eReader format

[astra]

I have got a question.

Why eReader format it widely spread?
I mean why it didn't become de facto format for ebooks? Someone said it has the best DRM format. It doesn't depend on h/w at all.
Does it have some limitations/drawbacks that stopped it from being the best ebook format?

It is just I got into a discussion where I expressed my views on DRM infected ebooks and I was told that eReader is a lot better and doesn't depend on h/w. I wonder where is the catch?

[wallcraft]

Some people don't like that the DRM key is based on a credit card number, but it is the least intrusive of the major DRM schemes. The problem at present is that the ebook format itself is less capable than recent ones like ePub. Calibre is about to add eReader to its fully supported formats, and that should tell us just what can and can't be handled in eReader (e.g. how much of ePub formatted gets lost in epub2ereader conversion). Images also tend to be small (see A Comparison of format limitations based on The Hobbit), but I don't know if they have to be that way.

FictionWise has said that they intend to add ePub support to their Reader and to add eReader DRM to ePub. These plans may have changed now Barnes and Noble owns FictionWise, and some people don't like the idea of two incompatible DRM schemes for ePub.

[astra]

Does eReader display italics and bold?

does it have TOC?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by astra

Does eReader display italics and bold?

does it have TOC?

Yes, yes and yes.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by astra

I have got a question.

Why eReader format it widely spread?
I mean why it didn't become de facto format for ebooks? Someone said it has the best DRM format. It doesn't depend on h/w at all.
Does it have some limitations/drawbacks that stopped it from being the best ebook format?

It is just I got into a discussion where I expressed my views on DRM infected ebooks and I was told that eReader is a lot better and doesn't depend on h/w. I wonder where is the catch?

No eink devices support eReader with DRM for one thing. And then there is the formatting for most commercial eBooks... no indents and paragraph spaces. While that may look ok on a small PDA screen, it look terrible on a 6" screen.

Another issue is actually making eReader format eBooks from other sources. It actually is somewhat difficult to do so. There is work going on now to hopefully allow Calibre to handle eReader format, but as already said here, it does have it's limitations.

[wallcraft]

FictionWise has released a new eReader version of The Hobbit, which is much more similar on the screen to the other formats. See A Comparison of format limitations based on The Hobbit. On the other hand, the original transfer is probably closer to what the "typical" eReader ebook will look like (minus the word running together glitch obviously).

[Elfwreck]

The image size in eReader is limited, which isn't a notable problem on a 3" screen but can be trouble for a 6" screen that can show a lot more content. It's possible the image limitation is a PalmOS limit, and wouldn't matter to other devices--but anyone who tried to market eReader ebooks that didn't work on PalmOS devices would crash hard; that's the OS the program was designed for.

It also has trouble with tables and other complex formatting, and AFAIK doesn't allow for font adjustments--those are handled by the device, not set into the file. (Not a problem on PalmOS devices, but not preferred for larger ebook readers.)

Most books currently formatted for eReader are set with no indents and spaces between paragraphs--convenient on a tiny scrolling screen; annoying to many people on a larger one. So if it caught on, there'd be a lot of people dissatisfied with what's currently available.

The DRM is troublesome for many ebook readers; while it's less invasive than most (no special software, just input your credit card number the first time you open the book on a device), there's no "input data" function on a lot of current ebook readers.

I love eReader, but acknowledge its limitations. It's terrific for reading text-only content like novels, and has problems with anything else--image-heavy files (no way to wrap text around images IIRC, no large images), files with complex formatting (tables, columns), anything with nonstandard fonts.

[comtrjl]

There's some info about the markup language here: http://www.ereader.com/ereader/help/dropbook/pml.htm and a useful Word macro for converting a Word doc into eReader format here: http://pwp.netcabo.pt/gorod/Publishe...quirements.htm if you're interested in pursuing it.
bob