Comments on: dotReader vs. VitalSource http://www.teleread.org/2007/05/11/dotreader-vs-vitalsource/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:01:59 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Ianf http://www.teleread.org/2007/05/11/dotreader-vs-vitalsource/comment-page-1/#comment-1075775 Ianf Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:48:47 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6543#comment-1075775 Sorry about the missing link above, TR's client didn't like the syntax. I repeat: does anybody know when the Dotreader development ceased to be, and the last known release of it listed above as at http://dotreader.com/site/dr_download/preview became entry point to a link farm? The above short exchange with the company's founders is the sole proof of their once-existence here at Teleread, btw. Sorry about the missing link above, TR’s client didn’t like the syntax. I repeat: does anybody know when the Dotreader development ceased to be, and the last known release of it listed above as at http://dotreader.com/site/dr_download/preview became entry point to a link farm?

The above short exchange with the company’s founders is the sole proof of their once-existence here at Teleread, btw.

]]> By: Ianf http://www.teleread.org/2007/05/11/dotreader-vs-vitalsource/comment-page-1/#comment-1075772 Ianf Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:42:58 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6543#comment-1075772 Does anybody know when the Dotreader development ceased to be, and the last known release of it listed above as at became entry point to a link farm? Does anybody know when the Dotreader development ceased to be, and the last known release of it listed above as at became entry point to a link farm?

]]> By: Mark Carey http://www.teleread.org/2007/05/11/dotreader-vs-vitalsource/comment-page-1/#comment-373971 Mark Carey Sat, 12 May 2007 00:16:55 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6543#comment-373971 Robert, Actually, they do. We are in a LOT of talks right now. I think that HW companies are FINALLY recognizing that a good <b>open source reader </b>compliments their open source OS (Linux). The dotReader gives them the added benefit of reading multiple formats as opposed to those limited by the Sony eReader. Robert,
Actually, they do. We are in a LOT of talks right now. I think that HW companies are FINALLY recognizing that a good open source reader compliments their open source OS (Linux). The dotReader gives them the added benefit of reading multiple formats as opposed to those limited by the Sony eReader.

]]> By: Robert Nagle http://www.teleread.org/2007/05/11/dotreader-vs-vitalsource/comment-page-1/#comment-373927 Robert Nagle Fri, 11 May 2007 23:47:19 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6543#comment-373927 Mark, I did a presentation about ebook technologies today to an educational group. I mentioned finding the concept of the "flash drive library" to be fascinating. Not only is flash media falling in price, but plugging it into another display device solves the chicken-egg problem about SW/HW. A school district doesn't need to commit to an unfamiliar and unproven technology and doesn't need to invest a lot of money up front. Basically all the school needs to do is find some display device which lets you run applications from a flash drive. Here's what I'm wondering. Do any of the HW ebook device vendors have a USB interface for loading flash memory? what about media cards? (a pda for instance). Mark, I did a presentation about ebook technologies today to an educational group. I mentioned finding the concept of the “flash drive library” to be fascinating. Not only is flash media falling in price, but plugging it into another display device solves the chicken-egg problem about SW/HW. A school district doesn’t need to commit to an unfamiliar and unproven technology and doesn’t need to invest a lot of money up front. Basically all the school needs to do is find some display device which lets you run applications from a flash drive.

Here’s what I’m wondering. Do any of the HW ebook device vendors have a USB interface for loading flash memory? what about media cards? (a pda for instance).

]]> By: Gary Varnell http://www.teleread.org/2007/05/11/dotreader-vs-vitalsource/comment-page-1/#comment-373924 Gary Varnell Fri, 11 May 2007 23:44:58 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6543#comment-373924 I just wanted to add that there are several reasons for the "glacial development pace": 1. we are building simultaneously for 3 platforms using 3 browser widgets. This means that to add certain features we have to implement the feature in 3 different classes. We are currently developing a wx::webkit module that will allow us to use the same browser widget across all platforms. This will greatly speed up development. 2. We are maintaining 75% + test coverage. This means that to add a feature we first write unit test and then add the feature. This development process is typical in open source development where you have multiple programmers submitting patches and source code and allows. 3. Book - plug in architecture. To allow mutiple book formats we must constantly refactor out book api to support different book paradigms. 4. This is still a relatively new open source project. As the project grows and gains interest, more developers will come on board which will help speed development. We also provide experimental preview-builds from our website. Typically we push new preview builds several times a month which I do not feel is glacial at all. Creating a build environment to allow us to push builds for all platforms has been part of the slowdown, but we felt that this was very important. I just wanted to add that there are several reasons for the “glacial development pace”:

1. we are building simultaneously for 3 platforms using 3 browser widgets. This means that to add certain features we have to implement the feature in 3 different classes. We are currently developing a wx::webkit module that will allow us to use the same browser widget across all platforms. This will greatly speed up development.

2. We are maintaining 75% + test coverage.
This means that to add a feature we first write unit test and then add the feature. This development process is typical in open source development where you have multiple programmers submitting patches and source code and allows.

3. Book – plug in architecture. To allow mutiple book formats we must constantly refactor out book api to support different book paradigms.

4. This is still a relatively new open source project. As the project grows and gains interest, more developers will come on board which will help speed development.

We also provide experimental preview-builds from our website. Typically we push new preview builds several times a month which I do not feel is glacial at all. Creating a build environment to allow us to push builds for all platforms has been part of the slowdown, but we felt that this was very important.

]]> By: Mark Carey http://www.teleread.org/2007/05/11/dotreader-vs-vitalsource/comment-page-1/#comment-373791 Mark Carey Fri, 11 May 2007 22:19:01 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6543#comment-373791 It was an honor and privilege to present OSoft's dotReader at the 2007 IDPF conference. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and "got the hook" and was unable to complete the demo. I appreciate the offer to tell the rest of the story here... 1. The dotReader is an open source, cross-platform, zero install program. This means it does not require installation like other applications. The fact that I ran the demo completely off a flash drive is not new - the dotReader has always been like that. What is significant is that by using a flash drive, wherever I go, my reader, books, notes, highlights, and other multi-media goes with me. Just plug and play. 2. You mentioned VitalSource in your blog. We are not directly competing with VitalSource as they use proprietary software and we are totally open source. We provide the opportunity for publishers, authors, distributors, businesses or anyone else to take the dotReader and customize it any way they wish. 3. There really is no dotReader format any longer. The initial format rendered by the dotReader was in support of OSoft's previous ThoutReader content. We are not creating new content in that format. 4. Little known is the fact that we did not even start building the OCF plug-in until one week before the convention. Thanks to the robust architecture (and talented pool of programmers) the dotReader now supports IDPF's .epub format - which was demonstrated at the conference. Some sample .epub books are now preloaded into the latest release. This "standard" will take some time to implement. Publishers were getting their first exposure to it at the IDPF conference. I don't really expect full adoption until software, devices, and content falls into alignment. Of note was Sony's comment that OCF support is in their "future plans". Due to a family emergency, Mobi was not present to present so their plans were not publicly discussed. 5. Now that we have some experience with the OCF plug-in, we believe we could create an OpenReader plug in quite readily. The challenge is analaogous to what comes first - the chicken or the egg. According to Jon Noring, the creator of OpenReader, he is not aware of any content that has been developed in the OpenReader format except for the My Antonia demo book. At the conference, Adobe demonstrated InDesign CS3 which exports content directly into an .epub file format (which the dotReader can read). To my knowledge, no one has developed an OpenReader content creation tool yet - although there is interest by Jon to do so. I am sure your readers would agree that is does not make sense to develop an OpenReader plug in for no content and no creation tools. Once those are available, of course OSoft will support the OR format as an additional plug in. Right now, the demand seems to be for .PDF, HTML, Word, and Open Office plug ins. 6. With time running out, I had a choice. Show embedded flash and streaming Trunk Monkey video or show how the dotReader supports online/offline threaded annotations. I chose the former and ended with a bang. 7. Upcoming developments include completing the library, ad server, and customization. We are almost there folks. Thanks for all your support. Mark Carey CEO, OSoft It was an honor and privilege to present OSoft’s dotReader at the 2007 IDPF conference. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and “got the hook” and was unable to complete the demo. I appreciate the offer to tell the rest of the story here…

1. The dotReader is an open source, cross-platform, zero install program. This means it does not require installation like other applications. The fact that I ran the demo completely off a flash drive is not new – the dotReader has always been like that. What is significant is that by using a flash drive, wherever I go, my reader, books, notes, highlights, and other multi-media goes with me. Just plug and play.

2. You mentioned VitalSource in your blog. We are not directly competing with VitalSource as they use proprietary software and we are totally open source. We provide the opportunity for publishers, authors, distributors, businesses or anyone else to take the dotReader and customize it any way they wish.

3. There really is no dotReader format any longer. The initial format rendered by the dotReader was in support of OSoft’s previous ThoutReader content. We are not creating new content in that format.

4. Little known is the fact that we did not even start building the OCF plug-in until one week before the convention. Thanks to the robust architecture (and talented pool of programmers) the dotReader now supports IDPF’s .epub format – which was demonstrated at the conference. Some sample .epub books are now preloaded into the latest release. This “standard” will take some time to implement. Publishers were getting their first exposure to it at the IDPF conference. I don’t really expect full adoption until software, devices, and content falls into alignment. Of note was Sony’s comment that OCF support is in their “future plans”. Due to a family emergency, Mobi was not present to present so their plans were not publicly discussed.

5. Now that we have some experience with the OCF plug-in, we believe we could create an OpenReader plug in quite readily. The challenge is analaogous to what comes first – the chicken or the egg. According to Jon Noring, the creator of OpenReader, he is not aware of any content that has been developed in the OpenReader format except for the My Antonia demo book. At the conference, Adobe demonstrated InDesign CS3 which exports content directly into an .epub file format (which the dotReader can read). To my knowledge, no one has developed an OpenReader content creation tool yet – although there is interest by Jon to do so. I am sure your readers would agree that is does not make sense to develop an OpenReader plug in for no content and no creation tools. Once those are available, of course OSoft will support the OR format as an additional plug in. Right now, the demand seems to be for .PDF, HTML, Word, and Open Office plug ins.

6. With time running out, I had a choice. Show embedded flash and streaming Trunk Monkey video or show how the dotReader supports online/offline threaded annotations. I chose the former and ended with a bang.

7. Upcoming developments include completing the library, ad server, and customization. We are almost there folks.

Thanks for all your support.

Mark Carey
CEO, OSoft

]]> By: Mark Carey http://www.teleread.org/2007/05/11/dotreader-vs-vitalsource/comment-page-1/#comment-373788 Mark Carey Fri, 11 May 2007 22:18:35 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6543#comment-373788 Joseph, - The latest release of the dotReader is 13MB pre-loaded with sample content - not a blank shell. IT is actually much smaller. - There are no investors to milk. - The reason the the "glacial development pace" is because we are programming it in Perl as a cross-platform, zero install program. We would have been done a long time ago if we were only programming for Windows or Linux or for a proprietary platform or device. We have also contributed over 120 modules back to the open source community that we developed. Many of them are new, cutting edge applications. - The plug in architecture allows users to develop their own feature sets for the dotReader to meet their business development needs. - The latest release (<a href="http://dotreader.com/site/dr_download/preview" rel="nofollow">here</a>) supports the new .epub format and several .epub documents are included. The spec has still not been approved yet. - The most recent addition is an advanced search which allows you to search your current book, select books, or the entire library. - Currently, there is not much content in the .epub format for you to test drive. - The dotReader is not ready for active, daily use, but the content is not ready either. Be patient. Be kind. Provide constructive feedback on our website. Please read following post. Mark Carey Joseph,
- The latest release of the dotReader is 13MB pre-loaded with sample content – not a blank shell. IT is actually much smaller.
- There are no investors to milk.
- The reason the the "glacial development pace" is because we are programming it in Perl as a cross-platform, zero install program. We would have been done a long time ago if we were only programming for Windows or Linux or for a proprietary platform or device. We have also contributed over 120 modules back to the open source community that we developed. Many of them are new, cutting edge applications.
- The plug in architecture allows users to develop their own feature sets for the dotReader to meet their business development needs.
- The latest release (here)
supports the new .epub format and several .epub documents are included. The spec has still not been approved yet.
- The most recent addition is an advanced search which allows you to search your current book, select books, or the entire library.
- Currently, there is not much content in the .epub format for you to test drive.
- The dotReader is not ready for active, daily use, but the content is not ready either.

Be patient. Be kind. Provide constructive feedback on our website. Please read following post.

Mark Carey

]]> By: Joseph Gray http://www.teleread.org/2007/05/11/dotreader-vs-vitalsource/comment-page-1/#comment-373554 Joseph Gray Fri, 11 May 2007 18:42:18 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=6543#comment-373554 As for DotReader, I have waited anxiously for quite a while for it to be released. Now that I have seen it, I think that it was more hype than substance. And why the glacial development pace? Are they just trying to string things along while they milk investers? Lone programmers, working part time, have been known to turn out better software in less time. After all this time, the first released version isn't functional enough to even be useful. Also, what are they programming this thing in? It's over 13MB and not even close to feature complete! The only other ebook software that is this much of a pig is Acrobat Reader. The DotReader folks could take a few lessons from practically any of the other ebook reader programs out there. As for DotReader, I have waited anxiously for quite a while for it to be released. Now that I have seen it, I think that it was more hype than substance. And why the glacial development pace? Are they just trying to string things along while they milk investers? Lone programmers, working part time, have been known to turn out better software in less time.

After all this time, the first released version isn’t functional enough to even be useful. Also, what are they programming this thing in? It’s over 13MB and not even close to feature complete! The only other ebook software that is this much of a pig is Acrobat Reader. The DotReader folks could take a few lessons from practically any of the other ebook reader programs out there.

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