Gregg's Nearly Interminable Adventures in Linux Land

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Less and less space for reasons other than storing stuff on it?

You will always see a bit less space than the stated size of the drive, because the stated size is the raw size, but formatting takes a bit off the top.

I'd be a bit startled if you saw less space due to cells being marked bad and mapped out. It's going to take a while for any cell to actually get erased and rewritten over 100,000 times.
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Dennis

Thanks Dennis. Yeah, I'm sure it was just more and more storage, but when you suggested the dying cells bit I think my imaginaation ran away with me.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

On Unix systems, and Linux systems whose design derives from Unix, files whose name begins with a . are not shown in a directory listing. To see them, you must do "ls -a".

Many things create hidden files. There are where config files from programs you use are normally kept. The program will have a master config file, usually in the /etc hierarchy, and local ones in the user's home directories, which will override th4e settings in the global file if they exist. For instance, your shell will have a ,profile or a .login file.

Text editors are likely to create journal or backup copy files as hidden, because the odds are you don't want to see them cluttering up a directory display. (They are easy enough to see if you want to.)

Whether they are worth keeping is a judgement call. Which editors do you have installed? How likely are you to need to revert to a backup of what you were editing? The editor may have a configuration setting that will let you turn off keeping a backup if you don't need them. The amount of space they take is unlikely to be a concern, so the question is "Do you need the backups?" Since you don't by default see the backup files unless you did something like alias ls to ls -a in your shell, you probably don't care that hard that they exist.
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Dennis

That is really interesting. Thanks for the explanation. I already had a hidden file slightly save me, so I'm all for keeping them. If I get too many of them I can start picking them off. One thing that confused me was that my file finder was showing the hidden files to be located in folders that they clearly weren't when I looked. Then I figured out I had to click on 'show hidden files' in "view."

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

That's actually not a surprise. Kingston is one the the budget lines, and you get what you pay for.

There are about five outfits that actually make the flash media used in the drive. Everyone who sells flash drives buys media from one of them and puts it in their own packaging with their own logo.

Years back, I bought a PNY SD card for use in a PDA, and did some benchmarks. The PNY had read speeds comparable to the Sandisk and Lexar Media SD cards I already had, but write speeds were an order of magnitude slower. (It took so long to perform the write test I thought the device had hung and was about to reset it.) It turned out the drive uses Toshiba media. A correspondent on a PDA focused web board saw the same issue with Kingston SD cards, which also used Toshiba media.

(I also had an Adata card fail when the plastic packaging did - the glue holding the halves together failed.)

I decided to stick to Sandisk, which is one of the outfits that does make its own flash. It cost a bit more, but I had less quality worries.
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Dennis

Great! I'm two days too late. (I just bought a Kingston from Newegg. It's 16GB and has no LED light. (I didn't think of this being a disadvantage when I bought it.) It was $7.19 though and has a cap on the end. I don't like the retractable ones because I'm afraid crap is going to get in there when I put them in my pockets. I knew the Kingston was slow, though, and that was not an issue for me. Interestingly the only pen drive I had that totally crapped out was a PNY attache. The lock/unlock switch stuck and the drive became 'read only.' Right now I'm struggling with the same sort of problem (the drive being 'read only') with a Verbatim 3GB flash drive. And finally--Yes!--I have a 32 GB Sandisk.

So who, besides Sandisk, makes the better flash drives? I've heard good things about Patriot too.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Less and less space for reasons other than storing stuff on it?

You will always see a bit less space than the stated size of the drive, because the stated size is the raw size, but formatting takes a bit off the top.

Also, a lot of people (even software developers) don't understand the difference between GB (Gigabyte, base 10) and GiB (Gibibyte, base 2) and when they see that their 16 GB USB drive only has 14.9 GiB (not counting formatting overhead) they get upset saying that the drive doesn't have the full capacity. It doesn't help that many (most) programs show the units in the base 10 representation while showing the base 2 value. Drives are always (almost always?) sold as their base 10 capacity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabyte
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibibyte

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

Thanks Dennis. Yeah, I'm sure it was just more and more storage, but when you suggested the dying cells bit I think my imaginaation ran away with me.

Visions of a virtual plague killing off cells right and left?

That is really interesting. Thanks for the explanation. I already had a hidden file slightly save me, so I'm all for keeping them. If I get too many of them I can start picking them off. One thing that confused me was that my file finder was showing the hidden files to be located in folders that they clearly weren't when I looked. Then I figured out I had to click on 'show hidden files' in "view."

Define "too many". The space taken by a hidden file is likely to be on the order of a few KB. In the context of current drive capacities, you don't care. I don't see why you are concerned. If they aren't taking a significant amount of space (and they aren't), and you don't see them by default in a directory display, why do you care?

It sounds like you're using a GUI file manager, so yes, you do have to tell it to show you hidden files. You can probably tell the file manager (which one?) to do so by default, but I wouldn't. I don't need the clutter on the directory display.

Great! I'm two days too late. (I just bought a Kingston from Newegg. It's 16GB and has no LED light. (I didn't think of this being a disadvantage when I bought it.) It was $7.19 though and has a cap on the end. I don't like the retractable ones because I'm afraid crap is going to get in there when I put them in my pockets. I knew the Kingston was slow, though, and that was not an issue for me. Interestingly the only pen drive I had that totally crapped out was a PNY attache. The lock/unlock switch stuck and the drive became 'read only.' Right now I'm struggling with the same sort of problem (the drive being 'read only') with a Verbatim 3GB flash drive. And finally--Yes!--I have a 32 GB Sandisk.

Not having an LED light isn't a huge concern for me. Among other reasons, I have a USB 2.0 hub such things are plugged into, and it's placed such that I wouldn't see the LED light. There are other ways to know the drive is active, and the progress of transfers.

Depending upon your usage, the Kingston should be fine.

So who, besides Sandisk, makes the better flash drives? I've heard good things about Patriot too.

Patriot is one of the OEMs who buys flash media from one of the outfits that makes it, and puts it in their own packaging with their own label. The last I knew, the big boys making flash were Intel, Micron Technology, Samsung, Sandisk, and Toshiba. (Toshiba originated NAND flash.)

The problem is that there isn't a good way to know who actually made the flash used in a particular card or flash drive, unless you get it and have a utility that can display the information. It's not something advertised on the card. You buy from one of the big boys and pay more, or you take your chances.

The big concern most folks will have will be flash speed. For instance, digital cameras normally use SD cards as storage. The camera owner's concern will be that the card is fast enough to keep up with the shots being taken. That issue bemused my in the PNY card I mentioned, since ti was being sold for use in digital cameras. I thought "What happens if I snap the shutter on my camera fast enough that the previous shot is still being stored to the drive when the new one needs to be stored? At what point do I run into problems because the cache the image is stored to gets full because it can't be emptied fast enough?" You see things now like Class 4 or Class 10 storage as speed indicators.

My attitude towards any sort of purchase where there are multiple possible vendors is to toss out the highest and lowest price offers, and look at the stuff in the middle. I likely don't need the high priced spread for what I'm doing, and low prices come at the expense of speed/quality.

I just got an Android tablet that I posted about elsewhere. The specs are mediocre but the price ($20) was right. My SO bought a 16GB microSDHC card for her Nook Tablet that she wound up not using, so I popped it into mine. It's a SanDisk she got off of eBay, but for my uses, it doesn't matter. The card will have stuff added to it from my PC, and only be read on the tablet. It's been just fine this far.

And there are always quirks. For instance, I still have and use a Palm TX PDA. The TX has an SD card slot, but the largest card it will take is 4GB, because it only handles SD cards and the biggest SD card made is 4GB. To get higher capacities, you need to get an SDHC card, but the TX can't read them.

A programmer named Dmitry Grindberg (who works for Google these days) wrote a replacement slot driver for Palm OS to enable use of SDHC cards, and a while back he changed it from shareware to freeware. I installed it on my TX, and got an 8GB SanDisk SDHC card for it. The problem is, most of the time, the TX simply doesn't recognize the card is there. Pull the card and re-insert and power the device off and on often enough, and the TX may see and read it. The FAQ says it's a known problem, specific to particular devices and cards, and hard to solve. I wouldn't have thought SanDisk would be a problem card, but...

Since the main use case for the TX was eBook viewer, I got a larger card to have more space to store them, and eBook viewer chores are shifting to the tablet, I'm not going to bother trying to make it work. The TX works fine with the 4GB card, it's not out of space, and the 8GB card can be used elsewhere.
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Dennis

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by twowheels

Also, a lot of people (even software developers) don't understand the difference between GB (Gigabyte, base 10) and GiB (Gibibyte, base 2) and when they see that their 16 GB USB drive only has 14.9 GiB (not counting formatting overhead) they get upset saying that the drive doesn't have the full capacity. It doesn't help that many (most) programs show the units in the base 10 representation while showing the base 2 value. Drives are always (almost always?) sold as their base 10 capacity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabyte
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibibyte

I've seen that, twowheels, and always wondered if it was a typo or something (whenever I saw GiB, that is). Geez, such needless confusion. Seems to me MS is the holdout in its clinginig to GiB .

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Visions of a virtual plague killing off cells right and left?

You gotta admit--it's a much more dramatic explanation.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Define "too many". The space taken by a hidden file is likely to be on the order of a few KB. In the context of current drive capacities, you don't care. I don't see why you are concerned. If they aren't taking a significant amount of space (and they aren't), and you don't see them by default in a directory display, why do you care?

You know, I didn't know they were such a miniscule deal until you just explained it. Again, my imagination gets away with me--imagining hordes of tilde-ended files overwhelming the innards of my poor Dell Optiplex 170L. Now I say, Let the hidden files peacefully co-exist with the normal ones.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

There are other ways to know the drive is active, and the progress of transfers.

Uh, care to share just what such ways are? (That would be very helpful to me.)

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Patriot is one of the OEMs who buys flash media from one of the outfits that makes it, and puts it in their own packaging with their own label. The last I knew, the big boys making flash were Intel, Micron Technology, Samsung, Sandisk, and Toshiba. (Toshiba originated NAND flash.)

The problem is that there isn't a good way to know who actually made the flash used in a particular card or flash drive.

I used to sell VCRs. It was the same thing. They were all made by Matsushita.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

The big concern most folks will have will be flash speed. For instance, digital cameras normally use SD cards as storage. The camera owner's concern will be that the card is fast enough to keep up with the shots being taken. That issue bemused my in the PNY card I mentioned, since ti was being sold for use in digital cameras. I thought "What happens if I snap the shutter on my camera fast enough that the previous shot is still being stored to the drive when the new one needs to be stored? At what point do I run into problems because the cache the image is stored to gets full because it can't be emptied fast enough?"

Interesting scenario. Perhaps the camera owners manual could include tips on slow finger action pushing the shutter. (It reminds me of the old mechanic joke: "I couldn't fix your brakes but I made your horn louder.")

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

My attitude towards any sort of purchase where there are multiple possible vendors is to toss out the highest and lowest price offers, and look at the stuff in the middle. I likely don't need the high priced spread for what I'm doing, and low prices come at the expense of speed/quality.

That's a good suggestion. And I've been reading the Newegg reviews too. One guy was like: 'With only three weeks of moderate use this flash drive was shot.' (I passed on that one.)

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I just got an Android tablet that I posted about elsewhere. The specs are mediocre but the price ($20) was right.
Dennis

All right man, how'd you get it for $20! I'm writng ebooks and have been using Sony Reader Library to proof them, but I've gone Linux, and SRL doesn't work on Linux. For Kindle I've been using KIndle for PC (and now that I'm Linux, the Kindle Cloud Reader), but I've always felt I should have an ereader (and for epubs more than mobis--are there ereaders that read both?), esp. being in MR. lol (I came here to learn about Sigil.) I admit I am seriously clueless about the hardware. (I thought Paperwhite was cutting edge and now I just saw there's a PW3!) So if your $20 Android is a tablet it's an ereader and a computer, right?

They got another one like that for sale? (Point me to it and I'll buy it. I'll even go as high as $25, no, make that $27. I mean it!)

[Dngrsone]

I managed to get a first generation Nook for $25 ($20 bid plus $4.95 shipping; always factor in the shipping cost!) on eBay... one just has to be patient and do a lot of reading and a little sleuthing.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

You gotta admit--it's a much more dramatic explanation.

You're a writer. Your mind works that way.

You know, I didn't know they were such a miniscule deal until you just explained it. Again, my imagination gets away with me--imagining hordes of tilde-ended files overwhelming the innards of my poor Dell Optiplex 170L. Now I say, Let the hidden files peacefully co-exist with the normal ones.

It can be handy to know what they are and why they exist, but for the most part, you don't care that they exist.

Uh, care to share just what such ways are? (That would be very helpful to me.)

What Linux distro do you use?

I don't normally worry about monitoring drive usage. I care about things like monitoring downloads from the Internet, so I know when they are done, but that's a different matter.

I used to sell VCRs. It was the same thing. They were all made by Matsushita.

OEM deals are the industry norm. Consumer electronics you buy are all made out of parts, and the parts are normally made by someone other than the outfit whose name is on the box. Buy a device, and all the company whose name is on the label did was design it, and maybe assemble the final product.

The Apple iPhone, for example, is actually assembled by Foxconn, and all of the parts in it are made by other vendors. The legal battles between Aple and Smasung are grimly amusing, because Samsung is a major supplier of parts used in the iPhone.

Interesting scenario. Perhaps the camera owners manual could include tips on slow finger action pushing the shutter. (It reminds me of the old mechanic joke: "I couldn't fix your brakes but I made your horn louder.")

The manual is more likely to say "Buy a fast enough card"

That's a good suggestion. And I've been reading the Newegg reviews too. One guy was like: 'With only three weeks of moderate use this flash drive was shot.' (I passed on that one.)

Like everything else, you get what you pay for. I look at reviews, too, if I'm not familiar with the product/vendor.
______
Dennis

[DMcCunney]

All right man, how'd you get it for $20!

There's a midwest computer retailer called Micro Center that is expanding. (They occupy the niche once held by Computerland, who is now web only.) They opened stores in Brooklyn and Queens in NYC, and a direct mail piece announcing it popped up in my mailbox. It included a coupon to get an Azpen A727 tablet for $19.95.

Azpen is one of the Asian manufacturers targeting the budget end of the device market. Micro Center is one of their partners, as is Walmart and QVC.

The A727 has a 1.5 ghz dual core CPU, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, and a 7" 800x480 display. A microSD card slot lets you add up to 32GB of additional storage. It runs Android 4.2 Jellybean. I put in a 16GB card my SO got for her Nook Tablet but doesn't use, and started playing.

List price for the A727 is $80. I wouldn't buy one that that price. I might pay half list. $20 was a no-brainer yes purchase.

What I want is a 10" tablet with double or quadruple the RAM, much more internal storage, a much higher screen resolution, and an external keyboard. The A727 is a cheap way to learn about android and be better prepared when I get the sort of tablet I really want.

I'm writng ebooks and have been using Sony Reader Library to proof them, but I've gone Linux, and SRL doesn't work on Linux. For Kindle I've been using KIndle for PC (and now that I'm Linux, the Kindle Cloud Reader), but I've always felt I should have an ereader (and for epubs more than mobis--are there ereaders that read both?), esp. being in MR. lol (I came here to learn about Sigil.) I admit I am seriously clueless about the hardware. (I thought Paperwhite was cutting edge and now I just saw there's a PW3!) So if your $20 Android is a tablet it's an ereader and a computer, right?

Yes, it's a tablet and an eReader.

There were dire predictions that tablets would kill off the dedicated reader market, but they haven't come true. Many folks prefer the eInk screens readers tend to use, for both the vastly increased battery life, and something they find easier to read. And a lot of folks want a distraction free environment where they can focus on the book.

I need a multi-purpose device, and much of what I do involves color, which isn't an option with eInk, so a dedicated reader doesn't work for me.

As it happens, reading eBooks is a primary use case for the tablet, and would justify the price even if I didn't do anything else with it.

For reading eBooks, I installed the open source FBReader program. FBReader is cross platform, and I have it under Windows and Linux. There is a port by the author in Java for Android and other devices.

FBreader gets the nod because it handles multiple formats. Among others, it handles FB2, the standard format for Russian eBooks, ePub, and Mobi files. The version written in C for Windows and Linux has the additional win for me of handling documents in the format used by the open source Plucker offline HTML viewer for Palm OS. I've been a Plucker user for many years, and have accumulated about 4,000 Plucker files. It's nice to be able to read them on something other than my TX. The Android version is a port written in Java, It handles ePub, Mobi, FB2, and (via a plugin) PDF. I have volumes in all three formats I want to read on the tablet, and I don't want to do a lot of Calibre format conversions to make it possible. With FBReader, I don't have to.

A sweet bit is that I use Calibre to maintain my eBook library, and add tags and series information to books. I can export the books from Calibre, and the exported volumes will have the metadata I added. FBReader can use it, and display volumes on the tablet by tag or by series. (There doesn't seem to be a way in the current version to add that after the fact on the tablet.)

I make extensive use of Google services, so I installed the various Google apps for Search, Gmail, Google+, Calendar, Maps, Drive, Earth, YouTube, and Docs/Sheets. On my PDA, I use Documents to Go to handle MS Office files like Word docs and Excel spreadsheets. Google bought a competitor called QuickOffice and made their Android app free. It integrates with Google Drive, and I can create/edit docs and spreadsheets stored on my Drive.

I also installed the current betas of the Firefox and Chrome browsers for Android. (Firefox is my production browser on Windows/Linux.)

Thus far, it's coming along nicely.

The next step is rooting it, but that will take a bit of doing. Since it's not a well known brand, the various "one click root" solutions won't work. I found instructions for rooting it, but they require you to get the Google Android SDK which will supply the Android driver for Windows that will recognize the device when it is connected via USB cable. I did so, but Windows won't install the driver from the XP box I'm on at the moment. I have to try from the SO's Win7 tablet.

The big lack is an external keyboard. The tablet FAQ says it can't use one, but I have cautious hopes rooting it will remove that restriction.

They got another one like that for sale? (Point me to it and I'll buy it. I'll even go as high as $25, no, make that $27. I mean it!)

Alas, they don't. It was a limited time promotion for the two new outlets, and while there was an online link to the coupon you could use to DL and print it out, you would have had to redeem it at one of the NYC locations.

Poke around on eBay for stuff like this. It's where my SO got her Nook Tablet.
______
Dennis

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

I managed to get a first generation Nook for $25 ($20 bid plus $4.95 shipping; always factor in the shipping cost!) on eBay... one just has to be patient and do a lot of reading and a little sleuthing.

Hey Dngrsone, Thanks for the suggestion. Like when you got your Nook did it come with the cable for sideloading it? (I'm just so ignorant about this stuff.) And I've always heard people talking (here in MR) about the Sony 6" reader being great to check epubs. Any truth to that?

And I have a formatter friend who just uses an ordinary Nook to check them.

I don't know. I'm a terrible shopper. I imagine the info. I need will accumulate and then it will become easier.

Do you reccomend using the MR forum to buy one?

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

There's a midwest computer retailer called Micro Center that is expanding. (They occupy the niche once held by Computerland, who is now web only.) They opened stores in Brooklyn and Queens in NYC, and a direct mail piece announcing it popped up in my mailbox. It included a coupon to get an Azpen A727 tablet for $19.95.

Azpen is one of the Asian manufacturers targeting the budget end of the device market. Micro Center is one of their partners, as is Walmart and QVC.

The A727 has a 1.5 ghz dual core CPU, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, and a 7" 800x480 display. A microSD card slot lets you add up to 32GB of additional storage. It runs Android 4.2 Jellybean. I put in a 16GB card my SO got for her Nook Tablet but doesn't use, and started playing.

List price for the A727 is $80. I wouldn't buy one that that price. I might pay half list. $20 was a no-brainer yes purchase.

What I want is a 10" tablet with double or quadruple the RAM, much more internal storage, a much higher screen resolution, and an external keyboard. The A727 is a cheap way to learn about android and be better prepared when I get the sort of tablet I really want.


Yes, it's a tablet and an eReader.

There were dire predictions that tablets would kill off the dedicated reader market, but they haven't come true. Many folks prefer the eInk screens readers tend to use, for both the vastly increased battery life, and something they find easier to read. And a lot of folks want a distraction free environment where they can focus on the book.

I need a multi-purpose device, and much of what I do involves color, which isn't an option with eInk, so a dedicated reader doesn't work for me.

As it happens, reading eBooks is a primary use case for the tablet, and would justify the price even if I didn't do anything else with it.

For reading eBooks, I installed the open source FBReader program. FBReader is cross platform, and I have it under Windows and Linux. There is a port by the author in Java for Android and other devices.

FBreader gets the nod because it handles multiple formats. Among others, it handles FB2, the standard format for Russian eBooks, ePub, and Mobi files. The version written in C for Windows and Linux has the additional win for me of handling documents in the format used by the open source Plucker offline HTML viewer for Palm OS. I've been a Plucker user for many years, and have accumulated about 4,000 Plucker files. It's nice to be able to read them on something other than my TX. The Android version is a port written in Java, It handles ePub, Mobi, FB2, and (via a plugin) PDF. I have volumes in all three formats I want to read on the tablet, and I don't want to do a lot of Calibre format conversions to make it possible. With FBReader, I don't have to.

A sweet bit is that I use Calibre to maintain my eBook library, and add tags and series information to books. I can export the books from Calibre, and the exported volumes will have the metadata I added. FBReader can use it, and display volumes on the tablet by tag or by series. (There doesn't seem to be a way in the current version to add that after the fact on the tablet.)

I make extensive use of Google services, so I installed the various Google apps for Search, Gmail, Google+, Calendar, Maps, Drive, Earth, YouTube, and Docs/Sheets. On my PDA, I use Documents to Go to handle MS Office files like Word docs and Excel spreadsheets. Google bought a competitor called QuickOffice and made their Android app free. It integrates with Google Drive, and I can create/edit docs and spreadsheets stored on my Drive.

I also installed the current betas of the Firefox and Chrome browsers for Android. (Firefox is my production browser on Windows/Linux.)

Thus far, it's coming along nicely.

The next step is rooting it, but that will take a bit of doing. Since it's not a well known brand, the various "one click root" solutions won't work. I found instructions for rooting it, but they require you to get the Google Android SDK which will supply the Android driver for Windows that will recognize the device when it is connected via USB cable. I did so, but Windows won't install the driver from the XP box I'm on at the moment. I have to try from the SO's Win7 tablet.

The big lack is an external keyboard. The tablet FAQ says it can't use one, but I have cautious hopes rooting it will remove that restriction.


Alas, they don't. It was a limited time promotion for the two new outlets, and while there was an online link to the coupon you could use to DL and print it out, you would have had to redeem it at one of the NYC locations.

Poke around on eBay for stuff like this. It's where my SO got her Nook Tablet.
______
Dennis

Hey Dennis, Thanks for all the great info. To answer your other post I use Xubuntu for the distros.

Can I use FBReader if I don't have an Android? FBReader sounds really fantastic.

There is a MicroCenter about 50 miles from my apartment. I've heard nothing but great things about them but haven't gotten out there yet.

Your comparison of tablet vs. ereader was helpful. (And I never thought of wanting to not have online capability). I wouldn't need a tablet, but I suppose if I could get it inexpensively I would't turn it down either.

Oh, and I got the Kingston usb drive today. I don't know. It looked kind of crappy. lol

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

Hey Dngrsone, Thanks for the suggestion. Like when you got your Nook did it come with the cable for sideloading it? (I'm just so ignorant about this stuff.)

It should come with one. The nook has a microSD slot on the base. If all you want to do is connect it to a PC to sideload content, a generic connector with a male USB plug on one end and a male microUSB plug on the other will do it. But the Nook also charges through the cable, and Nooks come with a cable that is also a charging cable, with an adapter to plug into an outlet.

When my SO plugged her Nook into her laptop, the laptop could see it as an external storage device, and she could copy files to it. (The laptop is Win 7. We haven't tried hooking it to a Linux box.)

And I've always heard people talking (here in MR) about the Sony 6" reader being great to check epubs. Any truth to that?

The original Sony Reader used a proprietary Sony eBook format called BBLF. Sony later switched to ePub, and current Sony models use it as the format they read.

And I have a formatter friend who just uses an ordinary Nook to check them.

Nook also uses ePub as the standard format.

Essentially, Amazon uses Mobi format (and bought Mobipocket to get it and use it for their eBook offering before ePub came about.) Most others - Sony, Nook, Kobo et al - use ePub.

I'd probably use a Nook to check ePubs, since readers here are more likely to have it than a Sony Reader

You can also view ePub files on Linux using either FBReader or CoolReader

Don't expect the displays to be identical, and treat the Nook as the baseline.

I don't know. I'm a terrible shopper. I imagine the info. I need will accumulate and then it will become easier.

Do you reccomend using the MR forum to buy one?

It's one place to go. The advantage to MR will be a basic level of confidence that what you get is what the seller says it is. eBay is another place to look (and is where my SO got her Nook Tablet.)
______
Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

Hey Dennis, Thanks for all the great info. To answer your other post I use Xubuntu for the distros.

I thought that might be the case. I have Xubuntu on the desktop, multibooting with Windows, and Ubuntu using Lxde instead of XFCE4 on an ancient notebook

Can I use FBReader if I don't have an Android? FBReader sounds really fantastic.

Reread what I said. FBReader comes in two basic versions, One is written in C, and is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS/X. (I have it up under Windows and Linux here.)

Another is a rewrite in Java, and the Java version is what runs on android.

See http://fbreader.org.

It's in the Ubuntu repository. Apt-get is your friend.

There is a MicroCenter about 50 miles from my apartment. I've heard nothing but great things about them but haven't gotten out there yet.

They have a reputation for price and service. They fill the same niche as the late Computerland before it's brick and mortar business imploded and it became online only.

Your comparison of tablet vs. ereader was helpful. (And I never thought of wanting to not have online capability). I wouldn't need a tablet, but I suppose if I could get it inexpensively I would't turn it down either.

eReader users want online capability. The Amazon Kindle's Whispernet is a feature, because it means they can browse Amazon, select a book, buy it and download it for immediate reading at any hour of the day or night. The Nook has Wifi for similar reasons. What the dedicated reader fans don't want is the distraction of all the other things you can do online, like Facebook or YouTube.

eReaders and tablets share similar form factors. What varies is the use to which they will be put.

The Amazon Kindle and the Nook are both Android devices. But Android was designed so that device makers could create Android builds with only what their device required included. For instance, Android supports Bluetooth and GPSes, but my tablet doesn't have that hardware, so the build of Android it uses omits those modules. The Kindle and Nook are delivered locked down with custom user interfaces optimized for the purpose of buying and reading eBooks. But they can be rooted to unlock them.

People were buying Nook Tablets to root them, and get a cheap Android tablet. People were doing the same thing with the Kindle Fire for the same reason. I advised spending $50 more and getting to Nook Tablet over the Fire. The specs were a lot better, and the user would be happier with the end result,

(One thing I downloaded and installed on my tablet was a widget to toggle Wifi on and off. Screen brightness and wifi are the biggest power drains, so the screen is dialed back to about 1/4 of full brightness, which I find quite readable, and I turn wifi off when I don't specifically need to connect.)

Oh, and I got the Kingston usb drive today. I don't know. It looked kind of crappy. lol

All you care about is that it works.

A friend is doing some volunteer tech work for the USS Constellation, which is now a maritime museum. He's been working on things like interactive displays. His boss bought a batch of Hannah Montana branded thumbdrives for use in the displays. He apparently got them cheap as a closeout deal. My friend does not keep current on pop culture, and had to Google to find out who Hannah Montana was. But the drives would be buried in the displays with a packaging not visible, so the provenance didn't matter.

The last I knew, the drives worked fine.
______
Dennis

[Dngrsone]

Gregg, what Dennis said.

I looked specifically for a first generation Nook: eInk, wifi, very little else.

The unit I have came with charger, and I can easily sideload using the same cable used to charge the unit.

I turned off the wifi and loaded a bunch of books on it for my son (I don't want him to be distracted by internet).

Dennis,

I did Constellation's last two cruises, transferred off shortly before they decommissioned her.

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

When my SO plugged her Nook into her laptop, the laptop could see it as an external storage device, and she could copy files to it. (The laptop is Win 7. We haven't tried hooking it to a Linux box.)

I can confirm that the same is true on Linux. Plug it in, it appears as external storage and files can be copied onto it in the normal way.

I've got a Nook Simple Touch and a Kindle Keyboard. Both work that way with Linux.

[Dngrsone]

Dang! I meant to mention that I side-loaded that Nook from a Linux Mint machine.

Thanks for the backup, Russell.