Hello from Frankfurt / Germany !

Clemenseken · 05-24-2007, 05:48 AM

Hi!

i've been looking around your forums for some days, because i googled for info on e-ink readers and was overwhelmed by all the information, developers' threads and nice people i've seen on your site.
so just now i registered with you here!

actually i am interested in several aspects:

1- i know some simple programming languages and am about to learn JAVA
(... so i was happy to find an ebook that is programmable: ILIAD)

2- then i got me bruce eckels' tutorial from the net in the form of HTML
(... and found that ILIAD is an ebook that DOES show HTML files !!!)

3- so at last i've more or less decided to get the ILIAD
(... but here is my problem: money - lack of)

right now i'm happy to be(come) part of this community and hope to get help in several ways (that i will ask for in your special threads).

THEN i'd like to get an ILIAD asap. (... but alas! can't afford a new one ... no misunderstanding: i am NOT begging for anything!!!)
should i post a query at the flea market - or is there a better way to get one?

apart from reading ebooks i am a daddy (

Emil's his name) in a 4-year-"parents' sabbatial" - don't know the appropriate term - studied to be and worked some 12 years as a graphic artist (happily doing multimedia programming lately: director/lingo & flash)
and looking for a non-advertising job around frankfurt at the moment.

(by the way: anybody here from rhein-main-area ?)

Clemens

flyinggeek · 05-24-2007, 09:51 AM

Hi Clemens,

at least one more from around here. I'm in Bad Homburg, got a SONY eReader and love it! I can only recommend to read up on the Iliad, I know some people who had it for a while and sold it again in favor of the eReader. Also, there seem to be new readers in the Pipeline, even some that may feature color...

Christian

Alexander Turcic · 05-24-2007, 04:23 PM

Hi Clemens... I was born and raised near Frankfurt, and definitely still in Rhein-Main

Welcome onboard.

Clemenseken · 05-25-2007, 04:58 AM

to flyinggeek: Hi Christian!

thanks for your elaborate answer - which unfortunately inspired me

to ask you some more questions:

would you tell me your very personal reason(s) for preferring the sony reader?
and what is it you did NOT like about the iliad?

more detailed: do you know of ways to use HTML files on your ereader?
can the ereader show any graphic drawings like jpg, gif...?
do you know if there is any "developers' scene" for the sony? (anything planned like sdk?)

i admit that i could try to find answers to these questions in this forum - but here is my first-hand opportunity to ask someone who has had experience with both "worlds" !
thanks a lot if you take the trouble to answer me!
(my english is a little holperig, is'nt it?)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

to Alexander: Hi !

i've seen your name in almost any thread that i looked into:

so germany is not so far behind in technology ...

NatCh · 05-25-2007, 08:38 AM

Welcome, Clemenseken, I'll take a shot at a couple of your questions.

I prefer the Sony Reader for a couple of main reasons. The first is that I just want to read e-books, and I don't need all the extra capability that the iLiad offers (others do, and I'm glad they have that option). The second reason is that I prefer not to pay for all that extra capability that I don't need or want in the first place.

As to using HTML on the Reader, there are a number of apps around this forum (HTML2LRF comes to mind, off-hand), that will convert HTML to something usable on the Reader. But then again, you can always just open the HTML file in Word (or some such program) and save it as an RTF file, which the Reader will handle nicely.

The Reader will show jpg, gif, bmp, and ... I think png (it's been a while since I looked at the specs). But the extra bit of information there, is that it won't show pictures inside of e-books unless the e-book is a PDF or LRF. If you just want to display some pix, it's got a separate album function for that.

Sony hinted that they were planning to release an SDK, but there hasn't been anything on that for a while. However, there is a thriving developers community, thanks mostly to a fellow who goes by the name of igorsk (there are several others also working hard, but igorsk just recently got us a way to change the firmware ourselves). You can see what they're up to here.

You can definitely find a lot of info on MobileRead (in case you haven't found it yet, there's a search function toward the upper right of each page -- I didn't notice it for a couple of months myself

), and I hope you have as much fun finding it as I have.

flyinggeek · 05-28-2007, 03:56 AM

Hi clemenseken,

not much to add to NatCh's answer from my side.

I prefer to keep my technology task oriented. The Iliad goes more into the direction of an ultra-slim PC and thus is prone to the usual issues that come with that (battery issues, software overload, outdated technology, hardware issues, more complicated operating system etc.). Also, I think I would prefer buying a real tablet PC instead of the Iliad reader, and just read my books with one of the Windows or Linux PDF readers instead. But that is just my preference (I also don't have a refrigerator with a TV installed in them :-) ).

As far as programmability goes, there seems to be a pretty well informed hacking scene out there (for the Sony) and there have been a couple of hacks published (for example the on-screen clock). More information on those is to be had in other forum posts. But in general, if you want to programm and work with your reader, the Iliad may be a better choice for you.

Nothing to add to the HTML capability; I personally just use flat .txt files with BookCreator and turn them into SONY files.

Best

CH

05-24-2007, 05:48 AM	#1
Clemenseken eWriter Posts: 267 Karma: 175607 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Frankfurt, FRG Device: PB-IQ / Sony PRS-500	Hello from Frankfurt / Germany ! Hi! i've been looking around your forums for some days, because i googled for info on e-ink readers and was overwhelmed by all the information, developers' threads and nice people i've seen on your site. so just now i registered with you here! actually i am interested in several aspects: 1- i know some simple programming languages and am about to learn JAVA (... so i was happy to find an ebook that is programmable: ILIAD) 2- then i got me bruce eckels' tutorial from the net in the form of HTML (... and found that ILIAD is an ebook that DOES show HTML files !!!) 3- so at last i've more or less decided to get the ILIAD (... but here is my problem: money - lack of) right now i'm happy to be(come) part of this community and hope to get help in several ways (that i will ask for in your special threads). THEN i'd like to get an ILIAD asap. (... but alas! can't afford a new one ... no misunderstanding: i am NOT begging for anything!!!) should i post a query at the flea market - or is there a better way to get one? apart from reading ebooks i am a daddy ( Emil's his name) in a 4-year-"parents' sabbatial" - don't know the appropriate term - studied to be and worked some 12 years as a graphic artist (happily doing multimedia programming lately: director/lingo & flash) and looking for a non-advertising job around frankfurt at the moment. (by the way: anybody here from rhein-main-area ?) Clemens Last edited by Clemenseken; 05-24-2007 at 06:14 AM.

05-24-2007, 09:51 AM	#2
flyinggeek Clueless Posts: 9 Karma: 50 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Frankfurt, Germany Device: SONY PRS 500	Hello from Frankfurt Hi Clemens, at least one more from around here. I'm in Bad Homburg, got a SONY eReader and love it! I can only recommend to read up on the Iliad, I know some people who had it for a while and sold it again in favor of the eReader. Also, there seem to be new readers in the Pipeline, even some that may feature color... Christian

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05-24-2007, 04:23 PM	#3
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,163 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	Hi Clemens... I was born and raised near Frankfurt, and definitely still in Rhein-Main Welcome onboard.

05-25-2007, 04:58 AM	#4
Clemenseken eWriter Posts: 267 Karma: 175607 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Frankfurt, FRG Device: PB-IQ / Sony PRS-500	to flyinggeek: Hi Christian! thanks for your elaborate answer - which unfortunately inspired me to ask you some more questions: would you tell me your very personal reason(s) for preferring the sony reader? and what is it you did NOT like about the iliad? more detailed: do you know of ways to use HTML files on your ereader? can the ereader show any graphic drawings like jpg, gif...? do you know if there is any "developers' scene" for the sony? (anything planned like sdk?) i admit that i could try to find answers to these questions in this forum - but here is my first-hand opportunity to ask someone who has had experience with both "worlds" ! thanks a lot if you take the trouble to answer me! (my english is a little holperig, is'nt it?) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to Alexander: Hi ! i've seen your name in almost any thread that i looked into: so germany is not so far behind in technology ...

05-25-2007, 08:38 AM	#5
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Welcome, Clemenseken, I'll take a shot at a couple of your questions. I prefer the Sony Reader for a couple of main reasons. The first is that I just want to read e-books, and I don't need all the extra capability that the iLiad offers (others do, and I'm glad they have that option). The second reason is that I prefer not to pay for all that extra capability that I don't need or want in the first place. As to using HTML on the Reader, there are a number of apps around this forum (HTML2LRF comes to mind, off-hand), that will convert HTML to something usable on the Reader. But then again, you can always just open the HTML file in Word (or some such program) and save it as an RTF file, which the Reader will handle nicely. The Reader will show jpg, gif, bmp, and ... I think png (it's been a while since I looked at the specs). But the extra bit of information there, is that it won't show pictures inside of e-books unless the e-book is a PDF or LRF. If you just want to display some pix, it's got a separate album function for that. Sony hinted that they were planning to release an SDK, but there hasn't been anything on that for a while. However, there is a thriving developers community, thanks mostly to a fellow who goes by the name of igorsk (there are several others also working hard, but igorsk just recently got us a way to change the firmware ourselves). You can see what they're up to here. You can definitely find a lot of info on MobileRead (in case you haven't found it yet, there's a search function toward the upper right of each page -- I didn't notice it for a couple of months myself ), and I hope you have as much fun finding it as I have.

05-28-2007, 03:56 AM	#6
flyinggeek Clueless Posts: 9 Karma: 50 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Frankfurt, Germany Device: SONY PRS 500	Hi clemenseken, not much to add to NatCh's answer from my side. I prefer to keep my technology task oriented. The Iliad goes more into the direction of an ultra-slim PC and thus is prone to the usual issues that come with that (battery issues, software overload, outdated technology, hardware issues, more complicated operating system etc.). Also, I think I would prefer buying a real tablet PC instead of the Iliad reader, and just read my books with one of the Windows or Linux PDF readers instead. But that is just my preference (I also don't have a refrigerator with a TV installed in them :-) ). As far as programmability goes, there seems to be a pretty well informed hacking scene out there (for the Sony) and there have been a couple of hacks published (for example the on-screen clock). More information on those is to be had in other forum posts. But in general, if you want to programm and work with your reader, the Iliad may be a better choice for you. Nothing to add to the HTML capability; I personally just use flat .txt files with BookCreator and turn them into SONY files. Best CH

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