Glo Kobo Software Update 2.5.2

[Breid]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

I don't care about the wasted 'real estate' within reason. Not like I can grow vegetables on it or set out a garden gnome.

Oops, hastily stuffing garden gnome into cupboard....what the blazes am I going to do with my carrot seeds??

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

And not connecting to Kobo will most likely save me a few dollars. No impulse online buying directly from my reader

If only I had your willpower, I would be so much richer.

[tkavan]

Originally Posted by moffattm

You can add me to the list of people that prefer to see the title of the current book at the top of the screen. Maybe it's because most of my ebooks are kepubs and so I've got used to it, but I think it balances things out.

Me too. And I also like the chapter/page numbers at the bottom of the page.
What I would like though is if the black bar/light indicator at the bottom of the page could be made a little less high. I like it black and not transparent, but think it could take up a little less real estate.

Imagine if the developers went through everything and made it so you could turn things on and off or change where on the screen they were displayed? Kobo would have the most customisable e-reader on the market!

Yeah that would be great. I'm not a software guy but many of the programs I use allow you to do just that, so it's not out there on the leading edge of software development.

Of course ereaders are primarily devices to sell books, so I presume most development dollars go into that aspect of the business rather than into looking at all the little things users complain about and trying to fix them.

[Nightyume]

Originally Posted by Breid

Oops, hastily stuffing garden gnome into cupboard....what the blazes am I going to do with my carrot seeds??

If only I had your willpower, I would be so much richer.

So with you on that one, just bought eight books and I'm currently trying to save up for a new off contract cell phone

[david_e]

Originally Posted by Breid

I may have misunderstood your meaning, but here goes with my 2 cent worth anyway. For me the choice of screen options, and font sizes, was the main reason that I switched to reading on an eink device instead of pbooks. I am not quite blind as a bat yet, but my eyesight is not great, so it is a real joy to be able to adjust font type, size, weight and sharpness to a level that is comfortable for me. I loved my Glo and I am really pleased with my Aura, the extra screen real estate is good to have and I can use a smaller font than on my Glo. It is good to have some extra lines of text on the screen. I am enjoying fewer page turns which contributes to a better reading experience for me. My ideal ereader size would be that of a trade paperback....not sure what the physical dimensions are, but I reckon many people would be horrified at the thought of such a large ereader!

I have just synced my Aura and got the most recent firmware update. I checked out an epub to see what the title bar on each page was like, and for me it's not a problem. It is in a small font and I probably lose one line of text, which for me is not a big deal. But judging by other posts on this thread, for those of you who have 20/20 vision and want to max out the number of characters/lines per page this new firmware is a cause of great wrath.

No misunderstandings at all. While definitely a good reason for some, I was saying it was not the universal reason for which everyone chose an ereader.

Glad you're enjoying your Aura, I am, too. I think the people are letting this title bar issue stop them from buying one are really missing out.

[david_e]

Originally Posted by Quexos

Ok just looking at your avatar, I should have known. there's always one or two like you in any forum, it's inevitable I guess ...

Are you being sexist? Racist? Agist? Anti British? Anti Mollie Sugden? All?

Originally Posted by Quexos

Anyways whether you like it or not, we talk about the Kobo issues in this thread and if that's a thorn up your ... back It's not my problem, care or concern.

Yes, I did think we were talking about Kobo issues here, until you made it personal by making a remark about my avatar. No one else did that, just you.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by david_e

Are you being sexist? Racist? Agist? Anti British? Anti Mollie Sugden? All?



Yes, I did think we were talking about Kobo issues here, until you made it personal by making a remark about my avatar. No one else did that, just you.

You mean that isn't a image of you! Oh, the disillusionment!

[david_e]

Originally Posted by DNSB

You mean that isn't a image of you! Oh, the disillusionment!

What? Those earrings with that hair color? As if!

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Jaden

"Visual" people that like to look at something beautiful? Hope that helps.

I don't "whin(g)e" about it just because I said I don't like it. It's nothing I can't live with, but still I think it's anything but pretty.

Also I don't spend my time gazing adoringly at the sleep/power off screen. I'd rather read. But a pretty cover is a plus - if it wasn't, no publisher would spend any time to design something special. We'd all get black text on white for every book.

For me, the beauty lies in being able to put text on the page with a selection of fonts, sizes, styles, etc. The sleep/power off covers? I never look at them since they only show up when I am not using the reader.

Perhaps 'whinge' was going a bit overboard. On second thought, I could have been more diplomatic and had them looking forward to the trip.

"Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness." Otto von Bismarck

I've seen many a ghodawful book with a beautiful cover. I've seen great books with lousy covers. Perhaps showing my lack of visual orientation but I seldom make a decision to purchase a book based on the cover. Admittedly I do get a chuckle out of the sheer number of covers where you are forced to the conclusion that not only did the cover artist not read one word in the book but that its entirely possible that they have never read any books.

The book I am currently (for the next couple of hours, at least) reading has no illustrations - when it was originally published, woodcuts were state of the art. The text however is still very relevant in this century.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3420

It brings back memories of when I originally read the book in those distant years when I was attending university and the second wave of the feminist movement in North America was strong on campus.

Regards,
David

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I have this volume, as well.

However, for what it's worth, all of his works are in the public domain (to the best of my knowledge). You can go to Amazon and download a ton of Henry James and then use calibre (because, truly, it can be your friend).

Don

Or you can trundle off to Gutenberg and download 85 or so of his books . The last time I obtained a PD book from Amazon, it was based on the Gutenberg text so why not cut out the middleman.

Regards,
David

[david_e]

Mild curiosity has me whipping out my handy dandy Martha Stewart Crafts ruler.

Looking at a kepub, the width of the title bar is 1/2 inch, appears to be the same space as when accessing the menu from inside a book.

Looking at an epub with font, line spacing, and margins reduced to nil, the blank space at the top is 1/8 of an inch.

A difference of 3/8 of an inch. Within that 3/8 space at the nil settings you could almost get 3 lines of text.

3/8 of an inch hasn't caused this much excitement since the 6th grade.

[ShellShock]

Originally Posted by Breid

I have been much entertained by the posts of those who do not own any Kobo devices expressing very determined views on a firmware update that they can have no knowledge of.

I think it is legitimate for potential purchasers to get as much info as possible about the device before buying; if they see something they don't like which is stopping them from buying, and which could be easily fixed by Kobo, then why shouldn't they comment? They are potentially helping Kobo make another sale.

[ShellShock]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Open by modern standards, definitely. Open by the standards that you laid out, no. The thing that you have to keep in mind is that Kobo devices lack documentation from Kobo, yet very few of their other practices can be considered as restrictive.

But without an open source system we have to trust Kobo not become more restrictive and not to introduce changes that break community add ons. Recently firmware 2.5.1 broke community dictionaries; fortunately for us Kobo reverted the change and custom dictionairies are working again in 2.5.2. What if they decided, for corporate reasons, not to allow custom dictionaries, or any of the other add ons?

Have Kobo ever officially declared they want to support the community extensions, or at least make them possible? It seems to me that they turn a blind eye. But what if someone released alternative reader software for kepubs? I suspect Kobo would act to try to shut it down by changing the firmware so the alternative no longer worked.

[roger64]

Originally Posted by david_e

3/8 of an inch hasn't caused this much excitement since the 6th grade.

It seems you obviously wait for it, so you'll get another one. I am kind to you.

EPUB is EPUB.

Kobo can put bells and whistles around the neck of their wondrous KEPUB, no problem for me. But I do expect Kobo to leave EPUB aside of their dubious experiments.

Respect the standard, quash the bugs. There are still lots of them. And huge ones at that.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by david_e

3/8 of an inch hasn't caused this much excitement since the 6th grade.

Oh really ? Were you that happy ? I do hope you have had other highlights in that area since 6th grade...

Seriously though, why can't you just accept the fact that FOR YOU and some others not having this space is ok, but FOR US it is not ? We are not saying we want a page this way or that way for all, we are saying we would like the choice. You are saying we should just shut up and swallow it, so do not be surprised at the reactions you are getting.

[samhy]

Originally Posted by Breid

Samhy, yes the Aura's screen is longer and wider than previous Kobos. I am sorry that I don't know the exact dimensions. I have a Kobo Glo and the Aura. The crisper display on the Aura allows me to use a smaller font size and smaller side margins than those that I use on my Glo. Also the light on the Aura is much softer - my Glo light is quite blue - and I am really enjoying the reading experience on my Aura. Also the battery life is fantastic. I read on average 2 hours per day, no eyestrain and after 12 days on just one charge my battery is at 50%, that includes a couple of wifi sessions and an update to the most recent software version tonight. I also have a Kindle PW, which I like a lot, and my first ereader was a Sony PRS650 (my sister has it now and she loves it). But IMO despite all Kobo's firmware update niggles (I have been lucky perhaps, but I have had few problems), the Aura is giving me the best reading experience. However, my experience may not be yours and you may prefer to try out an Aura in a store before you buy.

Thank you very much for your feedback Breid.
I hope to be able to see one in the flesh soon. When in doubt, as a rule, I'm going for the better hardware since (hopefully) the software can be changed/improved/hacked. In that case, that screams Aura