So Marvin’s Gone!

[Richard Moody]

I just thought I’d update all on how I’ve got on following my initial shocked post! Hopefully it might help some people.

I’ve read the thread avidly since then and can report as follows. Firstly I checked all the apps mentioned in the thread, plus some others (again!) to see which would give me the best reading experience, and that I might feel most comfortable with. After much trial, I decided on MapleRead. I won’t go into reasons why, as it is so subjective. Suffice to say I’m comfortable reading using it.
I also followed the suggestions re iMazing. Out of interest, really.

I have managed to transfer both Marvin and SxS back to my iPad mini (hurray!!). No issues re banners, etc on either app. I also downloaded my most recent backup which was the night before I lost Marvin. And it all works as before. It was lovely seeing my old friendly interface again! But of course, the glitches which were creeping in due to lack of updates, were still there.
So, I’ll probably stick with MR. But for those who prefer Marvin, it is still accessible through I Mazing, if you have a version on another I device.
I hope that helps.

[Turtle91]

Originally Posted by Richard Moody

I have managed to transfer both Marvin and SxS back to my iPad mini (hurray!!). No issues re banners, etc on either app.

Awesome to hear!

Did you do anything special to get it to install without the banner???

[Richard Moody]

No - that surprised me after earlier comments. I had a fully paid for ( many years ago) app, and there was no banner, no request to reauthorise ( as some apps request), or anything. As it’s a clean install it also seems a little better/faster/as expected originally - which may also be because I had reset the iPad to new last month. It didn’t take long to reformat to my liking (justifying etc), and now both apps are working well.

After copying the ipa over, I reinstalled from a recent backup, and maybe that did the authorisation? Anyway, all my metadata, etc are all there as if I’d just left it alone for a few weeks!

[Richard Moody]

Thanks for the iMazing tip, and video

[Turtle91]

That may be it. I didn’t restore from a backup, I just re-installed. I’ll have to play around with that.

[Richard Moody]

If you’ve kept a backup somewhere that may do it - fingers crossed!

[Turtle91]

Unfortunately I won’t be able to test it out for a couple of weeks. I’m stuck in Hawaii without my computer … My company is a bunch of slave drivers…

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

While Moon+ may do textured backgrounds, it doesn't do CSS well enough.

More relevant is that Moon+ Reader does overriding the publisher's CSS excellently which, for me, is equally as if not more important than textured backgrounds.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Faterson

More relevant is that Moon+ Reader does overriding the publisher's CSS excellently which, for me, is equally as if not more important than textured backgrounds.

In real world terms, GARBAGE!

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

In real world terms, GARBAGE!

Not at all – it's the no. 1 feature I'm looking for in a quality e-reader app: the ability to override the original CSS easily, because I'm not interested in the original CSS in the least.

Both Moon+ Reader and Marvin are great in allowing the easy override of original CSS, which is what makes them such excellent e-reader apps.

This is the biggest, most delightful difference between printed books (duh...) and e-books: e-books allow all readers to be their own typographers. How? By supporting easy override of the original CSS.

Yes, I know, Jon, that you're obsessed with original CSS and "publisher's style", but you should realize that you're in a tiny minority of users with that preference. Most readers of e-books including myself don't give a damn about original CSS and "publisher's style". In all my years of using Marvin and Moon+ Reader, I have never switched on the "Publisher's Settings" button in either of them. Not once. I'm simply not interested in seeing the "publisher's layout" in the least. I wish to read e-books just how I wish to see them displayed – not how the publisher would like to display them for me.

That said, I have nothing against e-book readers supporting "Publisher's Style" and original CSS just like you want it. But it should be clear that this is a minority concern and that most users wouldn't even notice that such a feature was available in the app, and they likely wouldn't properly appreciate it.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Faterson

Not at all – it's the no. 1 feature I'm looking for in a quality e-reader app: the ability to override the original CSS easily, because I'm not interested in the original CSS in the least.

Both Moon+ Reader and Marvin are great in allowing the easy override of original CSS, which is what makes them such excellent e-reader apps.

This is the biggest, most delightful difference between printed books (duh...) and e-books: e-books allow all readers to be their own typographers. How? By supporting easy override of the original CSS.

Yes, I know, Jon, that you're obsessed with original CSS and "publisher's style", but you should realize that you're in a tiny minority of users with that preference. Most readers of e-books including myself don't give a damn about original CSS and "publisher's style". In all my years of using Marvin and Moon+ Reader, I have never switched on the "Publisher's Settings" button in either of them. Not once. I'm simply not interested in seeing the "publisher's layout" in the least. I wish to read e-books just how I wish to see them displayed – not how the publisher would like to display them for me.

That said, I have nothing against e-book readers supporting "Publisher's Style" and original CSS just like you want it. But it should be clear that this is a minority concern and that most users wouldn't even notice that such a feature was available in the app, and they likely wouldn't properly appreciate it.

Originally Posted by DNSB

For me, Moon+ Reader is atrocious excuse for an epub renderer. To even get Moon+ to make some use of the epub's CSS, you end up digging down multiple menus. And yet, there is a rather vocal crowd proclaiming that it is the greatest thing since sliced bread and insisting any issues with Moon+ should be fixed by the epub publishers and not Moon+'s developers.

I agree 100%. It's not an opinion. It's fact.

ePub formatting is not about overriding the CSS. It's about following the CSS. I feel sorry for you because you don't get this.

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

ePub formatting is not about overriding the CSS.

No one (except for Jon and a handful of other MobileRead nerds) cares about EPUB formatting.

What people really care about is their reading experience – original CSS be damned! (Most people have never even heard of "CSS", and would have no idea what that acronym means.)

People wish for e-books they read to be pleasant to their eyes. To look just as they (the readers, not the publishers) wish to have them displayed.

That is why excellent e-reader apps are those that allow readers to override easily whatever the publisher's original intentions may have been, and replace them with the look that the readers prefer to see.

Both Marvin and Moon+ Reader are excellent in this regard. Overall, they are far from perfect – as I said many times, I'd rate both of them at around 3 ½ out of 5 stars, although Moon+ Reader might, in fact, deserve a 4-star rating by now.

(I know of no e-reader app deserving a higher than 4-star rating, although I certainly hope that BookFusion will get there one day; and, ideally, MapleRead and KOReader as well, if they become available on all three main platforms: Android + iOS + the web. The more competition among quality e-reader apps, the better!)

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Faterson

No one (except for Jon and a handful of other MobileRead nerds) cares about EPUB formatting.

That is way wrong.

What people really care about is their reading experience – original CSS be damned! (Most people have never even heard of "CSS", and would have no idea what that acronym means.)

People don't want convoluted apps that are confusing to find the settings they want.

People wish for e-books they read to be pleasant to their eyes. To look just as they (the readers, not the publishers) wish to have them displayed.

Moon+ breaks eBooks.

[quote]That is why excellent e

-reader apps are those that allow readers to override easily whatever the publisher's original intentions may have been, and replace them with the look that the readers prefer to see.

There is no such thing as an excellent Reading app.

Both Marvin and Moon+ Reader are excellent in this regard. Overall, they are far from perfect – as I said many times, I'd rate both of them at around 3 ½ out of 5 stars, although Moon+ Reader might, in fact, deserve a 4-star rating by now.

Marvin has some major flaws. I've pointed out what needed to be fixed but that never happened while in beta test. Marvin needed to allow custom fonts while respecting the CSS. That never happened. So that made Marvin a 2-star app at best.

(I know of no e-reader app deserving a higher than 4-star rating, although I certainly hope that BookFusion will get there one day; and, ideally, MapleRead and KOReader as well, if they become available on all three main platforms: Android + iOS + the web. The more competition among quality e-reader apps, the better!)

But Moon+ gets a 1-star for being awful.

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

People don't want convoluted apps that are confusing to find the settings they want.

Of course they don't. They want apps with advanced functionality (the ability to easily override "publisher's settings" and original CSS being of high priority within the functionality) with settings that are easy to find. That is not mutually exclusive in any way.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Moon+ breaks eBooks.

Not in my experience of using it over 10 years on a daily basis for huge numbers of books from a huge number of various publishers in dozens of various languages.

On the contrary: Moon+ Reader, as a rule, displays e-books beautifully, which is all that matters. (As with any rule, there may be unfortunate exceptions.)

Originally Posted by JSWolf

There is no such thing as an excellent Reading app.

If you define "excellent" as 4+ stars, I agree.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Marvin has some major flaws.

Of course. The lack of annotations syncing (not even single-platform syncing, let alone cross-platform) is Marvin's most glaring flaw.

Kris gave it his all; I don't blame him he eventually did not bring the project to its completion. I am guilty of many unfinished/failed projects on my part. That's life.

I know that Kris approached Moon+ Reader's developer with the idea to develop cross-platform annotations/reading progress syncing between Marvin and Moon+ Reader, which would have been just fabulous. (Because unlike you, Kris appreciated Moon+ Reader's quality, and no wonder; the two apps share a similar philosophy.)

Unfortunately, the gentleman from Taiwan, while by all accounts a nice person, is not very communicative, and there was no relevant response from him to Kris's cross-platform cooperation suggestion. (It may have been a language barrier issue.)

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've pointed out what needed to be fixed but that never happened while in beta test.

Marvin's beta testing was botched; there's no denying that. We were frequently left in the dark as to what was currently being developed and where Marvin's current priorities were.

But that's in the past; let bygones be bygones, and let's focus on the future. I'm very grateful we got Marvin in the shape and form we got it, because after Stanza's death and before Marvin's arrival, the situation was looking dire indeed. (Don't bother to reply, Jon, as usual, that "Stanza was just as useless as Moon", because most users feel the exact opposite.)

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So that made Marvin a 2-star app at best.

You're being unnecessarily harsh and ungrateful. If Marvin was "a 2-star app at best", then what are Kindle, Google Play Books and Apple iBooks? Minus 3 and minus 4-star apps?

[thm22]

I have enjoyed Marvin 3 for quite some time on my old iPad 2 Mini for reading books in my Calibre Library. Unfortunately, the iPad removes apps if it is in need for space. So, unfortunately, it removed Marvin one of these days. Since it's no longer on the App Store, it can not re-install it when requested.
What is/was the reason to withdraw this handy app? It served its users well, and there was nothing wrong with it.
Please put it back on the app store.
Thanks,
Thm22.