...just for pdf files? - Page 2

wallcraft · 10-10-2007, 06:26 PM

The FBReader web site, includes screenshots of FBReader on the Nokia 770 which also server as a mini-tutorial. Note that when you click on the images you get full (800x480) size versions. These will most likely appear bigger on your desktop screen than on the device, because the 770 has about 220 pixels per inch.

One of the advantages of FBReader over most e-book readers is that it supports a wide range of input formats. This means that you can usually find existing files that will work "as is" on the 770. It does not support PDFs, because they are not "reflowable" (i.e. they can't be reformatted to fit the screen). There is a separate PDF viewer for the 770/N800, but the lack of reflowability makes PDFs problematic on the small screen.

sharp21 · 10-10-2007, 08:06 PM

Well I gotta say im leaning towards the 770... Being able to run a bunch of different formats seems like a plus. Also, one of my wifes friends has one & apparently gets free internet everywhere!
That said, I love amazon & im sure whatever they come with will be good. But I want access to all those free books out there!
S.

gmanacsa · 10-10-2007, 10:46 PM

I know a lot of people here don't like using the Sony Reader (500 or 505) for reading PDF files, but I find it to work reasonably well for most ebooks when it is switched to read in landscape mode. See for yourself:

Not bad, if you don't mind slightly small-ish (but very legible) text. No conversion required — just plug in an SD card or Memory Stick and go.

jbenny · 10-11-2007, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharp21

Im not sure what DRM is, im pretty new to this...
I dont really want to have to convert all kind of files to get it to work. I was thinking more along the lines of putting them onto an SD, insert & go!
JBenny i see you have the 800. Is it much improved over the 770? I like the whole roaming internet thing, but not sure if its hype or if it really picks up signals all over the place
S.

I agree that DRM is a "Bad Thing". Think of DRM this way: You buy a paperback book. The publisher of that book says that you can only read that book while you are sitting in a particular chair in your home. If you sit in another chair, you can't read that book. Also, you can't loan that book to anyone else. Oh, and you can't sell your used book when you're done with it. Does this sound really stupid and unreasonable? That's DRM.

I prefer to buy ebooks from vendors that offer them without DRM. If I have to buy an ebook with DRM, I buy in the LIT format. The content of LIT ebooks can easily be extracted, so you can convert it to read on any device you have. It takes some effort to do this, but depending on what device you are reading on, the effort may be very minimal. My feeling is that I bought the ebook, I should be able to read it on any device I want to, not just how someone else thinks I should read it.

If you don't want to bother with converting from one format to another, you will have to buy a reader that supports a widely available ebook format. Not counting PDF (which sucks on anything less than a full-size screen), probably the two most widely available ebook formats are MobiPocket and Microsoft Reader (LIT). Unfortunately, in most cases, these formats have DRM. Some vendors sell these formats without DRM. As I said before, if you have to buy with DRM, the LIT ebook is the easiest to deal with for converting.

One possiblity is to buy a PDA with Windows Mobile on it. This way, you could read LIT ebooks natively. You could also install software to read MobiPocket or other formats. This would allow you to read just about any ebook out there. The drawback to a PDA is the smaller screen. Although lots of people (myself included) have read lots of ebooks on a PDA.

If I wanted to buy an ebook reader right now (or very soon), I would take a hard look at the CyBook that is due to be released this month. Although the new Sony 505 looks nice, Sony is still too restrictive on which formats they support. The CyBook already supports more formats than the Sony and promises to support even more. With the CyBook supporting MobiPocket ebooks, you will be able to buy just about any ebook available in that format (althouth with that nasty DRM).

I never had a Nokia N770, so I can only tell you what others have said about the differences. The N800 is faster, has more memory, takes larger SD cards and has a newer Linux OS on it. Some say that they liked the layout of the buttons on the N770 better. The N800 has no flip cover, like the N770 did. You can still buy N770's fairly cheap, if all you want to use it for is reading. If you get one, be aware that there was a certain batch of N770's that had a manufacturering defect that causes the LCD screen to fail. There is no way to know if you have one of the defective units until it fails. One thing about using either Nokia for reading is that the only reader software available is called FBReader, which reads several formats, but none with DRM. This means that if you buy an ebook with DRM, you will have to do something to convert/extract the contents before reading it on a Nokia.

One last thought: don't forget the vast amount of public domain ebooks that are out there at sites like Project Gutenberg. Most of the ebooks that folks are posting here for the Sony reader, in MobiPocket format, etc. came from Project Gutenberg. There are also several other places to get public domain ebooks from. None of these public domain ebooks have DRM. There are also a few sites that have free or low cost ebooks that are not public domain (Baen comes to mind). Unless you have to have the latest best seller, there are a lot of free ebooks out there to read.

sharp21 · 10-11-2007, 08:50 AM

PDF files on that 505 dont look bad at all! Ive got good eyesight so I dont think that would be a problem.
The CyBook looks really nice too, although it looks like its going to be a lil pricey...
I think im starting to lose the forest for the trees!
S.

sharp21 · 10-11-2007, 03:46 PM

Does anybody here use the Archos 605? Looks like a nice unit, with capabilities similar to the 770. Its around the $300 range too, although you can get the 405 without wifi for around $150
S.

NatCh · 10-11-2007, 03:51 PM

There's a small discussion of the Archos here that might be of interest.

JSWolf · 10-11-2007, 03:52 PM

But once you get setup for breaking the DRM of LIT files, using lit2lrf is trivial. You end up with a nice LRF file based on the LIT. So it's a snap to go LIT > LRF > Sony > Reading.

jbenny · 10-11-2007, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharp21

Does anybody here use the Archos 605? Looks like a nice unit, with capabilities similar to the 770. Its around the $300 range too, although you can get the 405 without wifi for around $150
S.

If you are willing to spend $300 on a media player and then use it as an ebook, consider that the Sony is $300 and the CyBook is $350. If you are more interested in ebook reading, I would think either of these would be more suited. You stated that you didn't want to bother with converting. If you go with an Archos, a Nokia, or several other choices, you're either going to convert or just read public domain ebooks. For the average consumer who wants the least hassle and a wide reading selection, I still say go with either the Sony or CyBook (I would lean towards the CyBook, myself).

sharp21 · 10-11-2007, 05:46 PM

Well coming full circle, id like to be able to read pdf's as comfortably as possible, hence the 770 or archos. And im looking for something used, dunno if im ready to take the plunge into a brand new unit yet.
S.

blunty · 10-16-2007, 09:16 AM

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. You can think of it as an attempt to keep folks from copying the content, or you can think of it as an attempt to limit how you use the content you pay for. In essence, it's rather a hassle, and tends to keep new folks from coming into e-books in earnest, because they don't want to hassle with it.

Or think of it as a way to protect the intellectual copyright of the authors, and to make sure they can earn their due royalties.

sharp21 · 10-16-2007, 05:47 PM

Im all for the intellectual rights of the authors!
Reminds me of the book Noir by KW Jeter... Its a cyperpunk novel where AspHeads, which are a type of govt worker, hunt down copyright violaters & extract their spinal column, to make trophies from which are presented to the copyright owner...
He also wrote Blade Runner.
http://www.amazon.com/Noir-K-W-Jeter/dp/0553576380
But is borrowing a book from a friend copyright infringement?
S.

NatCh · 10-16-2007, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharp21

... KW Jeter.... He also wrote Blade Runner.

I think Phllip K. Dick wrote the original story that became Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) -- unless you're talking about something else by that name ....

HarryT · 10-17-2007, 02:36 AM

He certainly did!

igorsk · 10-17-2007, 04:37 AM

Apparently K.W. Jeter wrote some kind of a sequel for the movie, a book called Blade Runner. There's even Blade Runner 2.

10-10-2007, 10:46 PM	#18
gmanacsa Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2007 Device: Sony Reader PRS-500, X61T Tablet, iPhone, OLPC XO-1	I know a lot of people here don't like using the Sony Reader (500 or 505) for reading PDF files, but I find it to work reasonably well for most ebooks when it is switched to read in landscape mode. See for yourself: Not bad, if you don't mind slightly small-ish (but very legible) text. No conversion required — just plug in an SD card or Memory Stick and go. Last edited by gmanacsa; 10-10-2007 at 10:53 PM.

10-16-2007, 05:47 PM	#27
sharp21 Member Posts: 18 Karma: 20 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: None	Im all for the intellectual rights of the authors! Reminds me of the book Noir by KW Jeter... Its a cyperpunk novel where AspHeads, which are a type of govt worker, hunt down copyright violaters & extract their spinal column, to make trophies from which are presented to the copyright owner... He also wrote Blade Runner. http://www.amazon.com/Noir-K-W-Jeter/dp/0553576380 But is borrowing a book from a friend copyright infringement? S. Last edited by sharp21; 10-16-2007 at 05:51 PM.

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10-10-2007, 06:26 PM	#16
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,977 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	The FBReader web site, includes screenshots of FBReader on the Nokia 770 which also server as a mini-tutorial. Note that when you click on the images you get full (800x480) size versions. These will most likely appear bigger on your desktop screen than on the device, because the 770 has about 220 pixels per inch. One of the advantages of FBReader over most e-book readers is that it supports a wide range of input formats. This means that you can usually find existing files that will work "as is" on the 770. It does not support PDFs, because they are not "reflowable" (i.e. they can't be reformatted to fit the screen). There is a separate PDF viewer for the 770/N800, but the lack of reflowability makes PDFs problematic on the small screen.

10-10-2007, 08:06 PM	#17
sharp21 Member Posts: 18 Karma: 20 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: None	Well I gotta say im leaning towards the 770... Being able to run a bunch of different formats seems like a plus. Also, one of my wifes friends has one & apparently gets free internet everywhere! That said, I love amazon & im sure whatever they come with will be good. But I want access to all those free books out there! S.

10-11-2007, 08:50 AM	#20
sharp21 Member Posts: 18 Karma: 20 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: None	PDF files on that 505 dont look bad at all! Ive got good eyesight so I dont think that would be a problem. The CyBook looks really nice too, although it looks like its going to be a lil pricey... I think im starting to lose the forest for the trees! S.

10-11-2007, 03:46 PM	#21
sharp21 Member Posts: 18 Karma: 20 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: None	Does anybody here use the Archos 605? Looks like a nice unit, with capabilities similar to the 770. Its around the $300 range too, although you can get the 405 without wifi for around $150 S.

10-11-2007, 03:51 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	There's a small discussion of the Archos here that might be of interest.

10-11-2007, 03:52 PM	#23
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,792 Karma: 146391129 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	But once you get setup for breaking the DRM of LIT files, using lit2lrf is trivial. You end up with a nice LRF file based on the LIT. So it's a snap to go LIT > LRF > Sony > Reading.

10-11-2007, 05:46 PM	#25
sharp21 Member Posts: 18 Karma: 20 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: None	Well coming full circle, id like to be able to read pdf's as comfortably as possible, hence the 770 or archos. And im looking for something used, dunno if im ready to take the plunge into a brand new unit yet. S.

10-16-2007, 09:16 AM	#26
blunty Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 884 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: London Device: Kindle Fire, iPad, iPhone5, Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Vox	DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. You can think of it as an attempt to keep folks from copying the content, or you can think of it as an attempt to limit how you use the content you pay for. In essence, it's rather a hassle, and tends to keep new folks from coming into e-books in earnest, because they don't want to hassle with it. Or think of it as a way to protect the intellectual copyright of the authors, and to make sure they can earn their due royalties.

10-17-2007, 02:36 AM	#29
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,547 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	He certainly did!

10-17-2007, 04:37 AM	#30
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	Apparently K.W. Jeter wrote some kind of a sequel for the movie, a book called Blade Runner. There's even Blade Runner 2.

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