Question from a new guy !

[SteGar]

I am a potential e-reader buyer and I am still torn because I wnat to do more than read books and PDF files on it.

One of the things I would like to do is to read magazine and newspaper. But except the Kindle (not available in Canada, thank you), this option seems difficult to do.

I am really leaning towards the PRS 700 from Sony, but apart from what they offer at the ebook store (slim pickings), is there a possibility to download magazine or RSS feeds ?

Yes, it's a repeat of my introduction post, but I am really scratching my head!

Thank you.

[zelda_pinwheel]

for rss feeds you should check out calibre ; it's a brilliant tool for that. there are lots of rss feeds built in, and if you've got one in particular you would like you can request it in the "custom recipe" thread.

[SteGar]

Thank you. I will check it out, but what is caliber exactly ?

[zelda_pinwheel]

what is calibre : calibre is a free, open-source application developped by kovid goyal, a member of this site. it can be used for managing your ebook library, converting books to different formats, creating ebooks out of rss feeds... it's a brilliant application. take a look in the calibre forum (and on the calibre site) for more info.

[slayda]

Calibre is a format changer. It will take the RSS feeds and change them to a format compatible to your reader (with caveats). I have never used it for that but I know it will change to the Sony format. Not sure about others. Check the WIKI pages or Google Calibre.

[Patricia]

Originally Posted by slayda

Calibre is a format changer. It will take the RSS feeds and change them to a format compatible to your reader (with caveats). I have never used it for that but I know it will change to the Sony format. Not sure about others. Check the WIKI pages or Google Calibre.

Or just go to the Calibre section of the forum.

[SteGar]

Thanks. It looks pretty good and I will look deeper into it.

[HarryT]

For devices which support MobiPocket (ie pretty much every device on the market EXCEPT Sony), the free "MobiPocket Creator" program also does an excellent job of handling RSS feeds. Having a device with Mobi support gives you access to the widest range of eBook stores.

[Manichean]

Originally Posted by HarryT

For devices which support MobiPocket (ie pretty much every device on the market EXCEPT Sony), the free "MobiPocket Creator" program also does an excellent job of handling RSS feeds. Having a device with Mobi support gives you access to the widest range of eBook stores.

Actually, I believe it's the Mobipocket Reader that does the RSS feed collection. At least, I never found an option for it in the Creator and do it in the Reader.
However, yes, it's very easy with devices supporting (and supported by) Mobipocket: You just copy the feed adress, paste it into the program, let it download the feed and done. After that, every time you plug in your device while the Reader is running, you get up-to-date news downloaded onto your device. It's so neat a feature I'm still excited about it

PS: I just remembered: Feedbooks.com offers RSS feed collection, too. Though you have to visit the site to get your news, so it may not be very practical.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Manichean

Actually, I believe it's the Mobipocket Reader that does the RSS feed collection. At least, I never found an option for it in the Creator and do it in the Reader.
However, yes, it's very easy with devices supporting (and supported by) Mobipocket: You just copy the feed adress, paste it into the program, let it download the feed and done. After that, every time you plug in your device while the Reader is running, you get up-to-date news downloaded onto your device. It's so neat a feature I'm still excited about it

Absolutely right - Reader, not Creator. Apologies for the error!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Manichean

Actually, I believe it's the Mobipocket Reader that does the RSS feed collection. At least, I never found an option for it in the Creator and do it in the Reader.
However, yes, it's very easy with devices supporting (and supported by) Mobipocket: You just copy the feed adress, paste it into the program, let it download the feed and done. After that, every time you plug in your device while the Reader is running, you get up-to-date news downloaded onto your device. It's so neat a feature I'm still excited about it

You're absolutely right; I was confusing the two.

[zelda_pinwheel]

if i rememember correctly, i was very disappointed by the Mobi generated rss feeds, because they had no images and did not include the complete articles, only the short summary. i much prefer calibre's rss feeds because they include the entire articles (there is a linked TOC for navigation) *and* all the images.

[HarryT]

I would suggest that the original poster install the free Windows Desktop version of Mobi Reader (free download from http://www.mobipocket.com) and see for himself how well (or otherwise) it works.

[zelda_pinwheel]

since they are leaning toward the 700, they should also install calibre (it's free and cross plateform, so no worries to test it out) and take a look at the different features it offers. there are plenty of news feeds built in to use as a test.

[Manichean]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

if i rememember correctly, i was very disappointed by the Mobi generated rss feeds, because they had no images and did not include the complete articles, only the short summary. i much prefer calibre's rss feeds because they include the entire articles (there is a linked TOC for navigation) *and* all the images.

I don't know about the images, but the Reader generates a linked TOC and the full articles, at least for the news sources I read. Wouldn't make much sense to just include the summary, I think.