Kobo future firmware feature request thread

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The page number in the margin is only for epubs, and is the same as the page number at the bottom of the screen. It is calculated using the same rules and indicates where the page starts. The page number at the bottom of the screen is for the page the first character on the screen is on. Depending on the font size, you can have multiple pages on one screen, or take several screens for one page.

Couldn't have explained it that well. But that's why I think it's not very practical either. Yes, you can tell someone it's on page 145, but they will not know if it's on "page turn" 1, 2, 3 or whatever since that depends on your device and font size.

I was talking about printed books when talking about differing page numbers in editions (if that was somehow misunderstandable).

[BookBunny]

Originally Posted by theonna

File manager, file manager, file manager.
Seriously.

This, again. Why do mobile devices refuse to use what's so common in every OS under the sun?

I don't need any goddamn clunky playlist system, I don't want to use extra programs to manage my files that I already have sorted neatly in folders on a card, which I could plug in and edit on every computer on the planet. But noooooooo, that's too easy. Here, let us load alllll your neat folders into one gigantic pile, now sort them AGAIN, with our clunky, useless shelf system. Durrr.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Jaden

Couldn't have explained it that well. But that's why I think it's not very practical either. Yes, you can tell someone it's on page 145, but they will not know if it's on "page turn" 1, 2, 3 or whatever since that depends on your device and font size.

Yes, it has it's shortcoming. But, it is the same page number for most readers that use the Adobe SDK. I think you have to resort to something like "the fourth paragraph on page 145". Or using search.

I was talking about printed books when talking about differing page numbers in editions (if that was somehow misunderstandable).

My bad. I completely ignored the comment on editions in my reply. Yes, that just complicates things.

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Yes, it has it's shortcoming. But, it is the same page number for most readers that use the Adobe SDK. I think you have to resort to something like "the fourth paragraph on page 145". Or using search.

If you just want to show someone something, like "I loved this paragraph on page 133, the 4th one" that's completely okay (though I would prefer to have a part of a sentence to do a search, as in "that paragraph that started with ..."), but I think for academical purpose it's still problematic.

Or if you want your students to read a certain paragraph, starting there, ending there...

But I don't think you could use that for a bachelor paper, for example (or would be allowed, that is).

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Jaden

If you just want to show someone something, like "I loved this paragraph on page 133, the 4th one" that's completely okay (though I would prefer to have a part of a sentence to do a search, as in "that paragraph that started with ..."), but I think for academical purpose it's still problematic.

Or if you want your students to read a certain paragraph, starting there, ending there...

But I don't think you could use that for a bachelor paper, for example (or would be allowed, that is).

Yes, informal use is OK and wouldn't be that much different from a paper book. But academic use is a problem. I have seen some discussion on it, but I didn't take much notice as it isn't my area.

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Yes, informal use is OK and wouldn't be that much different from a paper book. But academic use is a problem. I have seen some discussion on it, but I didn't take much notice as it isn't my area.

Neither mine, though I've followed some discussions about it. I'm also quite interested in ereader/tablets to use in school or for studies (though there would still be the need for much improvement/many changes until that would be possible).

[patrik]

Originally Posted by BookBunny

This, again. Why do mobile devices refuse to use what's so common in every OS under the sun?

I don't need any goddamn clunky playlist system, I don't want to use extra programs to manage my files that I already have sorted neatly in folders on a card, which I could plug in and edit on every computer on the planet. But noooooooo, that's too easy. Here, let us load alllll your neat folders into one gigantic pile, now sort them AGAIN, with our clunky, useless shelf system. Durrr.

I agree completely.

[ottdmk]

The thing is, it's a matter of efficiency. People want to be able to search by author, title, etc. That functionality is best suited to a database. So the question becomes, why bother implement folders? What's the business case?

[theonna]

Originally Posted by ottdmk

The thing is, it's a matter of efficiency. People want to be able to search by author, title, etc. That functionality is best suited to a database. So the question becomes, why bother implement folders? What's the business case?

I say that there is not a question of one or another, generally every device already has a file manager, somehow some "notverysmart" person decided that it is easier for users not to "bother" with file system and introduced extra software like shelves, lists, collections for content management, what is unfortunate is that all those are clunky and slow and nobody made their management more efficient or faster or easier to create than normal folder structure in file manager. And in case of eink ebook readers, which are geared for a very long battery life, makes their weak processors do the job of indexing way too slow... I could bring a case against programmers, who did not even offer people a choice to create those indexes on their fast desktops and laptops and just transfer to their devices, have natural algorithms built in for automation of shelves, lets say from file structure of the library on your desktop... In short database and shelves are very poor implementation of "user friendly" content management.
And I already mentioned, search does not work on foreign language books, so file manager is easy and fast way to have your library organized, saves a lot of time and lets your reader work without wasting literally hours indexing the content, which in case of foreign books it cant even search for.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by theonna

I say that there is not a question of one or another, generally every device already has a file manager, somehow some "notverysmart" person decided that it is easier for users not to "bother" with file system and introduced extra software like shelves, lists, collections for content management, [...]
And I already mentioned, search does not work on foreign language books, so file manager is easy and fast way to have your library organized,[...]

Clearly that's the best way for you - and there are readers available (thought not in the big brands) that do that. I have ended up deciding that I much prefer a shelf system. I find it easy to manage with Calibre, and I need the ability to have a book on more than one shelf.

[theonna]

Originally Posted by meeera

I have ended up deciding that I much prefer a shelf system. I find it easy to manage with Calibre, and I need the ability to have a book on more than one shelf.

Here is another problem-you can not manage Kobo shelves easy or efficiently without Calibre. It is wonderful that it exists, but Kobo seems to be overly reliant on it without ever bothering to make their own software bookshelf friendly. Also Calibre can do nothing with horrible indexing times. Book shelves or file manger is after all user preference, but Kobo indexing times are by far the longest from all of the other ereaders on the market. So in that regard just by employing a file manager will get rid of a need for third party software and incredibly long indexing time.
Want to use shelves and search- fine, just let us use our own computers to build the databases, this way we dont need to wait for hours, it is more than an hour if you fill your reader with books.

[rem736]

it seems that kobo is afraid of us seeing the file names. no where is there an option to view book info that has the file name shown. you are able to see the file type & size, title, and author, but not file name. sorting options include all of these as well, but is missing file name as well.

so my request in the next firmware update is to include file name where book info is displayed and allow you to sort by file name as well.

[jlynton]

I would like to see the possibility to use an ext2/3/4 formatted microSD card, it is simple enough to do, see https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=213727

[PeterT]

@Jlynton: Remember the issue with non FAT32 formats is that the host O/S when USB attached needs to understand it. A VERY VERY large % of users are Windows based, and unless you are a power user and add on some unsupported drivers to Windows, it does not support a ext/2/3/4 file system.

[rleguillow]

I've had my Glo for about a month now and I like it a lot better than my Nook Glow, though I realize that which reader one prefers is largely a matter of personal taste and reading requirements...
I would make one change though, or perhaps I should say addition. My Glo has 3 options for what happens when you touch the screen (and where you touch it) with relation to page-turns. I would love to add another option or two to that for those of us who switch hands frequently while reading... an option to touch anywhere in the lower half-or-two-thirds for forward and the upper half-or-one-third for back, with the center area of the upper half for opening the menu, and an option that reverses that, though it is hard for me to picture holding the reader by the top, some folks might. The way I hold it, in either hand, if a touch anywhere in the lower portion would page forward, it would work much better for me. As I said, not a change to what is currently available, but an addition.