looking for privacy friendly quality ereader

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by davidfor

No, they take you out of the story. Even though above you posted that you didn't want publishers to duplicate the look of a paper book, most of your comments and suggestions seem to go against this. And this is one of them.

I think, that one of the reasons that people like it, is that for short paragraphs at least, you can absorb the whole paragraph in one go. And for ragged-right formatting, it probably makes it clearer where the paragraph ends. I don't have a way to prove any of this, but, it feels that way when I do read a book formatted that way.

One reason I don't like left justify is that it's buggy on Kobo because it doesn't hyphenate and that can lead to noticeably shorter lines.

Of course, the most important thing is that my wife prefers the the space between paragraphs. It doesn't matter to her much, but, when I suggested that I could show her how to "fix" them, she said no. This has a lot more impact on me than your constant rants (and yes, they are both "constant" and "rants").

I don't think it bothers my wife ether way. She reads mostly eBooks I put on her Reader for her. She's never said she wants it with paragraph spaces.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I've been reading your posts and this keeps prompting a "Huh?" from me. They even prompted me to pick up a book from the bookshelf to check. And, honestly, every line on all pages has different spacing between words. Just like my ereader does when the text is justified. The variation in the ereader is probably higher, but, I also tend to use a slightly larger font than most paperbacks. But, I don't see different spacing as I turn off the justification and go with ragged-right.

Yes...turning on ragged-right (left aligned) for an ebook will get rid of the awful spacing issues. The reason this argument is happening is because some people are saying that having your book formatted as left aligned makes it impossible to read, and we should just suck it up because that's how print books always were, and we didn't have a choice then, and oh by the way, their way is the ONLY way to format a book and read.

I'm attaching a picture of a recent book I read that shows the issue. It's not the worst example I've seen, but it does show the problem.

Shari

Shari

[Quoth]

Fully justified doesn't work when the column width is narrow relative to character size, unless you do an annoying amount of hyphens. Thus for Latin/Roman based languages, there is a minimum screen or paper width, affected a bit by font face and resolution.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by shalym

Yes...turning on ragged-right (left aligned) for an ebook will get rid of the awful spacing issues. The reason this argument is happening is because some people are saying that having your book formatted as left aligned makes it impossible to read, and we should just suck it up because that's how print books always were, and we didn't have a choice then, and oh by the way, their way is the ONLY way to format a book and read.

I'm attaching a picture of a recent book I read that shows the issue. It's not the worst example I've seen, but it does show the problem.

Shari

Shari

If you are reading on a Kobo, then problem the settings in the hyphenation dictionary are set to left/right of 5 meaning you need a rather long word to be hyphenated. Try the following English hyphenation dictionary at https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=252405 and se ehow you get on.

[joblack]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Honestly man, I think you just need to read around these forums. You have maybe too many wants that are very particular and sometimes contradictory.

Possibly your best bet is to buy one of those readers that runs Android. But I have no experience with those, so I can't recommend one.

I do think a Kobo might fit many of your needs. A Libra (7" screen) or a Forma (8" screen). You have to put in an email address to register it, but you can make up an email address if you'd like.

Here's a list of your features that Kobo meets:
Nice to have's:

*No WIFI - All readers nowadays will have WiFi. It can be turned off.
*Open source/hackable/changeable OS - Kobo uses Linux and is hackable
*Lots of settings is nice unless the device is very minimalistic and balanced - Kobo has lots of settings and more can be added via patches/hacks
*I prefer systems that have their firmware updated, instead of "released and forgot" by the manufacturer. If it is possible to install a custom OS then of course this doesn't apply. - Kobo is very good about releasing firmware updates for very old devices. And you can sideload the newer firmware so you don't have to turn on WiFi and let all the demons in
* I would like to use the device in paranoid mode. As in, I wish to never use WIFI, if it's there. So no downloading/buying from stores or libraries. Just simple PC-to-ereader transfers strongly prefered. - I just don't get the paranoid mindset. But anyway, you need to register your device and you can then turn WiFi off forever. Kobo works very well with Calibre/PC-to-ereader transfers
*nice and cozy orange light is <3 - The Libra and Forma both have orange lights
*Doesn't have to be comfortable to use. I don't think I will care much about button placement or lack of buttons or whatever. - Both the Libra and Forma have buttons.
*Good battery/Good battery time - I think all ereaders have good battery life
*Removable battery is probably too good to be true? I would like to be able to change it in 3 years or so. - Good luck. I don't know of any current gen ereader with a replaceable battery. Maybe they exist.
*Basic PDF support is big plus. Got some journals to read. No need for anything special in this regard. - I'm glad you say basic, because if you really wanna read PDFs, get a tablet. All readers claim PDF support, but basic is a fair description.
*I want to feel and know that I own the device after purchasing it and forget who made it - I honestly don't know what that means precisely, but you can hide/remove the Kobo store link from the home page
*Preferably highly power efficient hardware. Don't care about speed at all. - I think all e-ink readers are pretty power efficient. The ones that run Android less so than say, a Kobo, Kindle or Nook
*No bluetooth or SIM capability, if those are even 'a thing'. - I don't believe the Kobos I mentioned have Bluetooth? Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
*Preferably no loudspeakers, no SD/other card slots. - I don't understand why you WOULDN'T want SD card slots. But they aren't available on the Kobos anyway.

Must have's:

*Not Amazon - Kobo isn't Amazon
*Not bound to a single ecosystem. Shouldn't demand registration, or require internet connection. No ads. The device should wish to serve me, not limit me. Shouldn't be intrusive in any way. - If you're sideloading all your books, I'm not sure what your point is here? Kobo has a store, like everyone else does. There are no ads on a Kobo, unless you buy from Walmart and if you do, that can be turned off easily.
*Good build quality. I want it to last for years. I understand even cheapest plastic sheit could last a decade, but still would love to have something made with care and quality components. Preferably sturdy built but not necesserily. - You might want to read up on the Forma and Libra and their light bar thingie. I don't have one, so I can't say
*6-9 inches. So I suppose medium/standard size more or less. Portability is not a huge priority. Doesn't have to fit in the pocket. - As mentioned, the Libra is 7" and the Forma is 8"
*waterproof/dustproof - The Libra and Forma are both waterproof. Not so sure about dustproof.

Kobo Reader are sending your usage profile to the company. No way this is 'privacy friendly'.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One reason I don't like left justify is that it's buggy on Kobo because it doesn't hyphenate and that can lead to noticeably shorter lines.

And if it did split words, I would be reporting a bug. Yes, it can result in short lines, but, only if the words are very long. Or you are using a big font.

I don't think it bothers my wife ether way. She reads mostly eBooks I put on her Reader for her. She's never said she wants it with paragraph spaces.

That's because you are pushing your preferences on her. My wife manages her own library and ereader. Her books are a mainly from Kobo and or fanfiction. The latter she does her own cleanup on and has decided the paragraph gap is the way she likes it. She doesn't bother fiddling with the Kobo sourced books as she isn't that fussy.

You should do the experiment and see whether she notices. If she does, ask her if she likes it.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by joblack

Kobo Reader are sending your usage profile to the company. No way this is 'privacy friendly'.

And that is well described in their privacy notice. To me the privacy concerns are more about if they are sharing the data with others, or have had leaks.

Of course, you can always turn the data sharing of. They haven't exactly hidden the option.

[Marinolino]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

That is exactly the reason why I do not want to have an attempted copy of a paper book on a reader.
The reader cannot. He cannot compensate for the font widths - what he does is change the space widths and I find the result just horrible, it disturbs my reading flow so much that I have to read word for word instead of taking a block at once.
And I don't enjoy reading this.
With the layout I chose, it works again.
It doesn't look nice, but neither does a pBook simulation.

A b/w paper book simulation works great for me for the last 10 years (on 10" eink screens and lcd tablets), and for the last few years on 300dpi 8" eink screens as well, using Koreader app (or KPV viewer on Kindle DXG).

I'd simply scan a book in about an hour or two (using flatbed or overhead scanner) and then in about an hour or two my computer will create ocr-ed pdf from those images, usually using Acrobat's ClearScan OCR engine.

Resulting pdf size will be about 2 MB per 100 pages of my average book (containing text and dozen of pictures) i.e. about 10 MB for 500 page book.

Books and comics can be in smaller A5 sized or a bigger A4 format; A4 one column document can be read in landscape (without blank margins) whereas A4 two column documents can be read either in portraite mode (four screens per page) or landscape (two screens per page).

I don't use pdf reflow mode because I usually need 100% accuracy for the fonts (letters, numbers, symbols, formulas ...) and page layout.

For color magazines, comics and color books (full of colored charts, diagrams, pictures ...) I'd use lcd tablet instead or notebook/pc-monitor, hoping for the emergence of an affordable and relatively quick 10" color e-paper in the next couple of years.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by shalym

I'm attaching a picture of a recent book I read that shows the issue. It's not the worst example I've seen, but it does show the problem.

Looking at your image, I'm tempted to say a river runs through it. <cackling at one's own sense of humour>

[John F]

Originally Posted by shalym

Yes...turning on ragged-right (left aligned) for an ebook will get rid of the awful spacing issues. The reason this argument is happening is because some people are saying that having your book formatted as left aligned makes it impossible to read, and we should just suck it up because that's how print books always were, and we didn't have a choice then, and oh by the way, their way is the ONLY way to format a book and read.

I'm attaching a picture of a recent book I read that shows the issue. It's not the worst example I've seen, but it does show the problem.

Shari

Shari

For your example, what would you like to see?

I personally don't care for a lot of hyphens (I wouldn't want to see "-ing"), and I don't think adding space between letters would look any better.

[Sirtel]

To each their own. I can't stand hyphenation, ragged right or gaps between paragraphs on ereaders. Even running rivers are preferable to those three. That's what I call "paper book imitation". Naturally I don't mean embedded/unchangeable body font, huge margins or some such nonsense. But yes, the general layout must resemble paper books, for me.

And I've never said my preferences are The Only True Way. I'm fine with others having different preferences. What I'm not fine with is when someone calls dedicated ereaders "poor" because they want different options. They should say "poor in my opinion/according to my preferences" or something like that. Very few would argue with such a statement. Blanket statements tend to irritate people.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by joblack

Kobo Reader are sending your usage profile to the company. No way this is 'privacy friendly'.

You create a one time email address. Use it to register your Kobo. Turn off WiFi and never turn it on again. Please tell me what vast amounts of information Kobo has acquired from you?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by shalym

The reason this argument is happening is because some people are saying that having your book formatted as left aligned makes it impossible to read, and we should just suck it up because that's how print books always were, and we didn't have a choice then, and oh by the way, their way is the ONLY way to format a book and read.

Yes, that's what is causing it. The vast 'all text must be justified' conspiracy seeking to stamp out other choices...

[Deskisamess]

If it is "throwing me out of the book", it is because it was already happening because of something else.

Breaks between paragraphs also pull me right out of a book. My most recent example of this was because, IMO, the writer/publisher wanted to double the page count of the book. When I read for 15 minutes and was at the 40% mark, I realized what was going on, and I stopped reading. It was like mentally hitting a brick wall after every 2 sentences.

A "river" running through the page barely registers with me, but those large gaps appearing 2-3 times on one page just ruins the book for me. Sometimes, if it's a book I really want to read, I'll try to fix it in Calibre. But my editing skills aren't great, and for the book in question it wasn't worth the bother.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

You create a one time email address. Use it to register your Kobo. Turn off WiFi and never turn it on again. Please tell me what vast amounts of information Kobo has acquired from you?

Just create a regular account. You can still keep WiFi off. And if you decide you want to buy eBooks from Kobo, you can do so. But if you are too paranoid then you won't be able to buy eBooks from any shop. So it's public domain andor creative commons unless you get eBooks from friends and/or family who don't mind sharing with you. But if you are going to the point of actually stealing then that would not be good.

It could be that some of these people who do not want to have any usage sent back is afraid that they will get in trouble for reading stolen eBooks. It could be this is all a ruse for stealing eBooks.