styles in pocketbook 360

[krjrs]

thanks for info. indeed, his modification is better than the original reader (still no "list" support of course). GrayNM speaks english?

pdf could be a good solution, but it has some unpretictable issues and one error on pocket device. just tested.

hack the software? I can create a good MP3 audiobook with pleasing background music for you or a nice html/javascript based webpage, but not (yet) hack the software ;-)

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by krjrs

@fjtorres - I didn't buy the PB360 to sell it. I encourage software developers, especially interested in useful things (and not necessarily commercial approaches) - to expand things. I don't care what the *commercial* reality expects from me. We - the "non-commercial humans" - do have the capability to change and influence the *reality* that we live in. It is time to wake up. Time of "tasty sheeps" is over. ;-)

shouldn't be the software development for ebook devices - shouldn't be better organized? for example in similar way as the rockbox did? that would help to change things.

1- You expressed the thought that the PB360 was the wrong tool for the work you intended/needed to do. I agreed with you. If you need to drive nails it is best to use a hammer, not berate the screwdriver or demand that the manufacturer give it enough mass in the handle to drive a nail. At this point your choices are to wait for somebody to change their product to meet your needs, at a time the market is moving away from the needs of hobbyists (so good luck with the wait--2020 seems optimistic to me) or you can go get the readily available tool that will in fact do the job for you. The latter seems more reasonable to me, but... (shrug)

2- Suggesting changes is good. But suggestions need to be within realm of *practical* feasibility. Companies are in business to make a living for their employees and their backers. Well-run companies have a target audience in mind and focus on their needs and don't go chasing every last possible customer; some sales aren't worth the effort. Sad but true. That a company (or a code developer) are willing to listen to actual or even potential customers is a good thing. But they are not obligated to actually implement requests. Hence it is probably safest not to *expect* automatic instant satisfaction.

3- Ebooks are moving into the mainstream of consumer electronics; sales are going from hundreds or thousands a month to millions a year. What is making this possible is the pre-packaged *commercial* ebook. It is fine and dandy to berate commercial ventures and look down your nose at the "tasty sheep" but there's a whole lot more of them than there are of us enthusiast/hobbyists. A company that wants to remain relevant in the coming years needs to draw in as many "tasty sheep" as possible because they will not survive on hungry wolves alone. The harsh reality is that from now on, *their* needs and interests are going to drive the industry, not ours. Those needs are focused on managing/rendering packaged ebooks in ePub, Mobi, FB2, and maybe eReader and LIT, not accomodating hand-rolled HTML. It means accomodating genre fiction, not technical manuals. It means end-user controls, not *publisher-mandated* controls. It means driving the price down as much as possible, which in turn means taking-out features if those features don't generate sales. And it means ebook readers designed as appliances, not as portable computers. This is not my idea or desire, okay? Just plain and simple reality. It is happening and it will continue to happen and no amount of online carping by any of us is going to change this.

4- This has happened before and it will happen again. In the late 1970's PCs were hobbyist devices that supported hobbyist code. To use one you *had* to enter the code yourself, one character at a time from a printed listing. I was there. I did that. Everybody had their idea of what the computer of the future should look like. Then the IBM PC came out and the corporate types took over. Their needs and *their* money defined the market. And then the Macintosh came out and the liberal arts types and their needs took center stage. And then Windows came out. Etc, etc. Which each evolution of the product the market moved further and further from its hobbyist roots. The hobbyists are still out there, still handcrafting pico-computers or cigar-box media centers, still coding in assembler, or maybe they've moved on to Java or Android or other environments. But the industry no longer focuses on them, no longer caters to them, no longer provides for them. It is up to them to scavenge and provide for their own needs, to adapt what is available. Hobbyists create nurture emerging industries and their reward for this is to get ignored the moment the product becomes mainstream-viable. That is practically a law of nature. Not going to change. Not now, not ever. Industries that stick with the hobbyists never grow and without growh comes stagnation or death.

I use my PB360 to read books.
I use my tablet PC to read manuals, find information, and write. They are tools designed for specific tasks.
I don't pine for a Word Processor on my PB360, I don't scream for two-week battery life on my tablet. That is because I know I don't live in a world design around my needs and convenience but rather one for the lowest common denominator.

Offered a chance to suggest improvements, I will (and have) but I am not going to pin my hopes on anybody else solving my problem. Or sit back until 2020 waiting for things to change. (Especially since the way changes are going the odds of them changing *my* way are nil.)

If the tool I have at hand doesn't do what I need the way I want to do it I either find a tool that will or I find another way to get the job done myself.

Banging your head on a brick wall demanding things be done *exactly* the way you want them is an exercise in idealistic futility.

You are free to handle your problems your own way; but me, I think your own diagnosis is the proper one; go get a tablet PC and be happy instead of unhappily complaining about what an eink reader doesn't do.

Toodles!
(I'm outta here!)

[kacir]

thanks for info. indeed, his modification is better than the original reader (still no "list" support of course). GrayNM speaks english?[/QUOTE]
He does.
Just look up his posts here on Mobileread.

Originally Posted by krjrs

pdf could be a good solution, but it has some unpretictable issues and one error on pocket device. just tested.

NOW we are talking business.
How did you create the pdf file?
What error does it produce?
What are those unpredictable issues?
Did you create pdf file with page size 90x110 mm (optimal for 6" screen, works very well on 5" as well)?
Can you post the pdf file so I can see what is wrong with it?
Can you post an example html file so I can try to create a pdf file from it?
Did you try to convert that html to epub?

Originally Posted by krjrs

hack the software? I can create ... html/javascript based webpage, but not (yet) hack the software ;-)

If you can create javascript based webpage you might be not THAT far from creating a nice hack.

[krjrs]

I think we are moving a little off-topic. as I said, I have my PB since only a few days. I'm used to situations, when the software is writen for customer needs (on PC, if I don't like one app, then I have a dozen other choices), and not when the customer must be grateful for anything what is given to him. that will not change.

the choice I have to make - is to select one common format, into which I can convert many (!) files. so it is about finding all pros and cons regarding formats - in a specific context.

my general interest in this thread is related only to additional html tag definitions in reader. if it will work - then I will stay with the popular and supported format, leaving the rest options to all those who prefer them.

thanks for advices, discussion, help and exchange here. please indicate if something regarding html tags changes.