Paperwhite Second Gen: First Impressions

[Lady Stardust]

Originally Posted by aceflor

Yes, it has to be set to UK English. For me it is not a big thing, but I know some would mind. Regarding the hack itself, it is quite useful if you don't want to use Calibre. I was just mentioning it because I am not sure everyone knows it exists (and works on PW2) at all.

And you have to jailbrake it first? At least that's what it says in Readme?

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by Lady Stardust

And you have to jailbrake it first? At least that's what it says in Readme?

Yes, mine was jailbroken so I just installed the hack and it works. I tried the different size brackets and settled down for 16-30, which works well for me. I installed the margin .jar in the same go and this is very nice too, much more text on the page.

Those two hacks (fonts size+ margin and fonts hack) work well for me because I am a Trebuchet fan so as long as I have that font installed, I am a happy camper and do not need much more.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Why would you want to convert every book? How many books do you encounter in which the default font size is unreadable for you? Of the 106 books that I've read so far this year, I've felt the need to change the font size in only 1 of them. The overwhelming majority of books are absolutely fine, to my (not very good) eyes.

Answer: I would need to convert every single one for the pw2, because of the goldilocks problem (one size is a little too small, the next way too large).

You obviously find one or more of those sizes hit the sweet spot or acceptable range for you, which is great -- for you. I don't.

Btw, there should be no "default font size" in a reflowable format like ePub/Mobi. That should be set by the user agent, ie the ebook reader. If publisher A decides 8pt is a good size and publisher B decides 10pt (or heaven forbids, 12px) is a good size, whenever you switch books you will be looking at a different font size, just like with pbooks. But I like ebooks partly because I no longer have to subject myself to majority tastes and needs.

Finally, it's not trivial to set the font size in calibre, just because there is a base font size option. For one, you have to do trial and error to get the size to come out the way you want. Second, for it to work consistently the books have to be well formatted to begin with. That means no absolute sizes, and no changing font size of the main text. I've seen books that use 0.85em for main text because I guess the printed version has tiny fonts so let's do the same with the ebook. Third, if you use multiple kindle models you may need to maintain different versions. Oy.

That's why I use a hack.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Barty

Answer: I would need to convert every single one for the pw2, because of the goldilocks problem (one size is a little too small, the next way too large).

You obviously find one or more of those sizes hit the sweet spot or acceptable range for you, which is great -- for you. I don't.

That's what I discovered, the goldilocks problem! There is no "one size fits all" solution. Hardly conducive to loading 300 books on a PW2, for a trip, for example.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by aceflor

Yes, mine was jailbroken so I just installed the hack and it works. I tried the different size brackets and settled down for 16-30, which works well for me. I installed the margin .jar in the same go and this is very nice too, much more text on the page.

Those two hacks (fonts size+ margin and fonts hack) work well for me because I am a Trebuchet fan so as long as I have that font installed, I am a happy camper and do not need much more.

As soon as a user friendly hack is ready, I'll install it. Right now it seems a bit too tricky.

[sirmaru]

I don't understand all the problems with fonts on the Paperwhite 2013. I use Size 6 Helvetica and they look fine to me without any glasses and I have Macular Degeneration in BOTH eyes and a large cataract in one eye.

If I can read them fine, I don't see why anyone else needs jail breaks, custom fonts or any other labor intensive solutions.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

I don't understand all the problems with fonts on the Paperwhite 2013. I use Size 6 Helvetica and they look fine to me without any glasses and I have Macular Degeneration in BOTH eyes and a large cataract in one eye.

I'm not surprised you can read Helvetica 6 despite problems like that. If the book uses the default 1em base font size (which many, if not most do), I could probably read Helvetica size 6 if I was actually blind.

If I can read them fine, I don't see why anyone else needs jail breaks, custom fonts or any other labor intensive solutions.

Because there ARE people who don't need any font above 5? For them it would be nice if the entire scale would range from 1 to 5, but then using 10 steps instead of 5. That is what hacks like these often do. Maybe it's something to consider? There's an enormous size jump between size 4 and 5, and there are a lot of people who'd actually want something like size 4.5. Also, not all fonts on the Kindle are the same size. Baskerville 4 is smaller than Palatino 4. However, Baskerville 5 is larger than Palatino 4. If you want to read using Baskerville at the same size Palatino 4 has, then you can't. A hack solves that too.

Edit: I've attached two images. The first is Caecilia Condensed 4, which I'm using now, and the second is Helvetica 6. I hope you can understand that not everybody wants or needs a font as huge as Helvetica 6. To be honest, I personally deem font sizes 7 and 8 to be useless. If you need THAT, I think it may be better to start looking into audiobooks....

[booklover6]

My Prime book of the month, I have to read on Helvetica 6, because I can't change the font. It is tolerable. But once you have become used to a particular font, nothing else is as good. Just because a font is tolerable, doesn't make it acceptable, when one has options.

I would like several sizes between 6 & 7 to choose from. Better yet, replace 7 and 8. But Amazon has shown they aren't going to do that.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by booklover6

My Prime book of the month, I have to read on Helvetica 6, because I can't change the font. It is tolerable. But once you have become used to a particular font, nothing else is as good. Just because a font is tolerable, doesn't make it acceptable, when one has options.

I guess it's just that, after a lifetime of reading paper books, I don't expect books to all have the same typeface or font size, so it doesn't bother me, except in the rare cases where it's ludicrously large or small, has excessively large margins, or something of the sort. I realise, of course, that everyone has different views on these matters.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

I don't understand all the problems with fonts on the Paperwhite 2013. I use Size 6 Helvetica and they look fine to me without any glasses and I have Macular Degeneration in BOTH eyes and a large cataract in one eye.

If I can read them fine, I don't see why anyone else needs jail breaks, custom fonts or any other labor intensive solutions.

Seriously? Because everyone is just like you and hence we can all read on the same device, with the same font, and eat the same food, and be happy, happy happy.

One of these years you are going to realize that not everyone is you and that some people see things differently and want to do things differently then you.

There is nothing wrong with asking for choice and options. For some folks, the standard model doesn't work well it is as simple as that. Really, you would be better off if you stop thinking that this works for me so why is everyone else belly aching.

It is old and tiresome and annoying and really disrespectful of people who have different needs.

[levante]

The ignore list is your friend... and mine.

[ProfCrash]

The comments still pop up in quote boxes and I just get tired of dealing with the same thread. I don't get why people cannot accept that what works for them might not work for other people and just let it be. It makes no freaking sense to me. Just uggghhhhh

[Belle2Be]

I just ordered a paperwhite 2 only to come read here and read some dissatisfaction about it! Just tell me, is the light on the screen/ screen layer thickness/color better or worse than my current situation-

[VictoriaP]

Originally Posted by Belle2Be

I just ordered a paperwhite 2 only to come read here and read some dissatisfaction about it! Just tell me, is the light on the screen/ screen layer thickness/color better or worse than my current situation-

Better. By quite a bit.

Honestly, I love mine in spite of the Collections nuisance (which I think Amazon will eventually work out). My screen isn't a problem, neither yellow, crooked, nor with distracting pinholes, and the lighting is far and away better than any booklight/Kindle combo has ever been. But it's a very personal thing, and I'd encourage anyone to pick one up and try it for themselves.

[Katsunami]

Better, by about 1286.31%. Uh... Aproximately

If you're coming from any reader using an external reading light, *any* lighted reader will be heaven.