Just Curious about old ebook formats - Page 2

barryem · 01-14-2018, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

Plain text is still going too. I don't know how many people use it but it is the oldest format out there for ebook files. Gutenberg opened its electronic doors with it.

Gutenberg only distributed plain text files for years. Maybe 20 or 30 years but I'm not really sure how long.

I used to be a volunteer proofreader for Gutenberg and I really don't remember what year I stopped but they only distributed text files then. I bought a CD from them at one point with several hundred ebooks in plain text.

Barry

barryem · 01-14-2018, 09:38 PM

Just so you guys know how I always get it right, I saw the very first model of the Sony ereader (I have no memory of the model number but I'd recently read an article announcing it and explaining about e-ink, or was it called e-paper then. I went to a store that had them and looked it over and I was very dismayed by the grey screen and poor contrast. I was convinced that e-ink ereaders had no future and I was pretty vocal about that in discussions among friends.

Oh well!

Barry

Dr. Drib · 01-14-2018, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barryem

Just so you guys know how I always get it right, I saw the very first model of the Sony ereader (I have no memory of the model number but I'd recently read an article announcing it and explaining about e-ink, or was it called e-paper then. I went to a store that had them and looked it over and I was very dismayed by the grey screen and poor contrast. I was convinced that e-ink ereaders had no future and I was pretty vocal about that in discussions among friends.

Oh well!

Barry

Wasn't that the one that was only available in Japan?

Dr. Drib · 01-14-2018, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barryem

Pdb was the Palm extension for data files and there was no format specified. They could contain data in any form whatever, including plain text or text in a markup language or compressed text or even images. There were only 2 extensions possible on Palms, .pdb and .prc. The first, .pdb, was intended for data and .prc was intended for executables but as I recall neither was enforced and they were interchangeable. And I think either could contain anything.

So yes, you can have formatting in pdb files. I think you're right that books from ereader.com did have some formatting. Most of the early Palm ebooks were simply plain text that had been compressed and put into a pdb file.

Barry

I remember having a wonderful PDA that I paid a lot for, something like over $500.

I added some app that could read pdb, .lit, text, and a host of other ebook-type files that I can't remember.

This was about 13 years ago, before I bought my RCA gemstar (whatever it was called) ebook reader.

It was great reading on that PDA, even though the battery charge didn't last very long.

I still have it, but it's in storage and the battery is long dead.

I'll try to find out which one it was and report back.

bfisher · 01-14-2018, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I remember having a wonderful PDA that I paid a lot for, something like over $500.

I added some app that could read pdb, .lit, text, and a host of other ebook-type files that I can't remember.

This was about 13 years ago, before I bought my RCA gemstar (whatever it was called) ebook reader.

It was great reading on that PDA, even though the battery charge didn't last very long.

I still have it, but it's in storage and the battery is long dead.

I'll try to find out which one it was and report back.

I had a Palm IIIxe that I used mainly for reading. I recall using prc and pdb on it.

ZodWallop · 01-14-2018, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcentros

Would KeyPub be considered it's own format?

KeyPub is actually kePub or Kobo ePub. It's just a dolled-up ePub with extra <span>s in it.

Thasaidon · 01-15-2018, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barryem

Just so you guys know how I always get it right, I saw the very first model of the Sony ereader (I have no memory of the model number but I'd recently read an article announcing it and explaining about e-ink, or was it called e-paper then. I went to a store that had them and looked it over and I was very dismayed by the grey screen and poor contrast. I was convinced that e-ink ereaders had no future and I was pretty vocal about that in discussions among friends.

Oh well!

Barry

Hi Barry

Welcome to the club.

I have been a member a looooong time and still paying the subscriptions.

JSWolf · 01-15-2018, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

Plain text is still going too. I don't know how many people use it but it is the oldest format out there for ebook files. Gutenberg opened its electronic doors with it.

I did not list text as it's not an eBook format. Technically PDF isn't as well, but since some think so, I listed it.

Cinisajoy · 01-15-2018, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I did not list text as it's not an eBook format. Technically PDF isn't as well, but since some think so, I listed it.

Technically you are correct.

barryem · 01-15-2018, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Wasn't that the one that was only available in Japan?

The one I saw was in Houston, I think at Computer City, a long defunct computer store owned by Tandy.

Barry

drjd · 01-15-2018, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

Plain text is still going too. I don't know how many people use it but it is the oldest format out there for ebook files. Gutenberg opened its electronic doors with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I did not list text as it's not an eBook format. .

Speaking non-technically, .txt format was probably the first of its kinds as an ebook to introduce digital reading, I surmise. A lot many short stories and novels were circulating freely over the net in the late 20th and early 21st century which enabled people to read books on their computers. However, no one probably cared much about the copyright thingy in that era of Napster.

OCRs were not that common then, and enthusiasts used to type away the whole damn story/novel and circulate among the user-group. I must confess I have read many books using Notepad on my 286/386 machines that time.

barryem · 01-15-2018, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bfisher

I had a Palm IIIxe that I used mainly for reading. I recall using prc and pdb on it.

I had a Palm IIIx, I think. I'm not sure now. I later got a Palm 3C when they came out. It was the first color model. I used both for a long time. Then I got a Palm Tunsten E2, which was a lot nicer.

These things all required a serial port. I think one of my old Netbooks might have a serial port but if not I'd probably need some sort of adapter to use one these days. It's sad to see such formerly wonderful technology become useless.

I gave my Palm E2 to the maintenance man at my retirement home several years ago and last year he told me the battery finally died and he threw it away. It had some very low res musical movies from the 40's and 50s on it and he had no way to connect it to anything so he just liked watching those over and over.

Barry

barryem · 01-15-2018, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I did not list text as it's not an eBook format. Technically PDF isn't as well, but since some think so, I listed it.

I'm sorry Mr Wolf but that's just silly! Plain text is not only an ebook format, for decades it was the ONLY ebook format. That's just a little bit like saying a Model T is not a car just because you don't see them on the street today.

Michael Hart invented ebooks in 1971. The first Palm Pilot was sold in 1996. During those years text was used for the vast majority of ebooks. I don't recall what year I started reading ebooks but it was in the early 1990s, well before the Palm came out and at that time I didn't know there were any ebooks in anything other than plain text.

There is one and only one true ebook format: plain text. All the rest are latecomers to the game and may in time prove themselves.

Just as there is one and only one JSWolf.

Barry

JSWolf · 01-15-2018, 03:28 PM

An eBook format is one that allows for styling.

skb · 01-15-2018, 03:38 PM

Re the txt thing, my first Palm only read text and I had a whole bunch of novels and short stories on it. For me, it was the first ebook. I was quite the novelty on the train and would get a question about what I was looking at almost every day. Now everyone is head down peering at a little screen.

Then, for my upgraded Palm I had a program called Repligo which would convert Word files (with limited formatting) into PDF-like type files. I loved Repligo and struggled along with it for quite a time when they changed their business model and stopped supporting Palm.

I struggled for ages to find the "sweet spot" of reader when I finally went to the iphone (not as good as the Palm but sadly, Palm had exploded by then).

Nowadays, I convert everything to epub.

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01-14-2018, 09:38 PM	#17
barryem Wizard Posts: 2,459 Karma: 68781975 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Arkansas Device: Paperwhite 4	Just so you guys know how I always get it right, I saw the very first model of the Sony ereader (I have no memory of the model number but I'd recently read an article announcing it and explaining about e-ink, or was it called e-paper then. I went to a store that had them and looked it over and I was very dismayed by the grey screen and poor contrast. I was convinced that e-ink ereaders had no future and I was pretty vocal about that in discussions among friends. Oh well! Barry

01-15-2018, 03:28 PM	#29
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,970 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	An eBook format is one that allows for styling.

01-15-2018, 03:38 PM	#30
skb Evangelist Posts: 401 Karma: 1597305 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Ipod G4, MacOS 10.12, Calibre, Pocketbook Touch HD 3	Re the txt thing, my first Palm only read text and I had a whole bunch of novels and short stories on it. For me, it was the first ebook. I was quite the novelty on the train and would get a question about what I was looking at almost every day. Now everyone is head down peering at a little screen. Then, for my upgraded Palm I had a program called Repligo which would convert Word files (with limited formatting) into PDF-like type files. I loved Repligo and struggled along with it for quite a time when they changed their business model and stopped supporting Palm. I struggled for ages to find the "sweet spot" of reader when I finally went to the iphone (not as good as the Palm but sadly, Palm had exploded by then). Nowadays, I convert everything to epub.

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