ebook, computer science - Page 2

snipenekkid · 01-28-2011, 08:46 PM

I am sure the OP is noticing the biggest issue with dedicated readers as study tools is the whole juggling act one does while both learning to code as well as later in your career doing real work. Some days you won't touch a book beyond maybe the built-in help for the IDE you are using. Other days it's half a dozen or more all at once using maybe a couple pages from each book. Problem is you need access to every one of them in an instant, usually to confirm your understanding of the correct syntax and design to get what you need done, done.

I don't even know of any PC, or iPad, based reader software that allows multiple books open at the same time. I am sure there has to be something and I just am unaware as I have all but given up on these devices as a viable learning aid anytime in the rest of my working life.

All of the device makers are pushing out hardware with hardly a thought given to the underlying OS and native software. Amazon had a great experiment, some would call a failure but not me, where they gave DX's to some college students. Pretty much all of them found the devices as more of a hindrance that an aid in study.

If you want to read your books like a novel, then any reader which supports the book formats is going to be fine. I would recommend a large format device though. And nothing wrong with an older tablet PC or even an iPad if that works best for you. Real useable color EPD displays won't be even in but a handful of devices until late this year so if you want color, and likely you should realize color is important to how books are organized today, then it's an old tablet PC, an iPad, NookCOLOR (not ideal screen at all) or ??? The announced Hanvon color device would likely be great for the color palette used in a CS book but so far the word is it will only be sold in China and maybe other parts of Asia. It's an exciting device.

Oh, perhaps another option is the full sized Entourage Edge as it sports dual displays, one E-ink and one LCD. The eink side lets you annotate but anything needing a reading app from a reseller (Kindle for Android, etc...) can only be read on the LCD side of things and this means no notes in the book. However nothing stopping you from writing in the journal on the eink side. Overall, right now it could well be your best option to look into. I have seen used ones sell on eBay for about $350 so that's not too bad unless you want to make sure you get one with all the latest hardware revisions, and those are sneaked into all products. If I was considering an Edge I would spent the $200 or so more to buy brand new.

Best of luck, the best developers I have know have always been self-taught. Some formal training but after than you have to develop your own work-flow, design and coding conventions then stick to them until you see a need to revise.

snipenekkid · 01-28-2011, 09:02 PM

I might add that Pocketbook Global (see the Pocketbook forum here) also, as a company is very oriented toward the education world back in Ukraine. So maybe look into their newest large format readers. I would suggest the 903 as it has a touch interface but I really have not done more than a fast look over the videos and such. So who knows, but they really are out to crack that education and research tool world.

Devices like the iPad will eventually evolve into great tools for the purpose, it's pretty much a no-brainer as the developers get better with coding for the OS. I see the Kindle as eventually getting there as well once they get their API and developer program fully up and running. Of course there are others which will eventually get there but your needs are NOW not when and if sometime in a fuzzy future.

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01-28-2011, 08:46 PM	#16
snipenekkid Banned Posts: 760 Karma: 51034 Join Date: Feb 2009	I am sure the OP is noticing the biggest issue with dedicated readers as study tools is the whole juggling act one does while both learning to code as well as later in your career doing real work. Some days you won't touch a book beyond maybe the built-in help for the IDE you are using. Other days it's half a dozen or more all at once using maybe a couple pages from each book. Problem is you need access to every one of them in an instant, usually to confirm your understanding of the correct syntax and design to get what you need done, done. I don't even know of any PC, or iPad, based reader software that allows multiple books open at the same time. I am sure there has to be something and I just am unaware as I have all but given up on these devices as a viable learning aid anytime in the rest of my working life. All of the device makers are pushing out hardware with hardly a thought given to the underlying OS and native software. Amazon had a great experiment, some would call a failure but not me, where they gave DX's to some college students. Pretty much all of them found the devices as more of a hindrance that an aid in study. If you want to read your books like a novel, then any reader which supports the book formats is going to be fine. I would recommend a large format device though. And nothing wrong with an older tablet PC or even an iPad if that works best for you. Real useable color EPD displays won't be even in but a handful of devices until late this year so if you want color, and likely you should realize color is important to how books are organized today, then it's an old tablet PC, an iPad, NookCOLOR (not ideal screen at all) or ??? The announced Hanvon color device would likely be great for the color palette used in a CS book but so far the word is it will only be sold in China and maybe other parts of Asia. It's an exciting device. Oh, perhaps another option is the full sized Entourage Edge as it sports dual displays, one E-ink and one LCD. The eink side lets you annotate but anything needing a reading app from a reseller (Kindle for Android, etc...) can only be read on the LCD side of things and this means no notes in the book. However nothing stopping you from writing in the journal on the eink side. Overall, right now it could well be your best option to look into. I have seen used ones sell on eBay for about $350 so that's not too bad unless you want to make sure you get one with all the latest hardware revisions, and those are sneaked into all products. If I was considering an Edge I would spent the $200 or so more to buy brand new. Best of luck, the best developers I have know have always been self-taught. Some formal training but after than you have to develop your own work-flow, design and coding conventions then stick to them until you see a need to revise.

01-28-2011, 09:02 PM	#17
snipenekkid Banned Posts: 760 Karma: 51034 Join Date: Feb 2009	I might add that Pocketbook Global (see the Pocketbook forum here) also, as a company is very oriented toward the education world back in Ukraine. So maybe look into their newest large format readers. I would suggest the 903 as it has a touch interface but I really have not done more than a fast look over the videos and such. So who knows, but they really are out to crack that education and research tool world. Devices like the iPad will eventually evolve into great tools for the purpose, it's pretty much a no-brainer as the developers get better with coding for the OS. I see the Kindle as eventually getting there as well once they get their API and developer program fully up and running. Of course there are others which will eventually get there but your needs are NOW not when and if sometime in a fuzzy future.

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