Communication problem between iTouch and Calibre on PC

starrigger · 01-03-2009, 05:00 PM

I opened this as a ticket on the Calibre site, but thought I should post here in case it's something others have run into, or maybe I'm just doing something wrong. My wife's iPod Touch, using Stanza, can download books from her Mac, using Calibre on the Mac, but runs into problems when she tries to get books from Calibre on my PC, all on the same home network.

Here's a terse cut-and-paste of my summary:

Failed attempts to download books from Calibre running on Win XP machine to iPod Touch running Stanza. Server is turned on in Calibre and set to port 8080, no username or password.

In Stanza on the Touch, I used the following URL in the online catalog:

http://sagittarius:8080/stanza

What that gets me is a message: "Do you want to download the ebook stanza?"

When I remove the /stanza from the URL, I can see a portion of the Calibre library as a web page in tiny type, essentially unusable.

On the same Touch, the communication works properly to my wife's Mac, where she uses the URL:

http://hermacbook.local:8080/stanza

User error? Stanza bug? Calibre bug?

nrapallo · 01-03-2009, 05:23 PM

I'm having the same problem with my wife's iPod Touch v2.2 and Calibre v.0.4.123 on WinXP SP3.

I haven't found a working solution either. I originally got stanza to show an open book icon on the Touch, but the stanza program just crashed and hasn't been able to make any re-connection.

I've opened all the 8080 ports on my firewall/routers, but I still can't get Calibre to display any .epub (or any other ebook) when I test the server.

Here's to hoping for a simple (newbie) solution...

kovidgoyal · 01-03-2009, 07:23 PM

Unfortunately, since I have neither an ipod/iphone nor (at the moment) access to a windows machine, this is hard for me to fix, so hopefully someone with both will be able to help

gandor62 · 01-04-2009, 03:32 PM

I have been trying to solve this problem for a long time.

Quick fix, seems to be download Mozilla Firefox http://www.mozilla-firefox.com.au/ set to default browser and the problems seem to go away. I tried everything with IE7 but never got it working. Must be some conflict with security or port access. But my comms with iTouch and Stanza is perfect now.
Give it a try and report back here.

starrigger · 01-04-2009, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gandor62

I have been trying to solve this problem for a long time.

Quick fix, seems to be download Mozilla Firefox http://www.mozilla-firefox.com.au/ set to default browser and the problems seem to go away. I tried everything with IE7 but never got it working. Must be some conflict with security or port access. But my comms with iTouch and Stanza is perfect now.
Give it a try and report back here.

Firefox is already my default browser, so I don't see how that could be an issue. I suppose there could be some security setting. Is the browser even involved in this communication? I thought it was Stanza and Calibre talking to each other.

Could there be a firewall setting involved?

gandor62 · 01-04-2009, 04:05 PM

Hmmm, When I was trying with IE7, it never worked, I tried with the firewall disabled to no avail. I had a feeling that either Calibre or Stanza is using some form of HTML Web in the communication or formatting system, so I tried Apple Safari and it worked straight away. I then Put Firefox on and the same thing, worked. Since Calibre seems to be Linux based and Stanza Apple I'm guessing that Windows users are on their own to a degree.
If firefox failed for you, try Apple safari. Oh just a thought, your Antivirus, Firewall program may still be the culprit. I use Windows Live Care and i'm sure somehow it is responsible for 50% of my problems, but I don't know enough to justify that statement, just a feeling.

.

kovidgoyal · 01-04-2009, 04:08 PM

calibre certainly doesn't use an browser components in running its server, and I would be very surprised if stanza needed any particular browser installed on the server OS either. More likely that while gandor62 was experimenting with browsers, he toggled something that fixed the problem.

pilotbob · 01-04-2009, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starrigger

Is the browser even involved in this communication? I thought it was Stanza and Calibre talking to each other.

I agree. The browser on the PC has nothing to do with this.

BOb

gandor62 · 01-04-2009, 04:18 PM

Yes its possible i flicked some switch..

but interestingly, if I set Windows Internet Explorer v7 as the default Browser, I can not communicate to the Itouch Stanza or use Calibre to test server. All I get with Calibre is a web page with Calibre Logo at the top and the search buttons on the right side. As soon as I set Firefox as Default Browser everything works as it should. I can test server and see all my books and Stanza works perfect. Hence my reasoning that the Browser was somehow involved.....

starrigger · 01-04-2009, 04:22 PM

Do you mean you went back and reset IE as your default browser and it stopped working? Then you switched back to Firefox and it worked again?

kovidgoyal · 01-04-2009, 04:23 PM

Hmm well perhaps changing the default browser has some other side effect on your system <peering into opaque windows crystal ball>

starrigger · 01-04-2009, 04:38 PM

I tried turning off the firewall. No diff.

gandor62 · 01-04-2009, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starrigger

Do you mean you went back and reset IE as your default browser and it stopped working? Then you switched back to Firefox and it worked again?

When I started trying to use the Content Server, I had IE7 as the default browser and when I went into Calibre Configuration I tried to do the Test Server. A Web Page opened up with the Calibre Logo at the top and no books listed. Stanza would not work either, just sat there and timed out. I reset all my Browser settings and Security levels to Default levels. Test Server still would not list any books. So I disabled Firewalls, Antivirus etc, still nothing. I then had Apple Safari downloaded as part of Itunes and had a look at it as a browser and set it as default browser, I tried Calibre Server again and it worked for some reason. So I got Firefox and it also worked. As a test I reset IE7 as default browser and nothing worked again with calibre and Stanza. So I set Firefox back as default and it all seems to work well. I have no idea why, but I suspected that when I was testing the Calibre Server it must have to format the page to list the books and also format something to send to Stanza. I know other people use IE7 with no problems, so something is conflicting or interfering with IE7 but Firefox seems to be ignoring whatever it is. But I have no idea what the problem is.

gandor62 · 01-04-2009, 05:21 PM

I Know that it should not make a difference Jeff, but for curiosity sake, download a copy of Apple Safari and set it as your browser and see if it makes a difference. You can always un-install it later.

starrigger · 01-04-2009, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gandor62

I Know that it should not make a difference Jeff, but for curiosity sake, download a copy of Apple Safari and set it as your browser and see if it makes a difference. You can always un-install it later.

Are you on a Mac or a PC? Because this whole thing works okay on my wife's Mac. But most of our books are on my PC.

01-03-2009, 05:00 PM	#1
starrigger Jeffrey A. Carver Posts: 1,355 Karma: 1107383 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Massachusetts, USA Device: Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus, Droid phone, Nook HD+	Communication problem between iTouch and Calibre on PC I opened this as a ticket on the Calibre site, but thought I should post here in case it's something others have run into, or maybe I'm just doing something wrong. My wife's iPod Touch, using Stanza, can download books from her Mac, using Calibre on the Mac, but runs into problems when she tries to get books from Calibre on my PC, all on the same home network. Here's a terse cut-and-paste of my summary: Failed attempts to download books from Calibre running on Win XP machine to iPod Touch running Stanza. Server is turned on in Calibre and set to port 8080, no username or password. In Stanza on the Touch, I used the following URL in the online catalog: http://sagittarius:8080/stanza What that gets me is a message: "Do you want to download the ebook stanza?" When I remove the /stanza from the URL, I can see a portion of the Calibre library as a web page in tiny type, essentially unusable. On the same Touch, the communication works properly to my wife's Mac, where she uses the URL: http://hermacbook.local:8080/stanza User error? Stanza bug? Calibre bug?

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01-03-2009, 05:23 PM	#2
nrapallo GuteBook/Mobi2IMP Creator Posts: 2,958 Karma: 2530691 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Toronto, Canada Device: REB1200 EBW1150 Device: T1 NSTG iLiad_v2 NC Device: Asus_TF Next1 WPDN	I'm having the same problem with my wife's iPod Touch v2.2 and Calibre v.0.4.123 on WinXP SP3. I haven't found a working solution either. I originally got stanza to show an open book icon on the Touch, but the stanza program just crashed and hasn't been able to make any re-connection. I've opened all the 8080 ports on my firewall/routers, but I still can't get Calibre to display any .epub (or any other ebook) when I test the server. Here's to hoping for a simple (newbie) solution...

01-03-2009, 07:23 PM	#3
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,843 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Unfortunately, since I have neither an ipod/iphone nor (at the moment) access to a windows machine, this is hard for me to fix, so hopefully someone with both will be able to help

01-04-2009, 03:32 PM	#4
gandor62 Connoisseur Posts: 99 Karma: 14 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Brisbane Australia Device: iPod Touch, Ipad, Kindle 2	I have been trying to solve this problem for a long time. Quick fix, seems to be download Mozilla Firefox http://www.mozilla-firefox.com.au/ set to default browser and the problems seem to go away. I tried everything with IE7 but never got it working. Must be some conflict with security or port access. But my comms with iTouch and Stanza is perfect now. Give it a try and report back here.

01-04-2009, 04:05 PM	#6
gandor62 Connoisseur Posts: 99 Karma: 14 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Brisbane Australia Device: iPod Touch, Ipad, Kindle 2	Hmmm, When I was trying with IE7, it never worked, I tried with the firewall disabled to no avail. I had a feeling that either Calibre or Stanza is using some form of HTML Web in the communication or formatting system, so I tried Apple Safari and it worked straight away. I then Put Firefox on and the same thing, worked. Since Calibre seems to be Linux based and Stanza Apple I'm guessing that Windows users are on their own to a degree. If firefox failed for you, try Apple safari. Oh just a thought, your Antivirus, Firewall program may still be the culprit. I use Windows Live Care and i'm sure somehow it is responsible for 50% of my problems, but I don't know enough to justify that statement, just a feeling. .

01-04-2009, 04:08 PM	#7
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,843 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	calibre certainly doesn't use an browser components in running its server, and I would be very surprised if stanza needed any particular browser installed on the server OS either. More likely that while gandor62 was experimenting with browsers, he toggled something that fixed the problem.

01-04-2009, 04:18 PM	#9
gandor62 Connoisseur Posts: 99 Karma: 14 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Brisbane Australia Device: iPod Touch, Ipad, Kindle 2	Yes its possible i flicked some switch.. but interestingly, if I set Windows Internet Explorer v7 as the default Browser, I can not communicate to the Itouch Stanza or use Calibre to test server. All I get with Calibre is a web page with Calibre Logo at the top and the search buttons on the right side. As soon as I set Firefox as Default Browser everything works as it should. I can test server and see all my books and Stanza works perfect. Hence my reasoning that the Browser was somehow involved.....

01-04-2009, 04:22 PM	#10
starrigger Jeffrey A. Carver Posts: 1,355 Karma: 1107383 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Massachusetts, USA Device: Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus, Droid phone, Nook HD+	Do you mean you went back and reset IE as your default browser and it stopped working? Then you switched back to Firefox and it worked again?

01-04-2009, 04:23 PM	#11
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,843 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Hmm well perhaps changing the default browser has some other side effect on your system <peering into opaque windows crystal ball>

01-04-2009, 04:38 PM	#12
starrigger Jeffrey A. Carver Posts: 1,355 Karma: 1107383 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Massachusetts, USA Device: Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus, Droid phone, Nook HD+	I tried turning off the firewall. No diff.

01-04-2009, 05:21 PM	#14
gandor62 Connoisseur Posts: 99 Karma: 14 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Brisbane Australia Device: iPod Touch, Ipad, Kindle 2	I Know that it should not make a difference Jeff, but for curiosity sake, download a copy of Apple Safari and set it as your browser and see if it makes a difference. You can always un-install it later.

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