Ereader compatibility with public libraries

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by frafra

That's interesting. Why do you think it has more contrast?
I just discovered that Tolino Vision HD4 uses the "Regal" technology to avoid ghosting too.

I could compensate the fact that it has no Pocket integration by generating epub from RSS with Calibre...

I think ALL new eReaders use E-Carta except for the bottom of the line Kindle. It's just that I have all older, pre-E-Carta readers. So, for me (personally) it was "revelation" of sorts to see the difference. I didn't know how much better contrast E-Carta had compared to Pearl. I just assumed it had something to do with the front light. Not that I don't like my Tolino Page, but I wouldn't make a Kobo vs Tolino decision based on what I said about E-Carta.

[frafra]

Sorry, it was late and I understood that the Carta used by Tolino was whiter compared to other Carta

My last question for this comparison is related to dictionaries: I would need dictionaries from English to Italian, French, Norwegian, Chinese (Mandarin) and viceversa, so I can press on a word and read the translation.

Kobo should support Italian, French and English, and I have seen you can buy additional dictionaries on Kobo store; I don't know if they are just like a regular ebook (so I have to close my current book, open the dictionary, look for the word, close the dictionary, reopen my book) or if they are recognized as regular dictionary.

Tolino seems to be in a similar situation, but I have seen some tools on this very same forum to create and convert dictionaries for Kobo, so I suppose Kobo should be more suitable for this task. What do you think about it?

[frafra]

I tried to install ADE on Linux, with bad results. Tolino seems a more practical choice for me. I also discovered Wallabag as an alternative to Pocket, that is able to export to epub and has nice API. It would be nice to automatically synchronize a local folder with Tolino Cloud (I do not know if it is compatible with Linux or not).

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by frafra

Tolino seems to be in a similar situation, but I have seen some tools on this very same forum to create and convert dictionaries for Kobo, so I suppose Kobo should be more suitable for this task. What do you think about it?

I don't know that much about Tolino's dictionaries. I know my English dictionary is in quickdic format and was taken "compiled" from the Wicktionary project. It looks like the Quickdic project was (is?) an open source project and quite a few dictionaries are available for download here ...

https://github.com/rdoeffinger/Dicti...2-dictionaries

I haven't tested it yet, but I've downloaded the English to Latin dictionary and am curious to see 1) IF it works and 2) How well it works.

That said, it appears that the dictionaries on the Tolino rely solely on open source projects. I'm guessing that means inconsistent quality. My English dictionary is 141 MBs, whereas the Italian dictionary (the one Tolino shows for download at any rate) is 11 MBs. The English dictionary seems decent. The Quickdic Project is designed to allow you to compile your own dictionaries, but I don't know enough about it to tell you how it works. I think this is the link to the "restored" Quickdic Project ...

https://github.com/rdoeffinger/Dictionary

Their German site is where I originally found information about the Tolinos and their dictionaries. Unfortunately the download link here goes nowhere. I think the link (above) is part of an attempt to restore the Quickdic project.

At any rate, here's the link that (kind of) led me to the others.

http://www.selfpublisherbibel.de/tip...er-downloaden/

EDIT: Tested the Latin-English dictionary. Seems to work well.

[frafra]

Thank you rcentros for these useful resources!

Now I have to choose between a 149 € Kobo Aura H2O (2nd edition) and a 159 € Tolino Vision 4HD...

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by frafra

I tried to install ADE on Linux, with bad results.

I haven't tried ADE under Wine in years. I think you're stuck with ADE 2.01 under Wine. Newer editions, apparently, don't work. (I know none of this from personal experience – just passing on what I've gleaned by scanning some threads in MobileRead.)

[sealbeater]

I avoid these type of problems by not supporting DRM'ed products.

Stallman was right.

[frafra]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I haven't tried ADE under Wine in years. I think you're stuck with ADE 2.01 under Wine. Newer editions, apparently, don't work. (I know none of this from personal experience – just passing on what I've gleaned by scanning some threads in MobileRead.)

I tried ADE 2.0.1 and followed many procedures, but it doesn't seem to work at the moment (some kind of regression maybe - I will try again).

Originally Posted by sealbeater

I avoid these type of problems by not supporting DRM'ed products.

Stallman was right.

I get your point (I am myself a supporter of FSFE and EFF), but what about books I already paid for as a citizen, because they belong to my public library?

I tried to install ADE on my smarphone, but is seems kind of useless for ereaders.

Tolino has a lot of negative reviews on amazon.it / amazon.de, because of broken screens and faulty units. I don't know if they are reliable, but I am a bit worried.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by frafra

Tolino has a lot of negative reviews on amazon.it / amazon.de, because of broken screens and faulty units. I don't know if they are reliable, but I am a bit worried.

I don't know if you can buy used eReaders in Italy or not, but if it is possible (and you're still interested in Tolinos) I would try buying a used Tolino Page (the cheap one) and seeing how well that one works for library books, etc. (because I think the software is pretty much the same for all models). I would have never tried a Tolino except I saw a used Tolino Page cheap on eBay and I was curious. I wrote a bit about my first impressions in the Tolino forum. I don't think the build quality is the most impressive, but it seems solid enough and it's light and easy to hold. I've already read a few books on it and I've got no complaints ... except it's supposed to use custom fonts and that seems to be more fiction than fact as it rejects most fonts I try on it. I like it enough that I'm thinking of (eventually) trying out a Shine 2 HD (which also sell fairly cheap, used on eBay here). I like the Shine better than the Vision because the Shine has an infrared touch screen instead of capacitive. I figure that leaves one less layer of coating between me and the screen.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by sealbeater

I avoid these type of problems by not supporting DRM'ed products.

But doesn't that severely limit what books you can read?

[sealbeater]

Originally Posted by rcentros

But doesn't that severely limit what books you can read?

Not at all in my experience.

[frafra]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I don't know if you can buy used eReaders in Italy or not, but if it is possible (and you're still interested in Tolinos) I would try buying a used Tolino Page (the cheap one) and seeing how well that one works for library books, etc. (because I think the software is pretty much the same for all models). [...]

I really thank you for your suggestions and for writing down your experience. Tolino Page is very cheap indeed (60 € new).

[sealbeater]

Originally Posted by frafra

I get your point (I am myself a supporter of FSFE and EFF), but what about books I already paid for as a citizen, because they belong to my public library?

That's a sticky point and I don't have a good answer. At least you are aware of the control system however. Just use your brain and look for other avenues. Otherwise, all we are doing is supporting the system that is going to enslave us.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by frafra

I really thank you for your suggestions and for writing down your experience. Tolino Page is very cheap indeed (60 € new).

Just be aware that the Tolino Page is cheap for a couple reasons. No light and the screen resolution is 167ppi. There's also no microSD card slot. For me the lack of light is a "feature" (because of my eyes) but you're already used to a lighted reader in the Aura, so I just wanted to make sure you realized this one doesn't have a light.

[frafra]

Originally Posted by rcentros

For me the lack of light is a "feature" (because of my eyes) but you're already used to a lighted reader in the Aura, so I just wanted to make sure you realized this one doesn't have a light.

You are right, and I am going to move to a Nordic country where there is very little light during winter...

Meanwhile I was able to run ADE 2 on a lightweight Windows XP machine (I can keep it on a 4 GB USB stick) downloaded legally from Microsoft.
I am using VirtualBox (bridged PCnet FAST III network card) with Firefox 52 ESR (latest version supporting Windows XP, downloaded over plain HTTP because IE 6 doesn't support TLS).

My public library replied to my email related to Tolino: they told me that it is possible to get the books using its browser, but it is not suggested because it can be tricky to navigate on website and download the book directly.

I got no response from Tolino with respect to ADE and supported encryption schemes, while I had a very quick reply from Kobo.

I think I will go with the Aura H2O, mostly because of support/community.