New Kobo User

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

A matter of opinion, I haven't used the stock Kobo reading software for a long time now, and seldom read any PDFs. Mostly I read .epub or .pdb ebooks. KOReader provides a number of features that the Kobo software does not, and is more adaptable. (It doesn't have, as a design objective, the maximization of profit for their online store, or any requirement to "sync" to one.) Kobo's user interface (Nickel) is highly integrated with its database and spends considerable resources trying to maintain it without corruption. But as I said "it is a matter of opinion", and the good thing is that you can have both installed and working on your Kobo device at the same time. There are some of us (not those here) who have come to feel that you don't need Nickel, to enjoy your Kobo.

Luck;
Ken

I've only used Nickle and I never use the Sync feature at all. You don't even need to be connected to Wi-Fi. I think you are overselling how tied Nickle is to the Kobo store. Without patching, the only irk I had was search defaulting to the Kobo store.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Ashjuk

I have looked at KOReader and to be honest it seems like a lot of work just to read a book.
As I normally only have about 10 books on my device at any one time I don't have a problem with keeping track of what is on there, and what I've read. I normally read two or three books and then replace them with a few more removing the read ones.
Also as I am unlikely to ever view anything other than an epub on my Kobo I think the standard reader is going to be fine for me.
I'm a great believer in the old adage 'If it ain't broke - don't fix it!'

Ashjuk, load up a few books. See what you think of the software. Once you have an opinion of what you would like to see changed, come back here for guidance.

One nice thing about Kobo is that a great many changes can be made using patches available here.

[JSWolf]

If I wanted to deal with PDF, I would load KSM and Koreader as Koreader handles PDF rather well.

[dordale]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I've only used Nickle and I never use the Sync feature at all. You don't even need to be connected to Wi-Fi. I think you are overselling how tied Nickle is to the Kobo store. Without patching, the only irk I had was search defaulting to the Kobo store.

I have to agree with ZodWallop--I've never felt any need to install KoReader on my Kobos. I use the default readers for both ePub and KePub. Actually at this point, strictly KePubs as I have the Kobo extended drivers in Calibre set to convert books to KePubs before transferring to my readers.

I've never bought any books from the Kobo store, don't have the Kobo desktop installed on my computer, and have wi-fi permanently off (after the initial registration) on my readers. I'm perfectly happy with the functionality of my Kobo readers.

Now, if I did want to read PDFs on my readers, I'd definitely look into installing KoReader as an alternate reader.

[Ashjuk]

Originally Posted by dordale

...I have the Kobo extended drivers in Calibre set to convert books to KePubs before transferring to my readers...

I keep seeing the reference to KePub so I was wondering what advantage they have over the standard ePub format?

So far I have only loaded ePubs onto my Kobo and they seem fine to me.

Just dragging the conversation off it yet another direction

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by Ashjuk

I keep seeing the reference to KePub so I was wondering what advantage they have over the standard ePub format?

So far I have only loaded ePubs onto my Kobo and they seem fine to me.

Just dragging the conversation off it yet another direction

For me, the main advantage is that I can get pages for chapter instead of pages by book

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Ashjuk

I keep seeing the reference to KePub so I was wondering what advantage they have over the standard ePub format?

So far I have only loaded ePubs onto my Kobo and they seem fine to me.

Just dragging the conversation off it yet another direction

I have read about some difference: kepub = always header and footer unless you tweak it, epub = ability to turn off header and footer individually (correct me if I'm wrong on the kepub, I've never even had that format on my kobo).

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

For me, the main advantage is that I can get pages for chapter instead of pages by book

And that would be another disadvantage of kepub for me. I don't care how much pages are left in my chapter, I actually don't even want to know! That way I can say "just need to finish my chapter, no idea how long it will take" and a few chapters later: "just need to finish my chapter, no idea how long it will take"

[Ashjuk]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

For me, the main advantage is that I can get pages for chapter instead of pages by book

A bit like reading on an iPad then.

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I have read about some difference: kepub = always header and footer unless you tweak it, epub = ability to turn off header and footer individually (correct me if I'm wrong on the kepub, I've never even had that format on my kobo).

I have just checked and all I see at the moment is the footer - Page xxx of yyy. I don't think I need to see a header which would presumable be the book title as I think I can still just about remember what book I'm reading.

I think I'll stick with the standard ePubs then and save the hassle of converting them all to KePub.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Ashjuk

A bit like reading on an iPad then.


I have just checked and all I see at the moment is the footer - Page xxx of yyy. I don't think I need to see a header which would presumable be the book title as I think I can still just about remember what book I'm reading.

I think I'll stick with the standard ePubs then and save the hassle of converting them all to KePub.

There is plenty of discussion about the difference between epubs and kepubs. The highlights are:

• In book stats including a bar graph showing the progress through the book and each chapter.
• Page count can be per chapter.
• Display of time remaining for the book and chapter.
• Footnotes displayed a a popup.
• Book title displayed at the top of the screen.
• Better support for epub3.

There are some difference in rendering and how the styles are interpreted.

If you are using calibre, you don't need to convert the books to kepub. You can use the KoboTouchExtended driver to do the conversion on the fly.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

And that would be another disadvantage of kepub for me. I don't care how much pages are left in my chapter, I actually don't even want to know! That way I can say "just need to finish my chapter, no idea how long it will take" and a few chapters later: "just need to finish my chapter, no idea how long it will take"

You must never have to read on a strict fifteen minute break

If I know I have seven minutes left, I know I can read another five pages to finish a chapter, but I probably shouldn't start a new thirty-five page chapter

[ZodWallop]

There's a thread on here comparing ePub and kepub, though the points covered here seem to highlight the main ones. I'm mainly replying to address this:

Originally Posted by Ashjuk

I think I'll stick with the standard ePubs then and save the hassle of converting them all to KePub.

There is the Kobo Touch Extended driver for Calibre that will convert your books to kepub when you send them to the device. Works behind the scenes and works like a charm.

On my PC, I don't have a single kepub. On my Kobo, that is all I have.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

There is the Kobo Touch Extended driver for Calibre that will convert your books to kepub when you send them to the device. Works behind the scenes and works like a charm.

On my PC, I don't have a single kepub. On my Kobo, that is all I have.

Yup, same here.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

There is the Kobo Touch Extended driver for Calibre that will convert your books to kepub when you send them to the device. Works behind the scenes and works like a charm.

On my PC, I don't have a single kepub. On my Kobo, that is all I have.

This is what I do as well.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

You must never have to read on a strict fifteen minute break

If I know I have seven minutes left, I know I can read another five pages to finish a chapter, but I probably shouldn't start a new thirty-five page chapter

I'll start it anyway, no time to waste! I'll probably be putting my book away just as the last seconds have already passed away 60 seconds ago.

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

There is the Kobo Touch Extended driver for Calibre that will convert your books to kepub when you send them to the device. Works behind the scenes and works like a charm.

On my PC, I don't have a single kepub. On my Kobo, that is all I have.

For me, kepub has more disadvantages (that header is a huge disadvantage in my list) than advantages (the only one I can think of is the footnotes, but I barely use that), so I'll keep with my epub.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Ashjuk

A bit like reading on an iPad then.

Not this garbage again. An iPad is not iBooks. So when you talk about an iPad, don't specify the iPad as the app, specify the app. There are a number of apps for reading eBooks. So specify the app and not use iPad in place of the app. So please o back and edit your post to specify the app on the iPad.