iLiad Pre-Purchase Questions...

grayfox · 10-06-2007, 02:58 PM

Hi,

I am seriously considering an e-book reader...Over the years I have
collected a large number of *.chm and *.pdf (computer related) books.

It would be nice to have them available while away from the computer.

It is unlikely that there are any iLiads in a two hundred mile radius of
the small central kentucky town where I reside, so it appears that I
might have to make a $700.00 gamble if I decide to try the iLiad

1) Are chm and pdfs really readable on the iLiad screen?

2) I prefer to work on my MacBook Pro but I have a dual boot
Linux (Fedora 7) and WinXP laptop also ( and a mac mini home
server). I don't boot WinXP very often. Is it possible to use the
mac or linux for the staging area for talking to the download
service the iRex has? Can I download content from the Mac or
Linux boxes?

3) Is WPA available? I down loaded Release Notes 2.10.2 and it
mentioned that it is possible but the latest user manual that I
could find was 2.9 and it only mentioned WEP. My home network
uses WPA as the wireless protocol.

4) Does the iLiad use USB 2.0?

5) If the iLiad is connected to the computer will it appear
as a USB drive or is it only visable to the iLiad software
running on the WinXP side?

Probably more to come

As you can probably guess, I am a retired computer geek.

Thanks for any insights...

Jerry

BKeeper · 10-06-2007, 03:29 PM

Welcome to MR Jerry!

I'm in a hurry, I'll try to answer in more detail later.

1- yes zoom works great for pdf. I know there are some minor compatibility issues with chm, but it's usable.

2- iRex download service is configured and accessed entirely from your iLiad, nothing to to with your OS.

3-WPA is indeed available.

4-Not sure about usb (should be 2.0) but with such a small capacity (128 MB) it really doesn't mater. Most people just use SD cards.

5- The iLiad mounts as a standard usb drive. No need too mess with iRex software. (which by the way is pretty useless)

But anyway, I'd advise you to wait until October 15th and check out the kindle unless you need the screen real estate. :-)

Hope this helps.

BKeeper

wallcraft · 10-06-2007, 07:48 PM

I just bought an iLiad after lurking for many months, and I am very happy with it.

There are photos of the iLiad displaying PDFs here.

FBReader reads chm, and you can check out its CHM capability on any Windows or Linux Desktop (no supported Mac version yet). I actually prefer FBReader's page oriented approach to CHM to the conventional double pane approach, particularly on a small screen. But try it out for yourself. I don't have much direct experience with chm on the iLiad though.

There is now iRex advertised chm support on the iLiad, and that is via conversion to .mobi format. I think this is only available if you use MobiPocket's Windows Reader (which actually does the conversion). If MobiPocket support is of interest, note that MobiPocket Windows Reader is the standard way that MobiPocket manages all devices these days and this now includes the iLiad. However, using a Linux or OSX desktop works too - you just need to add the iLiad PID to the e-book sellers database and manually download the e-books. For ebooks without DRM, FBReader has as good support for MobiPocket as the native reader - so I usually use .mobi (.prc) format via FBReader when I have a choice of formats.

nekokami · 10-06-2007, 09:26 PM

I think most of your questions have been covered, but I'll chime in on the OSX issue. I've had a series of CF corruption problems when transferring files to and from OSX. In particular, the latest firmware update allows the iLiad to export its CF card through its USB port as a USB drive, and though this works fine on Linux (Ubuntu) and WinXP, when I tried it on OSX I corrupted the card to the point that I nearly had to scrub it and start over. I eventually was able to repair the filesystem on WinXP, but not until I removed the card from the iLiad and used a separate adapter. So be careful with CF cards and OSX. I think it's an OSX problem, actually -- I think the OS isn't correctly unmounting the virtual drive.

I probably could have repaired the filesystem under Linux with fsck if I'd used the standalone adapter. I didn't test that -- since I was able to fix the fs under WinXP, I decided to quit while I was ahead. I may do some more tests later so I can provide some bug info to Apple and iRex.

grayfox · 10-06-2007, 09:50 PM

Hi,

I just did a binary install of FBReader onto my Fedora box. I was not
too happy with the results of trying to read a "chm" file. Navigation
required repeated trips to the index to select the next "section".

Is there a "best" approach to converting a chm file to something that
looks "good"? ( I guess if push comes to shove I would be willing to
boot into XP if I can get good results ).

At least half of my ebook lib is in chm format...

Thanks,

Jerry

nekokami · 10-06-2007, 10:17 PM

I like the Amber ABC converters by Processtext.com.

wallcraft · 10-06-2007, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grayfox

I just did a binary install of FBReader onto my Fedora box. I was not
too happy with the results of trying to read a "chm" file. Navigation
required repeated trips to the index to select the next "section".

On the iLiad, FBReader has an extra "next section" icon (a down arrow) to handle this. An alternative is to bind a key to the "next section" action. On the desktop (and on the iLiad) I bind down arrow to next section and up arrow to previous section. Do this by selecting the options (crossed tools) icon, and then the keys tab. I bind left and right arrows to next/previous page (on the iLiad this is the flipbar, page up and page down). In general, FBReader needs customization for your reading habits. There isn't much documentation, but see Visual Tour of FBReader on a Pepper Pad 3 - or just play with the options.

I tried importing .chm files into Windows MobiPocket Reader. It worked on simple files, but chokes on typical .chm manuals. At best, this will give you a linear document with one level of navigation (multi-level TOC seems to be one thing that Mobipocket has problems importing).

grayfox · 10-08-2007, 04:17 PM

Oh well,

I bit the bullet today and ordered the iLiad from ereaderoutfitters.com
this afternoon!

I hate waiting

Jerry

HappyMartin · 10-09-2007, 03:07 AM

Waiting is not pleasant, particularly if you are not sure what you are going to get which was my situation. I have had my device about 2 weeks now and love it. Have read several books and now vastly prefer it to pbooks. Never expected that to happen so quickly if at all.

I hope you don't wait too long and that you enjoy your purchase.

tribble · 10-09-2007, 03:11 AM

I am still surprised every time how fast people get addicted to the e-ink technology.

My name is tribble, and i am an addict

HappyMartin · 10-09-2007, 05:47 AM

My name is Martin and I am also an addict.

My wife reads over my shoulder and already it seems to have a hold on her.

10-06-2007, 02:58 PM	#1
grayfox Connoisseur Posts: 68 Karma: 203 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Razr/iLiad	iLiad Pre-Purchase Questions... Hi, I am seriously considering an e-book reader...Over the years I have collected a large number of .chm and .pdf (computer related) books. It would be nice to have them available while away from the computer. It is unlikely that there are any iLiads in a two hundred mile radius of the small central kentucky town where I reside, so it appears that I might have to make a $700.00 gamble if I decide to try the iLiad 1) Are chm and pdfs really readable on the iLiad screen? 2) I prefer to work on my MacBook Pro but I have a dual boot Linux (Fedora 7) and WinXP laptop also ( and a mac mini home server). I don't boot WinXP very often. Is it possible to use the mac or linux for the staging area for talking to the download service the iRex has? Can I download content from the Mac or Linux boxes? 3) Is WPA available? I down loaded Release Notes 2.10.2 and it mentioned that it is possible but the latest user manual that I could find was 2.9 and it only mentioned WEP. My home network uses WPA as the wireless protocol. 4) Does the iLiad use USB 2.0? 5) If the iLiad is connected to the computer will it appear as a USB drive or is it only visable to the iLiad software running on the WinXP side? Probably more to come As you can probably guess, I am a retired computer geek. Thanks for any insights... Jerry

10-08-2007, 04:17 PM	#8
grayfox Connoisseur Posts: 68 Karma: 203 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Razr/iLiad	I Bit the Bullet Today... Oh well, I bit the bullet today and ordered the iLiad from ereaderoutfitters.com this afternoon! I hate waiting Jerry

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10-06-2007, 03:29 PM	#2
BKeeper Groupie Posts: 186 Karma: 728 Join Date: Jul 2006 Device: Kindle PW	Welcome to MR Jerry! I'm in a hurry, I'll try to answer in more detail later. 1- yes zoom works great for pdf. I know there are some minor compatibility issues with chm, but it's usable. 2- iRex download service is configured and accessed entirely from your iLiad, nothing to to with your OS. 3-WPA is indeed available. 4-Not sure about usb (should be 2.0) but with such a small capacity (128 MB) it really doesn't mater. Most people just use SD cards. 5- The iLiad mounts as a standard usb drive. No need too mess with iRex software. (which by the way is pretty useless) But anyway, I'd advise you to wait until October 15th and check out the kindle unless you need the screen real estate. :-) Hope this helps. BKeeper

10-06-2007, 07:48 PM	#3
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	I just bought an iLiad after lurking for many months, and I am very happy with it. There are photos of the iLiad displaying PDFs here. FBReader reads chm, and you can check out its CHM capability on any Windows or Linux Desktop (no supported Mac version yet). I actually prefer FBReader's page oriented approach to CHM to the conventional double pane approach, particularly on a small screen. But try it out for yourself. I don't have much direct experience with chm on the iLiad though. There is now iRex advertised chm support on the iLiad, and that is via conversion to .mobi format. I think this is only available if you use MobiPocket's Windows Reader (which actually does the conversion). If MobiPocket support is of interest, note that MobiPocket Windows Reader is the standard way that MobiPocket manages all devices these days and this now includes the iLiad. However, using a Linux or OSX desktop works too - you just need to add the iLiad PID to the e-book sellers database and manually download the e-books. For ebooks without DRM, FBReader has as good support for MobiPocket as the native reader - so I usually use .mobi (.prc) format via FBReader when I have a choice of formats.

10-06-2007, 09:26 PM	#4
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	I think most of your questions have been covered, but I'll chime in on the OSX issue. I've had a series of CF corruption problems when transferring files to and from OSX. In particular, the latest firmware update allows the iLiad to export its CF card through its USB port as a USB drive, and though this works fine on Linux (Ubuntu) and WinXP, when I tried it on OSX I corrupted the card to the point that I nearly had to scrub it and start over. I eventually was able to repair the filesystem on WinXP, but not until I removed the card from the iLiad and used a separate adapter. So be careful with CF cards and OSX. I think it's an OSX problem, actually -- I think the OS isn't correctly unmounting the virtual drive. I probably could have repaired the filesystem under Linux with fsck if I'd used the standalone adapter. I didn't test that -- since I was able to fix the fs under WinXP, I decided to quit while I was ahead. I may do some more tests later so I can provide some bug info to Apple and iRex.

10-06-2007, 09:50 PM	#5
grayfox Connoisseur Posts: 68 Karma: 203 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Razr/iLiad	Hi, I just did a binary install of FBReader onto my Fedora box. I was not too happy with the results of trying to read a "chm" file. Navigation required repeated trips to the index to select the next "section". Is there a "best" approach to converting a chm file to something that looks "good"? ( I guess if push comes to shove I would be willing to boot into XP if I can get good results ). At least half of my ebook lib is in chm format... Thanks, Jerry

10-06-2007, 10:17 PM	#6
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	I like the Amber ABC converters by Processtext.com.

10-09-2007, 03:07 AM	#9
HappyMartin Martin Kristiansen Posts: 1,546 Karma: 8480958 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Johannesburg Device: Kindle International Ipad 2	Waiting is not pleasant, particularly if you are not sure what you are going to get which was my situation. I have had my device about 2 weeks now and love it. Have read several books and now vastly prefer it to pbooks. Never expected that to happen so quickly if at all. I hope you don't wait too long and that you enjoy your purchase.

10-09-2007, 03:11 AM	#10
tribble iLiad Maniac Posts: 1,382 Karma: 2369 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany Device: Bookeen Opus (i love that thing) and iPad (what an irony)	I am still surprised every time how fast people get addicted to the e-ink technology. My name is tribble, and i am an addict

10-09-2007, 05:47 AM	#11
HappyMartin Martin Kristiansen Posts: 1,546 Karma: 8480958 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Johannesburg Device: Kindle International Ipad 2	My name is Martin and I am also an addict. My wife reads over my shoulder and already it seems to have a hold on her.

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