Firmware 2.8.1 ?

[kaufman]

Originally Posted by rayhigh

I am aware of that. The problem is the number of taps it takes to bring up the bar to begin with....

You mean three. Three taps to being up the bar to begin with. Three.

Perhaps you threw everyone off before when you said:

Originally Posted by rayhigh

One piece of absolutely rubbish UI design with this firmware, and the last couple, is the ~75 taps it takes just to adjust the freaking brightness

I understand that you were just using hyperbole when you said "~75 taps", but since its actually just three taps, it was throwing people off. And while two extra taps to do something several times a day can by annoying, I'm not sure that Kobo's misplaced efforts to clean up the UI by moving the brightness bar should really come under the heading of "absolutely rubbish UI design". Given that it is just three taps.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that you seem to be getting really worked up over two extra taps on a function you do only a few times a day.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Uschiekid

I don't like that when I go into the annotations page I now have to pick a bookmark or annotations before I can do anything to it. That means if I want to delete a lot of bookmarks/annotations at once, each time I have to do one more touch.

A long press on the annotation will display the menu.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by rayhigh

I am aware of that. The problem is the number of taps it takes to bring up the bar to begin with....

Hmmm... I turn the light on with the switch. Most of the time, I leave the light at one level so that's it. But suppose I want to change the level? I tap on the light icon at the top of the screen, tap on the brightness tile, drag the level to where I want it, tap the x to close the popup. Total of 3 taps and 1 drag (well, more often a roll of the fingertip than a drag). Near as I can count, one more tap than the previous firmware.

Yep, that's a real finger tip killer, that is.

Regards,
David

[buffaloseven]

Had some more time with this release. I think there's plenty going on that we can't see. The whole firmware really is snappier on my Glo and everything just feels...lighter. It feels like there's less overhead on the OS. Doing that sort of work has very little obvious benefit, but I'm guessing making major efforts to streamline the OS code will result in more agility in dealing with problems going forward. There also seems to be a major effort to unify the product line. The Glo has now been completely Aura-ified with some minor adjustments for the Glo's smaller screen.

Other than that, not much seems to have changed. I pretty much exclusively use sideloaded kepubs and everything seems about the same with them. The only really noticeable difference that I can see from 2.8.1 compared to 2.6.1 is that text seems just a hair heavier and much clearer. I can't quite describe it, but the whole display looks much crisper for me and I'm a big fan of how it's looking now.

It's clear that Kobo is doing a ton of under-the-hood modifications to position the firmware in a good place to move forward from. Hopefully this results in quicker bug-fixing and some nice refinements this year.

[Uschiekid]

Originally Posted by davidfor

A long press on the annotation will display the menu.

Yeah, I didn't get it at first that every side menu has disappeared in favour of the long press. But thanks!

I think along with the "you must now swipe" type warning that came up after the restart on this fw, they should add "or long press". I get the sleekness factor, but now I'm tempted to go around long pressing everything to find out what else I'm missing

Originally Posted by DNSB

Yep, that's a real finger tip killer, that is.

I'm kinda left wondering if these people even read prior to the invention of ereaders. After all, flipping pages is very hard work.

[rayhigh]

Originally Posted by kaufman

You mean three. Three taps to being up the bar to begin with. Three.

Perhaps you threw everyone off before when you said:



I understand that you were just using hyperbole when you said "~75 taps", but since its actually just three taps, it was throwing people off. And while two extra taps to do something several times a day can by annoying, I'm not sure that Kobo's misplaced efforts to clean up the UI by moving the brightness bar should really come under the heading of "absolutely rubbish UI design". Given that it is just three taps.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that you seem to be getting really worked up over two extra taps on a function you do only a few times a day.

Here's the thing: when I'm adjusting it while reading at night, it takes me a while to get it just right. As a result, I'm in there 3, or 4, or 5 times in a short period of time. Those extra taps add up, especially when I have to press that annoyingly small brightness icon.

I stand by the characterization as an absolutely rubbish UI design. Then again, despite the fact that I'm a person who, for example, built my own PCs for more than 25 years, gave it up because I got fed up with Microsoft's garbage UI, and switched to Macs, which, after a year, I don't regret at all.

Perhaps I've become more particular. I know there's nothing that I find more irritating than a UI that makes it difficult for me, the U in UI, to do what I want to do easily, efficiently, and pleasantly.

Originally Posted by Uschiekid

I get the sleekness factor, but now I'm tempted to go around long pressing everything to find out what else I'm missing

Been there, done that.

Incidentally, one good thing came out of this update (for me). I didn't realize that you can click on the page number in the library view and directly enter which page you wanted to go to. But, thanks to someones screenshots of the update on the Glo, I now realize that this feature has existed in the Aura for a while.

Like you, I get the sleekness factor. On the other hand, I also think that developers are going a little too far in hiding functionality in order to create a modern looking GUI. It's hard to discover features that aren't visible on screen or in the documentation after all!

[rayhigh]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Hmmm... I turn the light on with the switch. Most of the time, I leave the light at one level so that's it. But suppose I want to change the level? I tap on the light icon at the top of the screen, tap on the brightness tile, drag the level to where I want it, tap the x to close the popup. Total of 3 taps and 1 drag (well, more often a roll of the fingertip than a drag). Near as I can count, one more tap than the previous firmware.

Yep, that's a real finger tip killer, that is.

Regards,
David

1) You are missing the tap required to bring up the light icon on the first place.
2) You're being incredibly obtuse. The point, for frack's sake, isn't that it hurts my fingertips, it is that it wastes needless taps and time. It is shoddy UI design. Jeez.

[rayhigh]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

I'm kinda left wondering if these people even read prior to the invention of ereaders. After all, flipping pages is very hard work.

Thanks for the genius response that doesn't address the issue. Plonk! It's this kind of unthinking snarkiness that makes me think the internet turns nearly everyone into a tool.

[Uschiekid]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Been there, done that.

Incidentally, one good thing came out of this update (for me). I didn't realize that you can click on the page number in the library view and directly enter which page you wanted to go to. But, thanks to someones screenshots of the update on the Glo, I now realize that this feature has existed in the Aura for a while.

Like you, I get the sleekness factor. On the other hand, I also think that developers are going a little too far in hiding functionality in order to create a modern looking GUI. It's hard to discover features that aren't visible on screen or in the documentation after all!

Heheh.

Totally! It would be one thing if you just had to go and read the help section on the kobo and there it all would be (even if I'm not a read-the-manual type gal ), but while some things are intuitive, I don't have the diverse touch screen experience that some have. For me, all the changes in software are sometimes too much without the lending hand of the good people of MR .

Originally Posted by rayhigh

Here's the thing: when I'm adjusting it while reading at night, it takes me a while to get it just right. As a result, I'm in there 3, or 4, or 5 times in a short period of time. Those extra taps add up, especially when I have to press that annoyingly small brightness icon.

I think you're being a little too particular. I've found that setting the brightness to 10% is usually fine for reading at night, and I may bump it down to 1% as my eyes adjust to the darkness. Other than that, I usually get it close enough on the first try.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by kaufman

You mean three. Three taps to being up the bar to begin with. Three.

Perhaps you threw everyone off before when you said:



I understand that you were just using hyperbole when you said "~75 taps", but since its actually just three taps, it was throwing people off. And while two extra taps to do something several times a day can by annoying, I'm not sure that Kobo's misplaced efforts to clean up the UI by moving the brightness bar should really come under the heading of "absolutely rubbish UI design". Given that it is just three taps.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that you seem to be getting really worked up over two extra taps on a function you do only a few times a day.

Hmmm. A few extra taps a few times a day, day in day out, gives a person a lot to get worked up about. I'm with that guy

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Been there, done that.

Incidentally, one good thing came out of this update (for me). I didn't realize that you can click on the page number in the library view and directly enter which page you wanted to go to. But, thanks to someones screenshots of the update on the Glo, I now realize that this feature has existed in the Aura for a while.

Kobo seem to have decided on italics in the user interface as the indicator of an action. In most places, pressing the word in italics will do something. The one place that this doesn't work is the "of" in the page number. Maybe we will get a page number prompt in the future.

Like you, I get the sleekness factor. On the other hand, I also think that developers are going a little too far in hiding functionality in order to create a modern looking GUI. It's hard to discover features that aren't visible on screen or in the documentation after all!

I have to agree with that. I can see the desire to remove the menu icon and put info in its place, but sometimes it feels like they are going to far. From a personal point of view, I can't work out why I am OK with no menu icon and using a long press on the library list, but I don't find it natural on the annotations list.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Kobo seem to have decided on italics in the user interface as the indicator of an action. In most places, pressing the word in italics will do something. The one place that this doesn't work is the "of" in the page number. Maybe we will get a page number prompt in the future.

Like you, I get the sleekness factor. On the other hand, I also think that developers are going a little too far in hiding functionality in order to create a modern looking GUI. It's hard to discover features that aren't visible on screen or in the documentation after all![/QUOTE]

I have to agree with that. I can see the desire to remove the menu icon and put info in its place, but sometimes it feels like they are going to far. From a personal point of view, I can't work out why I am OK with no menu icon and using a long press on the library list, but I don't find it natural on the annotations list.[/QUOTE]

I had the mistaken impression that an underline was the indication of a possible action?