Firmware 4.18.13737 released

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

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

Yep ideally all the patches would eventually get worked into the base software.

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....

You can use the Kobo app on your phone, it should also download any library borrowed books you’re reading on your Clara and sync to the last place when WiFi was connected. Obviously wouldn’t work for your Sony’s but I’m taking your statement as you read on your Kobo and phone.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by ratinox

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.

I’d disagree, I’m much more likely to remember the title of the book than the page number I’m on. Even reading multiple books at once, since the book title remains constant. Page numbers are constantly changing though and would thus be the more critical piece of information.

[ppowell002]

The number of pages increases/decreases as you adjust the font. For example, book currently reading is 460 pages in hardcover. When I first opened it after purchasing, page numbers were about 900. Increased the font to comfortable reading size and page numbers are now 2500+. Checked a couple other books and doing the same. I've never had that happen on an update before.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

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....

Unlikely to happen, though. Different publishers have different needs. For example, what is appropriate for a Steven King novel might not be appropriate for The American Journal of Medicine.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

I’d disagree, I’m much more likely to remember the title of the book than the page number I’m on. Even reading multiple books at once, since the book title remains constant. Page numbers are constantly changing though and would thus be the more critical piece of information.

Yes, but as you've made abundantly clear you are not representative of the typical reader.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by ratinox

Yes, but as you've made abundantly clear you are not representative of the typical reader.

And you’re claiming that the typical reader can’t remember the book they’re reading. I rather doubt this is actually the case with the majority of readers. Especially for casual reading.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ratinox

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.

Of course this is complicated as title and page number are no longer two separate things. Maybe they just shouldn't have been combined, but they were.

And then there's the secondary bit of information: Chapter and chapter page count.

With Kobo (kepub) it's always been book title on the top, chapter info on the bottom. Now it has been reversed.

Understand, I'm not arguing that there's a correct and incorrect way to place this info. Kobo should design as they think best.

But for me, I prefer having the chapter info at the bottom. It suits my reading style.

Honestly, I think Kobo moved the book title to the bottom because that's where they placed the new progress bar. That's perfectly fine. But for now, it has kept me from updating my reader.

Mainly, I'm hoping in the future there will be a patch to swap the header and footer info. But if not, 4.15 is perfectly fine for me.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Yep ideally all the patches would eventually get worked into the base software.



You can use the Kobo app on your phone, it should also download any library borrowed books you’re reading on your Clara and sync to the last place when WiFi was connected. Obviously wouldn’t work for your Sony’s but I’m taking your statement as you read on your Kobo and phone.

I didn't know the Kobo app could read library books - I will have to check it out, assuming there's room on my phone - I've already had to delete a few apps. Maybe I can get a good Black Friday deal on a new phone....

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

And you’re claiming that the typical reader can’t remember the book they’re reading. I rather doubt this is actually the case with the majority of readers. Especially for casual reading.

It's not about memory. It's about what the typesetter or their style guide says goes there.

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Of course this is complicated as title and page number are no longer two separate things. Maybe they just shouldn't have been combined, but they were.

Indeed. My reasoning is a devil's advocate justification of skeuomorphism which I think is absurd in the first place but there it is. Turning off headers and footers solves the problem quite neatly as far as I'm concerned so there is that.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I didn't know the Kobo app could read library books - I will have to check it out, assuming there's room on my phone - I've already had to delete a few apps. Maybe I can get a good Black Friday deal on a new phone....

Yeah as long as you’ve linked overdrive on your Clara. Though I’m basing this on the fact that Kobos without overdrive will sync overdrive books if you have a Kobo with overdrive linked.

[Dr. Drib]

Just got my automatic Official Update on my Kobo Aura One.

My affiliate is 'kobo'.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ppowell002

The number of pages increases/decreases as you adjust the font. For example, book currently reading is 460 pages in hardcover. When I first opened it after purchasing, page numbers were about 900. Increased the font to comfortable reading size and page numbers are now 2500+. Checked a couple other books and doing the same. I've never had that happen on an update before.

The page numbering for the book for kepubs has changed to match the page numbering used for chapters. It is now based on the number of screens to display the book while previously it used ~320 words as a page for the book.

The page numbering for epubs still uses the Adobe algorithm which is independent of font/screen size but leads to whimpering that you can get more than one page on a screen or that a page takes 2 or more screens.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by ratinox

It's not about memory. It's about what the typesetter or their style guide says goes there.

Except Kobo is entirely in charge of it here, and there are examples of all sorts of different placements for every element we've talked about throughout the history of books.

It's your assertion that one is more important than all the others, my assertion is this is entirely subjective and should be as much in the hands of the user as it possibly can be.

Unless you can provide evidence to back your claim that one is inherently better universally then we're done. And since we've already seen that asking a handful of people nets you different results I'd say you'd have a rather impossible time of it.

You could argue it from a UI/UX standpoint, but I've already demonstrated that as it stands Kobo's UI/UX for this issue is inferior in terms of getting across the full use and provided an example which wouldn't clutter the UI but would allow for much more customization, and be more user friendly.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

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.

Except that it doesn't, frequently, as I indicated in my comment. Just this morning, I picked up my downstairs reader and opened it, and it didn't sync to where I left off with my nightstand reader. Both devices always have WiFi on; both are on the same network.

Sideloaded epubs aren't the problem, as they still use ADE page numbers so they're consistent across devices.

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.

Except a screen is not a page as a fixed entity, as it needs to be for both navigation across devices and for time estimates. When I make a font bigger or smaller while reading, the page numbers change. When I switch to a larger or smaller device, the page numbers change. And I'll do both in the course of reading a book. I know approximately how long an ADE page takes me to read, as an ADE page is a constant. The shifting Kobo pages? How the heck can I know?

For someone who reads on one device and never changes font size, your method works. For anyone else, it's a killer.

[John F]

For syncing, I use search.

And I find I adapt pretty quickly to estimating how much time is left in a chapter, regardless of how the "pages" are counted.