Comments on: Needed ASAP on the $100 laptop: FBReader and easy Opera installation http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:23:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-668770 David Rothman Sat, 22 Dec 2007 13:20:09 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-668770 Thanks, Greg. I'd encourage you to keep kicking the tires on FBReader and report its flaws---ideally in versions beyond the windows one. I feel about FBReader the same as about .epub. I like them both, but they'll never get better if people don't look for weaknesses. Let's find out all the loopholes when it comes to "true paging" and the rest. As for PDF on the XO, I can't wait to see how digestible the Feedbooks' variety is. The iLiad? Almost surely the best e-reader for you---not just because of the screen but also because you can run your own programs. As noted, I already have FBReader running on it. The big issue is the refresh rate, along with the hassles to using something as poky as today's E Ink to make changes within menus. Meanwhile the happiest of holidays to you and your family (Hanukkah in my case, XMAS for Carly)! Cheers, David Thanks, Greg. I’d encourage you to keep kicking the tires on FBReader and report its flaws—ideally in versions beyond the windows one. I feel about FBReader the same as about .epub. I like them both, but they’ll never get better if people don’t look for weaknesses. Let’s find out all the loopholes when it comes to “true paging” and the rest.

As for PDF on the XO, I can’t wait to see how digestible the Feedbooks’ variety is.

The iLiad? Almost surely the best e-reader for you—not just because of the screen but also because you can run your own programs. As noted, I already have FBReader running on it. The big issue is the refresh rate, along with the hassles to using something as poky as today’s E Ink to make changes within menus.

Meanwhile the happiest of holidays to you and your family (Hanukkah in my case, XMAS for Carly)!

Cheers,
David

]]> By: Greg Schofield http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-668755 Greg Schofield Sat, 22 Dec 2007 13:02:13 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-668755 David, I am pleased, very pleased to hear that true paging is possible, especially as in the next two weeks I expect to get my iliad and I believe FBReader can be installed. I hate scrolling with a passion, I swear I spend more time looking for the last sentence read than I do reading any new ones. PDF as it now stands cannot work, though Feedbook's pdf on demand goes a good deal of the way in showing what should be done (non-dynamic flow, specific purpose pdf, made to order on the user's machine via XML tagged text is my ideal). I think from another article the XO might find PDF rendering a bit processing intense (might be because it is rendering big pages - when you get the machine, it would be nice to find out). Feedbooks could supply a nice trial - an A4 compared to a much smaller pdf, compared to simple text or something similar. Have a happy Christmas break. David, I am pleased, very pleased to hear that true paging is possible, especially as in the next two weeks I expect to get my iliad and I believe FBReader can be installed.

I hate scrolling with a passion, I swear I spend more time looking for the last sentence read than I do reading any new ones.

PDF as it now stands cannot work, though Feedbook’s pdf on demand goes a good deal of the way in showing what should be done (non-dynamic flow, specific purpose pdf, made to order on the user’s machine via XML tagged text is my ideal).

I think from another article the XO might find PDF rendering a bit processing intense (might be because it is rendering big pages - when you get the machine, it would be nice to find out). Feedbooks could supply a nice trial - an A4 compared to a much smaller pdf, compared to simple text or something similar.

Have a happy Christmas break.

]]> By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-668249 David Rothman Sat, 22 Dec 2007 02:53:43 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-668249 Hi, Greg. When I meant true paging, I meant separate pages rather than simply scrolling. At least some versions of FBReader do have gaps in them--which are on the fix list. So thanks for pointing this out to help people get the full picture. That said, the experience of reading with FBReader on a small screen will be vastly superior to reading with PDF unless PDF files are specifically prepared. I'd rather that users not have to go through those hassles. Slightly related--in the XO sense: Good news: my order is in the system and there's still a chance I'll get the XO in the next few days. I was a first-day donor. Thanks and happy holidays, David Hi, Greg. When I meant true paging, I meant separate pages rather than simply scrolling. At least some versions of FBReader do have gaps in them–which are on the fix list. So thanks for pointing this out to help people get the full picture. That said, the experience of reading with FBReader on a small screen will be vastly superior to reading with PDF unless PDF files are specifically prepared. I’d rather that users not have to go through those hassles.

Slightly related–in the XO sense: Good news: my order is in the system and there’s still a chance I’ll get the XO in the next few days. I was a first-day donor.

Thanks and happy holidays,
David

]]> By: Greg Schofield http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-667863 Greg Schofield Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:14:39 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-667863 "E-book-reading software like FBReader is much better than existing browsers for displaying books. FBReader has true paging, as well as a wide variety of typographical options." The win32 FBReader I have installed has no contents listing or proper pagation. If these things are fixed it makes it a great choice. Is there a beta, that I have not got, or have I missed the obvious? “E-book-reading software like FBReader is much better than existing browsers for displaying books. FBReader has true paging, as well as a wide variety of typographical options.”

The win32 FBReader I have installed has no contents listing or proper pagation. If these things are fixed it makes it a great choice. Is there a beta, that I have not got, or have I missed the obvious?

]]> By: Greg Schofield http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-667858 Greg Schofield Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:09:12 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-667858 Hadrien's site (feedbooks) also creates epub's as well as PDF. It is an important initiative. It is doing something I believe will be the final stage of ebooks, marked up text, and a variety of stylesheets that produce the same ebook in different forms as required. Eventually I would like to see a new standard which includes verbose stylesheets capable of doing this - but that is an aside. I have being trying to better understand .epub, interestingly the support for Daisy's DTBook, which allows external modules to be included is most exciting - for me because it may be possible to integrate TEI (for serious academic works) into .epub. FBReader needs some improvement, not least of which is proper page handling, but I agree in terms of XO it is a good choice at this time. A better one would be to have an XML rendering engine (Mozzila's gecko) and use this as the basis for a reader and a browser, (perhaps even a word processor). Beyond firefox and its kin, there are some other promising approaches in development. But at the core should be a shared XML rendering engine, upon which other things are built - I have hopes for REBOL 3 as a means of sliming down the applications, sharing common resources, but that is a few years off yet. Hadrien’s site (feedbooks) also creates epub’s as well as PDF. It is an important initiative.

It is doing something I believe will be the final stage of ebooks, marked up text, and a variety of stylesheets that produce the same ebook in different forms as required. Eventually I would like to see a new standard which includes verbose stylesheets capable of doing this - but that is an aside.

I have being trying to better understand .epub, interestingly the support for Daisy’s DTBook, which allows external modules to be included is most exciting - for me because it may be possible to integrate TEI (for serious academic works) into .epub.

FBReader needs some improvement, not least of which is proper page handling, but I agree in terms of XO it is a good choice at this time.

A better one would be to have an XML rendering engine (Mozzila’s gecko) and use this as the basis for a reader and a browser, (perhaps even a word processor).

Beyond firefox and its kin, there are some other promising approaches in development. But at the core should be a shared XML rendering engine, upon which other things are built - I have hopes for REBOL 3 as a means of sliming down the applications, sharing common resources, but that is a few years off yet.

]]> By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-667753 David Rothman Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:51:35 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-667753 Delighted that option is available, Hadrien, but .epub would be much nicer. Plus, the PDF reader probably won't as swift as FBReader. Thanks and happy holidays. David Delighted that option is available, Hadrien, but .epub would be much nicer. Plus, the PDF reader probably won’t as swift as FBReader. Thanks and happy holidays. David

]]> By: Hadrien http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-667695 Hadrien Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:38:36 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-667695 For PDF on the XO: try the custom PDF feature on Feedbooks. You should get good looking results. For PDF on the XO: try the custom PDF feature on Feedbooks. You should get good looking results.

]]> By: Dan Jackson http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-667400 Dan Jackson Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:12:03 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2007/12/21/needed-asap-on-the-100-laptop-fbreader-and-easy-opera-installation/#comment-667400 Typing two commands into a shell prompt does not strike me as "simply impossible". I concede that it might be difficult if the people trying to do it were part of the XO's original target audience, but that's not who we're talking about here. I do agree that there should be an easier, GUI-oriented way to install it, but there's really no call for this kind of anti-command-line techno-Luddite-ism. If you're capable of typing in lines of text exactly as printed on a piece of paper, you're capable of doing what the website indicates is necessary to install Opera. It's not like you have to do it every time you want to run the application. Command lines are really not the rocket science that GUI proponents would have you believe they are. Typing two commands into a shell prompt does not strike me as “simply impossible”. I concede that it might be difficult if the people trying to do it were part of the XO’s original target audience, but that’s not who we’re talking about here. I do agree that there should be an easier, GUI-oriented way to install it, but there’s really no call for this kind of anti-command-line techno-Luddite-ism. If you’re capable of typing in lines of text exactly as printed on a piece of paper, you’re capable of doing what the website indicates is necessary to install Opera. It’s not like you have to do it every time you want to run the application. Command lines are really not the rocket science that GUI proponents would have you believe they are.

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