PRS505 Firmware update: epub, DE, and reflow -- oh my!

[athlonkmf]

damnit... how long does it take to empty and fill up my 16GB SDHC-card???

[sam1am]

Originally Posted by athlonkmf

damnit... how long does it take to empty and fill up my 16GB SDHC-card???

If you got one, can you confirm that it works - all the way up to 16GB?

[athlonkmf]

Originally Posted by sam1am

If you got one, can you confirm that it works - all the way up to 16GB?

still working to move all the pictures to computer first...

But I have a 16GB card... and 10GB worth of ebooks (manga) so will do a test.


ironically... I've literally JUST spent a whole night clearing and refilling my 4GB Mstick+4GB SD-card, preparing for my holiday next week...

Now I have to do the whole process again, but throw it all on 1 card.

[Jim Lester]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

Are there any technical roadblocks to porting this to the Astak Mentor? The 5"and 6" models will apparently both run under Linux, but the 9" may still use WinCE.

The problems we have porting are more time and resource issues, than any technical challenges.

Announcements of when and if we'll support other specific devices, I leave to the bosses.

[astrodad]

One VERY frustrating thing is that I still cannot connect the Reader to the Mac have DR transfer books over. That only works on Windows. wonk wonk.

[AnemicOak]

Just did a check for updates with the Sony software and there's an update... version 2.2.00.18100 of the library software is now available.

eBook Library Software Update for the Sony® Reader

Updates eBook Library or the CONNECT™ Reader software to eBook Library version 2.2.00.18100 software, and provides the following benefits:

* Support for EPUB file format
* Support for Adobe Digital Editions 1.5 or later and Adobe DRM-protected content
Note: Requires installation of, and authorization with, Adobe Digital Editions 1.5 or later.
* Enables text within PDF eBooks to be "reflowed". This will enlarge the text and improve the readability of text-based PDFs
* Improvements to sync functionality
o Enable to select a "file folder" and set it as a "Favorite" to sync
o Enable to sync to external Memory Card
* General fixes to improve stability and performance

Note: Any existing Library content and eBook store registration and functionality will be automatically migrated to eBook Library 2.2.00.18100.

I'm glad you can now sync to a memory card. That's one thing I was hoping they'd add.


I see the firmware is up now too, can't wait to try it tonight. I notice it allows you to delete books directly from the device. I know some people have been asking for that.

Sony® Reader (PRS-505) System Update

Please read all information thoroughly before downloading and installing any files.

Filename :

PRS-505 Updater 1.1.00.18040.exe

Version :

1.1.00.18040

Last Modified :

07/24/2008

Size :

15.98 MB

Download Now

[Download from external site]
What does this do?

This utility updates the Sony Reader (PRS-505) system software to version 1.1.00.18040 and provides the following benefits:

* Support for EPUB file format
* Support for Adobe® Digital Editions 1.5 or later and Adobe DRM-protected content
Note: Requires installation of, and authorization with, Adobe Digital Editions 1.5 or later.
* Enables text within PDF eBooks to be "reflowed". This will enlarge the text and improve the readability of text-based PDF’s
* Support for SDHC memory cards that have a capacity of more than 4 GB
* Delete eBooks directly on device
* General fixes to improve stability and performance

[Lackbeard]

I'm trying my hands on updating my 505 via Parallels running on Mac OS X.
At the moment the updater says "Update in progress. Do not disconnect. Waiting for PRS-505 to restart." And the Reader unit reads: "Reader. Updating firmware now..."
So it's been going on for about twenty minutes. It seems stuck. Any ideas?

[athlonkmf]

Originally Posted by Lackbeard

I'm trying my hands on updating my 505 via Parallels running on Mac OS X.
At the moment the updater says "Update in progress. Do not disconnect. Waiting for PRS-505 to restart." And the Reader unit reads: "Reader. Updating firmware now..."
So it's been going on for about twenty minutes. It seems stuck. Any ideas?

What does the updater say? It didn't took long for me, a mere 3 minutes I think.

[legaleagll]

I have been testing out the pdf reflow and it generally is awesome. Thank you Sony and Adobe. A document I was never able to read is now beautifully rendered in a large font. However, in one section of the document the reflow has split words right in the middle of the word rather than at a space. For example the word "exception" is viewed with "exce" on one line and "ption" on the next.

This only occurs in one section on a couple of pages of the document. Would something like that be the result of some improper technique in the actual creation of the pdf or something else?

Seemed strange given everywhere else I checked in the 300 page doc was perfectly rendered.

[athlonkmf]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Just did a check for updates with the Sony software and there's an update... version 2.2.00.18100 of the library software is now available.




I'm glad you can now sync to a memory card. That's one thing I was hoping they'd add.


I see the firmware is up now too, can't wait to try it tonight.

I actually thought you needed to install the ebooklibrary first.

Required: eBook Library Software Update for the Sony® Reader

But I guess I read wrong.

[athlonkmf]

The ebooksoftware definately went through a performance upgrade. It feels much faster now and no slowdowns while transferring books

(still transferring the first GB worth of books)

[cjschmidt]

Just installed the update.

Neat feature I hadn't seen mentioned: Delete files from the Reader using the Reader!

I also tried opening a complicated PDF (First few pages of D&D4.0 DMG). It looks like it searches for text boxes and just renders whatever text it can find. Takes a while to reformat and you need to zoom in again each time to flip to a new page. It is certainly handy, but it isn't going to magically make viewing full page PDFs work on a tiny little screen. I imagine it works quite well on simple "book" pdfs though. It can't be good for your battery life, either way.

Very nifty. Now if Borders would just open a cheap epub book store, we'd be in business.

[thorswitch]

I just downloaded it, and it installed very easily! I also picked up a book from Fictionwise to see how that worked, and I was able to get it using the ADE library software. It transferred to the Reader just fine, but I haven't yet figured out how to get the Sony library software to recognize it so that I can assign it to a category. Right now, I have to use either the author, title or date index which is already a bit cumbersome with 76 books on the device and will only get worse.

I also noticed that if I try to use the zoom (changing font from small to medium or to large) the pages don't reflow like the books I get from the Sony store do. What happens is that they seem to have something like hard page breaks. For example, the first page of the book, like most first pages, has the text starting about 1/3 to 1/2 way down the page. When I adjusted the font from small to medium, the text moved so that it started at the very top of the page and it expanded all the way to the bottom. So far so good, but when I turned to the next page, all that was on there was the numeral "3" - which is the page number. The page following that took up that full screen and flowed over some onto the next - but it only went about 1/2 down the page, so most of the screen was blank. Under the text (which broke off in the middle of the sentence) was the number "4" and the author's name, and it keeps going like that.

Is there any way to improve the flow of ADE DRM books? I mean, I'm still absolutely thrilled that we can use more formats now, and even if I can't make 'em look all pretty and nice, they *are* readable, so that's cool - but if I can pretty it up, I'd like that. Any suggestions?

[astrodad]

At one point I was so excited about reflow but now most of my books are in lit, so it's not an issue. Still, the few files I had worked great. Now to test some work-related documents.

[Lackbeard]

Originally Posted by athlonkmf

What does the updater say? It didn't took long for me, a mere 3 minutes I think.

Well, it just says that: "Update in progress. Do not disconnect. Waiting for the PRS-505 to restart."
And then there's a rolling bar.

I'm tempted to disconnect it, but I'm a bit nervous about the warnings not to. Would I brick my device?