Sony Reader with embedded ads soon?

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

I don't know what you people are looking at, but ePub, LRF, and ADE all look the same on my 505.

The free ePubs that are part of Harlequin's 60th anniversary giveaway have this problem. I don't know about ePubs created through Calibre.

[ahammer]

I could see them putting adds in the book like they do in pbook at the end with some more books by the publisher that are in the same vein as what you are reading.

[brecklundin]

awwww...but this will never happen and nobody here ever brought it up...

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39685

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Ankh

At this page, very close to the bottom adobe offers their "EPUB Best Practices". The chapter dedicated to "Adobe extensions" explains peculiar Adobe's grievance with ePub format, the lack of "page map" resource. One could argue that "page map" is very strange concept for reflowable format that ePub is, but there you have it.

I did not experiment with "page map" extensions, although I would not be surprised if numbers disappear on such documents. It is my understanding that for ePub files without that resource, ADE calculates "synthetic page" and marks the beginning of that page with the number.

It looks horrible, of course. Why they decided not to render the document and find actual page breaks for the device in the background, when ebook is opened for the first time? No idea.

The idea of a page map is to map to the printed page numbers on a pbook. This permits scholar research and referencing to page numbers even when an electronic copy is being used. The page number is independent of the font size and any scaling or repagination being done by the reading device. As to the rendering that is a different issue.

Dale

[Ankh]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

This permits scholar research and referencing to page numbers even when an electronic copy is being used.

That works ONLY if there is a single printed version of the referenced document. Any reprint, any new release (modifications), breaks that association with the page number. The referencing system in use today usually involves very specific identification of the source by author, publisher, release date, etc. Page numbers for printed books work only if one has access to the very same copy of the printed source.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Ankh

That works ONLY if there is a single printed version of the referenced document. Any reprint, any new release (modifications), breaks that association with the page number. The referencing system in use today usually involves very specific identification of the source by author, publisher, release date, etc. Page numbers for printed books work only if one has access to the very same copy of the printed source.

Correct, the electronic copy has to specify the corresponding pBook version. But that is also true of any pBook reference and has been for the last 600 years.

[GypsyWoman]

Originally Posted by sirbruce

I remember the old days when they use to include a cardboard insert of cigarette ads in every paperback.

LOL!! I remember that!!

[Ham88]

Unless these ads lowered the cost for ebooks I would refuse to ever buy a sony reader ever! I really, really hate advertisements, because in my world I pay for it so I don't think I should have to see ads, like before movies at theaters that show commercials before the film that I paid $9 dollars to see.

[khalleron]

Once again, the article says they want to display ads in *periodicals*, ie, magazines and newspapers. Nowhere does it say they're considering putting ads in ebooks.

Much ado about nothing.

[astra]

I believe the last Sony Reader f/w update was a gaffe.

- PDF reflow that garbles the text?
- ePub with page numbers all over the screen
- ePub left hand justification
- ePub vert slow TOC access
- ePub very slow font size change?

Why bother? Why smear their name with such blunders? I used to say that the strongest point of Sony Reader vs. any other reader is that it just works. No bugs, no issues. The reader does just what Sony promised it should do.

However, after the last f/w update I cannot say it anymore. They added half-done things and made the reader worse instead of bettering it. Pity.

[mjh215]

I really worry about something like this... I just have visions now of reading a best seller, turning a page... "You may have already won $10,000,000* in the ePublishers Clearing House Sweepstakes!"

-MJ

*$10,000,000 are in ePublisher eDollars only redeemable from approved ePublisher affiliates.

[Ankh]

Originally Posted by astra

They added half-done things and made the reader worse instead of bettering it. Pity.

I decided to buy Sony 505 after and because of ADE addition. However rough and early ePub/PDF support is, it is more than welcome, IMHO. Another DRM scheme gives us more buying choices. And ePub is the way to go.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by astra

I believe the last Sony Reader f/w update was a gaffe.

- PDF reflow that garbles the text?
- ePub with page numbers all over the screen
- ePub left hand justification
- ePub vert slow TOC access
- ePub very slow font size change?

Why bother? Why smear their name with such blunders? I used to say that the strongest point of Sony Reader vs. any other reader is that it just works. No bugs, no issues. The reader does just what Sony promised it should do.

However, after the last f/w update I cannot say it anymore. They added half-done things and made the reader worse instead of bettering it. Pity.

Just to respond to your points:

I don't do PDFs, so I don't know about the first one
The page numbers are not 'all over the screen'. They're small and only one per screen, if that.
I've never really understood why anyone would demand right-hand justification, but if that's a negative for you, I'll let it go.
Haven't noticed that TOC access is slower than access to any other menu option.
The font change in epub is faster than in lrf, because the device doesn't have to reformat the *entire* book to do a font change. That's the advantage of having static page numbers that don't change when you change font size.

I only got my 505 a month ago, so I can't judge whether it's 'worse' or not, but it seems to me to be just fine, and I *always* get my books in epub when they're available that way. It's a far superior format to lrf, IMHO.

[ThomasMc]

Great, so you have to pay $300 for the device, and still have to read ads? Forget it.

[astra]

Originally Posted by khalleron

Just to respond to your points:

I don't do PDFs, so I don't know about the first one
The page numbers are not 'all over the screen'. They're small and only one per screen, if that.
I've never really understood why anyone would demand right-hand justification, but if that's a negative for you, I'll let it go.
Haven't noticed that TOC access is slower than access to any other menu option.
The font change in epub is faster than in lrf, because the device doesn't have to reformat the *entire* book to do a font change. That's the advantage of having static page numbers that don't change when you change font size.

I only got my 505 a month ago, so I can't judge whether it's 'worse' or not, but it seems to me to be just fine, and I *always* get my books in epub when they're available that way. It's a far superior format to lrf, IMHO.

Just to respond to your points: (c)

- Sony Reader has a special place for page numbers. At the bottom of the screen. That is where you can find page numbers in books. Definitely not in the middle of of the page. Let alone having two different page numbers, one at the bottom (Sony Reader's page number also very confusing in epub, 44-45 of 658, what is a page 44-45 on the earth? ) and one in the middle of the screen on the left hand side.

- I never suggested right hand justification (unless I were to read in Hebrew ). I was refering to a full justification as in LRF which is a lot more pleasing to my eyes than ragged edges of epub.

- epub of The Count of Monte Cristo from feebooks had very slow TOC access in comparison to LRF version. Maybe if you have a thin book it is not as noticeable, however, I usually read very thick books and if I am not mistaken I have tried freebie epub I downloaded a few months ago, from Harlequin, it had exactly the same problems.

- Sony Reader doesn't have to reformat the *entire* book to do font change in LRF. All the paginating/parsing, or whatever is the proper term for the process, is done by eBook Library. So, effectively, the reader doesn't have to calculate anything at all when reading LRF file delivered to the reader via eBook Library.