Computer experts Gibson and Laporte chat about their Readers - Page 2

RWood · 04-11-2007, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Speaking as an author who contacted Connect, and whose queries were never returned, it might be a good idea for authors to simply make their own reader-compatible files. That way they can sell them directly to the consumer, not through the Connect Store (which also means you can ignore DRM issues that Sony might foist upon you), at the price you set, and make your full profit. I'm working on this right now, for the general not-to-technical consumers, although I still sell RTF files that the more savvy consumers can convert for themselves.

I have purchased Steve's books and formatted them to LRF for my own use through BookDesigner. The LRF files are about one-third the size of the RTF files I got from Steve and they also display the cover page that the RTF files do not. The conversion was quick & easy and took around 60 seconds per book.

If you are looking for some good scifi or a great noir novel, check out Steve's work. They are good and the price is unbelievable. I went back for more.

NatCh · 04-11-2007, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhbailey

Was the Librie ever sold in the US? If so, I totally missed that.

Officially it was "Japan Only", but a lot of "Not Japan" folks imported it, like is happening currently with the Reader for "Not U.S." folks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhbailey

Was the librie using eInk technology? If not, then the Sony Reader would, in my opinion, still be first-generation.

Oh, yes, indeedy deed it was -- same panel as the Reader, apparently.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhbailey

It doesn't really matter, though because there really wasn't any sort of marketing hype along the lines that computer makers go through when they put a new chip in their next generation of computes.

Aside from a few magazine spots, and spots in airports, etc., and, of course, the actual brick & mortar retail outlets, there hasn't been much marketing hype on the Reader ... besides the blogosphere, and we've mostly done that to ourselves.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 04-11-2007, 11:21 PM

Thanks, Wood! (I swear, he is not a paid spokesperson!)

I do still plan (hope) to be able to put my e-books out in LRF... after all, not everyone wants to have to convert the books they buy. Without my own reader, however, the process is proving... delicate. Stay tuned.

NatCh · 04-11-2007, 11:32 PM

Perhaps RWood or HarryT could help you with the conversion ....

Steven Lyle Jordan · 04-12-2007, 12:52 PM

In fact, RWood and I have discussed the issue! But let's face it, being able to see the result on the reader in front of you is a lot more practical than e-mailing samples back and forth, and relying on subjective descriptions of your results.

Which is not to say that I won't create LRF content until I own a reader of my own... but that it would be a huge help. As I suggested in another thread, I may make it a "business expense" one of these days...

HarryT · 04-12-2007, 01:15 PM

You can get a pretty good idea of how it'll look using the "Full Screen Preview" mode in the Connect software (which you don't need to have a Reader in order to install). When I'm doing my book conversions, I rarely load them onto the "real" Reader; I use Connect to see how they look.

The only real difference between the Connect preview and the "real" Reader is that the "Table of Contents" in Connect (the "pop-out tab" on the right side of the screen) shows a lot more text than the real "Table of Contents" on the Reader does. The actual text pages themselves, though, are an excellent match in Connect and the Reader.

NatCh · 04-12-2007, 01:52 PM

The only problem I, personally run into with the full page preview is that it's hard to get a feel for how big the font is really going to be on the Reader itself. Of course, once you know what size you should set it to for the results you want, that's not a problem you just set and forget.

Otherwise I find the full page preview really nice when I'm generating a book and want a look at the results. I'm glad Sony added it -- it saves a lot of loading to the Reader to check results that I'd otherwise have to do.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 04-12-2007, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

You can get a pretty good idea of how it'll look using the "Full Screen Preview" mode in the Connect software (which you don't need to have a Reader in order to install).

True... but I discovered that you do need Windows XP or Vista to install the Connect software. I'm still running Win2K because, well, I've never needed to upgrade it! That's probably a valuable tip for me, as I will clearly need to upgrade my PC if I buy the reader and want to use Connect.

I've had mixed luck with BookDesigner so far, but I may keep working on that for now, at least until I reach the point where I have to upgrade.

NatCh · 04-12-2007, 10:34 PM

Well, you might be interested in this then.

Azayzel · 04-13-2007, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

I do still plan (hope) to be able to put my e-books out in LRF... after all, not everyone wants to have to convert the books they buy. Without my own reader, however, the process is proving... delicate. Stay tuned.

I totally agree with the statement about making your own Reader-friendly books for distro, while it would be nice to have Sony host them through the Connect store, you're essentially cutting out the middle-man and saving profits by not having to share the profits with the likes of $ony. Word-of-mouth helps in garnering new readers, not to mention self-promotion and excerpts, so I wish you the best of luck. I'm sure you'll find a happy medium that suites the best.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 04-16-2007, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

Well, you might be interested in this then.

Mmm... uh... what's an -a switch?

NatCh · 04-16-2007, 11:04 AM

You know, I'm not sure of that myself. I assumed that you added "-a" to the end of the command line when running the installer.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 04-16-2007, 11:20 AM

By Jove, man... that did it! (Added -a to the Start-Run dialog box after the installer name.)

Now I can see what I get without actually having a reader! Cool beans!

NatCh · 04-16-2007, 12:07 PM

Excellent! Just remember the font is going to look a (whole) lot bigger on the screen than it will on the Reader's display....

Steven Lyle Jordan · 04-16-2007, 03:21 PM

So I've noticed... fonts are all large and bold. It's kinda scary! But at least this allows me to edit the text as needed to create a decent LRF file.

Stay staying tuned... this is looking pretty good so far!

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Using multiple readers on one computer.	Philippe Lemay	Calibre	0	09-04-2010 04:10 PM
Anyone read computer books on e-readers?	chobo2	News	17	11-19-2009 04:28 PM
newbie with a question for the experts	swimr29	Amazon Kindle	7	11-09-2009 11:34 AM
Question to Experts	srinivasvaradar	Sony Reader	3	09-30-2007 04:05 PM
Leo Laporte/Security Now Notice the Charging Bug	flumbo	Sony Reader	2	04-28-2007 11:51 PM

04-11-2007, 11:21 PM	#18
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	Thanks, Wood! (I swear, he is not a paid spokesperson!) I do still plan (hope) to be able to put my e-books out in LRF... after all, not everyone wants to have to convert the books they buy. Without my own reader, however, the process is proving... delicate. Stay tuned.

04-11-2007, 11:32 PM	#19
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Perhaps RWood or HarryT could help you with the conversion ....

04-12-2007, 12:52 PM	#20
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	In fact, RWood and I have discussed the issue! But let's face it, being able to see the result on the reader in front of you is a lot more practical than e-mailing samples back and forth, and relying on subjective descriptions of your results. Which is not to say that I won't create LRF content until I own a reader of my own... but that it would be a huge help. As I suggested in another thread, I may make it a "business expense" one of these days...

04-12-2007, 01:15 PM	#21
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,557 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	You can get a pretty good idea of how it'll look using the "Full Screen Preview" mode in the Connect software (which you don't need to have a Reader in order to install). When I'm doing my book conversions, I rarely load them onto the "real" Reader; I use Connect to see how they look. The only real difference between the Connect preview and the "real" Reader is that the "Table of Contents" in Connect (the "pop-out tab" on the right side of the screen) shows a lot more text than the real "Table of Contents" on the Reader does. The actual text pages themselves, though, are an excellent match in Connect and the Reader.

04-12-2007, 01:52 PM	#22
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	The only problem I, personally run into with the full page preview is that it's hard to get a feel for how big the font is really going to be on the Reader itself. Of course, once you know what size you should set it to for the results you want, that's not a problem you just set and forget. Otherwise I find the full page preview really nice when I'm generating a book and want a look at the results. I'm glad Sony added it -- it saves a lot of loading to the Reader to check results that I'd otherwise have to do.

04-12-2007, 10:34 PM	#24
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Well, you might be interested in this then.

04-16-2007, 11:04 AM	#27
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	You know, I'm not sure of that myself. I assumed that you added "-a" to the end of the command line when running the installer.

04-16-2007, 11:20 AM	#28
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	By Jove, man... that did it! (Added -a to the Start-Run dialog box after the installer name.) Now I can see what I get without actually having a reader! Cool beans!

04-16-2007, 12:07 PM	#29
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Excellent! Just remember the font is going to look a (whole) lot bigger on the screen than it will on the Reader's display....

04-16-2007, 03:21 PM	#30
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	So I've noticed... fonts are all large and bold. It's kinda scary! But at least this allows me to edit the text as needed to create a decent LRF file. Stay staying tuned... this is looking pretty good so far!

Advert

Advert