iLiad iLiad OS : eBook formats and viewers?

jharker · 11-18-2008, 05:02 PM

One of the goals for iLiad OS is to add support for viewing any non-DRMed ebook or document file on the iLiad.

The iLiad currently has pretty good PDF and mobipocket support, and FBReader will add support for a whole slew of other formats.

My question for you is in two parts:

What file formats do you think the iLiad should be able to open?
What open-source programs exist that handle those file formats?

The idea is to try to make a small list of programs that can open a long list of file formats, then port those programs to the iLiad for inclusion in a future OS version.

Any ideas?

jharker · 11-18-2008, 05:04 PM

Oh -- yes, I know there's a permalink at the top of the forum titled "iLiad viewers and programs".

The point of this thread is to identify programs that SHOULD be running on the iLiad but aren't yet.

Mr. Goodbar · 11-18-2008, 05:29 PM

Microsoft lit would be nice and would cover another one of the popular ebook formats. On the mobipocket front it would be great if we could add some capability like font options, line spacing, justification etc.

ericshliao · 11-18-2008, 10:40 PM

format___|_____viewer_____|____status
-----------|---------------------|----------------------------------------
djvu ____| _____djvulibre___|____require qt or qte
________|_____evince
epwing__|______ebview____|____compiled but not runnable

ne14st · 11-19-2008, 05:45 AM

On mobipocket it would be great if it could read the metadata show covers etc Like the Cybook will this be possible?

Thanks

Mr. Goodbar · 11-19-2008, 11:55 AM

One more thought would be secure epub. I'm wondering what Adobe's thoughts would be on that one.

M@rcel · 11-19-2008, 01:09 PM

MS word .doc files. Just a reader (+ scribble?), not an entire wordprocessor.

Mr. Goodbar · 12-04-2008, 08:04 AM

With yesterday's announcement that the ereader format will be opened for other development and the plans for a linux version of the software it seems like this would be a logical addition and/or replacement format for mobipocket on the iliad.

romanas · 12-04-2008, 11:09 AM

I would like better chm viewer, because FBreader has bug. It cant read big chm files.

Format C: · 12-04-2008, 12:47 PM

I think that adding mobi output and conversion to calibre, solves most of the file format problems.

By now, the only format which supports dictionary search is Mobipocket, so who (like me) reads books in a foreign language, will stick to it.

Or we can have iLiad read lrf files?
Calibre is open source, AFAIK...

I'd rather choose one single file format, with full support: use a library, browse covers, customize layout (font, justification, hypenation, etc...), bookmark, add notes/comments, full text search, cross-link between books, scribble (and mark / underline with straight lines), lookup word / phrases in dictionaries / Encyclopedias, save screenshots, etc...

And, of course, have calibre support it.

If I have a good converter on the desktop, I don't need a plethora of incomplete readers on the iLiad...

If somebody wants to start a project for one full featured reader for the iLiad, I can help, I think...

Adam B. · 12-04-2008, 02:04 PM

Calibre requires python and pyqt. That will likely be very difficult to port to the iLiad (seeing as the're only one qt app now that works, and that was *very* hacky to compile).

If ereader comes out with an open source GTK linux app, it's very likely portable to the iLiad. We'll have to wait and see, but I agree it would be a nice addition.

I think the problem with large chm files on FBReader was an iLiad memory issue. Maybe we should add swap on the iLiad...

ericshliao · 12-04-2008, 05:58 PM

xCHM seems better than FBreader in reading large chm file.
I can read 20mb chm file on iLiad with xCHM.

kovidgoyal · 12-04-2008, 06:05 PM

calibre has a viewer that can handle: EPUB, LIT, MOBI, HTML. The rendering is done using the webkit engine, so it handles HTML+CSS+javascript perfectly.

At the moment it isn't optimized for small memory devices, but it should be a good place to start.

Whiskey · 01-09-2009, 10:32 AM

I wish that the iLiad could read the secure adobe (even connect to Adobe Digital Edition) files. As a student, I need to be able to reference page numbers (as if it was from the printed version). I know the issues of PDF files noted here, but I rather be able to cite sources and am anal about keeping the format the same as the original.

Shaggy · 01-09-2009, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

On the mobipocket front it would be great if we could add some capability like font options, line spacing, justification etc.

I agree that those features would be really nice, but I don't think iRex released the code for the Mobipocket application on the iLiad, so modifications to it probably won't be possible. I could be wrong though.

11-18-2008, 05:02 PM	#1
jharker Developer Posts: 345 Karma: 3473 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Device: iRex iLiad v1, Blackberry Tour, Kindle DX, iPad.	iLiad OS : eBook formats and viewers? One of the goals for iLiad OS is to add support for viewing any non-DRMed ebook or document file on the iLiad. The iLiad currently has pretty good PDF and mobipocket support, and FBReader will add support for a whole slew of other formats. My question for you is in two parts: What file formats do you think the iLiad should be able to open? What open-source programs exist that handle those file formats? The idea is to try to make a small list of programs that can open a long list of file formats, then port those programs to the iLiad for inclusion in a future OS version. Any ideas?

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11-18-2008, 05:04 PM	#2
jharker Developer Posts: 345 Karma: 3473 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Device: iRex iLiad v1, Blackberry Tour, Kindle DX, iPad.	Oh -- yes, I know there's a permalink at the top of the forum titled "iLiad viewers and programs". The point of this thread is to identify programs that SHOULD be running on the iLiad but aren't yet.

11-18-2008, 05:29 PM	#3
Mr. Goodbar Wizard Posts: 1,005 Karma: 98078 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Mini 4	Microsoft lit would be nice and would cover another one of the popular ebook formats. On the mobipocket front it would be great if we could add some capability like font options, line spacing, justification etc.

11-18-2008, 10:40 PM	#4
ericshliao Guru Posts: 976 Karma: 687 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: Dell X51v; iLiad v2	format___\|_____viewer_____\|____status -----------\|---------------------\|---------------------------------------- djvu ____\| _____djvulibre___\|____require qt or qte ________\|_____evince epwing__\|______ebview____\|____compiled but not runnable

11-19-2008, 05:45 AM	#5
ne14st Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle DXG	On mobipocket it would be great if it could read the metadata show covers etc Like the Cybook will this be possible? Thanks

11-19-2008, 11:55 AM	#6
Mr. Goodbar Wizard Posts: 1,005 Karma: 98078 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Mini 4	One more thought would be secure epub. I'm wondering what Adobe's thoughts would be on that one.

11-19-2008, 01:09 PM	#7
M@rcel Connoisseur Posts: 50 Karma: 32 Join Date: Aug 2008 Device: Irex iLiad	MS word .doc files. Just a reader (+ scribble?), not an entire wordprocessor.

12-04-2008, 08:04 AM	#8
Mr. Goodbar Wizard Posts: 1,005 Karma: 98078 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Mini 4	With yesterday's announcement that the ereader format will be opened for other development and the plans for a linux version of the software it seems like this would be a logical addition and/or replacement format for mobipocket on the iliad.

12-04-2008, 11:09 AM	#9
romanas Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 38 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Irex iLiad ebook edition, DR1000s	I would like better chm viewer, because FBreader has bug. It cant read big chm files.

12-04-2008, 12:47 PM	#10
Format C: Guru Posts: 753 Karma: 1496807 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: The Third World Device: iLiad + PRS-505 + Kindle 3	I think that adding mobi output and conversion to calibre, solves most of the file format problems. By now, the only format which supports dictionary search is Mobipocket, so who (like me) reads books in a foreign language, will stick to it. Or we can have iLiad read lrf files? Calibre is open source, AFAIK... I'd rather choose one single file format, with full support: use a library, browse covers, customize layout (font, justification, hypenation, etc...), bookmark, add notes/comments, full text search, cross-link between books, scribble (and mark / underline with straight lines), lookup word / phrases in dictionaries / Encyclopedias, save screenshots, etc... And, of course, have calibre support it. If I have a good converter on the desktop, I don't need a plethora of incomplete readers on the iLiad... If somebody wants to start a project for one full featured reader for the iLiad, I can help, I think...

12-04-2008, 02:04 PM	#11
Adam B. Addicted to Porting Posts: 1,697 Karma: 7194 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Indianapolis, IN Device: iRex iLiad, Nokia 770, Samsung i760	Calibre requires python and pyqt. That will likely be very difficult to port to the iLiad (seeing as the're only one qt app now that works, and that was very hacky to compile). If ereader comes out with an open source GTK linux app, it's very likely portable to the iLiad. We'll have to wait and see, but I agree it would be a nice addition. I think the problem with large chm files on FBReader was an iLiad memory issue. Maybe we should add swap on the iLiad...

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12-04-2008, 05:58 PM	#12
ericshliao Guru Posts: 976 Karma: 687 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: Dell X51v; iLiad v2	xCHM seems better than FBreader in reading large chm file. I can read 20mb chm file on iLiad with xCHM.

12-04-2008, 06:05 PM	#13
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,850 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	calibre has a viewer that can handle: EPUB, LIT, MOBI, HTML. The rendering is done using the webkit engine, so it handles HTML+CSS+javascript perfectly. At the moment it isn't optimized for small memory devices, but it should be a good place to start.

01-09-2009, 10:32 AM	#14
Whiskey Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iLiad Book Edition	I wish that the iLiad could read the secure adobe (even connect to Adobe Digital Edition) files. As a student, I need to be able to reference page numbers (as if it was from the printed version). I know the issues of PDF files noted here, but I rather be able to cite sources and am anal about keeping the format the same as the original.