Firmware 4.18.13737 released

[issybird]

Can I say how much I hate having each screen register as a page? It's a nuisance for navigation within a book when I've changed font size and it's worse than that when I switch devices and the second one hasn't synced (my purse reader, for example).Before, I could just remember my page number and go there.

ADE page numbers had the advantage of being consistent within a book, across devices and across my library as a whole, which let me estimate how much time I had left in a chapter and a book. As it turns out, I'm better at that than Kobo.

I'm generally not that fussy, but this is a major inconvenience. Kepubs have gone from having a meaningful page measure to one that's useless.

[mathil]

Originally Posted by issybird

Can I say how much I hate having each screen register as a page? It's a nuisance for navigation within a book when I've changed font size and it's worse than that when I switch devices and the second one hasn't synced (my purse reader, for example).Before, I could just remember my page number and go there.

ADE page numbers had the advantage of being consistent within a book, across devices and across my library as a whole, which let me estimate how much time I had left in a chapter and a book. As it turns out, I'm better at that than Kobo.

I'm generally not that fussy, but this is a major inconvenience. Kepubs have gone from having a meaningful page measure to one that's useless.

I agree that fixed page numbers were useful to switch between devices - though to be honest I always used percentage to do that and then moved around to reach the exact spot (it's more useful when you're alternating between ebooks and audiobooks). I think this is better for the casual user, though. I set my father's Kobo Aura to show page numbers for the entire book, and he's asked me at least twice or thrice during the years why the number didn't update every time he turned the page and if there was something wrong with it... as usual, we're the exception to the rule.

[Chaplan]

Originally Posted by geek1011

There's a libnickel patch to make the Kobo confirm before installing an upgrade.

Fond it and enabled it. TX.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

We are not talking about the side page numbers of ADE. We are talking about page numbers fo the book at the bottom. When the PRS-500 was released, there was no such thing as ADE and the page numbers were ONLY on he bottom. The page numbers have been on the bottom and still are. I am not wrong and you are not correct. So give up and realize your wrong. eBook Readers are not pBook and have been doing things differently for at least 7 years as the PRS-500 was released on October 2, 2007.

The page numbers work best at the bottom. Many people are used to it that way and to change it now would not be a good idea.

You can harp on about the Sony PRS1 all you like, numerous things have changed since it was released Jon, just because they did something doesn't mean it should always be that way. Keep moving those goal posts Jon, ADE page numbers are page numbers, they don't appear at the bottom, and guess what the world didn't implode when this change was introduced. Congratulations, you made statement which was wrong, it's not the end of the world. You're human, so I'm sure you've made at least a few.

As to your last statement, that is opinion. For example, ereaders do not need cases, kepub is better than epub, etc. are opinions.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Page numbers for eBooks have been on the bottom for as long as I've been reading eBooks. Just because a lot of pBooks do it on the top in the corner does not mean it has to be that way for an eBook. Sony was doing it on the bottom ever since the PRS-500. And that was the first eInk eBook Reader sold in the US. As for being factually wrong, as far as eBook Readers go, I am correct.

First, I think your argument is bunk. Something being a tradition doesn't mean it is still the best way to go.

But to use your logic:

Where has book title been displayed on ebooks dating back to at least the Sony? (hint: it was displayed at the top)

Where has Kobo always displayed chapter info in kepubs?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by daldred

My Aura received the update sometime yesterday evening, and it's left me with a problem. The book I was i the course of reading when it updated now won't open.

It is a very large book (it's an omnibus of 560 crime stories) but it's not been a problem until now. I'm reading it as a Kepub, downloaded from Kobo - it's not been imported into Calibre or anything.

Initial symptoms: tap on book over to open it, ereader opens the book at a page close to where I stopped reading. However it is entirely unresponsive - the only way out (after leaving it for a few minutes) is to power off and restart.

I've tried signing out and in, and now when I try to open the book I get a progress bar showing no actual progress, then after a minute or so the ereader drops back to the home page.

My next likely step is to import the book into Calibre, make a minor modification somewhere, then sideload it as a new book onto the Kobo and see if that helps.

I can't do that for the next hour or so, though; has anyone any other advice before I try that?

Can you post a link to the book in the Kobo store? When a kepub is opened the first time, a word count is calculated for each chapter in the book. And with the change to show a full book page count based on the rendered pages, it is probably a large book would take to long to render. In this case, I'm a little surprised the device doesn't reboot due to a hung process.

I'm basing this guess on the slowness to open a book I've been reading. This is only 88K words, but, it has a single internal file with 18 chapters. When I opened it, the device would appear to hang, but would come to life after about 10 seconds. Once it is open, jumping around in it is a bit slow as well. I've also done an experiment with a much, much larger book combined into one like this. In that case, it hung and the device rebooted after a while. I suspect your book will be somewhere between these. Looking at the preview will probably give me a hint on this.

It might help to turn off the footer. This might prevent the page count from being calculated for the book. It might also be necessary to turn off the progress bar as that is calculated for the full book as well.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

Can I say how much I hate having each screen register as a page? It's a nuisance for navigation within a book when I've changed font size and it's worse than that when I switch devices and the second one hasn't synced (my purse reader, for example).Before, I could just remember my page number and go there.

ADE page numbers had the advantage of being consistent within a book, across devices and across my library as a whole, which let me estimate how much time I had left in a chapter and a book. As it turns out, I'm better at that than Kobo.

I'm generally not that fussy, but this is a major inconvenience. Kepubs have gone from having a meaningful page measure to one that's useless.

I too do not like how many screens as the page number for the entire eBook. I like the way it's done with ePub. I get ADE page numbers for the entire eBook and for the chapter I get how many screens. That works very well.

I do think it would be a good idea if ADE page numbers were the standard for ePub page numbers.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

You can harp on about the Sony PRS1 all you like, numerous things have changed since it was released Jon, just because they did something doesn't mean it should always be that way. Keep moving those goal posts Jon, ADE page numbers are page numbers, they don't appear at the bottom, and guess what the world didn't implode when this change was introduced. Congratulations, you made statement which was wrong, it's not the end of the world. You're human, so I'm sure you've made at least a few.

As to your last statement, that is opinion. For example, ereaders do not need cases, kepub is better than epub, etc. are opinions.

ADE page numbers have always appeared at the bottom. Every Reader has the page numbers at the bottom. This includes Kindles which do not use RMSDK. Please stop. You are just wrong and it shows.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

First, I think your argument is bunk. Something being a tradition doesn't mean it is still the best way to go.

But to use your logic:

Where has book title been displayed on ebooks dating back to at least the Sony? (hint: it was displayed at the top)

Where has Kobo always displayed chapter info in kepubs?

Page numbers don't have to be at the bottom because of tradition. They are there because they look/work better down there. So why change what works when it works well?

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Except as they’re named currently there’s no indication to the user where the information will display until after they’ve changed the setting. It would have been simpler to have the options as ‘Display in Header’ and ‘Display in Footer’ then have seven options (chapter page number/percent read/Time remaining, the same for book, and off). This tells the user right away where the info will be displayed and what will be displayed.

That sounds good to me.

I would also like the book title to be a separate option from the page number (maybe I want one or the other, but not both together as with the current firmware)

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

That sounds good to me.

I would also like the book title to be a separate option from the page number (maybe I want one or the other, but not both together as with the current firmware)

If you don't want to see the book title displayed in the footer, there is a patch to remove it.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by issybird

Can I say how much I hate having each screen register as a page? It's a nuisance for navigation within a book when I've changed font size and it's worse than that when I switch devices and the second one hasn't synced (my purse reader, for example).Before, I could just remember my page number and go there.

I can see where you are coming from. But then I wonder how many readers of ebooks read across devices? I would gamble that the vast majority that do aren't reading sideloaded books.

If you purchase a book from Kobo, read it on your reader (with wifi turned on) and occasionally read the same book in your app on the phone or your second Kobo reader, your reading position should sync.

ADE page numbers had the advantage of being consistent within a book, across devices and across my library as a whole, which let me estimate how much time I had left in a chapter and a book. As it turns out, I'm better at that than Kobo.

I'm also better at estimating time left. And one screen=one page makes it easier for me.

When I'm reading on my Nook and the slider says I have fifteen pages to go, as a user it's really more like 20-25. But I don't know precisely how many pages are left. When Kobo says I have fifteen pages to go, I have fifteen pages to go.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

ADE page numbers have always appeared at the bottom. Every Reader has the page numbers at the bottom. This includes Kindles which do not use RMSDK. Please stop. You are just wrong and it shows.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=134165

Congratulations on being WRONG Jon.

You have been WRONG at every step on this discussion, every single time you moved the goal posts to try and be right, you were still WRONG.

To review

Jon claimed page numbers were always at the bottom of a page in books - WRONG! They appear at the bottom and top in physical books, some even have the numbers on the side though it's less common.

Jon then claimed every ereader displayed page numbers only at the bottom. WRONG! ADE page numbers appear at the side.

Jon then tried to claim ADE page numbers have always appeared at the bottom. WRONG! Also slightly concerning since ADE page numbers being on the side of the screen was what made his previous statement of fact wrong.

How are you going to try and move the goal posts this time to try and not be so terribly WRONG Jon?

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

First, I think your argument is bunk. Something being a tradition doesn't mean it is still the best way to go.

But to use your logic:

Where has book title been displayed on ebooks dating back to at least the Sony? (hint: it was displayed at the top)

Where has Kobo always displayed chapter info in kepubs?

There are four sensible locations for page numbers on printed books: top center, bottom center, top outer corner, bottom outer corner. Top center is the most visible, most obvious, and potentially most distracting. Bottom center is the least visible, least obvious, and least distracting. Corners are a consession to mechanical practicality: they're easy to flip through stacks of pages to find specific pages. Top corners are a little easier to flip through than bottom corners so if the corner locations are used then top corners are usually preferable to bottom corners.

For ebooks: Corners don't make much sense because there is no stack of paper to flip through. The concession to practicality has no practical benefit. This leaves top center and bottom center as sensible locations assuming skeuomorphic parity with print. Title and page number, which goes where? For purposes of reading ebooks for pleasure, page numbers are less important than title thus title on top and page number on bottom.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you don't want to see the book title displayed in the footer, there is a patch to remove it.

There are patches for all kinds of things. That doesn't mean I can't wish the firmware had better options.

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I can see where you are coming from. But then I wonder how many readers of ebooks read across devices?
.

The only other device I occasionally read on (like if I am waiting in line at the post office) is my phone. I read mostly library books and the only way I have found to navigate in an Overdrive book in the app is to go to the closest chapter and then page through.

In an ideal world all the apps and readers would use the same numbering system and allow navigating to a specific page number but I doubt that will happen in my lifetime....