I have a Forma. Why should I use KOReader? :)

[droopy]

Dear KOReader users,

I am a one-month-old, first-time user of an ereader device (Forma). It seems that it does much of what I want.
(But wish long-tapping and selecting words would have no delay.)

Please tell me how KOReader improves my Forma.

[jlynton]

If you have a lot of books you will find KoReader faster and more reliable than stock FW. try it, nothing to lose... https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=314220

[Frenzie]

If you use https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=314220 it should only take a few minutes to give KOReader (and Plato) a go.

You could also take a look at coolreader.

[JSWolf]

But seriously, what makes KoReader and/or Plato better then RMSDK (ePub) and Access (kepub)? Just saying it's faster and more reliable is not quite accurate. Both reading software in the Kobo firmware are reliable.

[droopy]

Originally Posted by jlynton

If you have a lot of books you will find KoReader faster and more reliable than stock FW. try it, nothing to lose... https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=314220

I have 500 books right now.

If I do this one-click install, what happens to the original reading software(s)? What if I wanna use them?

[droopy]

With the original firmware, I cannot export my highlights and annotations.

Does Koreader or Plato or coolreader overcome this limitation? I want to view my annotations and highlights when I'm not on my forma, for example when I am on my computer or online.

[droopy]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But seriously, what makes KoReader and/or Plato better then RMSDK (ePub) and Access (kepub)? Just saying it's faster and more reliable is not quite accurate. Both reading software in the Kobo firmware are reliable.

Does a regular Kobo come with 2 reading softwares, one for epub and another for kepub?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by droopy

Does a regular Kobo find with 2 reading softwares, one for epub and another for kepub?

Kobo's have two different reading programs.One is RMDSK (ADE) for ePub and Access for kepub. That are both reliable. So anyone saying that KOReader is more reliable is wrong.

I cannot say to the speed of KOReader as I've never used it.

[pazos]

Originally Posted by droopy

Please tell me how KOReader improves my Forma

It doesn't improves your Forma. It could improve your specific workflow with a Forma or other ereaders. That depends on your workflow.

My workflow involves:

- copy a bunch of files on different formats in a row (via usb mount or via Dropbox/FTP) and don't want to wait for database processing.
- disable the things I don't use and configure the things I do again and again.
- when reading for pleasure I choose epub and apply some custom css style tweaks over publisher defaults, so I have exactly the same things that annoyed me fixed in 0 seconds (I mean hyphenation, line space, empty pages at the end of a chapter...)

I been using KOReader since 2014 exclusively and using some Kobos on misc educative projects I participated on. On these projects the fact that I can modify the source code for (our) private uses is a big plus no other program can provide that easily (even if my modifications were just a couple of hacks to allow different instances of the program to use the same reader in a multiuser environment)

I don't use most of things that most people seems to need, namely: annotations, heavy use of dicts or a large number of the plugins/extensions that KOReader has. I only use the wallabag plugin.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But seriously, what makes KoReader and/or Plato better then RMSDK (ePub) and Access (kepub)?.

That's not a valid question. You want to compare a program with two renders. The comparation needs to be done between programs (Plato vs KO vs Nickel) or between renders (plato's epub render vs Coolreader vs MuPdf vs DjVuLibre vs RMSDK vs Access)

I might say that for my own needs I do like Coolreader and don't need what the kobo renders offer me. Things are different for CJK users or RTL users (or users that want the text displayed in vertical)

Comparing MuPDF vs how kobos do PDF is simple: kobos do pdf just slightly better than they do Djvu.

If we're comparing the UI on my experience most users do like the way Nickel (or plato) looks more than KOReader. This is a valid point. If you want to preview how KOReader looks give it a look at this (spanish) thread: https://www.lectoreselectronicos.com...l=1#post251034

Note: some screenshots are slightly outdated as things evolved A LOT during the last year. That's another plus for me

[pazos]

Originally Posted by droopy

With the original firmware, I cannot export my highlights and annotations.

Does Koreader or Plato or compressed overcome this limitation? I want to view my annotations and highlights when I'm not on my forma, for example when I am on my computer or online.

@droopy: for KOReader you have KOHighlights by @embryo: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=265433

[Frenzie]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But seriously, what makes KoReader and/or Plato better then RMSDK (ePub) and Access (kepub)? Just saying it's faster and more reliable is not quite accurate. Both reading software in the Kobo firmware are reliable.

The way that's phrased doesn't make for a terribly relevant question to your choice of reader application. If you're happy with Nickel, chances may well be that the answer is nothing at all.

For me KOReader's primary features are the file browser, PDF & DjVu support, gestures, hackability, and more recently I've become a regular user of the Wallabag plugin. (If you like Pocket, nothing to see there. And if you don't like Pocket, probably nothing to see either.) Some people like built-in PDF/DjVu reflow, but I think fit to page or content width takes care of most documents. My wife prefers zoom to fit page.

Things I specifically like about crengine (KOReader's default EPUB renderer) include the easy application of built-in style tweaks, as well as how easy it is to add your own style tweaks. For example, you can force footnote rendering on documents that may use slightly non-standard approaches to their footnotes if you check the underlying (X)HTML. You can do that straight from KOReader btw. Theoretically you could even write your style tweak in the built-in text editor, but that's a bit iffy for obvious reasons.

You can achieve similar effects in Nickel, at least with regard to loading your own styles since I'm not sure if it does footnotes, but in KOReader they can be easily toggled per tweak and per document. Which relates back directly to my first sentence, because the difference here is less about the rendering engine and more about how you interact with it.

I would always install KOReader and/or Plato for DjVu documents even if I for some unfathomable reason I were completely satisfied with the way PDF and CBZ are handled in Nickel. DjVu is often the superior choice. That's about the most direct rendering engine-related advantage available in KOReader and Plato.

[ps67]

1. Koreader handles pdf much better;
2. for the epub, with style regulations, it gives you granular choices on which parts of the css of the book You decide to ignore (margins, line height, fonts ecc.) And You can obtain Hyphenation even when the css explicitly avoids it;
3. if the book has images or footnotes you must use Kepub in Nickel but with Kepub You have no ligatures, Koreader handles them (Koreader can read Kepub created and invoiced by calibre, it can't read, of course, Kobo Epub bought from Kobo and directly downloaded in the reader because of DRM);
4. You have 3 ways to manage the footnotes: pop-up notes, in page foot notes, or the traditional link.

But also Nickel has its strengths:
1. excellent integration with calibre for metadata (Kobo is the best reader for that). You can manage collections, sub titles and series etc;
2. Pocket integration;
3. Only with Nickel You can read the book You borrowed from libraries (DRM);
4. this is a totally personal opinion: it is more beautiful. But really: I (personal opinion, again) don't need to know anything about the file structure of my reader, only which books it contains, so I prefer the way used by Nickel, but this is a question of preferences, many other persons prefer to have a real file manager in the reader.

I read a lot, and I alternate the various readers, with a preference for Koreader, sometimes I also use Plato, a younger but already interesting project.

But in the end: install it and try yourself if it is suited for You.

[Frenzie]

@droopy

If I do this one-click install, what happens to the original reading software(s)? What if I wanna use them?

They won't do anything besides take up some space unless you start them.

Originally Posted by pazos

I don't use most of things that most people seems to need, namely: annotations, heavy use of dicts or a large number of the plugins/extensions that KOReader has. I only use the wallabag plugin.

Yeah, me neither for the most part. It's occasionally convenient that there are dictionaries built-in though.

Originally Posted by pazos

Comparing MuPDF vs how kobos do PDF is simple: kobos do pdf just slightly better than they do Djvu.