2.7 delayed and not worthwhile anyway? - Page 2

rlauzon · 10-01-2006, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paethon

What makes me really mad is how long in takes them to implement trivial features. Usually you would expect such an update to be ready in a week (even with pan&zoom) and not in 2 months.

What are they wasting their time with?

Maybe it isn't as trivial a feature as you would expect.

While xpdf has zoom and pan in it already, it's set up for a much faster display than eInk. The delay probably is in how to make pan and zoom actually do something other than create an unreadable page (because you can't pan fast enough to make it worth while).

As a software professional, I get comments like this all the time from management. "It's a trivial change. Why is it taking so long?" I sigh and list all the issues - the details that they don't want to deal with - that we need to figure out so that their change works correctly and doesn't mess everything else up.

jæd · 10-02-2006, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlauzon

Maybe it isn't as trivial a feature as you would expect.

While xpdf has zoom and pan in it already, it's set up for a much faster display than eInk. The delay probably is in how to make pan and zoom actually do something other than create an unreadable page (because you can't pan fast enough to make it worth while).

As a software professional, I get comments like this all the time from management. "It's a trivial change. Why is it taking so long?" I sigh and list all the issues - the details that they don't want to deal with - that we need to figure out so that their change works correctly and doesn't mess everything else up.

I'm guessing that this forum contains lots of "armchair" developers... As another professional developer I can imagine the how hard it must be for the Illiad developers, espcially as they are working on such a high profile project...!

Riocaz · 10-02-2006, 06:23 AM

Ignore me I was mis-remembering and realised just after I hit the post button.

yokos · 10-02-2006, 09:10 AM

I can't understand iRex's announcement policy. First their PR-team [Do they have one?

] says in an optimistic way a new firmware is "on the Horizon", now this release has been delayed.
I have a déjà vu, we all know this behaviour already. We remember the chaos in April/May/July. After the deadline of opening of webshop was over, a new date was called, this did happen several times. iRex obviously has learned nothing. Irex please don't deal with us in this way.

Paethon · 10-02-2006, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlauzon

Maybe it isn't as trivial a feature as you would expect.

While xpdf has zoom and pan in it already, it's set up for a much faster display than eInk. The delay probably is in how to make pan and zoom actually do something other than create an unreadable page (because you can't pan fast enough to make it worth while).

As a software professional, I get comments like this all the time from management. "It's a trivial change. Why is it taking so long?" I sigh and list all the issues - the details that they don't want to deal with - that we need to figure out so that their change works correctly and doesn't mess everything else up.

Maybe. But Pan&Zoom isn't in the featurecatalog for 2.7 anyway. So I expect it will come with 2.8 or even later.
So is it realy normal that a company needs 2 months for a softwareupdate with such "features" as a renaming-dialog and a search-dialog?

rlauzon · 10-02-2006, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paethon

Maybe. But Pan&Zoom isn't in the featurecatalog for 2.7 anyway. So I expect it will come with 2.8 or even later.
So is it realy normal that a company needs 2 months for a softwareupdate with such "features" as a renaming-dialog and a search-dialog?

"Normal" depends on resources.

How many people do they have working on the software? How many people are able to work on the software without getting in each other's way? What are their priorities? (Remember that iRex's priorities may not be ours.)

We don't have the answer to those questions. So I can't say what's normal or not.

Right now iRex is in a safe time. There's no real competition out there yet (since the Sony's sold out). But they are racing the clock. They need to get their eBook out and established before the big names do. I think that Sony has realized that their eBook is bigger than they thought and will work to get the supply issue corrected. Then you have Amazon's eBook reader on the horizon too.

I think it's safe to say that iRex knows that they need to move fast and are working on the things they think are high priority.

tribble · 10-02-2006, 02:12 PM

There is still an open position for an embedded system developer

scotty1024 · 10-02-2006, 06:43 PM

Well I know from personal experience in feeding PDF's into the iLiad's version of xpdf that they've broken a few things in it already.

The Postscript rendering model, which is the heart of PDF, is for some obtuse and impossible to understand. If you grok (http://whatis.techtarget.com/definit...212216,00.html) it, you can do wondrous things. If you don't grok it and you wind up fighting with it: Frankenstein.

Pan and Zoom are easy, very easy, they are biscuits and gravy to Postscript. iRex developers need to read the blue book (http://www-cdf.fnal.gov/offline/Post...0postscript%22) work the examples, read the book again, repeat 3 times.

Then they may find the purple book handy as well (sorry, no freebie from Fermilab here http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Di...705742?ie=UTF8).

This level of understanding is needed so you don't break people's files when you go hacking around in the guts of xpdf.

DHer · 10-03-2006, 04:13 AM

--- --- newsticker --- ---

today iRex technologies announced another open position for an developer, who, in their words, groks xpdf.

--- --- newsticker --- ---

wouldn't it be the cheapest way to pay the xpdf developers to implement the needed features instead of trying to hack (that's what they do atm, i think) in xpdfs codebase?

They know how their program works.

mori · 10-03-2006, 04:46 AM

Update on release, scheduled for 16/10 : http://www.irextechnologies.com/home

Anybody that signed up for the beta test heard anything yet?

jæd · 10-03-2006, 04:48 AM

There's an announcement that 2.7 will be ready on 16 Oct... But why do I find I'm waiting for Ali's response with more anticipation...?

ali · 10-03-2006, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jæd

There's an announcement that 2.7 will be ready on 16 Oct... But why do I find I'm waiting for Ali's response with more anticipation...?

Oops, seems like I have some reputation here.

But I'm not really touched by this announcement. It looks like they're cleaning up things so that everything looks like they're terribly successful, probably for the Frankfurt book fair. So they updated the .nl website, and marketing guy rephrased and reposted the 2.7 announcement.

(Oh - on that very date, Oct 16, I'll be boarding a plane and be working for six weeks in the US. We'll see whether I'll be able to update my Iliad and read this forum then...)

rlauzon · 10-16-2006, 01:29 PM

Well, I guess that most of us will find out today if 2.7 is worthwhile. iRex announced on their site that 2.7 is available.

I'll be downloading it as soon as I get home from work today.

tribble · 10-16-2006, 01:36 PM

It is wothwhile.
PDF zoom and pan and landscape mode

That alone rocks.

And page flips on pdf got quite a bit faster.

Malder1 · 10-16-2006, 02:36 PM

I just updated to v2.7 and it works great!
Turning of page works in 1.5 times faster and it takes lesser than 1.5 of second now!

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10-02-2006, 06:23 AM	#18
Riocaz Fulfilled but not by iRex Posts: 932 Karma: 286846 Join Date: May 2006 Location: London Device: Far too many	Ignore me I was mis-remembering and realised just after I hit the post button.

10-02-2006, 09:10 AM	#19
yokos Pac-Man caught my iLiad. Posts: 807 Karma: 3595 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany; next to Baltic Sea Device: Boox Max Lumi, iRex iLiad (RIP)	I can't understand iRex's announcement policy. First their PR-team [Do they have one? ] says in an optimistic way a new firmware is "on the Horizon", now this release has been delayed. I have a déjà vu, we all know this behaviour already. We remember the chaos in April/May/July. After the deadline of opening of webshop was over, a new date was called, this did happen several times. iRex obviously has learned nothing. Irex please don't deal with us in this way.

10-02-2006, 02:12 PM	#22
tribble iLiad Maniac Posts: 1,382 Karma: 2369 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany Device: Bookeen Opus (i love that thing) and iPad (what an irony)	There is still an open position for an embedded system developer

10-02-2006, 06:43 PM	#23
scotty1024 Banned Posts: 1,300 Karma: 1479 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Peoples Republic of Washington Device: Reader / iPhone / Librie / Kindle	Well I know from personal experience in feeding PDF's into the iLiad's version of xpdf that they've broken a few things in it already. The Postscript rendering model, which is the heart of PDF, is for some obtuse and impossible to understand. If you grok (http://whatis.techtarget.com/definit...212216,00.html) it, you can do wondrous things. If you don't grok it and you wind up fighting with it: Frankenstein. Pan and Zoom are easy, very easy, they are biscuits and gravy to Postscript. iRex developers need to read the blue book (http://www-cdf.fnal.gov/offline/Post...0postscript%22) work the examples, read the book again, repeat 3 times. Then they may find the purple book handy as well (sorry, no freebie from Fermilab here http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Di...705742?ie=UTF8). This level of understanding is needed so you don't break people's files when you go hacking around in the guts of xpdf.

10-03-2006, 04:13 AM	#24
DHer Addict Posts: 261 Karma: 156 Join Date: Jul 2006 Device: iliad	--- --- newsticker --- --- today iRex technologies announced another open position for an developer, who, in their words, groks xpdf. --- --- newsticker --- --- wouldn't it be the cheapest way to pay the xpdf developers to implement the needed features instead of trying to hack (that's what they do atm, i think) in xpdfs codebase? They know how their program works.

10-03-2006, 04:46 AM	#25
mori Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: France, Nice Device: iRex iLiad	Update on release, scheduled for 16/10 : http://www.irextechnologies.com/home Anybody that signed up for the beta test heard anything yet?

10-03-2006, 04:48 AM	#26
jæd Evangelist Posts: 458 Karma: 293 Join Date: May 2006	There's an announcement that 2.7 will be ready on 16 Oct... But why do I find I'm waiting for Ali's response with more anticipation...?

10-16-2006, 01:29 PM	#28
rlauzon Wizard Posts: 1,018 Karma: 67827 Join Date: Jan 2005 Device: PocketBook Era	Well, I guess that most of us will find out today if 2.7 is worthwhile. iRex announced on their site that 2.7 is available. I'll be downloading it as soon as I get home from work today.

10-16-2006, 01:36 PM	#29
tribble iLiad Maniac Posts: 1,382 Karma: 2369 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany Device: Bookeen Opus (i love that thing) and iPad (what an irony)	It is wothwhile. PDF zoom and pan and landscape mode That alone rocks. And page flips on pdf got quite a bit faster.

10-16-2006, 02:36 PM	#30
Malder1 Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2006	I just updated to v2.7 and it works great! Turning of page works in 1.5 times faster and it takes lesser than 1.5 of second now!