Kindle software updates in the works?

tsgreer · 11-26-2007, 12:02 PM

To slowly torture myself, I waded through most of the Amazon reviews of the Kindle. Most were negative posts by people who were afraid that paper would go away or the regular anti-DRM stuff we are all aware of.

But I did read a post from a reviewer who mentioned that her son was on the Kindle development team. She said that they have several new, exciting software upgrades in the works and we would all be blown away by what they have in mind.

Not sure what her son thinks of his mom saying that since it may make people hold off buying one until new software updates are finished, but I thought it was interesting.

After using it for a week, my number one gripe is the page numbering system. All of the other stuff I can live with, but I can't figure out their current page number system at all.

So my questions is: Do you think that is an easy fix on their part and can be done in a software upgrade? Would they even worry about something like that?

dugbug · 11-26-2007, 12:12 PM

Sure it could be done in a software upgrade... I assume they dedicate some screen realestate to such things as signal strength already, so there is likely no GUI issue.

The one area I would really like original page numbers (not the repagination that occurs on the reader itself), is technical manuals, where you would likely interface with a hard copy (or someone with a hardcopy) at some point.

So if it took me three reader pages to read one "original" page, then so be it. And the page # should always reflect the "original".

THAT would be difficult to determine with just a software update.

-d

LwoodY2K · 11-26-2007, 07:10 PM

The real question for showing original page numbers isn't a matter of software, it's a matter of whether or not they retain that information when turning books into however they're stored for distribution. If you look at how they're taking media for the self-publishing thing, the preferred format is html. If the same is being used for regular books, then it's a matter of the pagination not being known. If they're using something else like the printing proofs or something, then they could have the numbers.

Zoot · 11-26-2007, 09:09 PM

Well, one of my great hopes for the Kindle is that Amazon "gets it" and will engage in a active and short development cycle that produces frequent software updates and new features, unlike Sony who never seems to update software, or Apple who actively use it encourage people to replace their hardware twice a year :P

On the page number issue, Amazon clearly felt that the most important thing was for locations to be tied to the content, and so they produced a numbering scheme that's independent of page size, font size, etc. There are many people who clearly also want a numeric "you are on page 153 of 482 at this font size" indication. This solves an entirely different problem than the one the current numbering system does.

Z.

JSWolf · 12-06-2007, 08:09 PM

If you really wanted to see # of ### then you should have gone for a 505.

11-26-2007, 12:02 PM	#1
tsgreer Lovin' the e-book life... Posts: 633 Karma: 2509 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Colorado Device: Ebookwise 1150, Sony PRS-505, Amazon Kindle, BeBook (with OpenInkpot)	Kindle software updates in the works? To slowly torture myself, I waded through most of the Amazon reviews of the Kindle. Most were negative posts by people who were afraid that paper would go away or the regular anti-DRM stuff we are all aware of. But I did read a post from a reviewer who mentioned that her son was on the Kindle development team. She said that they have several new, exciting software upgrades in the works and we would all be blown away by what they have in mind. Not sure what her son thinks of his mom saying that since it may make people hold off buying one until new software updates are finished, but I thought it was interesting. After using it for a week, my number one gripe is the page numbering system. All of the other stuff I can live with, but I can't figure out their current page number system at all. So my questions is: Do you think that is an easy fix on their part and can be done in a software upgrade? Would they even worry about something like that? Last edited by tsgreer; 11-26-2007 at 10:51 PM.

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11-26-2007, 12:12 PM	#2
dugbug Addict Posts: 206 Karma: 1723 Join Date: May 2006 Device: Kindle	Sure it could be done in a software upgrade... I assume they dedicate some screen realestate to such things as signal strength already, so there is likely no GUI issue. The one area I would really like original page numbers (not the repagination that occurs on the reader itself), is technical manuals, where you would likely interface with a hard copy (or someone with a hardcopy) at some point. So if it took me three reader pages to read one "original" page, then so be it. And the page # should always reflect the "original". THAT would be difficult to determine with just a software update. -d

11-26-2007, 07:10 PM	#3
LwoodY2K Member Posts: 13 Karma: 40 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: None	The real question for showing original page numbers isn't a matter of software, it's a matter of whether or not they retain that information when turning books into however they're stored for distribution. If you look at how they're taking media for the self-publishing thing, the preferred format is html. If the same is being used for regular books, then it's a matter of the pagination not being known. If they're using something else like the printing proofs or something, then they could have the numbers.

11-26-2007, 09:09 PM	#4
Zoot Connoisseur Posts: 89 Karma: 34 Join Date: Nov 2006 Device: Amazon Kindle	Well, one of my great hopes for the Kindle is that Amazon "gets it" and will engage in a active and short development cycle that produces frequent software updates and new features, unlike Sony who never seems to update software, or Apple who actively use it encourage people to replace their hardware twice a year :P On the page number issue, Amazon clearly felt that the most important thing was for locations to be tied to the content, and so they produced a numbering scheme that's independent of page size, font size, etc. There are many people who clearly also want a numeric "you are on page 153 of 482 at this font size" indication. This solves an entirely different problem than the one the current numbering system does. Z.

12-06-2007, 08:09 PM	#5
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,897 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	If you really wanted to see # of ### then you should have gone for a 505.

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