

OTOH, with the help of the search tool, I have been able to give friends accurate pointers to specific passages in ebooks for years. Incidentally that really worked "on every variety of ereader or e-reading app, and for every single ebook on this planet", assuming, of course, they didn't lack the searching function in the first place(i.e. Kobo).

The Kindle, for example, has "real page numbers" which sounds a whole lot better than "ADE page numbers". The catch is,"ADE" or "real" it's all total BS!

At Amazon you can find english editions of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" with anything from 480 to 600 pages!

Since this is the "future frimware request" forum, I'd like to say: Give them Kobo devs a rest with all this page number stuff and just beg'em to implement a proper search function.

AND:
They could publish the dictionary format for easy tweaking(not so good for Kobo profit) or just sell all kinds of dictionarys.

EricDP · 08-24-2011, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bibahbuzemann

Does "ADE" refer to Adobe Digital Editions? Because if it does, then I'll have to disagree.

In the last few years I've read over 300 ebooks and not one, not a single one, was an Adobe Digital Edition.

Adobe Digital Editions is the software that converts the EPUB into a readable book on your screen. If you're reading side-loaded books on a kobo, you are reading one rendered using Adobe Digital Editions. Almost all eReaders use ADE as the core of their rendering, even if they touch it up a bit before final rendering.

PeterT · 08-25-2011, 12:13 AM

Eric; bahbuzemann looks to own an ebookwise 1150. From http://www.ebookwise.com/ebookwise/ebookwise1150.htm

Quote:

The eBookwise-1150 can display premium content from eBookwise.com, including best-sellers from major publishers, with more signing on all the time. See our home page for major best-selling authors and titles, or browse our extensive catalog for details. In addition, the eBookwise-1150 can display your own personal content in the following file formats: plain text (.txt), rich text format (.rtf), Microsoft Word documents (.doc), HTML (.htm or .html), and Rocket eBook Editions (.rb).

So this is a NON ADE device

John F · 08-25-2011, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricDP

Adobe Digital Editions is the software that converts the EPUB into a readable book on your screen. If you're reading side-loaded books on a kobo, you are reading one rendered using Adobe Digital Editions. Almost all eReaders use ADE as the core of their rendering, even if they touch it up a bit before final rendering.

Emphasis added.

Aren't there also a lot of eReaders (and apps) that may not use ADE for EPubs (like Coolreader, FBReader, Stanza, iBooks, ...)? Do these all use the same page numbering scheme?

I like the option (or no option) to make a screen a page. I usually just do linear reading, with no referencing.

08GibsonExplorer · 08-25-2011, 10:58 AM

I have a few book series like the Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and I always have to look up the order to read them in. In Calibre you can set the series and book number in the metadata.
So I guess my feature request would be to read this metadata in the Kobo and display the information. Also to group and sort based off the series and book number.

bibahbuzemann · 08-25-2011, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricDP

Adobe Digital Editions is the software that converts the EPUB into a readable book on your screen. If you're reading side-loaded books on a kobo, you are reading one rendered using Adobe Digital Editions. Almost all eReaders use ADE as the core of their rendering, even if they touch it up a bit before final rendering.

OK, so if this is true then all ebooks should have the exact same pagination, hence no need for some kind of specialized repagination scheme. After all "Almost all eReaders use ADE as the core of their rendering".

I just spent some time checking the source code of several ebooks I've purchased in epub, mobi and imp format and it turns out I can't find a single reference to Adobe. It seems to me they are all just different, modified versions of HTML

In fact, after taking a better look at some, let's call them "free" ebooks, which I acquired in multiple formats, there was not only no mention of Adobe, but there was absolutely no pagination scheme at all!

I'm no professional programmer, so what I'm seeing with my own two eyes could be completely wrong. Or else, maybe, I'm not so sure that what you say is actually true.

Page numbers are just so much smoke, so I'll just quote myself again:

Quote:

Originally Posted by bibahbuzemann

At Amazon you can find English editions of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" with anything from 480 to 600 pages!

If you and some friend had ereaders with "ADE" and you're both reading exactly the same "ADE"-version of the same ebook, I guess, well then you could, in all likelihood, share passages by exchanging "ADE" page numbers.

I wonder: would Kobo's implementation of "ADE page numbers" coincide with Amazon's "real page numbers"? Are ebooks absolutely static? Would a dedicated publisher correct errors in later versions of an ebook? Perhaps in response to consumer feedback? What would happen to that nifty "ADE" pagination scheme then?

This is the request forum so: I request that Kobo devs don't bust their brains on any of this pagination stuff and just concentrate on a simple searching feature.

Incidentally, this would neatly solve the bookmarking issue too. Tow birds, one stone!

ps: Ain't it a shame we haven't seen any posts from Kobo devs in weeks now?

SF&F Reader · 08-25-2011, 05:04 PM

ADE is used to read the epubs, not make them. The Page numbers aren't hard coded either. I believe ADE counts a page every 1024 bytes (compressed) or something, and the Kindle counts a location every 128 bytes (uncompressed).

exNookie · 08-25-2011, 06:23 PM

It would be great if someone summarized all of the requests into a short list of maybe <20 items. A mod could put up a poll and we could vote.

therealjoeblow · 08-25-2011, 11:07 PM

There's a ton of wasted space when one brings up the menubar while reading, between <-Library and the stacked line icon (TOC, settings, etc).

It would be nice if this was used by useful features, such as a couple of icons for chapter skip ahead and skip back, which would save a stroke of having to open the nav slider first with the <-> icon.

Some additional space could be saved by getting rid of the "<-" to the left of "Library" and moving it over to the left some more, which could allow addition of other useful icons, or even a clock as requested by others.

In any case, PLEASE USE THE SPACE MORE EFFECTIVELY

Thanks
The REAL Joe

therealjoeblow · 08-26-2011, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricDP

Adobe Digital Editions is the software that converts the EPUB into a readable book on your screen. If you're reading side-loaded books on a kobo, you are reading one rendered using Adobe Digital Editions. Almost all eReaders use ADE as the core of their rendering, even if they touch it up a bit before final rendering.

There's nothing magic about epub that requires special software to 'render' it - it's just simple HTML files packed in a zip container and renamed .epub instead of .zip. You can open the html files in any web browser.

The REAL Joe

DaleDe · 08-26-2011, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by therealjoeblow

There's nothing magic about epub that requires special software to 'render' it - it's just simple HTML files packed in a zip container and renamed .epub instead of .zip. You can open the html files in any web browser.

The REAL Joe

Well, not exactly. An html viewer has one page per file, it does not paginate like a book and epub contains an external toc that can be used to traverse the document and metadata and other special features like bookmarking that are not present in an html viewer.

Dale

PeterT · 08-26-2011, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by therealjoeblow

There's nothing magic about epub that requires special software to 'render' it - it's just simple HTML files packed in a zip container and renamed .epub instead of .zip. You can open the html files in any web browser.

The REAL Joe

You also forgot the DRM aspect of ePubs....

RasAlhague · 08-26-2011, 07:46 AM

Ability to edit Book Title and author name please.

And the ability to bookmark and also when we choose on "Mark as Finished" can it be added to our reading stats as one of the completed/finished books? Since when we restore/factory reset kobo due to some... errors, everything goes back to zero.

RobertJSawyer · 08-26-2011, 01:44 PM

I've noticed on some Kepub books at least that widow/orphan control is turned on, a feature I've never seen before on an ebook reader. But widow/orphan control works best aesthetically when there are lots of lines of text on a page (such as the 35 or 40 on a typical printed book page). On pages with fewer lines, it's more of an irritant (in my view) than a feature, because it keeps making for short pages -- and short pages visually signal the end of a chapter. So, it's like a fake-out: "Chapter's coming to an end! Hah! Fooled you -- there's more!"

I'm all in favour of having multiple layout features, but this one should definitely be user-selectable.

Widows and Orphans defined at Wikipedia

08-25-2011, 10:58 AM	#306
08GibsonExplorer Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Kobo Touch	I have a few book series like the Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and I always have to look up the order to read them in. In Calibre you can set the series and book number in the metadata. So I guess my feature request would be to read this metadata in the Kobo and display the information. Also to group and sort based off the series and book number. Last edited by 08GibsonExplorer; 08-25-2011 at 12:08 PM.

08-25-2011, 11:07 PM	#310
therealjoeblow Zealot Posts: 106 Karma: 52102 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Samsung Android Tablet w/Moon+ Pro Reader	Use the space on the menu bar productively... There's a ton of wasted space when one brings up the menubar while reading, between <-Library and the stacked line icon (TOC, settings, etc). It would be nice if this was used by useful features, such as a couple of icons for chapter skip ahead and skip back, which would save a stroke of having to open the nav slider first with the <-> icon. Some additional space could be saved by getting rid of the "<-" to the left of "Library" and moving it over to the left some more, which could allow addition of other useful icons, or even a clock as requested by others. In any case, PLEASE USE THE SPACE MORE EFFECTIVELY Thanks The REAL Joe

08-26-2011, 01:44 PM	#315
RobertJSawyer Guru Posts: 738 Karma: 4306712 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Libra 2, Clara 2E, and Clara HD; Kindle PaperWhite	Widow/orphan control should be user selectable I've noticed on some Kepub books at least that widow/orphan control is turned on, a feature I've never seen before on an ebook reader. But widow/orphan control works best aesthetically when there are lots of lines of text on a page (such as the 35 or 40 on a typical printed book page). On pages with fewer lines, it's more of an irritant (in my view) than a feature, because it keeps making for short pages -- and short pages visually signal the end of a chapter. So, it's like a fake-out: "Chapter's coming to an end! Hah! Fooled you -- there's more!" I'm all in favour of having multiple layout features, but this one should definitely be user-selectable. Widows and Orphans defined at Wikipedia

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08-25-2011, 05:04 PM	#308
SF&F Reader Groupie Posts: 150 Karma: 100855 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Saskatchewan, Canada Device: Kobo Touch, Blackberry Playbook, Samsung Galaxy SII HD LTE	ADE is used to read the epubs, not make them. The Page numbers aren't hard coded either. I believe ADE counts a page every 1024 bytes (compressed) or something, and the Kindle counts a location every 128 bytes (uncompressed).

08-25-2011, 06:23 PM	#309
exNookie Member Posts: 20 Karma: 90 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Calgary, Canada Device: Kobo Touch	It would be great if someone summarized all of the requests into a short list of maybe <20 items. A mod could put up a poll and we could vote.

08-26-2011, 07:46 AM	#314
RasAlhague Enthusiast Posts: 41 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Pandigital Novel (Returned), Kobo Touch, Ipod Touch 4G	Ability to edit Book Title and author name please. And the ability to bookmark and also when we choose on "Mark as Finished" can it be added to our reading stats as one of the completed/finished books? Since when we restore/factory reset kobo due to some... errors, everything goes back to zero.