The Grand Experiment!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I have to say "no". For the books I read and my reading style (YMMV), ePub is just another eBook format. I still have not found the necessity to purchase a book in ePub. Even if I didn't know how to format shift, it is still very easy for me to live on mobi books alone.

Right now, Sigil give ePub the advantage of being able to correct mistakes in ePub but I'm not as picky about formatting as some. As long as no freaky characters pop up (gibberish), spelling is mostly good and there aren't huge line spaces between paragraphs, I pretty much good to go.

From what I'm gathering about the MobiUnpack script pulling html from mobi books (if I understand correctly), it will be easier to correct mobi books as well.

It's a wash.

Agreed. The format is not that big a deal to me, other than I do like consistent page numbers, which you do get with epub.

[daffy4u]

Interesting update. I've loaned my PRS+ hacked 505 to a friend who wants to buy an ebook reader (it's just a test drive, I have no plans to sell it at this time).

I've been trying to explain all the options for readers currently on the market and those that are soon to arrive. It's a little overwhelming. He was thinking about an iPad but after seeing my Kindle he definitely wants an e-ink screen (though he may still get an iPad).

Tomorrow, I'll give him some real playtime with my Kindle (so far he likes the screen of the Kindle better than the 505 and I'm just the opposite ).

So a Semi-Grand Experiment is underway.

[Boston]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Interesting update. I've loaned my PRS+ hacked 505 to a friend who wants to buy an ebook reader (it's just a test drive, I have no plans to sell it at this time).

Interested in what he decides. A co-worker, after reading a few ebooks on her iPod, decided she might want an e-book reader. So I lent her my Kindle. She loved it, until she saw the size of my Sony. Then she couldn't decide but after reading about the uncertainty of ebook pricing (due to the agency model stuff), she decided to hold off

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I have to say "no". For the books I read and my reading style (YMMV), ePub is just another eBook format. I still have not found the necessity to purchase a book in ePub. Even if I didn't know how to format shift, it is still very easy for me to live on mobi books alone.

Right now, Sigil give ePub the advantage of being able to correct mistakes in ePub but I'm not as picky about formatting as some. As long as no freaky characters pop up (gibberish), spelling is mostly good and there aren't huge line spaces between paragraphs, I pretty much good to go.

From what I'm gathering about the MobiUnpack script pulling html from mobi books (if I understand correctly), it will be easier to correct mobi books as well.

It's a wash.

Actually, it's not as easy to fix things in a Mobipocket file as it is an ePub file.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Tweaked again, mostly by some_updates from the Dark Reverser's blog comments, to output some of the metadata from the file.

I've added to his work by getting the metadata output as an opf file resembling the original file used to generate the Mobipocket file.

However, the raw output of the 'html' in the Mobipocket file need a fair bit of work on it yet before it'll be possible to regenerate the file using Mobipocket Creator or KindleGen.

That's my eventual aim with this, however.

Eventually, sure. But as for now, MobiUnpack does not generate HTML that can be made easily back into Mobipocket. So as far as error correction goes, ePub is still king.

However, you can go Mobipocket to ePub and then fix the ePub and go back to Mobipocket. That works. But, you also might need to format fix the ePub first so the generated Mobipocket comes out nicely.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Actually, it's not as easy to fix things in a Mobipocket file as it is an ePub file.

I agree, that's why I said that Sigil gives ePub the advantage of being easier to correct. I don't think it will be that way for long though because if the Mobiunpack script works as I think it does (I have yet to try it), there are lots of options for html editors. I'm sure better html to mobi converters will be created (again, I haven't tried this conversion yet).

[JSWolf]

The problem with MobiUnpack at the moment is that it pulls out raw code from the Mobipocket eBook and that code is not 100% real HTML. For example, the code for images is not HTML. It's Mobipocket code.

If I am correcting ePub, I use Notepad++ to do it. I'm waiting for Sigil .20 to give it a go.

[KNotTed]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

How do I translate pt to px? Calibre's default configured with 5.0 pt all the way around (72 pts = 1 inch). I could use a bit more but I don't understand px.

I realize the discussion about margins is a bit old, but the conversion from points to pixels isn't too hard. Since there are 72 pts/inch, and the PRS-505 screen is 170 pixels/inch, there are approximately 2.36 pixels/point, so 5.0pt = ~12 pixels.

My personal preference is to use a measurement that is fixed regardless of the screen size or resolution (i.e. pt, in, or cm).