Visually impaired peeps using Sony Reader?

[Aprilbeginnings]

how do you set it larger than Large? I saw it go three sizes and they were smaller than txt.

[NatCh]

You change it in the RTF file before you xfer it to the Reader.

Another, tangentally related thing, is that you can switch to landscape mode by holding the size button down for 5 seconds ('til it switches); do the same thing to switch back.

[ktb1381]

Thanks folks! A few points:

You can convert PDF to RTF a lot of times... not sure if ebook PDFs are locked down in some way but there's probably a way around it if they are. The problem is, converting PDF to RTF is hit or miss...

Amazon.com does sell some PDFs, like this: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Computer-...e=UTF8&s=books

I am being tantalized(sp) by a site called bookshare.org, which has volunteers scan books into digital format, then provides these books to the disabled (including visually impaired). They have over 30k now, including a lot that are not available in 'normal' ebook format. They say that they provide books in HTML and TXT, among other formats... You have to be disabled and you have to pay a $50 fee a year to get all this. I might try it and if I do I'll report back on how good it is.

Please note, I believe all that I have said above is correct, but I've not had time to actually try the site out yet so it could be worthless.

K

p.s. does anyone know about how 'bootleg' ebooks are made available on the net? I'm interested for research purposes only! If I ever downloaded ilegal content I would only do so for ebooks that are not available in any other way, and i would of course purchase them in paper.

[HarryT]

Not that I'm condoning piracy of course, but should someone be looking for that kind of thing, the Usenet newsgroups would be the place to look. You'd need a Usenet newsreading program (eg Microsoft Outlook Express) and access to a news server - many ISPs have one, or there are lots of commercial ones - Easynews, Giganews, Terranews, Usenetserver, etc etc., where you pay a few $ a month for access.

I have to say that personally I would have few ethical qualms about getting a "scanned" eBook of something I'd bought on paper and which could not be bought as a commercial eBook.

[Aprilbeginnings]

Originally Posted by NatCh

You change it in the RTF file before you xfer it to the Reader.

Another, tangentally related thing, is that you can switch to landscape mode by holding the size button down for 5 seconds ('til it switches); do the same thing to switch back.

I guess I don't quite understand what you mean by I can change it? Load it, change font size to larger and resave?

Sorry.. having a real bad computer morning on DH's puter and my brain doesn't want to think anymore already.

[ktb1381]

Thanks Harry. I will check out the newsgroups at last resort.

I'm so tempted to just throw caution to the wind and buy this thing. But I better try out some things first.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by Aprilbeginnings

Sorry.. having a real bad computer morning on DH's puter and my brain doesn't want to think anymore already.

It happens.

Open the file in Word or WordPad. Do a ctrl+a to sellect everything, and then you can use ctrl+> to increase the font by points, or just change the font size up in the toolbar if you don't mind everything being the same size.

Then save the file and pop it over to the Reader, you should see a marked difference if you bumb it 8~10 points.

I'm about to get dragged off shopping now, so I'm out for a while.

[HarryT]

My experience seems to suggest that you need to increase the size by about 4pt to get the same visual size on Reader. Eg, if you're comfortable reading 10pt text on paper, use 14pt on Reader; if you prefer 12pt, use 16pt on Reader, etc. Probably not entirely accurate, but as a "rule of thumb" it seems to work reasonably well.

[Aprilbeginnings]

Thanks guys....... I think I understand and that is probably is what I didn't do. I might have just tried bumping the size up one...... I will experiement again and next time make them huge. Although the txt files work for me as well and I do think I even bumped them up some too if I converted something.

Can't play much here today, getting ready for our vacation and we leave Sunday Morning..... so I am just taking a breather and sneaking a peek in here. Back to work getting the camper ready and all that good stuff.

[KlondikeGeoff]

Originally Posted by NatCh

You change it in the RTF file before you xfer it to the Reader.

Another, tangentally related thing, is that you can switch to landscape mode by holding the size button down for 5 seconds ('til it switches); do the same thing to switch back.

Although I love the Reader, am disappointed that the largest size in the horizonal position is still not as big as I'd like, but can live with it.

It seems very odd that can't have that size type in the vertical position. Ah, well.

I used the old Gemstar eBook for years. The wonderful thing about that was that you could download any font or type size from your computer.

I did try increasing the size in Word and then saving as a RTF file on a book from Gutenberg, but when it got the the Reader, it did not seem any larger. I'll have to try it again. Maybe about 100 point?

[ktb1381]

Klondike,

I've been able to get reasonably good results by making the font size 24 (for RTFs).

We are screwed when it comes to Sony Connect content though.

[HarryT]

You could always buy commercial eBooks in Microsoft Reader ".LIT" format, and then use one of the "decompiling" tools (such as the unfortunately named "Convert LIT") to convert to HTML and then save as RTF. This is perfectly legal in Europe, although I suspect it technically falls foul of the DCMA in the US.

[KlondikeGeoff]

Klondike,

I've been able to get reasonably good results by making the font size 24 (for RTFs).

Thanks, was not making it big enough. I just tried it with 28 (30 was too big) and that worked fine.

We are screwed when it comes to Sony Connect content though.

You got it! Maybe they'll wake up someday.

[NatCh]

I think they may be having trouble getting files with big enough fonts from the suppliers in the first place -- I notice there's some variation from book to book.

For instance, the Hitchiker's Guide books were fine on font size (not big but not tiny), but I'm reading the Star Wars Dark Nest trilogy now, and even the large size is a bit on the small side. The small size is like microprint.

Originally Posted by NatCh

For instance, the Hitchiker's Guide books were fine on font size (not big but not tiny), but I'm reading the Star Wars Dark Nest trilogy now, and even the large size is a bit on the small side. The small size is like microprint.

That's so they can save money on printing epages for the ebooks and pass the savings on to you! Plus everyone knows that larger type would make bigger ebooks files so they are actually saving your bandwidth too!

Oh, they love us so much!