iLiad Anyone thinking about a dotReader port?

[pdam]

This looks like a really interesting reader, reading open ebook format and open reader, with the bells and whistles of a modern reader (Notes, annotations online sharing to come, DRM to come etc).

Sadly I dont have any development skills, so don't know what would be involved in a port - but the project seems really interesting (especially if the Linux version is self contained and can run from flash as the website suggests) - is anyone thinking of looking at a port for this program at the moment?

[TadW]

Looks like for porting .Reader you'll mainly have to install some kind of Perl package.

[tribble]

I guess scotty will do it when hes done with projects "sandman".

So Sunday afternoon

[jæd]

Originally Posted by pdam

is anyone thinking of looking at a port for this program at the moment?

Its interesting, but AFAIK there isn't much content for it at the moment... And isn't the format just a wrapper around pre-existing formats...? Probably best to start with actual formats being used at the moment and then build toward this one...

[CommanderROR]

I'm not too sure about dotreader myself. Just like the IDPF thing, I think the fate of dotreader will depend on how many books it can actually read. Since dotreader is pluggable, it could turn out to be a good allround reader...but time will tell.

I really hope Scotty1024 will manage to make some headway with his Kernel modifications...I'm not sure where iRex is heading, but I'm pretty sure that it isn't the way I was hoping for...making the Iliad more paperlike and user-friendly.

I'm actually starting to wonder whether it might be feasible to create a complete new OS that then makes us independent of iRex...like Rockbox for some PMP devices...

[pdam]

In terms of formats, my understanding was that it does open e-book (IDPF) and openreader format, so the main 2 open formats, which, in theory will be reflowable.

The plugabilty will be interesting - As a fully featured open reader (when it arrives in production) with pluggable DRM, it's likely to appeal to publishers to save on licencing costs and control DRM (but dont let us start a DRM discussion here!)

Jaed - you're right about the content issue - but it would demostrate the capabilities of eInk/iLiad better than anything available today (Notes, annotation, reflow, bookmarks etc)...

[wallcraft]

DotReader requires Perl and a web browser, which currently is IE for Windows and Mozilla (FireFox?) for Unix. Using web browser technology for e-books makes sense, but it complicates portability. The developers imply here that eventually dotReader will use the webcore XHTML widget .

The beta release only reads "Thout 1.0 internal format" files, i.e. for most people only the books bundled with the beta. It is supposed to eventually read many formats.

[CommanderROR]

I suppose it'll be a while then before we see dotreader or anything similar on the Iliad...and I think Scotty1024 is very busy at the moment...I haven't seen any post from him for an unusually long time...:-)

[jæd]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

I suppose it'll be a while then before we see dotreader...

Its interesting, but I'm suspect of a reader that requires Perl to function... Sounds more like a proof-of-concept prototype than anything in active development. (Well, that would be why its 0.07) Will take a look at it later... Though unless there are many documents in the format, its not a high priority...

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

or anything similar on the Iliad...and I think Scotty1024 is very busy at the moment...I haven't seen any post from him for an unusually long time...:-)

Are there no-other developers on these forums...? (I expect him to have rebuilt the Iliad o/s from scratch by now...)

[pdam]

It doesn't require Perl to be installed if you read the verbiage - it is self contained, it looks like it includes some clever runtime perl environment (don't quote me - I'm not a developer!). Also looking on the .reader site those guys seem willing to help (given a brief thread response to Scotty1024).

[CommanderROR]

@jaed

I'm sorry if my comment sounded like there are no other capable developers here at the forums besides Scotty1024!
It's just that he was sort of voluteering for the job of porting dotreader a while ago (before the sources were available).
Of course, whoever grabs the sources first will get the first chance at porting it for the Iliad...^^

[nekokami]

DotReader is interesting not so much for the formats it supports but for the functionality it offers, i.e. note-taking, shared annotations, forums, etc. This will require popularizing dotReader servers as well as the reader, which may take some time, but I think this is really going to make a difference in the eBook world, long-term, because it is part of the functionality that eBooks can offer over pBooks.

The iLiad is ideal for dotReader, especially compared to other reader devices on the market at the moment, because it has built in networking and an input mechanism (the pen). The Sony Reader, for example, has neither. To me, dotReader makes a tremendous amount of sense for the iLiad because it increases the utility of hardware one pays for with the iLiad which is not yet used to its full potential. I can see the interactive, community elements of dotReader being popular both with casual and academic readers (I am both). Hopefully there will be resources available to port it sometime soon. OSoft seems quite interested in the idea, but has gotten no response from iRex, apparently. Looks like it will be left to community developers if it will happen at all.

[jæd]

Originally Posted by nekokami

DotReader is interesting not so much for the formats it supports but for the functionality it offers, i.e. note-taking, shared annotations, forums, etc.

Well... I'm fine with the first two, but the last makes it sound bloated... What is this, a book reader or a web browser...!

[pdam]

Originally Posted by nekokami

DotReader is interesting not so much for the formats it supports but for the functionality it offers, i.e. note-taking, shared annotations, forums, etc...

There isn't that much new in this functionality - companies like VitalSource have been offering this type of functionality for a while (while offering publishers DRM). Offering these features without the associated publishing costs is what differenciates .Reader for me - if they can attract enough content (which is the real issue), or offer enough formats throug the same browser (less than ideal) they will help drive adoption of ebook readers ... (well my 0.02c ;-)

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by jæd

Well... I'm fine with the first two, but the last makes it sound bloated... What is this, a book reader or a web browser...!

Neither. It's a book community facilitator.

The technology is not new. There are plenty of clients and sites out there that have each of these features. But bundling them together around the core functionality of reading is what makes this client AND server package so attractive to me.