Newbie in France

bobnelsonfr · 09-21-2009, 01:20 AM

Hello all,

My name is Bob. I was born in the US, but have lived in France for forty years. I have both nationalities.

I am a fairly competent computer user, but know little of their innards. I have machines running XP, Vista, Snow Leopard, and Ubuntu.

My wife has had a Sony 505 for a year now, but I found it too big. I have just ordered a Cybook Opus that should be "pocketable".

My bookshelves at Fictionwise and Baen combined hold about 540 books. I have just re-downloaded them all in epub. Well... all except the expired DRMs. I have not purchased any DRMed books for the last several years.

I've just installed ZuluReader...
http://www.zuluexpress.com/ZuluMobile.aspx
... on my HTC TyTN II smartphone. There were a couple minor issues, but Steve Dales, the author, fixed them instantly. Very impressive reaction time! ZuluReader is simple, efficient and fat-finger-friendly.

I actually listen to my ebooks as often as I read them. I convert them to text files, add pauses at chapter breaks, and then run them through a text-to-mp3 program called TextAloud. The result is somewhat "computer-flat", but acceptable. In fact, I prefer it to a poor Audible reader...

MickeyC · 09-21-2009, 03:48 PM

Hi bobnelsonfr and welcome to MobileRead

kazbates · 09-21-2009, 06:09 PM

Welcome to MobileRead, Bob!

Be sure and check out all the free ebooks you can download in the epub format you can download right here at MR. Enjoy!

Happy Reading!

Superlucky · 09-21-2009, 06:54 PM

Welcome! Is the Opus smaller than the Sony PRS-300?

ShortNCuddlyAm · 09-21-2009, 07:31 PM

Welcome to MR!

bobnelsonfr · 09-22-2009, 12:45 AM

I don't know just how big the Sony is. They seem similar in photos. The Opus is lighter. I picked the Opus over the 30 because of the wider set of formats it can read.

neilmarr · 09-22-2009, 02:44 AM

Hi Bob. We're neighbours ... well, almost. I've been down south in Menton, just outside Monaco, for the past twenty-five years. Surprised you find the 505 too big -- mind you, I don't carry mine around much. More for bedtime and lunch breaks. If you'd like some ebooks for you and your wife, by the way, I head up the editorial team at a small indie publishing house. Freebies for all MR members who drop me an email list of requests (see my sig line). Salut. Neil

bobnelsonfr · 09-23-2009, 01:51 AM

Bonjour,
Another Jock gone for decent weather?
Truth be told, I simply couldn't buy a Sony... since my wife has one. You know how that works... The Opus is (I hope) only for a couple years. I hope that within that time, some manufacturer will produce a good 5" Swiss Army knife, combining phone, PDA, GPS, audio-video-player, camera, and kitchen sink.
I took a look at BeWrite. As you say, it is still quite small. I assume that you publish for the authors. You have a "English village mystery" series that l would like to try. I'll send specifics to your professional address.
I got started on ebooks quite a long time ago, through the Baen Free Library, set up by Eric Flint. His reasoning was that if customers liked an author's free works, then they'd buy other stuff. It sure worked for me! I've purchased some 300 Baen books since then (as well as clearing the shelves at the Free Library...)
A bientôt,
Bob

Deb · 09-24-2009, 03:17 AM

Bonjour, m'sieur! Yes, Baen is wonderful, and they have probably the best tracking system I've come across. I do Books on Board and Diesel e-Books along with the Sony story. BoB is probably the worst for tracking purchases - I've actually ordered the same book in the same download before. Going from one to the other and checking my reader to make sure that I don't already have it there... Baen is absolutely the only place to go to get their books tho. Best prices I've found!

Bon nuit!

neilmarr · 09-24-2009, 03:59 AM

I've not yet tried Baen. It appears a brave adventure. Wish I was more into SF and Fantasy because this looks an enthusiast's dream. But there are certainly several titles and authors there that attract me. Thanks for the tip, Bob and Deb. Cheers. Neil

bobnelsonfr · 09-25-2009, 01:19 AM

Bonjour Deb,

You might want to try Fictionwise. Their collection is big and varied. And cheap, since I never buy DRMed books -- too many hassles.

Thanks for your recommendations. I'll take a look at both.

09-21-2009, 01:20 AM	#1
bobnelsonfr Newbie Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Calais, France & Yuma, AZ Device: Samsung Galaxy S8+ with several apps	Newbie in France Hello all, My name is Bob. I was born in the US, but have lived in France for forty years. I have both nationalities. I am a fairly competent computer user, but know little of their innards. I have machines running XP, Vista, Snow Leopard, and Ubuntu. My wife has had a Sony 505 for a year now, but I found it too big. I have just ordered a Cybook Opus that should be "pocketable". My bookshelves at Fictionwise and Baen combined hold about 540 books. I have just re-downloaded them all in epub. Well... all except the expired DRMs. I have not purchased any DRMed books for the last several years. I've just installed ZuluReader... http://www.zuluexpress.com/ZuluMobile.aspx ... on my HTC TyTN II smartphone. There were a couple minor issues, but Steve Dales, the author, fixed them instantly. *Very* impressive reaction time! ZuluReader is simple, efficient and fat-finger-friendly. I actually listen to my ebooks as often as I read them. I convert them to text files, add pauses at chapter breaks, and then run them through a text-to-mp3 program called TextAloud. The result is somewhat "computer-flat", but acceptable. In fact, I prefer it to a poor Audible reader...

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09-21-2009, 03:48 PM	#2
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi bobnelsonfr and welcome to MobileRead

09-21-2009, 06:09 PM	#3
kazbates Wizard Posts: 2,627 Karma: 406616 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Northern Virginia Device: SurfacePro, SurfaceBook 2	Welcome to MobileRead, Bob! Be sure and check out all the free ebooks you can download in the epub format you can download right here at MR. Enjoy! Happy Reading!

09-21-2009, 06:54 PM	#4
Superlucky Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 5952 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-350	Welcome! Is the Opus smaller than the Sony PRS-300?

09-21-2009, 07:31 PM	#5
ShortNCuddlyAm WWHALD Posts: 7,879 Karma: 337114 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mitcham, Surrey, UK Device: iPad. Selling my silver 505 here	Welcome to MR!

09-22-2009, 12:45 AM	#6
bobnelsonfr Newbie Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Calais, France & Yuma, AZ Device: Samsung Galaxy S8+ with several apps	I don't know just how big the Sony is. They seem similar in photos. The Opus is lighter. I picked the Opus over the 30 because of the wider set of formats it can read.

09-22-2009, 02:44 AM	#7
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,215 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	Hi Bob. We're neighbours ... well, almost. I've been down south in Menton, just outside Monaco, for the past twenty-five years. Surprised you find the 505 too big -- mind you, I don't carry mine around much. More for bedtime and lunch breaks. If you'd like some ebooks for you and your wife, by the way, I head up the editorial team at a small indie publishing house. Freebies for all MR members who drop me an email list of requests (see my sig line). Salut. Neil

09-23-2009, 01:51 AM	#8
bobnelsonfr Newbie Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Calais, France & Yuma, AZ Device: Samsung Galaxy S8+ with several apps	Bonjour, Another Jock gone for decent weather? Truth be told, I simply couldn't buy a Sony... since my wife has one. You know how that works... The Opus is (I hope) only for a couple years. I hope that within that time, some manufacturer will produce a good 5" Swiss Army knife, combining phone, PDA, GPS, audio-video-player, camera, and kitchen sink. I took a look at BeWrite. As you say, it is still quite small. I assume that you publish for the authors. You have a "English village mystery" series that l would like to try. I'll send specifics to your professional address. I got started on ebooks quite a long time ago, through the Baen Free Library, set up by Eric Flint. His reasoning was that if customers liked an author's free works, then they'd buy other stuff. It sure worked for me! I've purchased some 300 Baen books since then (as well as clearing the shelves at the Free Library...) A bientôt, Bob

09-24-2009, 03:17 AM	#9
Deb Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 260 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Sacramento Device: Sony PRS-700	Bonjour, m'sieur! Yes, Baen is wonderful, and they have probably the best tracking system I've come across. I do Books on Board and Diesel e-Books along with the Sony story. BoB is probably the worst for tracking purchases - I've actually ordered the same book in the same download before. Going from one to the other and checking my reader to make sure that I don't already have it there... Baen is absolutely the only place to go to get their books tho. Best prices I've found! Bon nuit!

09-24-2009, 03:59 AM	#10
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,215 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	I've not yet tried Baen. It appears a brave adventure. Wish I was more into SF and Fantasy because this looks an enthusiast's dream. But there are certainly several titles and authors there that attract me. Thanks for the tip, Bob and Deb. Cheers. Neil

09-25-2009, 01:19 AM	#11
bobnelsonfr Newbie Posts: 33 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Calais, France & Yuma, AZ Device: Samsung Galaxy S8+ with several apps	Bonjour Deb, You might want to try Fictionwise. Their collection is big and varied. And cheap, since I never buy DRMed books -- too many hassles. Thanks for your recommendations. I'll take a look at both.

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