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Old 09-21-2006, 03:20 PM   #16
yvanleterrible
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rlauzon
In my vision of the future, I pick up my eBook reader as I leave for work. It had downloaded the latest version of the local news paper just before I picked it up. While traveling to work, I can read the news - maybe even get a refreshed version before I get to work using an open wireless network. While at work, I consult it for information because all my technical manuals are there - a button push away, text searchable. At lunch, I turn to the latest novel that I downloaded from Fictionwise. Back to work and more technical manuals. Then I get to read some more of my novel, or maybe a different novel, on the way home. (Yes, I can, and frequently do, read several books at once - swapping between each on every chapter or so.)
This is interesting and something I've wanted to do for a long time.
But yourself being an Iliad user, have you started implementing these features or are you still far away? I know the paper and wireless features are not there yet, but how is your implementation of the Iliad at work?
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Old 09-21-2006, 06:43 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yvanleterrible
This is interesting and something I've wanted to do for a long time.
But yourself being an Iliad user, have you started implementing these features or are you still far away? I know the paper and wireless features are not there yet, but how is your implementation of the Iliad at work?
I can use wget to "mirror" web sites to my SD card to put into the iLiad. For the most part, this works well, depending on how the web site is set up. I have my local weather report and the ACM Tech News working.

Books in open formats are no problem. A few clicks in OpenOffice and a Save As PDF, and I have a book all set for the iLiad.

Reference books, however, are a problem since they aren't in an open format. I suspect that as more eInk readers are available and the demand for reference eBooks goes up that places like O'Reilly will make an option for iLiad PDF available.

Right now, my iLiad is on from 8:30am until 4pm. I snatch page reads during pauses in my work (mainly waiting for our steam-powered mainframe to get me the data I need) and while at break and lunch.
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Old 09-21-2006, 06:49 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by rlauzon
...steam-powered mainframe....
We just got a "new" VAX two years ago.

They're trying desparately to get the app moved from MUMPS to ORACLE before they can't get VAX parts anymore

I'm glad I'm not on that project.
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Old 09-23-2006, 05:21 AM   #19
honico
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I'm w/ Jorgen on this... First the readers are priced as high as The Market Will Bear, DRM'd and with a preferred content i.e. .lit .rb dot.whatever (as long as it provides lock-in).

The e-Ink isn't going to make a better reader; it can't do backlights and res. is pretty low. Possibly cheap (in the future) but, we've seen how many readers were sacrificed to the short-sighted marketing plans. e_ink is good enough for a primary-purposed reader IF the price matched ability. I have my doubts that it will any time soon.

As for the myth that available books aren't available...hmmm... I've got many thousands and have no problem converting most to usable format (for my Hiebook). The skeptics should first refer to their use of eBooks -then weigh in. Seems from what I've read in the blogs, there's two types: eBook readers and eContent users.
The eBook readers in this scenerio are happy reading chapter-books & novels. Small device. Nothing special...maybe some color.
The eContent user is (like rlauzon) downloading massive stuff, integrating and, really, a Power User.

My feeling is that eBooks *Have* caught on. But, while the human user has remained the same--the number of digital gagets available and ever increasing. Combined with ever-increasing complexities of using the plethera of features is daunting. Pricepoint and simplicity may make the difference.
And, what' s more, it's an American/ European problem. Am I wrong? Go to www.ebay.cn -And check out the Chinese eBook price points. THEY'RE Cheap! and there's a bunch of competing brands. Most will do .txt .html .doc and most are expandable.
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Old 09-23-2006, 10:30 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by honico
The e-Ink isn't going to make a better reader; it can't do backlights and res. is pretty low.
Um, honico? I'm not trying to be a jerk, really I'm not, but have you seen an e-ink screen? I mean with your own eyes, not a picture (which just can't capture it).

It's about 170 PPI, the pixels are each about 153 microns in size. VGA resolution in a 6" diagonal space (or SVGA in an 8") isn't really all that low rez. The display looks like laser printing.

And the back-light thing is kind of a red herring. E-ink is both opaque (like paper) and reflective, (also like paper). It's whole point is that you don't need a backlight to see it, so you're not staring into a light source to read. All of that makes me happy.

General consensus amongst those who already have e-ink readers seems to be that the lack of a backlight is a trade that they're jubilant to make to get the quality of the e-ink display.

You're correct about all the books that are available, what's not available, which we're feeling the absence of, is newly realeased material.

What we're hoping is that the much more usable displays, with much better battery life, will break through to more of the reading public, and in turn increase the demand for e-texts, so that more first run material becomes available.

Will it work? Dunno. But the current confluence of circumstances and technology is quite encouraging, certainly more promising than it's been in a long time.
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Old 10-27-2006, 06:06 PM   #21
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I find it interesting how all over the place critics/skeptics of an E-Text reading device are. "No backlight?! I want to read in bed!" Yes, but reading with a backlight is ultimately uncomfortable and mayhaps a bit damaging to optic nerves, and other sensitive built-in equipment. "It will never replace the smell and feel of a book." Um, that's why there's no backlight....books don't have backlights. Every time I visit my wife's very small house and the very large bookcase I made, I think of two things 1. How cool would it be to have the info/data in all that paper in a digital format, and 2. Man! am I a lousy carpenter.

For my two cents, I most likely will not buy a reader for a while, but I want one. Reading _Last of the Mohicans_ on my Treo 650 is nice when I'm ....um...indisposed...but I'd much rather take my pick of 20 books the size of my dog-eared copy of _On the Road_. Anybody know why there's no e-text version of that book? Or am I simpleton who has no idea how to use google? And just like the bag phone became the palm Treo, and the big silvery boombox morphed into the iPod, someday, we'll all collect our readers, chock-a-block with RSS Feeds, and shuffle the kids off with their permission slips and homework on their iLiads
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Old 10-27-2006, 07:51 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yvanleterrible
being an Iliad user, have you started implementing these features or are you still far away?
I'm an Iliad user since about a week.
I subscribed to my newspaper (www.taz.de) as zipped html/pdf a week ago and I read it on the iLiad. There's room for improvement but it works good.
The weekly newspaper I'm subscribed (www.zeit.de) only has a massive (120MB) PDF-Edition yet, so it's not usable, yet - especially without reflowing and stuff.

I read Charles Stross' "Accellerando" Novel on my iLiad within some days. I formatted it using PDF-LaTeX within 30 Minutes and it was a very good reading experience though it's about 400 pages a about 40 lines.
And it's one of the best novels I read within the last decade.

I bought some non DRM-encumbered PDF-books of the "Pragmatic Programmers" during the last years and I use them on the iLiad. One of them ("Agile Web Development with Ruby on Rails") has been updated 3 times within the last week and just downloading the new edition to my iLiad was exactly the reason why i bought the device. It works perfectly.

Some days ago I took the minutes on the iLiad in a multi hour meeting of a organisation I work for in my sparetime.
When I got home I just copied the 38 Pages png-files to my Powerbook, typed the extract and sent it by email with the original notes. Smooth!

I'm very happy with the device, It became an essential tool within a week.

AND I spent a lot of the time sitting outside in the sun instead of reading inside on a notebook-display. This is VERY convenient.

#!chris

Last edited by k2r; 10-27-2006 at 08:02 PM.
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Old 10-27-2006, 08:08 PM   #23
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I forgot to add that reading in the bathtub works perfectly, too.
Just put the device in a plastic bag, no wet page turning anymore...

Last edited by k2r; 10-27-2006 at 08:22 PM.
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Old 10-28-2006, 06:27 AM   #24
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Jack Kerouac "On The Road"...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cthulhu
I ... Anybody know why there's no e-text version of that book? Or am I ...
Find it Here

Cheers!

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Old 10-28-2006, 07:01 AM   #25
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Backlights a red-herring?

Quote:
Originally Posted by NatCh
Um, honico? I'm not trying to be a jerk, really I'm not, but have you seen an e-ink screen? ....And the back-light thing is kind of a red herring.
I've seen only some produced last year, not for the Iliad or Sony--not impressive. Granted, the specs mentioned are good. But, the res. issue is really a moot one and not the major thrust. Text can be pretty scrappy and still be fine...if picture-less.
For me, the purpose of a backlight is to read where there is no available/ insufficient light. In bed, on the couch, in the unlit car-seat at night...it really won't matter how amazingly reflective the screen is. No light = No read. The add-on clip lights are...cute... Very cute looking glare creaters. And, no, I haven't used a clip-on light. I did however just use my small led flashlight on my Hiebook and decided it was a ''don't do''. -Referring to the Glare Factor, that is.
So, a built-in light is a must-have for me.
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Old 10-28-2006, 05:08 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cthulhu
"No backlight?! I want to read in bed!" Yes, but reading with a backlight is ultimately uncomfortable and mayhaps a bit damaging to optic nerves...
Is this actually true, though? I know people say it, but is it true? Theoretically, light should be light, and whether it bounces off the screen or comes through it shouldn't matter. I suspect it's not thebacklight part that matters, but the type of light, particularly whether it flickers or not. That is, comparing an incandescent-bulb lamp to a flourescent backlight isn't a fair comparison. Which makes me wonder: do (O)LEDs flicker? Would they be easier on the eyes for people who find backlights annoying?

And yes, count me as a read-in-the-dark fan. I find it comforting to read my eBookwise in the dark with its just-enough internal light and not require external inefficient light sources blasting light all around the room.
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Old 10-28-2006, 07:28 PM   #27
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Is this actually true, though? I know people say it, but is it true?
From what I've read, it's not a "backlight" as such, it's focusing for long periods of time at an emissive source. So any type of screen or light that actually emits light rather than reflecting it. Lights mounted in a device are reflective, but LCDs and CRTs are emissive. The people complaining about backlights, though, don't seem to mind whether they're really truly emissive backlights, just that the device provides its own light source.

Part of the problem is also due to screen flicker as the screen is redrawn - this isn't a big deal in LCDs or any screen you might find on a portable device, but is a problem with CRTs.

Another factor is the contrast ratio - low-contrast screens are harder to stare at for long periods of time. Sunlight on LCDs or CRTs can reduce the contrast so that you strain your eyes trying to view them.

None of these factors are present in an e-ink screen, but there's also problems with low-resolution displays - the brain might interpret something low-resolution as being "out of focus" and continually try and refocus your eyes or cause you to squint and get headaches. I guess this could be a problem with an e-ink screen. Probably not with text, but perhaps looking at images.

I'm not an eye doctor or anything, though. This is just what I've read about :-)
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Old 11-28-2006, 11:47 PM   #28
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It the world becomes chaotic overnight, where will you charge the ereader battery?
Note to self: Self, rig up a solar cell charging unit for the Sony PRS.

One text that has been in my Palm the longest and now (thankfully) resides in the Sony is the ISO 9000 Specs. Many of the PDF documents have been easily converted to RTF. That was the easy part, formatting was hard. Now there is a macro by Stingo elsewhere (can't find it at the moment) that makes that a snap in Word.

As for it being a gadget, that was what my Father-in-law called the cell phone, what my Grandfather called the TV and what my Mother called the microwave. It is also what my wife called the first microcomputer I got back in the 70s.

If it makes life easier, more enjoyable, and richer then I don't care if its called a gadget, a tool, a fad, a utility, or whatever.

Last edited by RWood; 11-29-2006 at 12:01 AM.
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Old 11-29-2006, 12:01 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bingle
From what I've read, it's not a "backlight" as such, it's focusing for long periods of time at an emissive source. So any type of screen or light that actually emits light rather than reflecting it. Lights mounted in a device are reflective, but LCDs and CRTs are emissive. The people complaining about backlights, though, don't seem to mind whether they're really truly emissive backlights, just that the device provides its own light source.

Part of the problem is also due to screen flicker as the screen is redrawn - this isn't a big deal in LCDs or any screen you might find on a portable device, but is a problem with CRTs.

Another factor is the contrast ratio - low-contrast screens are harder to stare at for long periods of time. Sunlight on LCDs or CRTs can reduce the contrast so that you strain your eyes trying to view them.

None of these factors are present in an e-ink screen, but there's also problems with low-resolution displays - the brain might interpret something low-resolution as being "out of focus" and continually try and refocus your eyes or cause you to squint and get headaches. I guess this could be a problem with an e-ink screen. Probably not with text, but perhaps looking at images.

I'm not an eye doctor or anything, though. This is just what I've read about :-)
Spent a solid 4 hours reading a book last Friday with out any sore eyes.
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Old 11-29-2006, 08:59 AM   #30
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Well, my two cents - why either/or? I think the readers are both a gadget and useful. BUT, I doubt that as many will find them 'useful' as people did the Palm when it was introduced. However, as airlines keep getting more restrictive on the amount you can take on board, the number of people finding readers useful could go up.

Some airlines in Europe, in theory at least, allow only 7 kilos in carry on baggage. A computer + case at around 4 kg, a magazine and a hardback book and you are probably at the limit. Bits don't weigh much and provide an alternative to paper that looks very good in that context. If I were in marketing at iRex or Sony, I'd be working with US & European airlines to loan readers to business class passengers on long haul flights. Preload a number of popular titiles...
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