Marvin 3.1 - Page 2

Turtle91 · 12-08-2016, 11:37 AM

Melvin.... really....

JSWolf · 12-08-2016, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JKenP

Why are we resurrecting this argument? I use Moon Reader Pro on my Android tablet. The metadata reports page numbers which I rightly/wrongly assume came from the hardcover edition but could have been from a number of other editions with a different page count. However, it reports similar data to Melvin when reading -- chapter page info and % read.

Moon is the top rated reader on Android. It does the same thing Melvin does. "Real" page numbers do not exist with electronic displays. You will see they don't even match between different print editions. You can't program the impossible.

It's not impossible. The exact same ePub when used with software that supports ADE page numbers gives the exact same page numbers in a number of different Readers/programs. That makes it possible. You use ADE on your computer and your ePub shows say 237 pages. Move that ePub to Kobo and use ADE there and you still get 237 pages. Move that to Bluefire Reader on iOS and you again get 237 pages. Settings such as font,margins, line-height are irrelevant. That's why for ePub, ADE page numbering is the best there is.

Melvin can do what it likes with page numbers. It's Marvin where it needs ADE page numbers.

Dr. Drib · 12-09-2016, 06:31 AM

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JKenP · 12-09-2016, 10:52 AM

Melvin..Marvin...whatever. Both sound like dorks; just like the rest of us.

Well metadata on my droid gives a page count that gives you an idea how thick the book is. That's about all it is good for unless you are in an academic setting and need to reference. But such requirements aren't really part of casual reading.

I have been reading steadily for about 70 years and college was the last time that I cared or paid attention to page numbers. And even back then they varied based on the edition. And they still do. Page numbers are ephemeral beasts.

JKenP · 12-09-2016, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

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It is every member's responsibility to read our Posting Guidelines and follow them.

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[COLOR="Green"]

Color me green too.

Dr. Drib · 12-09-2016, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JKenP

Color me green too.

Looks like I missed the complete copy/paste.

Color me embarrassed!

holymadness · 12-17-2016, 07:51 AM

I'm likewise not able to link Goodreads to Marvin. If Marvin launches the goodreads app, I either get a blank screen or a I get a dialogue asking me to log in, which fails every time. If I open goodreads in Safari, I get a dialogue asking me to log in, but login fails every time as well.

Faterson · 01-04-2017, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Number of screens is worthless. Change an option and change the page number. ADE page numbers do not change when you change options. Also, if you are reading with Marvin and an ADE based Reader or program, then you can easily switch from one to the other. It's all about what's best and ADE page numbers are a lot more useful than useless screens.

No, it's ADE pseudo-page numbers that are completely useless and annoying to me. Realize that not everyone is like you.

Right now, Marvin is woefully, disastrously inconsistent in treating "pages in book" quite differently from "pages in chapter". That is, obviously, an untenable situation, and needs to be fixed, before any arbitrary schemes like ADE are introduced.

The only real "page" numbers in e-books, to me, are screen flips, corresponding to the actual reading device, its screen size and formatting settings. Just like with printed books! Expecting a book to have the same number of "pages" on an iPhone and iPad strikes me as inane. But, to each their own. Let Kris give users like Jon his beloved ADE, but also the current bug in Marvin, with the nonsense "pages in book" data, should definitely be fixed, so that it's calculated in the same way as "pages in chapter".

JSWolf · 01-10-2017, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faterson

No, it's ADE pseudo-page numbers that are completely useless and annoying to me. Realize that not everyone is like you.

Right now, Marvin is woefully, disastrously inconsistent in treating "pages in book" quite differently from "pages in chapter". That is, obviously, an untenable situation, and needs to be fixed, before any arbitrary schemes like ADE are introduced.

The only real "page" numbers in e-books, to me, are screen flips, corresponding to the actual reading device, its screen size and formatting settings. Just like with printed books! Expecting a book to have the same number of "pages" on an iPhone and iPad strikes me as inane. But, to each their own. Let Kris give users like Jon his beloved ADE, but also the current bug in Marvin, with the nonsense "pages in book" data, should definitely be fixed, so that it's calculated in the same way as "pages in chapter".

Yes, the page numbers should be fixed and we should have options as to how page numbers are displayed including ADE. But to be honest, I don't think this will ever happen. I reported that page breaks are ignored. I reported it here and on Github and it's been ignored both places.

Faterson · 01-10-2017, 04:11 PM

Yes, Jon, it appears you're right – Marvin once again seems to be dying (as I've just mentioned in the other recent thread).

And to me, the lack of standard Beta-testing for Marvin 3, and pretending as if the many dozens, perhaps hundreds, of unresolved issues posted to GitHub, didn't exist, were early warning signs. It's certainly nice we got the Marvin 3 upgrade, but it appears to have been a fortuitous, one-off event. The recent 3.1 version is a marginal improvement (I don't use GoodReads in conjunction with Marvin, so it brought nothing for me). At the same time, there are still deficiencies in Marvin 3 introduced during the transition from Marvin 2, that still aren't fixed, and it doesn't seem they ever will be.

What can we do? I'm still sticking with Marvin for now, because it still offers several unique features not available in competing e-readers, but I'm certainly also forced to look at alternatives now, such as Hyphen and MapleRead. For 5 years or so now, some of us have been waiting for the no. 1 crucial missing feature to be added to Marvin – syncing annotations. (Really, in today's world, when most people own both a phone and a tablet, the lack of annotations syncing cannot be excused away.) Some have already ditched Marvin due to this missing feature (and they also require annotations syncing with their desktop environments), but I'm still holding on to Marvin for now, painfully collating, manually, my annotations from the various devices whenever I finish reading a book. But it's definitely not a long-term, professional solution.

JSWolf · 01-11-2017, 05:51 AM

I don't think we can do anything except jump ship when something better comes along. Right now, Hyphen seems it could be it once it's been updated to fix some of it's bigger issues. It does seem the author is still out there and working on this. I am interested to see where this goes and how long it takes.

I don't see much hope in the long standing issues of Marvin being fixed/updated/added. back when Marvin 2 was being actively worked on, syncing annotations/bookmarks and ADE page numbers were mentioned as necessary and they still don't exist. That's why when Marvin 3 came out that I did not upgrade because (for me) Marvin 3 brought nothing to the table that was worth updating.

svenlind · 01-11-2017, 06:42 AM

Well, we all have different priorities to the options of an app.

To me the most salient feature of Marvin is the customization of text select commands. It allows me, among other things, to specify an online translation dictionary. This is now also possible in Maplereader, but not with quite so many possibilities.

I really don't care about syncing of annotations or ADE page numbers. I am quite happy to know how many pageflips to do before the end of the current chapter. I also like to know, especially about sleeping time, how many flips there are in the new chapter.

It is of course ok to want new options in a program, but declaring Marvin dead because one's wishes are not complied with is really far out.

pwalker8 · 01-11-2017, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svenlind

Well, we all have different priorities to the options of an app.

To me the most salient feature of Marvin is the customization of text select commands. It allows me, among other things, to specify an online translation dictionary. This is now also possible in Maplereader, but not with quite so many possibilities.

I really don't care about syncing of annotations or ADE page numbers. I am quite happy to know how many pageflips to do before the end of the current chapter. I also like to know, especially about sleeping time, how many flips there are in the new chapter.

It is of course ok to want new options in a program, but declaring Marvin dead because one's wishes are not complied with is really far out.

Agreed. I would also say that being a bit more encouraging and positive about the product might actually encourage the author to continue to update the product. 3rd party ebook readers tend to be a bit of a niche product and tend to be labors of love rather than big profit makers. It can be pretty discouraging to have people repentantly bash your product because it doesn't match some personal criteria. I note that the author hasn't posted much here over the past several months.

MSWallack · 01-11-2017, 09:37 AM

This:

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Agreed. I would also say that being a bit more encouraging and positive about the product might actually encourage the author to continue to update the product. 3rd party ebook readers tend to be a bit of a niche product and tend to be labors of love rather than big profit makers. It can be pretty discouraging to have people repentantly bash your product because it doesn't match some personal criteria. I note that the author hasn't posted much here over the past several months.

How many times can I say "I agree!"?

JKenP · 01-11-2017, 01:20 PM

The first time I visited the Marvin forum, Faterson was going on and on about making Marvin conform to his world view. The majority disagreed but that just made him rant more.

So, he upped the ante by saying it is a failure. But it is the "failure" he uses as his reader. Go figure!

I'll chip in a half-buck to buy him a different reader so he can go bitch there and leave us in peace.

01-11-2017, 05:51 AM	#26
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,990 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I don't think we can do anything except jump ship when something better comes along. Right now, Hyphen seems it could be it once it's been updated to fix some of it's bigger issues. It does seem the author is still out there and working on this. I am interested to see where this goes and how long it takes. I don't see much hope in the long standing issues of Marvin being fixed/updated/added. back when Marvin 2 was being actively worked on, syncing annotations/bookmarks and ADE page numbers were mentioned as necessary and they still don't exist. That's why when Marvin 3 came out that I did not upgrade because (for me) Marvin 3 brought nothing to the table that was worth updating. Last edited by JSWolf; 01-11-2017 at 05:53 AM.

01-11-2017, 01:20 PM	#30
JKenP Connoisseur Posts: 91 Karma: 504384 Join Date: May 2011 Location: NW Indiana Device: Sony Kobo iPhone Kindle 8 HD	The first time I visited the Marvin forum, Faterson was going on and on about making Marvin conform to his world view. The majority disagreed but that just made him rant more. So, he upped the ante by saying it is a failure. But it is the "failure" he uses as his reader. Go figure! I'll chip in a half-buck to buy him a different reader so he can go bitch there and leave us in peace. Last edited by JKenP; 01-11-2017 at 01:24 PM.

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12-08-2016, 11:37 AM	#16
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,095 Karma: 18727053 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	Melvin.... really....

12-09-2016, 06:31 AM	#18
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 44,748 Karma: 55645321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Moderator Notice Please take a few moments to read our Posting Guidelines, in particular the part about the maximum image size allowed (600x600 pixels). Images that violate those guidelines may be deleted. It is every member's responsibility to read our Posting Guidelines and follow them. Thanks.

12-09-2016, 10:52 AM	#19
JKenP Connoisseur Posts: 91 Karma: 504384 Join Date: May 2011 Location: NW Indiana Device: Sony Kobo iPhone Kindle 8 HD	Melvin..Marvin...whatever. Both sound like dorks; just like the rest of us. Well metadata on my droid gives a page count that gives you an idea how thick the book is. That's about all it is good for unless you are in an academic setting and need to reference. But such requirements aren't really part of casual reading. I have been reading steadily for about 70 years and college was the last time that I cared or paid attention to page numbers. And even back then they varied based on the edition. And they still do. Page numbers are ephemeral beasts.

12-17-2016, 07:51 AM	#22
holymadness Guru Posts: 722 Karma: 2084955 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: iPhone	I'm likewise not able to link Goodreads to Marvin. If Marvin launches the goodreads app, I either get a blank screen or a I get a dialogue asking me to log in, which fails every time. If I open goodreads in Safari, I get a dialogue asking me to log in, but login fails every time as well.

01-10-2017, 04:11 PM	#25
Faterson pokrývač škridiel Posts: 1,525 Karma: 3300000 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Bratislava, Slovakia Device: 3iPad, SamsungNote & Tabs, 2OnyxBoox, Huawei 8″, PocketBook	Yes, Jon, it appears you're right – Marvin once again seems to be dying (as I've just mentioned in the other recent thread). And to me, the lack of standard Beta-testing for Marvin 3, and pretending as if the many dozens, perhaps hundreds, of unresolved issues posted to GitHub, didn't exist, were early warning signs. It's certainly nice we got the Marvin 3 upgrade, but it appears to have been a fortuitous, one-off event. The recent 3.1 version is a marginal improvement (I don't use GoodReads in conjunction with Marvin, so it brought nothing for me). At the same time, there are still deficiencies in Marvin 3 introduced during the transition from Marvin 2, that still aren't fixed, and it doesn't seem they ever will be. What can we do? I'm still sticking with Marvin for now, because it still offers several unique features not available in competing e-readers, but I'm certainly also forced to look at alternatives now, such as Hyphen and MapleRead. For 5 years or so now, some of us have been waiting for the no. 1 crucial missing feature to be added to Marvin – syncing annotations. (Really, in today's world, when most people own both a phone and a tablet, the lack of annotations syncing cannot be excused away.) Some have already ditched Marvin due to this missing feature (and they also require annotations syncing with their desktop environments), but I'm still holding on to Marvin for now, painfully collating, manually, my annotations from the various devices whenever I finish reading a book. But it's definitely not a long-term, professional solution.

01-11-2017, 06:42 AM	#27
svenlind Fanatic Posts: 502 Karma: 10488899 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Denmark Device: Oasis 3, Kobo Sage and Libra 2,Ipad mini 5	Well, we all have different priorities to the options of an app. To me the most salient feature of Marvin is the customization of text select commands. It allows me, among other things, to specify an online translation dictionary. This is now also possible in Maplereader, but not with quite so many possibilities. I really don't care about syncing of annotations or ADE page numbers. I am quite happy to know how many pageflips to do before the end of the current chapter. I also like to know, especially about sleeping time, how many flips there are in the new chapter. It is of course ok to want new options in a program, but declaring Marvin dead because one's wishes are not complied with is really far out.

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