08-03-2009, 11:50 AM | #1 |
Save the Stone Tablet
Posts: 31
Karma: 23
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Planet Earth (Mostly)
Device: Coleco ADAM (With high-speed digital tape drive!)
|
Should ePub be the ONLY Ebook Format?
Sorry for the leading title....
EPUB sure seems to be catching hold as the defacto ebook reader format. It seems to be catching momentum for almost ALL the readers. I might have clapped my hands a few weeks ago, but now, I am not so sure. I've actuall read a couple books in EPUB format, and I have to say, I much prefer LRF on my Sony 505. A couple points I don't like is the page numbers! I've read a couple other threads here, and think I understand why it is the way it is, but I still don't like it. I also can't seem to figure out how to change the font. It is VERY hard for me to read when compared to the font used in the LRF format. If someone would like to give me a hint on how to fix either one of these, I might be lured back to using EPUB, but for now, I am solidly back to LRF, and am considering the Sony 300 over the Pocket Pro just to be able to keep LRF! Thanksfully, Calibre handles them BOTH just fine. |
08-03-2009, 11:56 AM | #2 |
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?
|
be careful about confusing the format (epub) with the rendering engine (adobe). the things you mention disliking are due to the way sony uses the adobe renderer to display the files, not the files themselves, nor the format. for example on the cybook opus, i believe the page numbers are not displayed in the side margins.
having said that, to answer your question, i don't believe epub should be the *only* format (although i do believe it should be supported universally, meaning every device should be able to read it, and every book should be available in it). there are times when a simple .txt file is good enough, anything more would be overkill. there are some layout options which work better in pdf (for the moment, at least). i am glad to have epub as a standard format and it's the format i prefer, but that doesn't mean other formats should necessarily disappear. |
Advert | |
|
08-03-2009, 11:56 AM | #3 | ||
Guru
Posts: 610
Karma: 4150
Join Date: Mar 2008
Device: Sony Reader PRS-T3, Kobo Libra H2O
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
08-03-2009, 12:37 PM | #4 |
Wizard
Posts: 4,552
Karma: 950151
Join Date: Nov 2008
Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)
|
I do not think that Kovid has said that bugs in the LRF output will NOT be fixed - just that they are now seen as lower priority.
|
08-03-2009, 12:39 PM | #5 |
creator of calibre
Posts: 43,858
Karma: 22666666
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Mumbai, India
Device: Various
|
To be precise LRF output is now in maintenance mode. While I will try to fix regressions, changes in the fundamental behavior/new features will no longer happen. I just have absolutely no motivation to care about the LRF format any more.
|
Advert | |
|
08-03-2009, 12:59 PM | #6 |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,983
Karma: 128903378
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
I do hope the font size issues in conversion to LRF in 0.6.x get fixed.
|
08-03-2009, 12:59 PM | #7 |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,983
Karma: 128903378
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
Well if we had ONE format, ePub should be it and then we would not have this awful tower of eBable to deal with.
|
08-03-2009, 01:47 PM | #8 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,251
Karma: 3720310
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: USA
Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)
|
ePub as a format says nothing about DRM. Major publishers are going to want DRM (at this time, at least), and nothing says that different publishers or retailers cannot use different DRM schemes. Then you are back to the same problems as multiple formats.
|
08-03-2009, 01:49 PM | #9 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,686
Karma: 874275
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Device: Kindle DX
|
I dont know if it should be ePub but I think there needs to be an MP3 for the eBook world
|
08-03-2009, 01:52 PM | #10 |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
Posts: 12,375
Karma: 23555235
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: DC Metro area
Device: Shake a stick plus 1
|
Should ePub be the ONLY Ebook Format?
No.
Epub has a high hardware demand when compared to eReader, MSReader, or Mobipocket. Basically your proposal involves discarding a vast number of functional reading devices. |
08-03-2009, 01:56 PM | #11 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Considering its not even fully functional (Dictionaries, anyone?): heck, no!
MS had added nothing to LIT in five years and its still more functional than ePUB. Maybe in ten years. |
08-03-2009, 02:22 PM | #12 |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,983
Karma: 128903378
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
|
08-03-2009, 02:25 PM | #13 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,248
Karma: 35000000
Join Date: Jan 2008
Device: Pocketbook
|
Sometimes I wonder about the KISS principle. (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) I think EPUB is vastly over-engineered for it's purpose. But then again, I want something I fix with a flint rock. (I.E. Drop into a simple, common, and free word processor without going through extracts and rebuilds to fix a typo....)
|
08-03-2009, 02:30 PM | #14 |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,983
Karma: 128903378
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
Well, ePub is the only eBook format that when sans DRM, can be fixed/edited with a text editor without having to then be decompiled and then recompiled.
|
08-03-2009, 02:36 PM | #15 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,248
Karma: 35000000
Join Date: Jan 2008
Device: Pocketbook
|
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
iPhone Convert epub format to kindle for iPhone format. Is it possible? | thecyberphotog | Apple Devices | 16 | 03-14-2013 01:04 AM |
Ebook in PRC format will not convert to any other format | Katelyn | Calibre | 0 | 10-01-2010 07:02 PM |
Master Format for multi-format eBook Generation? | cerement | Workshop | 43 | 04-01-2009 12:00 PM |
Format Comparison: PDF, EPUB, and Mobi Downloads from Ebook Bundles | Kris777 | News | 2 | 01-22-2009 04:19 AM |
Placer des eBook format epub sur app store | Michel.L | E-Books | 0 | 01-21-2009 02:43 PM |