I just received my iLiad, now what??

[jimnphx]

Hello everyone,

Sorry if I sound like a dunce. I have tried my best to read as much and many forums about this device so that I could understand better how to operate. (OK I am not that dumb. I was able to login to Irex and create an account, then set up a wireless connection to my router.)
What seems to be confusing to me is that many of these posts are dated way back into last year. Has many of the problems discussed been corrected?

Anyway, I am a full-time student who bought this mostly for reading scientific papers/journals (PDF). I am interested in reading other content and am not sure where/how to do this. I do not know how to write code or create programs like I see some on this forum do. I am pretty much a plug&play type of person.
What is all this fuss about DRM? It looks like some have found a way to get around it but I do not understand most of what they/you are saying. I use CutePDF so I understand about converting text to PDF files. Is there a certain type of PDF file I need to use for the iLiad?

Also, from what I gather the device is just a hard drive when you connect to a computer(?), and when I connect to the Internet (my router), it is just to get updates from Irex? So does this mean I need to download my files to a computer then transfer them to the iLiad through the USB port (or use a memory stick/card)?

Is there a iLiad for Dummies book somewhere???

I could go on for ever with ?'s but I have class. Thanks to any/all who respond with help.

Jim

[VillageReader]

The memory on the device looks like a drive on the computer and you just copy the flies to the appropriate directory (books, news, etc).

If you have a memory card of some sort, connect that to the computer using a card reader, copy files to the card, then plug it back in to the Iliad. The 'home' button gives you a directory to access memory cards.

Have fun.

[Hadrien]

Originally Posted by jimnphx

Is there a certain type of PDF file I need to use for the iLiad?

Well for the iLiad, you should create PDF sized 122x150mm.

If you're looking for books in the public domain sized correctly for the iLiad you can also check what I'm working on: http://beta.feedbooks.com

[NatCh]

If you like Sci-Fi, Baen Publishing's Webscriptions service is an excellent source for both new and relatively new stuff.

[Hadrien]

Originally Posted by NatCh

If you like Sci-Fi, Baen Publishing's Webscriptions service is an excellent source for both new and relatively new stuff.

Great concept, it should be available for all kind of books, not only scifi.

[NatCh]

Heh, not that I disagree, mind you, Hadrien, but (with the exception of a few books on which they have agreements with other publishers) Baen is kinda limited to the books they actually publish.

[sic]

if you know what you're looking for (versus browsing) you are welcome to use my ebook search site at search.digitalreading.net

[Hadrien]

Originally Posted by NatCh

Heh, not that I disagree, mind you, Hadrien, but (with the exception of a few books on which they have agreements with other publishers) Baen is kinda limited to the books they actually publish.

Yes, that's why Sony for example should support it. I guess it's really hard to get this kind of deal with publishers... Amateurs should also try something similar: webcomics are very popular (Penny Arcade, Questionable Content, Sinfest), I guess the same thing could be done using e-books + RSS (not podcast, what should we call this ? A novelcast ?).