02-14-2010, 05:40 PM | #1 |
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Took the plunge...
and ordered the Jetbook Lite, $129 @ Newegg. I did a lot of research here (thanks everyone who directly and indirectly helped) and other places, and I think I'm going to be happy with it. I just have a few questions:
1) Library books. Our local library here has a pretty large section of E-books, and I guess I ASSumed that if a reader could handle epub, I'd be able to utilize the library's ebook section, but in one of the threads in the Ectaco section mentioned that the JBL could NOT read library books? I went through all of the threads in this section, read most of them from as far back as I could go, so it may have been an older post and no longer relevant. It mentioned an Adobe Format that a reader has to handle in order to read library books. I'm a little confused, I thought library books were the epub format? Is there any way that I could find out if my library's books are comaptible with the JBL? Maybe they have some info on their website to point me in the right direction. I wanted to check here first so I'd know what to look for. 2) periodicals, newspapers, etc? Is there anyplace to download things like this, and once again what format should I look for? 3) RSS newsfeeds? Can I read these on the JBL? I *think* that I read it does HTML but once again not sure. I have/had a TON of questions and a lot of them were/will be answered by the posts that are already here, I've got a lot of reading to do to learn the ins and outs of my new device, these were just a couple of questions that I hadn't been able to find answers for yet, or was confused but what I've read. Thanks in advance for any and all replies! |
02-14-2010, 06:13 PM | #2 |
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In answer to your questions:
1) No, it cannot. For that you need something that Overdrive (or its equivalent) can handle. That's generally a specific type of file-format/DRM combination. 2) I'm sure there are. You might look at Fictionwise Multiformat. I don't know how many or what kind of periodicals publish that way. 3) You'll have to aggregate them somehow as a static file and transfer them to the jetBook. I belive there are such programs/services, but I've never used them. I doubt they're easy to use, but I could be wrong. On a broader note, you might want to reconsider the jetBook if those uses are very important to you. The jetBook is primarily intended for reading unencrypted text files. It accepts a wide variety of file formats, but tends to defeature them to a lowest common denominatory for display. Regards, Jack Tingle |
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02-14-2010, 06:23 PM | #3 | |
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Quote:
But Jack, I would disagree with your statement on the jetBook primarily being for text... unencrypted files, sure, but it handles ePUB, MOBI, PDF, etc. just fine. |
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02-14-2010, 07:56 PM | #4 | |
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Should have done more research I guess... Thanks for the reply. |
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02-14-2010, 09:24 PM | #5 |
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All depends on the Format jrl. I think the Overdrive are DRM'd pdf, those the jetbook will have problems with. However it should read epub, the only likely issues would be a DRM'd epub from someplace like Barnes and Noble.
And, if you can't use your library, don't despair, all is not lost. There are loads of books at project Gutenburg, manybooks.net, and other sites. Many of which you can choose your format. Download to a PC, copy to an SD card, drop it into the Jetbook and your set for a long time. |
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02-14-2010, 09:57 PM | #6 | |
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Thanks for the words of hope, I didn't get much of that in the other replies. I'll take your advice and not despair As you said, I'm sure that there are tons of free books out there I haven't read yet, and possibly in the future maybe the libraries will provide more compatible formats. Have a GREAT day! |
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02-14-2010, 10:48 PM | #7 |
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I have to agree with GhostHawk; I don't have a JBL but there are a LOT of free books out there (not all necessarily the classics, either - check out smashwords, for instance.) I have 60-something free books that I haven't read yet. They're kind of distracting me from the ones I've paid for, knowing I have so many books to read. If you love reading and even if you have a limited budget, I'd challenge you to try to run out of things to read. Enjoy your JBL.
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02-14-2010, 10:49 PM | #8 |
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jrl, I got a JBL for Christmas, and I've been busy since then just reading the books that came with it.
I think that at its price the JBL is a great bargain, notwithstanding its limitations. |
02-15-2010, 12:52 AM | #9 |
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If you like classics (i.e. anything written before the 1920's-ish), there's plenty to be found for free!
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02-15-2010, 07:29 AM | #10 |
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One of the science fiction publishers has ebooks for free on their web site. I don't remember which one, but they have good authors, like Eric Flint. You could read a lot of awesome books, for free! just going there.
Also, there are 75 pages of free books in epub format right here at mobilereads....sure to be some good stuff in there! Last edited by booklover6; 02-15-2010 at 07:31 AM. |
02-15-2010, 08:56 AM | #11 | |
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02-15-2010, 10:20 AM | #12 |
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Sounds like the SciFi site would be:
http://www.baen.com Ectaco provided these on a card with the JBL: http://www.ereader.com/ http://www.fictionwise.com/ Free eBooks at: http://www.feedbooks.com/ http://www.manybooks.net/ http://www.gutenberg.org Then there are http://www.smashwords.com/ For as long as the USENET survives there are a few binary Newsgroups that have ebooks for download. (search for groups with "ebook" in their name) alt.binaries.e-book.palm or alt.binaries.e-books.palm for instance. Luck; Ken |
02-15-2010, 10:25 AM | #13 |
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jrl007,
The Aluratek Libre is almost identical to the Jetbook Lite (it has a rechargeable battery instead of AA's.) http://www.aluratek.com/product_info...02&display=All It DOES download library books via Overdrive that are encrypted with Adobe DRM (both epub and pdf). It is available from many retailers: http://www.aluratek.com/wheretobuy.php |
02-15-2010, 01:07 PM | #14 |
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jrl007
Ectaco is not finished with firmware upgrades either. I had some issues with V15's use of Larger fonts and paging with eReader DRM files and had emailed Ectaco support. Support responded that they are working on various issues such as more/better fonts, more features and the ability to support more types of drm files and better pdf support. I was assured that these updates will be available to all current customers free of charge on the Ectaco website. I have enjoyed my JetBook lite. I had a fairly good sized bookshelf at Fictionwise and have been able to read all of those books on my JetBook lite. I also the free as well as purchased Baen books loaded on JetBook lite.. they work great! The formatting and features still are a work in progress. |
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