Why no Clock?

OhioCruffler · 09-08-2010, 08:42 PM

I have often thought that they should really have put a clock on this thing. Anyone else ever wonder why they didn't include that?

It could even tell you when you last accessed a book.

Just a thought...

MR. Pockets · 09-08-2010, 10:16 PM

I'm not really sure why, but I do know that if they had, library books would not be "infinite" on the Libre as (I believe) they currently are. (I haven't actually borrowed any myself due to my library not offering any this year...

)

Also, I have noticed that the "power off" option doesn't seem to be very accurate. (Set to 30 mins, often turns off after about 20 mins) That may indicate that it doesn't have a very good internal clock.

Ken Maltby · 09-08-2010, 10:18 PM

It could even tell you when your library book has run out.

OhioCruffler · 09-09-2010, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

It could even tell you when your library book has run out.

I haven't checked out a library e book yet, and as far as I know you can't even do that here in podunk WC Ohio yet.

Anyway, a clock does not necessarily imply a calendar, does it?

I lose track of time when I read, and I don't wear a watch. It would be nice, and seemingly would be simple, to put a basic clock on board.

Lady Fitzgerald · 09-09-2010, 07:27 AM

Wouldn't a clock draw power when the reader is shut down?

petechan · 09-09-2010, 08:42 AM

I second the comment of Ken about the library books and clocks. I borrow library books regularly, two or three at a time. Even though I "return" them right away, the absence of a clock allows me to read the books at my leisure, sometimes taking up to several months. I think the jetbook/Libre may be the only device that you can do this on. I would hate to have any clock that has a date function, and would not upgrade to firmware that included this.

Ohiocruffler, I don't know where exactly you live, but I am in Dayton. I have library cards to the local Montgomery county library and also to Greene county (which is in a consortium that stretches east to include Columbus), between the two, there are THOUSANDS of ebooks to borrow. Also, Ohio law states that ANY resident of Ohio can present himself to a branch library and obtain a library card, free of charge, that will allow him online access to the ebook collection. Cleveland and Cincinnati have good ebook collections too. So you may be only one drive away to being able to avail yourself of this.

bookwarm · 09-09-2010, 02:36 PM

In anycase the upcoming Jetbook mini has a clock check out the demo video (in russian) in this topic.

dixieknits · 09-09-2010, 06:34 PM

I think a clock would be a bad thing for library books and unnecssary for anything else. I'm often on a long waiting list for ebooks from my library and when they come they might come 3 at a time and then none for a month, so I like to be able to read them without them expiring . One can always wear a watch..

lisajjb · 09-10-2010, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petechan

I second the comment of Ken about the library books and clocks. I borrow library books regularly, two or three at a time. Even though I "return" them right away, the absence of a clock allows me to read the books at my leisure, sometimes taking up to several months. I think the jetbook/Libre may be the only device that you can do this on. I would hate to have any clock that has a date function, and would not upgrade to firmware that included this.

Okay I have borrowed 5 books from my library and loaded onto my Libre. The first did not have a "return" option, showed up in my "purchased" books in ADE and allowed me to copy it to my SD card. The next two showed up as "borrowed" in ADE, do have a return option and not allow to copy to SD. So I have 3 books loaded onto my Libre. First book expires in ADE, and I choose the option to return the other two. Then I borrow two more. When I plugged in my Libre to ADE it recognized that those first three books were no longer available to me (expired/returned) and I get "failed to open file" messages from them on my Libre. Soooo... if I need a book longer than the 3 week check-out period I cannot tether my Libre to ADE until I'm done reading it? Dang...

(Somewhere in there I upgraded my Aluratek firmware.)

Ken Maltby · 09-11-2010, 03:11 PM

I would think your Libre would function like the Jetbooks, in most regards.
You should be able to create an SD card that ADE will think is your Libre.
(SD cards have no clock, either.) ADE would make ebook files on the SD
card that can be read on your Libre. You need never expose your Libre
to ADE, and still read the books on the SD card when it is used in your
Libre.

Luck;
Ken

OhioCruffler · 09-11-2010, 06:26 PM

Don't judge me for this, but what is ADE?

Ken Maltby · 09-11-2010, 08:15 PM

"Adobe Digital Edition", it is a particularly obnoxious form of "Digital Rights Management"
(DRM) infection. Unfortunately, it is the one that the majority of US Libraries opt into
for loaning eBooks. It is one of the three DRM scams that the JBL supports.

One of the things that make it more troubling than the other scams is the way it tries to
take over the management of all the documents that match its functional capabilities.
Another is that it is functionally tied to an Adobe web site. Then there is that it is part
of Adobe's Evil Empire.

Luck;
Ken

petechan · 09-11-2010, 08:38 PM

I think I get what Mr. Maltby is saying that you should be able to create an ADE folder on your SD card and move the ebook files to your SD card. I guess then if you remove the card, and just connect your Libre to your computer to borrow more books, the ones on the SD card will not get invalidated.

To keep things simple for myself, I just connect my Libre and borrow more books only when I'm done with the ones I have previously borrowed. The trick is for popular fiction books that have may patrons in line for them, you can place a hold on them but once they become available, you only have a few weeks to download them and move them to your device, ready or not.

It's inconvenient, but I was told that on the Sony Readers, if the book you are reading is past its lending period, you cannot even close the book to read something else since you won't be able to open it again.

Ken Maltby · 09-11-2010, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petechan

I think I get what Mr. Maltby is saying that you should be able to create an ADE folder on your SD card and move the ebook files to your SD card. I guess then if you remove the card, and just connect your Libre to your computer to borrow more books, the ones on the SD card will not get invalidated.

What's one way to do it, but I was talking about not having ADE interact
with your actual device (in the poster's case a "Libre") at all but with an SD
card that contained the Libre's ".adobe-digital-edition" folder with just the
"device.xml" file in it. Upon seeing an SD card with just that folder containing
just that file, the ADE software on your PC will see it as a new device to be
added to it's control and for which it can make an entry in its "Library" data
base structure.

You thereafter just connect the SD card to a reader attached to your PC and
have it recognized by ADE. You don't use a USB cable to your device, at all.
You just put the SD card into your device to read what ADE placed on the
card. You don't need any Adobe folders or files on the device at all.

Luck;
Ken

petechan · 09-12-2010, 07:18 AM

Mr. Maltby, I think I can get what you are saying. Have never tried it this way. But what happens when you "return" the books on your PC and borrow new ones from the library? When you connect the SD card in a card reader to your PC, will the ADE program not invalidate the older books as it is downloading the newer books to the card? This is what it does to the Libre internal memory. Does it behave differently with the card?

This would be great if it works thus, for some of the more popular fiction titles, there is such a long wait list it's hard to predict when your turn comes up.

09-08-2010, 08:42 PM	#1
OhioCruffler Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Aluratek Libre	Why no Clock? I have often thought that they should really have put a clock on this thing. Anyone else ever wonder why they didn't include that? It could even tell you when you last accessed a book. Just a thought...

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09-08-2010, 10:16 PM	#2
MR. Pockets Addict Posts: 216 Karma: 4320 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Idaho, USA Device: Kobo Touch, Aluratek Libre Pro	I'm not really sure why, but I do know that if they had, library books would not be "infinite" on the Libre as (I believe) they currently are. (I haven't actually borrowed any myself due to my library not offering any this year... ) Also, I have noticed that the "power off" option doesn't seem to be very accurate. (Set to 30 mins, often turns off after about 20 mins) That may indicate that it doesn't have a very good internal clock.

09-08-2010, 10:18 PM	#3
Ken Maltby Wizard Posts: 4,465 Karma: 6900052 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: The Heart of Texas Device: Boox Note2, AuraHD, PDA,	It could even tell you when your library book has run out.

09-09-2010, 07:27 AM	#5
Lady Fitzgerald Wizard Posts: 2,013 Karma: 251649 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Tempe, AZ, USA, Earth Device: JetBook Lite (away from home) + 1 spare, 32" TV (at home)	Wouldn't a clock draw power when the reader is shut down?

09-09-2010, 08:42 AM	#6
petechan Connoisseur Posts: 92 Karma: 148 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Aluratek libre	I second the comment of Ken about the library books and clocks. I borrow library books regularly, two or three at a time. Even though I "return" them right away, the absence of a clock allows me to read the books at my leisure, sometimes taking up to several months. I think the jetbook/Libre may be the only device that you can do this on. I would hate to have any clock that has a date function, and would not upgrade to firmware that included this. Ohiocruffler, I don't know where exactly you live, but I am in Dayton. I have library cards to the local Montgomery county library and also to Greene county (which is in a consortium that stretches east to include Columbus), between the two, there are THOUSANDS of ebooks to borrow. Also, Ohio law states that ANY resident of Ohio can present himself to a branch library and obtain a library card, free of charge, that will allow him online access to the ebook collection. Cleveland and Cincinnati have good ebook collections too. So you may be only one drive away to being able to avail yourself of this.

09-09-2010, 02:36 PM	#7
bookwarm Member Posts: 22 Karma: 360 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: none	In anycase the upcoming Jetbook mini has a clock check out the demo video (in russian) in this topic.

09-09-2010, 06:34 PM	#8
dixieknits Addict Posts: 283 Karma: 1011418 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kindle 3, Nook Color	I think a clock would be a bad thing for library books and unnecssary for anything else. I'm often on a long waiting list for ebooks from my library and when they come they might come 3 at a time and then none for a month, so I like to be able to read them without them expiring . One can always wear a watch..

09-11-2010, 03:11 PM	#10
Ken Maltby Wizard Posts: 4,465 Karma: 6900052 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: The Heart of Texas Device: Boox Note2, AuraHD, PDA,	I would think your Libre would function like the Jetbooks, in most regards. You should be able to create an SD card that ADE will think is your Libre. (SD cards have no clock, either.) ADE would make ebook files on the SD card that can be read on your Libre. You need never expose your Libre to ADE, and still read the books on the SD card when it is used in your Libre. Luck; Ken

09-11-2010, 06:26 PM	#11
OhioCruffler Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Aluratek Libre	Don't judge me for this, but what is ADE?

09-11-2010, 08:15 PM	#12
Ken Maltby Wizard Posts: 4,465 Karma: 6900052 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: The Heart of Texas Device: Boox Note2, AuraHD, PDA,	"Adobe Digital Edition", it is a particularly obnoxious form of "Digital Rights Management" (DRM) infection. Unfortunately, it is the one that the majority of US Libraries opt into for loaning eBooks. It is one of the three DRM scams that the JBL supports. One of the things that make it more troubling than the other scams is the way it tries to take over the management of all the documents that match its functional capabilities. Another is that it is functionally tied to an Adobe web site. Then there is that it is part of Adobe's Evil Empire. Luck; Ken

09-11-2010, 08:38 PM	#13
petechan Connoisseur Posts: 92 Karma: 148 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Aluratek libre	I think I get what Mr. Maltby is saying that you should be able to create an ADE folder on your SD card and move the ebook files to your SD card. I guess then if you remove the card, and just connect your Libre to your computer to borrow more books, the ones on the SD card will not get invalidated. To keep things simple for myself, I just connect my Libre and borrow more books only when I'm done with the ones I have previously borrowed. The trick is for popular fiction books that have may patrons in line for them, you can place a hold on them but once they become available, you only have a few weeks to download them and move them to your device, ready or not. It's inconvenient, but I was told that on the Sony Readers, if the book you are reading is past its lending period, you cannot even close the book to read something else since you won't be able to open it again.

Advert

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09-12-2010, 07:18 AM	#15
petechan Connoisseur Posts: 92 Karma: 148 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Aluratek libre	Mr. Maltby, I think I can get what you are saying. Have never tried it this way. But what happens when you "return" the books on your PC and borrow new ones from the library? When you connect the SD card in a card reader to your PC, will the ADE program not invalidate the older books as it is downloading the newer books to the card? This is what it does to the Libre internal memory. Does it behave differently with the card? This would be great if it works thus, for some of the more popular fiction titles, there is such a long wait list it's hard to predict when your turn comes up.