So Marvin’s Gone!

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

on a limited income I cannot subscribe to it. If it was a one-time purchase, I could budget it.

Well, I subscribed to the lowest BookFusion tier to start with – $19 per year isn't really all that much. If skillachie keeps improving the app at the current rate, I'll be happy to subscribe to a higher tier in future, perhaps, if only to support the app's development.

(The other two tiers are $48 and $96 annually. The only real difference is storage space: 5 GB versus 20 GB versus 100 GB. I currently only use 317 MB out of the 5 GB.)

I sync my books via Dropbox, so don't really need storage space directly or even virtually within an e-reader app.

I only need to keep those books in sync that I currently read. I used to read 7 books simultaneously, but have now increased that to reading 32 books at the same time – in 21 different languages. Some are EPUBs, others (where no quality EPUB is available) only PDFs, and some (worst of all, I guess) are only available online, such as through the Internet Archive (archive.org) online lending library (those are typically scanned books).

So, as can be seen, even BookFusion can't be a "one-stop solution" for me – unless, skillachie, you also incorporate a browser window within BookFusion!

The important thing for me is that, once I run out of storage space in BookFusion, there should be an option to export my annotations reliably. And I think we've been working on that with skillachie in the MobileRead threads dedicated to BookFusion: here and here and here. That is where Dion's and everyone else's feedback to BookFusion would no doubt be highly welcome, so that we're not hopelessly off-topic here in the Marvin section.

(I apologize to skillachie I haven't had time, since last summer, to look at the BookFusion threads, but will do so as soon as time permits.)

[JSWolf]

Can Bookfusion allow custom fonts?

The biggest problem (IMHO) is that it's a subscription model. Not everyone can afford such an expensive subscription. A one-time price would do much better. In there days of increased cost of living, a subscription to read ePub is a really bad idea.

[Turtle91]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Can Bookfusion allow custom fonts?

The biggest problem (IMHO) is that it's a subscription model. Not everyone can afford such an expensive subscription. A one-time price would do much better. In there days of increased cost of living, a subscription to read ePub is a really bad idea.

From the couple of books I looked at it didn’t appear to support embedded fonts. It looks like you can select from: a list of fonts that are built-in to the app, ‘system fonts’, or “default”. I couldn’t verify if the “default” was the embedded font. I also didn't see a way to side load a font, but that may be doable by loading the font onto “the system” (if possible).

As far as a subscription model goes… I don’t like them either… I much prefer buying my software and being done. However, subscription is the only way to keep the cash flow that pays for programmers to keep working on the app. I think Marvin’s one-fee model is one reason why it isn’t being maintained. It was Kris’ ‘project’, not his ‘business’.

I’m sure there is plenty more discussion of Bookfusion’s merits over at the links Faterson posted. Thanks!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

From the couple of books I looked at it didn’t appear to support embedded fonts. It looks like you can select from: a list of fonts that are built-in to the app, ‘system fonts’, or “default”. I couldn’t verify if the “default” was the embedded font. I also didn't see a way to side load a font, but that may be doable by loading the font onto “the system” (if possible).

As far as a subscription model goes… I don’t like them either… I much prefer buying my software and being done. However, subscription is the only way to keep the cash flow that pays for programmers to keep working on the app. I think Marvin’s one-fee model is one reason why it isn’t being maintained. It was Kris’ ‘project’, not his ‘business’.

I’m sure there is plenty more discussion of Bookfusion’s merits over at the links Faterson posted. Thanks!

Bookfusion should allow custom fonts. I don't want to read with the default fonts.

Another feature I'd like to have is ADE page numbers. I don't recall if that's available. And where is hyphenation?

Also, a subscription model is not something I will pay for. If I decide I like bookfusion enough to pay for it, I'll do so as a one off.

[Wiggo]

Look at the bookfusion toolbar - another reason to uninstall it immediately.

No search - web search - translate - share - lookup

Edit: This may sound harder than it should, but even MapleRead is better than BookFusion in terms of reading functions and I struggle often with MapleRead and custom fonts.

If they would only get closer to Marvin, I would happily pay for subscription

[Clark G. Flipper]

I was pleased to find out that BookFusion, as one of the few remaining epub readers, supports vertical scroll mode. On the other hand I do not require the fancy syncing stuff and therefore their subscription model is not plausible to me.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Wiggo

Look at the bookfusion toolbar - another reason to uninstall it immediately.

No search - web search - translate - share - lookup

Edit: This may sound harder than it should, but even MapleRead is better than BookFusion in terms of reading functions and I struggle often with MapleRead and custom fonts.

If they would only get closer to Marvin, I would happily pay for subscription

Thanks for mentioning MapleRead. I'll give that one a try and see how it goes.

[peaceridge]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Thanks for mentioning MapleRead. I'll give that one a try and see how it goes.

I use MapleRead as my catalog. I transfer books from Calibre to MapleRead. Then when I'm ready to read a book, if it is epub it goes to Marvin and if pdf it goes to Goodreader.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

I use MapleRead as my catalog. I transfer books from Calibre to MapleRead. Then when I'm ready to read a book, if it is epub it goes to Marvin and if pdf it goes to Goodreader.

Why don't you use MapleRead to actually read ePub? Is there something wrong with it? Would it do when you no longer can use Marvin because you have a new iOS device? And if it would do, why not make it do now given that Marvin's highlighting is rather broken?

[peaceridge]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why don't you use MapleRead to actually read ePub? Is there something wrong with it? Would it do when you no longer can use Marvin because you have a new iOS device? And if it would do, why not make it do now given that Marvin's highlighting is rather broken?

If Marvin goes away I will use MapleRead. I don't use it now because there is no way (that I've found) to change the left side touch to go forward rather than backward. I hold my ereader in my left hand and it is move convenient to touch the left side to go forward. I use GoodReader for pdf because it has a really nice crop feature.

[Wiggo]

@JSWolf
MR is not so bad beside fiddling around with custom fonts on some epubs (I hate it)
Unfortunately support never replied to my emails.
But I do it like peaceridge. For fiction I always take Marvin and also for nonfiction if Marvin detects the chapters at highlighting

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

If Marvin goes away I will use MapleRead. I don't use it now because there is no way (that I've found) to change the left side touch to go forward rather than backward. I hold my ereader in my left hand and it is move convenient to touch the left side to go forward. I use GoodReader for pdf because it has a really nice crop feature.

You can now give up Marvin for MapleRead. Under the settings is a Gestures option and that allows you to set the left screen to tap to page forward.

[alper]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Thanks for mentioning MapleRead. I'll give that one a try and see how it goes.

I've tried out every app under the sun and settled on MapleRead. There are some issues and the settings are an utter mess, but once you have it setup, reading and highlighting books works well enough.

I've pinged the author of Marvin again whether he can release the source code, but no reply.

[Wiggo]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Does anyone know what the last version of iTunes is that allows a backup that contains the apps and not just a reference to them?

Imazing should do the job. I tried to install some really old archived apps but I got the "code signature is no longer supported". I don't dare to uninstall Marvin to try it out - it doesn't really make sense in the end too.

Regarding MapleRead. As already mentioned the really big issue for me are the custom fonts. Unlike Marvin MR refuses to use custom fonts quite often. I hate to get up and fire up the computer again.
Second is you get no images tab to scroll through all the pictures in a book. Quite comfortable for maps and fantasy.

[Faterson]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Bookfusion should allow custom fonts.

It apparently already does. It's a newly added feature from late last year or so. Haven't tested it myself yet. (Not sure yet if it's available on all 3 platforms – web, Android, iOS.)

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Another feature I'd like to have is ADE page numbers.

Your personal obsession. I've never heard anyone except you requesting this feature. (Unlike, say, annotations syncing support which I kept requesting from Marvin, because that's a feature requested by many users, and frequently.) Doesn't automatically mean that ADE page numbers shouldn't be there, but you've already stated unequivocally that you can't afford to pay $19 per year for a top-notch e-reader app, so why would they oblige you?

Adobe is trash and I see no reason for third-party apps to implement "Adobe features".

"Page numbers" in e-books are an illusion. There is no such thing. I much prefer determining location in e-books via percentages (using two decimal numbers), just like Marvin allows it.

Originally Posted by Wiggo

Imazing should do the job.

I'm 99% certain it will not do the job. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, Apple purposely blocked all such third-party apps from working properly at around the time iOS 7 or 8 was released, which is quite a few years ago. Those third-party apps still work, in a sense, but they mostly only accomplish trivial tasks instead of those you desperately want them to do, such as restoring fully working older apps whose only "sin" is that Apple kicked them out of the App Store. They could still work perfectly fine, but Apple won't allow us to use them.