05-06-2009, 07:07 PM | #1 |
Member
Posts: 18
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Antwerpen, Belgium
Device: PRS-505
|
Alternative to calibre
Is there any alternative to calibre on a mac for a PRS-505? I personally really dislike calibre. I am reasonably happy managing files myself onto SD cards, but I would like a way to create collections.
Thnx |
05-06-2009, 11:08 PM | #3 |
Member
Posts: 18
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Antwerpen, Belgium
Device: PRS-505
|
Oeh, that looks like a good start! A bit more stability, and support for epub files, and I am all happy!
Thank you :P |
05-07-2009, 06:20 AM | #4 |
Member
Posts: 18
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Antwerpen, Belgium
Device: PRS-505
|
Hmm, it seems it actually does epub files. Too bad it keeps crashing on me 20 seconds after launch...
|
05-11-2009, 06:44 AM | #5 | |
Member
Posts: 18
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Antwerpen, Belgium
Device: PRS-505
|
Quote:
So I repose my original question... "Is there any alternative to calibre on a mac for a PRS-505? I personally really dislike calibre. I am reasonably happy managing files myself onto SD cards, but I would like a way to create collections. Thnx" |
|
Advert | |
|
05-11-2009, 07:25 AM | #6 |
Guilty Bystander
Posts: 104
Karma: 10
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Florida
Device: MacBook Pro, Kindle, iPad, and other gadgets
|
Why would anyone dislike calibre? It's a terrific piece of software that makes eBook readers without decent database capabilities useable, integrates various format conversion tools, and lets us correct sloppy eBook metadata.
|
05-11-2009, 08:17 AM | #7 |
Member
Posts: 18
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Antwerpen, Belgium
Device: PRS-505
|
If you must know, it is ugly, slow, has no way of editing what is on my reader without putting a new ebook on it (which I have to do MANUALLY, it does not trigger on change), it has no playlists, no way of tracking what I want on there, etc etc
All it does for me is ADD complexity, not subtract from it. I have it installed for the command line tools, but the UI is utterly horrible. You may like it, and that is fine, but I do not. |
05-11-2009, 12:12 PM | #8 | |
zeldinha zippy zeldissima
Posts: 27,827
Karma: 921169
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Paris, France
Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?
|
Quote:
just one thing though, you mention calibre has no playlists, have you tried using the tags and series functions for those ? i use them all the time, both of them will create "collections" when you transfer the books to the sony, this could be a good way to make a playlist... you can add tags and series info individually (highlight book in the library view, type E for Edit meta data, type in tas or select from the drop-down list among the tags already created), or in a batch edit : holding down the ctrl key (i think it's option key on a mac) select all the books you want to tag, type E, enter tag / series name. also, when your reader is connected, you can view what is on it by clicking on the reader in the top bar (next to library view icon), then you can see what is on there and if necessary add tags without re-loading the book. i do this sometimes when i forget to tag a book before sending it. i hope you find something that works for you, anyway. |
|
05-11-2009, 05:52 PM | #9 |
Member
Posts: 18
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Antwerpen, Belgium
Device: PRS-505
|
I know it creates collections. But I still have to manually track what I put on my reader, and what I did not. I can not say "just sync everything in this playlists" or something similar.
|
05-12-2009, 03:11 AM | #10 |
Connoisseur
Posts: 58
Karma: 37
Join Date: Oct 2008
Device: PRS-600
|
You could try raising a support ticket asking for collection syncing as a feature request.
|
05-17-2009, 10:00 PM | #11 |
Enthusiast
Posts: 29
Karma: 10
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: PRS-505
|
I dislike it too. Maybe because I don't really understand it.
But I don't like that I had it search for eBooks and it added something like 7 million (ok, maybe not that many!) files that mean nothing. Then when I try to delete these weird files it asks if I'm sure I want to remove them from my COMPUTER. Hum, no... I just don't want them in Calibre. So now like the first 7 million files (give or take a few) aren't even eBooks at all. Just weird files. So I just stopped using it and just use the Sony program instead. (but then I'm not a Mac user either.) |
05-18-2009, 02:34 PM | #12 |
Member
Posts: 24
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2009
Device: Sony prs-505, Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Aura One
|
When you install Calibre you define a directory for it, when it adds a book, it creates a directory inside the directory you have defined with the author's name. So when you delete a book (or file) in Calibre it only removes it from Calibre's directory.
also Hi everyone! this is my first post, I ordered a Sony psr 505 which I believe might arrive tomorrow at my doorstep. I live in Portugal and I found out yesterday I can't buy an ebook in the Sony store When I get it in my hands and use it a bit, I'll post some more. Great forum here (one of the reasons I decided to buy an ebook reader) |
05-28-2009, 03:44 AM | #13 |
Enthusiast
Posts: 42
Karma: 32
Join Date: Jul 2008
Device: Sony Reader
|
Calibre is awesome but the key to any software is knowing how to use it.
Besides that, the developer is incredibly responsive and helpful. There is no better option for software on a Mac. I even prefer it to Sony's Windows software ... talk about crappy. Ask the dev for what you want, he'll probably add it in by tomorrow morning... |
05-31-2009, 10:58 AM | #14 |
Member
Posts: 18
Karma: 10
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Antwerpen, Belgium
Device: PRS-505
|
I'd actually use the sony software over calibre, if it where not windows only. And what I want is a completely new GUI, as well as playlists, and playlist syncing.
|
05-31-2009, 11:15 AM | #15 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,608
Karma: 3000161
Join Date: Jan 2009
Device: Kindle PW3 (wifi)
|
Calibre.
1. - I give him five stars for: - the "recipes" allowing to download magazines are truly wonderful and work extremely well (at least for the ones I tried) - it converts odt, doc, txt to epub files simply and most of the time well 2. - I do not use it systematically though. - I do not keep any calibre library file. As soon as I upload a file to my Reader, I suppress the calibre entry on my computer. - When I know that the file to be uploaded is OK (coming from Feedbooks for example ), I just place it directly in the Reader without using calibre and let the Reader update itself the cache.xml file. 3. - I use other utilities as a complement to calibre. - I use a syncing utility called grsync to backup my Reader files (this is Linux). - Calibre is useful for editing meta-files for epub, lrf and others, though I found that I had better edit PDF meta-files with third party software. Maybe this will soon be fixed in calibre. I never used the Sony library software. Last edited by roger64; 05-31-2009 at 11:20 AM. |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Calibre Alternative | schackenfeld | Software | 29 | 11-27-2010 06:03 PM |
Anyone know of alternative to Sony Software and Calibre? | BookCat | Reading and Management | 6 | 07-01-2010 11:51 PM |
Magazine Download - Alternative to Calibre? | skdutta | Calibre | 17 | 06-20-2010 10:13 AM |
Is their an alternative to Calibre that is as good? | Josieb1 | Calibre | 11 | 12-11-2009 12:07 AM |
Unutterably Silly The alternative alternative Friday Question 21 August 2009 | Wetdogeared | Lounge | 13 | 08-26-2009 09:47 AM |