360 Replacement for 360?

[Farhad]

Originally Posted by kacir

You can have your cake and eat it too ;-)
The most interesting version for you might be Mint built on top of Debian - http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1604

A rolling distribution based on Debian Testing, WOW!!!

Fantastic! thanks a lot for that tip. I did not now about that.

[Farhad]

Originally Posted by paola

but how many fonts can I put on the device to make sure they can all be handled?

by trying them for a while each you will probably find 2-3 which you really like, if not only *one*. Keep that one, and dump the rest. As kacir says, it takes a little while to get use to a new font, but then it either "grabs" you or not. I would try a bunch and then keep just a few. YMMV, of course.

Cheers and enjoy!

[Logseman]

Originally Posted by Farhad

What documentation in Russian? I thought I had seen the source code commented in English on Sourceforge. besides, the code comments can easily be translated with any machine-translating application, no?

If the code is developed by Russkies, I would kinda see why the documentation would be in that language, but that's me I suppose.

If you're selling and touting the open sourceness of the software to a worldwide market, maybe you could have a goodwill gesture and translate the documentation to English. More people cooperating=more fun.

Originally Posted by Farhad

Why not? You seem to imply that something the openness of the PB360 upsets you.. is that the case?

Quite the contrary: as a fellow desktop Linux user I love the openness of the PB360 because it has allowed me to cooperate in making the reader better for other people (the Spanish translation of the firmware is my own work, and I started a fairly successful project to gather more languages). However, in the new models, PB has shown a distinct lack of diligence in delivering sources and SDK which has been discussed thoroughly in other threads and I don't want to rekindle the sour topic.

[paola]

guys, many thanks.
@kacir: ok, will look up for the various discussions - as for numbers, I definitely have fewer than 200 files in the PB360, probably more like 20 fonts (I have some 106 .ttf files I think, though it is not divisible by four!), and it works like the PB360 (they go into teh font subdirectory) but for some reason the configuration menu does not show all of them (though no instability). Possibly a bug of the new models - I just got the package with the 360, will experiment now

[Farhad]

Originally Posted by Logseman

If you're selling and touting the open sourceness of the software to a worldwide market, maybe you could have a goodwill gesture and translate the documentation to English. More people cooperating=more fun.

Agreed. Maybe they lack the resources? Or the skills? Besides, if anything at all, the entire Nokia debacle has clearly shown that corporations really have a hard time understanding what the world of the FLOSS community is all about. They want the applications, but they don't get that it has to be a two-way street. I am sorry to hear that PB also struggles with that.

Originally Posted by Logseman

a distinct lack of diligence in delivering sources and SDK which has been discussed thoroughly in other threads and I don't want to rekindle the sour topic.

ok, I understand

[anamardoll]

Um.

I'm American, so I'm all about Ze English, you know, but I get a little worried when I see this:

If you're selling and touting the open sourceness of the software to a worldwide market, maybe you could have a goodwill gesture and translate the documentation to English. More people cooperating=more fun.

I've never seen anyone seriously suggest that if people REALLY cared about open sourcedness, then they'd go the extra mile and translate the documentation into Spanish or German or Russian or Mandarin or something - it's always English. And it never seems to matter to the discussion what language the developers natively speak - everything is just supposed to be in English because shut up that's why.

I agree that English documentation is VERY nice for me to have, but I don't expect developers to be fluent in every language on earth so they can answer my questions. I write software documentation for a living, and it is NOT a simple matter to port it to another language - it would take hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to translate my documentation alone, and I'm a small piece of a much bigger pie.

Now, if you're okay with "computer-translated" documentation, you can just as easily copy and paste the documentation into a Russian-to-Whatever online converter as the developers can. But if you're expecting a "human-translated" document (and it sounds like you are), I don't know why the developers should be expected to cough up the insane amount of time and money it takes to translate their documentation into every other major language out there, or even just English.

I've not had any problems using and modifying the PB360 based on the information I've found right here on MobileRead, so I kind of personally feel that the "why isn't all their stuff in MY language" is a non-starter (What, exactly, have you been unable to do because of the Russian documentation?)

Being that, as an American, 95% of the world caters to me on a daily basis (much obliged, guys! ), I think it's appropriate to not browbeat a Russian company for not translating all their documentation into English for my convenience. Or maybe it's just me and I'm being a scold - I'll shut up now.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I've not had any problems using and modifying the PB360 based on the information I've found right here on MobileRead, so I kind of personally feel that the "why isn't all their stuff in MY language" is a non-starter (What, exactly, have you been unable to do because of the Russian documentation?)

Using and configuring device is OK with existing documentation.
Try:
- making a new theme. I have downloaded the [very terse] manual, I have run it through Translate.Google.com and even corrected it manually as far as my very rusty command of Russian allowed and then I have uploaded it here, but it is far from ideal.
- creating a dictionary for language where you do not have list of morphems and a few other even more arcane files
- porting or writing software, such as FBReader, Coolreader or a note-taking application for PB302

All we have is an obsolete SDK (Software Development Kit) for PB301 and 360 - a collection of source files, libraries, settings, tools, description of using elaborate setup of cross-compiler.

There are some very gifted people here (the vast majority of whom does speak Russian and can discuss on Russian speaking forum for developers) that were able to hack the old SDK so it kinda, sorta works for newer models. Now imagine what those people could do if they had well documented development environment set up in a virtual machine.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I'm American, so I'm all about Ze English, you know, but I get a little worried when I see this:

I am not. Neither American nor worried, that is.

I've never seen anyone seriously suggest that if people REALLY cared about open sourcedness, then they'd go the extra mile and translate the documentation into Spanish or German or Russian or Mandarin or something - it's always English.

Yes, always. Resources are usually limited, so full-fledged localisation and internationalization efforts are the hallmark of big, long-running, successful (or: commercial) projects. In the meantime, as a working language, there's always English. I say that as somebody whose mother tongue is not English, mind you. English has become a de facto lingua franca, and I for one don't think that's a bad thing. In Europe alone we speak (depending on how and what you count) 20+ languages. I don't speak Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Spanish or most of the others -- but I do speak English.

If we do accept that assumption, i.e. that there is a need for one shared language, English is probably one of the better choices. It's comparatively easy to learn (at least to the extent needed to follow comments in the code or technical documentation and such) and widely spoken already.

Take this forum: yes, there is a German or French section, but really, most of the discussions are to be found right here, in the English part. Why do you think that is? Or, take Linux: If Mr. Torvalds had decided to release his kernel sources in Swedish (only), how many people would have (could have) bothered?

So, embrace it. It's good of you to realize that other people sometimes have to make a bit more of an effort because they are communicating in a foreign language. Be kind to them where warranted. But, please, don't feel guilty; there's really no need to.

I agree that English documentation is VERY nice for me to have, but I don't expect developers to be fluent in every language on earth so they can answer my questions.

No, not every language; that's just the point I've been trying to make: English instead of anything and everything else. Any self-respecting geek must have a smatter of English these days. Not using it is just intellectual laziness.

... for not translating all their documentation into English for my convenience.

Well, it would be my convenience, too. I don't expect much in the way of German (my native language), but English would certainly be appreciated.

[Yar-PocketBooker]

about PB360 PLUS - I'll have them very soon for sale here I'll put them on the site tomorrow and will (should) have them by the end of this week.
Almost nothing changed, besides the obvious wi-fi. Oh, also - the new look of the packaging plus some more memory, 2 Gigs)))))

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Yar-PocketBooker

about PB360 PLUS - I'll have them very soon for sale here

Are you still forbidden to sell to Europe?
Even the new model?

Please tell us about the new firmware.
Is it using the same family of firmware as 602 ... 903 models?

[adbosch]

Originally Posted by kacir

Are you still forbidden to sell to Europe?
Even the new model?

Please tell us about the new firmware.
Is it using the same family of firmware as 602 ... 903 models?

No new screen technology?
Still making irritating clicks?

[rogue_librarian]

If the "clicks" irritate you get another model. Quite a number of people don't want a touchscreen, thank you very much, including yours truly.

[Farhad]

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

Quite a number of people don't want a touchscreen, thank you very much, including yours truly.

Amen!

[adbosch]

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

If the "clicks" irritate you get another model. Quite a number of people don't want a touchscreen, thank you very much, including yours truly.

Wow, somebody overreacting here?

[rogue_librarian]

I beg your pardon? I am stating an opinion here, perhaps a suggestion. Overreaction? I have no idea what you are talking about.