PRS-600 PRS-600 tips and tricks

[lacymarie7575]

Originally Posted by polyormorphie

This is a great idea: there is still lots I need to learn about my PRS600. Is it possible to keep books on my Reader that I have deleted from my computer in order to save space on my hard drive?

try looking into Calibre...i just discovered it and am amazed!

[polyormorphie]

Thanks for interest. Don't know what calibre is but will Google it.

[mikij]

Originally Posted by polyormorphie

Thanks for interest. Don't know what calibre is but will Google it.

Here is the link:
http://calibre-ebook.com/download

BTW, there is a very extensive Forum about Calibre on MobileRead.
Great software, a lot better than Sony's. Just don't run them both at the same time - can corrupt your data. I just unchecked in Sony Reader the option to run automatically when read is connected. If I need the Sony Store, I use their software. For everything else - Calibre.

[polyormorphie]

Originally Posted by mikij

Here is the link:
http://calibre-ebook.com/download

BTW, there is a very extensive Forum about Calibre on MobileRead.
Great software, a lot better than Sony's. Just don't run them both at the same time - can corrupt your data. I just unchecked in Sony Reader the option to run automatically when read is connected. If I need the Sony Store, I use their software. For everything else - Calibre.

Thanks - have made a note of link and will read up. A bit nervous though as I have only just got used to Sony's Software. "Nothing ventured Nothing Gained" as my granny used to say.

[maxbookworm]

My biggest tip for new PRS-600 owners is, if you bought it brand new, to test it out in the sunlight. If the screen fades, call Sony customer support and ask for a replacement via their Advanced Exchange Program. You will have a new unit in your hands within a few days and hopefully it will not have the fading issue!

[snapper]

Hi all
I am trying for the first time to download a purchased book from a store that come under the Adobe DRM system. Has anyone seen a script anywhere to guide you through this process. The Sony and Adobe manuals are no help at all. To buy and download a book under this process seems very convoluted.

[VonSaxenCoburg]

Yup, unfortunately I've had mine for several months now, so I'm used to it. Actually discovered the "switch direction" thing on the 5th day I had the reader, but by then I was so into it that I just kept swiping the "wrong" way, so I changed it back :-)
Hey, non-thread question perhaps but do you guys/gals also find yourselves using swipes to leaf through your average paper books? :-) It's got me a little worried, next thing you know I'll be doubletapping words I don't know in the daily paper, geztting all worked up that the dictionnary won't open :-D

[VonSaxenCoburg]

1) I heartily recommend using Calibre, GPL + bookrecoder + library, what more does one need? Bit slower than the Sony software when transferring from PC to Reader, though, so be prepared to strum those fingers a while :-)
2) I noticed someone advising to get a lead convertor from USB to PSP... googled a bit but all I could find was actually PSP, the gaming console... Is that what I should buy? Because not being able to read while it's charging is almost as big a downside as not being able to use proper multilevel directories :-(

[FredPC]

Originally Posted by VonSaxenCoburg

1) I heartily recommend using Calibre, GPL + bookrecoder + library, what more does one need? Bit slower than the Sony software when transferring from PC to Reader, though, so be prepared to strum those fingers a while :-)

I too highly recommend Calibre. Despite it being slower at transferring to the Sony, I use Calibre almost exclusively. It is a far superior product and it's FLOSS (Free Libre Open Source Software) too!

Originally Posted by VonSaxenCoburg

2) I noticed someone advising to get a lead convertor from USB to PSP... googled a bit but all I could find was actually PSP, the gaming console... Is that what I should buy? Because not being able to read while it's charging is almost as big a downside as not being able to use proper multilevel directories :-(

What "we" are talking about is that the PRS600 Reader has both a mini-USB connector and a yellow turret connector -- both of which include support for charging the reader.

Unfortunately, Sony set up the reader so that it will ONLY charge through the USB connector if that cable hooks up to an active computer with the "correct" software (Calibre works) running so that the Reader can talk to the computer and "decide" to enable charging. This is an ACTIVE process, so if you plug into a laptop and the laptop goes into sleep mode, so does the charging process!!! USB wall chargers will NOT work because the Reader can't find a computer at the other end and will NOT enable charging. This really limits the options for charging, especially for someone like me who travels a lot and therefore often does not have access to a desktop PC for charging purposes. Additionally, because charging is an active process, you CANNOT read while the Reader is charging via this method because it is busy "talking" to the computer (actually it's busy being an external drive so you can transfer books on and off etc.)

If we aren't happy with this situation, then Sony says the only solution is to buy their $30 (it's almost $40 in Canada) wall-wart charger that plugs into the wall (obviously) and into the yellow turret power connector and supports charging the Reader without any other (computer) connection. Additionally, since the Reader is not busy "talking" to another computer, you CAN read while the Reader is charging via this method!

Many of us figured out (I thought I was the first ) that both the physical turret connector and the actual voltage required are identical to those on the PSP (Sony Play Station Portable) and that wall-wart charger is cheaper. Even more interesting, and more economical though is the fact that the Reader wants a voltage of 5.2V, and USB supplies a voltage of 5.0V -- you guessed it -- this means that with the right cable (USB on one end and a yellow "Sony PSP" connector on the other end) you can easily charge the Reader using a USB wall charger adaptor without having to pay Sony any money at all. [OK, you have to buy the special cable somewhere, and you have to buy a USB wall charger (if you don't have one already) but you don't have to pay the huge premium that Sony wants for their little wall-wart charger.] In my case, I bought another USB wall charger (that folds flatter than any of my exist USB units) and the special USB-PSP cable for just over $10. Because of the voltage difference, it "should" take a little longer to charge the Reader using this method than if it would using the actual Sony wall-wart adaptor. But since I almost always plug mine in and walk away, I don't care if it takes an extra few minutes (or even an extra few hours). As a bonus I have one less wall-wart to pack every time I travel -- a simpler solution that is also less expensive -- you can't loose!

Wow, I just realized, I typed a lot more than I planned on!

Hope this helps you out.

~ FredPC

[VonSaxenCoburg]

Hi Fred

Yeah you sure did... :-) But oh heck, it's good reading so that's allright. Now I have to admit I was aware of the whole handshake issue, I understood why the Reader is not accessible when plugged into a charged-up USB-port. Understand, in the sense that I was furious about it but couldn't do much to prevent it :-) To think, I was already up and down the web looking for a fix in firmware that would address this (not to mention the lack of directory-support)... So a

[VonSaxenCoburg]

Oops, wrong hotkey, my appologies... I only just woke up, typing still a bit dodgy.

So a... => continues: so actually all I needed to understand was what you guys were talking about when you said PSP. What you're actually saying is the standard wallcharger for a PSP (and therefore any clone of that, and there are many, you say?) will do the trick as well? That's simply brilliant! Now I must admit I don't travel. At all (well apart from a short holliday of course, but then I turn into Back-To-The-Wild-dude so no reader there). So the only reason I was looking for the fix was that there doesn't seem to be any ideal time to charge something like this, when you're a bookworm like me. I find myself constantly wanting to unplug the thing in genuine "one more chapter pleeeaaase" style :-)
So thanks for the heads' up man, I'm especially liking the idea of combining a USB travelcharger with a shuntover from USB to "irritatingly Sony not-completely-standard DC-input" format :-)

So again, yup this helped me out hugely, many thanks and Keep On Reading!

Cheers all


Bart

[Bismarn]

A single reason to use the Sony Reader software - Dragging books into Collections.

I use Calibre for my free ebooks and ADE for my store-bought ones, but unfortunately Calibre can't add tags (which become Collections in the 600) to some DRM books. Fortunately you can use the Sony Reader software to drag even DRM'ed books into Collections. This can also be useful if you need to move a lot of books into a Collection; you can Shift select and drag them all at once.

[Titus Petronius]

Did you get the charger problem sorted out? I bought myself a UK equivalent charger for a few GBP from Amazon.uk (nothing like the $30+ that Sony want).

You might be able to pick up something of this sort, wherever you are. Here's a link
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ULTIMATEADDO...4397923&sr=1-6.

Hope this link works...

[JTAL604622]

Calibre does collections and tags...ive been using it since last year with my 600 and my new 900...never had a issue.

[Robert22]

Originally Posted by VonSaxenCoburg

is almost as big a downside as not being able to use proper multilevel directories :-(

I, like you, also thought when I first got my Reader that I would miss multilevel directories. But, as it turned out Tags are way better. Why? Because you can put one book in multiple categories, without duplicating the book. So for instance if you have a classic SF book of short stories, you could Tag it with "Classics", "Science Fiction" and "Short Stories" and locate this book on your Reader in all 3 places.

In the Sony Library you do this by dragging the book into those categories, in Calibre you separate each category in the Tag field with a comma. The only advantage that the Sony Library software has (and that is the only thing I use it for) over Calibre, is that you can drag books within a category to reorder them and that is the order that they will appear upon your Reader.

HTH