[HN Gopher] I like e-readers now
___________________________________________________________________
I like e-readers now
Author : ivanech
Score : 177 points
Date : 2021-09-19 15:34 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (devinlogan.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (devinlogan.org)
| dont__panic wrote:
| I definitely understand where the author is coming from, with his
| stance on not liking ereaders _until now_. I got my first Kindle
| back in 2009 or so, and it took me a couple of years to truly
| convince myself to use it instead of paper books the majority of
| the time. It really took going to college a couple of years later
| to push me all the way into ereading, where I discovered that
| lugging books around for all of my classes was a huge pain and I
| didn 't want to deal with moving pleasure reading books in and
| out of dorms every few months. Well, that and public
| domain/pirated books -- it's a very cheap way to entertain
| yourself when you don't have much money.
|
| I got a Boox e-reader with a 7.8" hiDPI screen earlier this year
| (my old Kindle was 6"), and let me tell you, it's been
| transformative. My biggest nitpick with the old kindle was the
| screen: it was a little smaller than the average paperback book
| page, which meant that I was constantly turning pages to read
| anything of significant length. With a 7.8" screen, ebook pages
| are almost precisely the same size as pages in a traditional
| hardcover book. So if you're used to that kind of reading
| experience, it's an easy transition. Oh, and the screen is also
| big enough and high-res enough to display tables and images at
| full size, without awkward multi-line clipping. So you can
| actually experience books as they were meant, instead of dealing
| with issues in anything that isn't just a stream of text.
|
| I've also really enjoyed using Android (albeit in a modified
| form) so I can use torrent clients, FireFox, an email client, an
| Airdrop knockoff, and an RSS feed reader to get content onto my
| device. You'd think it would be distracting to have all of that
| at your fingertips, but the limitations of e-ink really rein in
| the desire to mindlessly browse HN and reddit.
|
| And the WACOM layer that's integrated into the display is truly
| awesome to use for notetaking, drawing, and even keeping score
| when I play card games. I've basically moved all of my notetaking
| over to my ereader. And I don't even have to charge the pen.
|
| One big issue, though? There are a million cases out there for
| Kobo and Kindle devices, but nobody makes them for Boox devices
| besides... Boox. But if you're willing to DIY a bit, it turns out
| that the Nova 3 is almost the same dimensions as the iPad Mini
| 4/5... so just buy a case for that, and if it's a snug-fitting
| case, make a couple of cuts in the case to let it stretch over
| the ereader, cut out a hole for the power button, and you're
| golden.
|
| Disclaimer, though: Onyx/Boox, the Chinese company that makes my
| Nova 3 device, is in flagrant violation of GPL with their Android
| modifications for their ereaders. So you should be aware of that
| before you decide to buy one -- if you're cognizant of that kind
| of thing, I assume you don't want to give them money. I figured
| that it's at least better than giving money to Jeff Bezos and
| locking myself into another walled garden (that can't even read
| epub files!). YMMV.
| enjikaka wrote:
| The best thing with Kobo is the Pocket integration
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| I've been using an iPad Mini for the last few years, for my
| reading. I have about 400 books on it.
|
| I needed to get used to it. Now that I am used to it, I actually
| have difficulty with paper books.
|
| My wife is the opposite. She doesn't want to use an eReader.
| fullstop wrote:
| The battery life of a Kindle is what draws me there, along with
| the lack of distractions. The screen looks like paper and has
| no glare like an iPad Mini does. If I were reading reference
| manuals with either color or a lot of diagrams, though, the
| iPad would be preferred.
|
| Either way, the best feature of eReaders is that you don't need
| a bookmark and you can carry a lot of books with you. It's
| perfect for traveling.
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| _> has no glare like an iPad Mini does_
|
| Unless you use a PaperLike screen protector. I don't like
| glossy screens, so I get matte protectors for all my
| i-devices (except the Watch).
| fullstop wrote:
| I didn't even know that these were available. I'll have to
| check them out. Thanks!
| refracture wrote:
| My wife is a big reader and used to be pretty deep into the
| Barnes and Noble Nook ecosystem, but we found the Nook hardware
| to be pretty lacking.. loading a book onto a GlowLight was not
| a good experience, and that's from their shop directly, not
| even side loading.
|
| After her 2nd GlowLight stopped working reliably I gave her my
| iPad Mini 4 that I wasn't using very much. She proceeded to
| kill its battery in about two years after countless books.. (it
| was already a couple years old) and was happy to be able to
| read Kindle now.
|
| Apple gave us about $100 for it towards a Mini 5, she still
| seems happy with it. It's the perfect size for purse duty. I
| think the True Tone display helps with eye strain a little.
|
| I read on an iPad Pro a decent amount but nowhere near as much
| as her.
| handrous wrote:
| I really like e-ink, but the ability to fiddle with page
| corners & edges in the iOS Books app means it's the only way I
| actually get ebooks read. Mini's perfect for fiction, 12.9"
| pro's amazing for PDFs (say, textbooks) or other work that
| needs large pages (comics, too--it's close enough to the size
| of a two-page comic spread, in landscape mode, to be entirely
| readable that way, at least until my eyesight gets even worse)
| alasano wrote:
| First time I thought reading books on an iPad was actually not
| bad is when they added true tone. It's been a while I think but
| it's just much easier on the eyes.
| andrewingram wrote:
| One thing I noted after using a Kindle for the first time (about
| 10 years ago) is that I was reading without a constant physical
| sense of how far I was through the book, to the point that the
| ending almost caught me off-guard. It was certainly an
| interesting experience, I'm still undecided as to whether it's a
| pro or a con.
| dmart wrote:
| Kindles have an option to turn on a time estimate for progress
| through a book which sort of simulates this, but I don't really
| like it (the constant changing/recalculation is anxiety-
| inducing).
|
| Really wish they had an option for a small low-resolution
| visual indication of progress, like most devices do for their
| battery indicators.
| ksd482 wrote:
| For me personally that's a con. Not specifically being caught
| off guard when the book ends, but not being able to physically
| tell how far along I am.
|
| I am currently reading "the way of kings" which is a very thick
| book. My progress is very slow, but I really really enjoy my
| bookmark work its way down the stack of pages.
| maltalex wrote:
| As someone who's reading a lot of technical material, I'm on the
| fence about e-readers.
|
| On the one hand, many technical books are thick and heavy, and
| can benefit from having a search function. But on the other,
| e-reader screens tend to be small and require a lot of scrolling
| back and forth (like between a code sample and an accompanying
| explanation).
|
| Does anyone have experience with reading technical books on an
| e-reader? Any suggestions?
| open-source-ux wrote:
| I have a Kobo e-ink reader. The small 6-inch screen has a 300
| PPI (Pixels Per Inch) resolution and does not fatigue the eyes
| for extended reading sessions. The e-ink screen easily beats a
| LCD high-resolution or retina display for reading books.
|
| However, e-ink readers are only suitable for _paperback-sized_
| fiction or non-fiction titles. Everything else simply isn 't
| suitable for the small 6-inch e-ink screen. PDFs at A4 (or US
| Letter size) are not suitable, as is any title with a lots of
| graphics or a complex page layout. Most academic or research
| papers are still in PDF and are rarely converted to ePub format
| suitable for reading on a e-Reader.
|
| Note: When I say paperback-sized, I'm referring books in the
| approx. 6-inch (15cm) size ballpark. Anything above A5 size is
| likely unsuitable for small e-Reader screens unless the book is
| text-only (or predominately text).
|
| Finally, if you are think of buying an Amazon Kindle 6-inch
| e-Reader, be aware that a lot of print books with graphics,
| charts, tables etc. have been poorly-converted to e-books and
| are unsuitable for small e-ink screens. Despite this, Amazon
| continues to misleadingly promote these titles as suitable for
| Kindle e-Readers when they are not.
| matthew-wegner wrote:
| You can go up to 13.3" eReaders. These are direct out of Japan
| --I think this might be the only US source that isn't a re-ship
| service or random eBay?
|
| https://goodereader.com/blog/product/gen-2-fujitsu-quaderno-...
| kevinmgranger wrote:
| The reMarkable is pretty big, maybe that's the key?
| AlanYx wrote:
| The Remarkable is the device that convinced me of the value
| of e-readers, but it's not so much the screen size as it is
| the ability to just scribble notes in the margins, and
| underline, circle etc. easily. You can install Koreader on
| the Remarkable, but then it's just another ereader without a
| frontlight, rather than something more tangible like a book.
|
| I convert everything to PDF before moving it to the device
| though, for a lot of reasons, some aesthetic and some related
| to lack of functionality in the built-in epub converter. It's
| a shame there is no software that does a perfect job at
| converting epub to PDF though. I use one of three different
| workflows depending on the source material.
|
| One tip for those using the device: the built-in margin
| trimming feature for PDFs also lets you _add_ margins on
| whatever side of the document you want, which is a bit
| counterintuitive but really useful if you like scribbling in
| the margins.
| maltalex wrote:
| How suitable is it for reading PDFs with code/diagrams?
| phyalow wrote:
| Basically the best thing I have ever used for PDF's with
| graphics/formulas/code. I am a very happy user.
| AlanYx wrote:
| It's excellent, with one important caveat: provided the
| text size is not too small. The way small font sizes
| (<=8pt on an 8.5x11 PDF page) get rendered/antialiased on
| the device reduces their contrast a little -- they end up
| a little more grey than pure black, which isn't ideal.
| dont__panic wrote:
| The Kindle Oasis is probably large enough at 7" to make it
| work. If you're reading PDFs, you probably want something
| that's 10" or so -- I believe Kobo's Ellipsa fits the bill. Or
| you could end up in-between with a Forma or a Libra, which I
| believe are both 7.8".
|
| As someone who used a 6" e-reader for years and switched a few
| months ago to a 7.8" e-reader... it makes a massive difference.
| Technical material is actually readable on the larger screen,
| the CPU is faster so I can actually search larger texts in
| reasonable time, and PDFs display pretty well (though still a
| bit small).
|
| My advice: go with 7.8" if you want to read fiction and carry
| it around a lot, but also want to read some technical material.
| If you just plan on writing notes and reading technical stuff,
| 10.3" is the way to go.
| fullstop wrote:
| I have an Oasis and think that an iPad would be a better
| choice for content with a significant number of diagrams or
| where color is important.
| dont__panic wrote:
| Definitely true on color! I think the long battery life of
| an e-ink device at 10.3 or 13.3 inches would give the iPad
| a run for its money in terms of usefulness, but totally
| agreed -- if you need color, e-ink is probably not the best
| choice.
| jacurtis wrote:
| I use my Kindle Paperwhite everynight, because I just love the
| reading experience on it.
|
| But I have to agree that technical materials are still best
| consumed physically. Novels and even non-fiction stories are
| great on the kindle. But if you need to frequently stop and
| take notes, analyze diagrams or figures, reference
| illustrations or sidebars, which are all common in technical
| books, then the physical book is the way to go.
|
| An acceptable alternative is a PDF copy on the iPad paired with
| an app like GoodNotes or ReadWise. These allow highlighting,
| notes, and other tools to improve the experience. I still
| prefer digital books, but this is an acceptable alternative. I
| recently bought a book set from CiscoPress (Cisco technical
| manual) and got the eBook + Physical combo. Well after I spent
| $100+ then Cisco sends me an email that the book is backordered
| for several months. So I only have the digital versions for a
| month or more until the physical one arrives. So these apps
| make for a reasonable alternative, but I am waiting to really
| dive into the content in detail until I get the real thing
| because it is just the best way to consume technical
| information, even though I am a heavy Kindle user for normal
| books.
| radiator wrote:
| The screen size is important, as you say. I use a 9" reader and
| it is large enough, but it is a 7-year-old device. I got the
| impression that those larger screen sizes later disappeared
| from the market.
|
| As for the back and forth scrolling, again correct that it is
| much slower than with a physical book.
|
| You can pack a lot of technical books in your device but, in my
| opinion, the best ones it is a good idea to have them printed
| as well.
| JasonFruit wrote:
| Get the 7.8" screen. It was the savior for technical books,
| especially in PDF, even though the Kobo I used had a terrible
| PDF reader. I tried a 6" version, and it was just not the same.
| Joeri wrote:
| I've tried to read tech books on kindle, but 6 inches is too
| small. I've had better luck reading them on an ipad. The screen
| is _just_ big enough, but navigating between the book and my
| notes proved cumbersome. Mostly I read tech books on my laptop
| and desktop because it's easy to flip between book and notes.
| In the grand scheme of things it is the best trade-off for me.
| jaymzcampbell wrote:
| I read a lot of maths and have ended up for the most part using
| a 10 inch Fire tablet. I then tend to prefer them in their
| original typeset PDF format that way and am able navigate them
| with the sort of speed you need. It'll depend on the particular
| technical content but I tend to need to jump back and forth and
| zoom in and out and it never seems pleasant on e-ink.
|
| I've been seriously tempted by splashing out on a BOOX 10.3
| (https://shop.boox.com/collections/eink-tablet) - but don't
| think I can really justify it to myself and from what I gather
| the refresh rate is still not going to be anything like a
| tablet.
| echlipse wrote:
| Even if the e-reader supports pdf, I think it's a much worse
| experince than even reading on a big computer screen(which
| doesn't work for me either). Physical copy of techincal books
| are way superior than e-book version. It's way easier to study
| in a physical book from my personal experience.
| derbOac wrote:
| This is the _one_ thing that 's been a deal-breaker for me
| with ereaders. I still love physical books and the
| interactivity with a laptop or desktop, but always saw
| ereaders as filling a gap neither really address, where you
| want to read material on a eink-style screen without worrying
| about the sun or batteries, but don't want to lug around a
| large number of texts.
|
| However, for me reading material goes back and forth between
| relatively simple text and things that require pdfs, and I
| always had trouble with pdfs. They've never displayed
| correctly and have been ridiculously slow on top of it.
|
| My dream ereader would have an eink display (preferably color
| but it's not a necessity for me to be happy with it) that is
| optimized around displaying technical pdfs, like math-heavy
| scientific articles with lots of images. If it could do that
| and display simple text well, I'd probably use it a lot,
| probably next to my laptop sometimes even.
| pfranz wrote:
| I think e-readers are awesome for linear, text-based material.
| I don't think they're great for reference or things that need
| specific formatting or have a lot of visual data; like
| textbooks, something with code snippets, cookbooks, or
| newspapers. But tablets or desktop computers work fairly well.
| Since those aren't single-use machines and don't have great
| vertical integration they can be cumbersome (and a bit of an
| eye strain for long sessions).
|
| The smallish size and slow screen loading make it really hard
| to skim (and requires decent search and UX). Because of the
| small screen info can get reflowed, making code snippets or
| charts very awkward--if it even renders.
|
| Basically, I'm just reiterating what you're saying. I haven't
| found a solution to what you're describing. In an effort to
| minimize physical books, I try to utilize the library as much
| as possible and buy digital versions to reference on the
| computer months or years later. I've seen solutions like
| putting pdfs into Dropbox. Sadly, a lot of the reading software
| that allows highlighting or writing in margins don't sync
| between a tablet and desktop (at least last time I
| investigated). Academics seem to have the most motivation for
| finding a solution to something like this, but that may be
| tailored to their own needs.
| asdff wrote:
| >Academics seem to have the most motivation for finding a
| solution to something like this, but that may be tailored to
| their own needs.
|
| The solution is screen real estate. Everyone I know in
| academia has at least one monitor in an office somewhere on
| campus. The standard monitor you get from the IT department
| pretty much anywhere is a 27" 1080p dell. Big enough to fit
| two PDF pages side by side with no scaling. I have also seen
| people with two monitors turn one vertical. A lot of people
| just opt to use the free printing from the department and
| print something out if they really need to read something on
| the go.
| throwthroyaboat wrote:
| I spent three hours the other night trying to get my kobo glo HD
| to work with Adobe Digital Editions. I've tried multiple
| different computers, multiple cables. ADE fulfulls the book OK,
| and my Kobo can read books from the store. But trying to copy
| them from ADE to the device hangs forever, then eventually
| crashes. The Kobo is too old for the built-in overdrive/libby
| integration. I used to like e-readers, but now I just want to
| throw it out the window.
| bigfudge wrote:
| I've given up. I buy ebooks but never download the official
| copy, if you know what I mean.
| ambar123 wrote:
| Bring if on readers with colors ink
| Ishmaeli wrote:
| I bought a Kindle in 2012 but I think I'm finally done with it. I
| don't have any problem with the device or the format, I'm just
| tired of all the typos in ebooks.
|
| Yes, printed books have the occasional typo, but they seem much
| more prevalent in ebooks. I think there are just a lot of books
| out there for which the only electronic copy is an optical scan,
| and as good as OCR is, the process still introduces errors.
|
| I feel ripped off when I come across a typo an ebook that's not
| in the printed version. It already feels like a stripped down
| version of the product--I'm only getting the text, not the
| material assets of a real life book--and now I discover it's an
| inferior version of the text to boot? No thanks.
| Cycl0ps wrote:
| The only e-reader I've had is an old Kindle Paperwhite I got
| secondhand. It's dumb enough to not get in my way and lets me
| transfer all my various pdfs and mobi files from my PC via cable.
| It's due for replacement but I have zero trust that newer models
| would let me use the thing how I want.
| sneak wrote:
| The trick for me to like e-readers was threefold:
|
| a) the new ~300 dpi eink screens
|
| b) never, ever connecting it to any network for any reason ever
|
| c) a microSD card slot that i can put a huge library of pirated
| books onto.
|
| No distractions, no notifications, no web, no apps, no phone
| home, no update treadmill. Just books.
| silon42 wrote:
| +1 Although I would like SFTP support to avoid moving the SD
| card.
| sneak wrote:
| If you connect it to the network even once, it can phone home
| and do all manner of Android spyware update bullshit. Popping
| out the card a few times per year is no biggie, I have a card
| reader permanently connected to my iMac anyway.
| asdff wrote:
| Seems like for this and maybe a few other products, it
| might be useful to set up a local wifi network that doesn't
| connect to the internet so you could at least use tools
| like ssh or even operate an iot home network without
| worrying about phoning home.
| ccozan wrote:
| OK but can you list the actual models that fullfill these
| requirements for your fellow avid readers? This features will
| sell me and others too!
| gilbetron wrote:
| Which one did you go with that meets all of those points?
| sneak wrote:
| Likebook Mars. It's android and has wifi, just don't ever
| connect it to network.
| wheybags wrote:
| The best thing about an ereader for me is, I can read it lying
| down on my side. I wear glasses, so if I'm reading a real book I
| need to have them on, and lying on my side crunches the frame up.
| But with my kobo, I can crank the font up to baby book size, then
| take off my glasses and read lying on my side.
| te_chris wrote:
| I read technical books on the e-reader. It's annoying as the
| diagrams are not as good, but so much nicer for that sort of
| thing. I still buy a lot of general reading books from bookshops
| though. Partially because I like paper books, but also because I
| like bookshops and find they improve the areas where they are
| found.
| DashAnimal wrote:
| It should be noted, for the author of the article, that Libby
| works really well with the Kobo reader. So, for instance, I will
| use Libby on my Android device (signed into my overdrive
| account), search and borrow books through there. Then, on my
| Kobo, I only need to press sync for the books to appear. Much
| better than using the Kobo to search for books.
|
| I should also point out that signing into Libby and Kobo is
| somewhat annoying. You need to sign in to both using your
| overdrive in some specific way. I found the answer in some Reddit
| thread after some Google searching.
| matthewfelgate wrote:
| I recommend a Kindle and using the computer program Calibre to
| put free books onto it.
| ubermonkey wrote:
| I've been a Kindle user for a long time now. I love reading and I
| love books, but I also used to be a high-travel kind of guy, and
| the Kindle is lighter than carrying even ONE book.
|
| The travel stopped, but the Kindle stayed. I buy MOST of my books
| in physical form at a great local shop, but I still also use a
| Kindle for some things -- mostly genre, or for the inevitable
| moments of "I don't feel like starting any of these books I
| already have so what can I have NOW via Kindle that appeals to
| me?"
|
| The Kindle is also great for reading in the bath, and is honestly
| BETTER for reading in bed than a real book for me now -- I'm 51,
| so my eyes aren't as great as they were 20 years ago. The lovely
| cool backlight of a Paperwhite, together with the adjustable
| font, make it a pretty pleasant experience.
|
| I have ZERO interest in a Kindle that does anything other than
| "be a reader." I've read on my iPad in a pinch -- multi-device
| sync for Kindle books is handy -- but it's heavier and the light
| is harsher in a dark room. A Paperwhite is a very lovely well
| made and not expensive device, and it's one of the relatively few
| gadgets I have that I would immediately replace without a thought
| if it broke or was lost. Probably with overnight shipping.
| fullstop wrote:
| >The Kindle is also great for reading in the bath, and is
| honestly BETTER for reading in bed than a real book for me now
| -- I'm 51, so my eyes aren't as great as they were 20 years
| ago. The lovely cool backlight of a Paperwhite, together with
| the adjustable font, make it a pretty pleasant experience.
|
| The Oasis (and the brand new Paperwhite) both have adjustable
| color temperature. I've found the warm light is much better for
| my eyes, and feels more natural. The other thing that I wanted
| to mention is that you can choose your font as well as install
| your own fonts on the device, so you have a significant amount
| of control over what the text looks like.
| chaostheory wrote:
| I wish Amazon would offer e-readers with larger screens again.
| Better yet, it would be nice to have a large Amazon tablet with
| an e-reader where I can surf the web. Soon I won't have a choice,
| but to buy a Boox
| qualudeheart wrote:
| E-readers can easily be converted into Crypto wallets and used by
| using steganography to hide data within pdfs.
|
| Fun thing to consider.
| keithnz wrote:
| I like reading, but I've found audiobooks really good and tend to
| get through more books these days through listening as I can
| consume it in situations where I couldn't read (like walking).
| Also, quite a lot are read by their authors which often gives it
| a nice quality (even if you do listen to it at fast speeds).
| nindalf wrote:
| I prefer reading on my e-reader for a number of reasons you've
| probably come across elsewhere. But the most underrated thing for
| me is that I can read large books. I feel they're too unwieldly
| to carry around and also heavy enough that I feel too much
| friction actually starting to read. I had _The Gene_ on my shelf
| for 3 years before I realised this was why I hadn't even read 10
| pages of it. I bought the ebook and finished it within 4 days.
|
| This opened up a side benefit. I find that my enjoyment of things
| is enhanced when I can share it with someone. Since I have the
| ebook, I can gift the physical book to a friend who I think will
| like the book. That's what happens to most of the physical books
| I receive as gifts - I buy the ebook, read it, then gift the
| physical book so I can share the joy with someone else.
| abrowne wrote:
| Once I bought a used copy of a 1200+ page book and took the
| binding off so I could carry a couple of chapters at a time
| back and forth to work to read on breaks. Luckily it was a 10+
| year old history book that was available shipped for under $10.
| But I can't really do that for a library book, so I agree
| ebooks are the way to go.
| akho wrote:
| There seems to be a weird reluctance in the American publishing
| market to split larger books into volumes. "War and Peace"
| editions I see on Amazon are typically single-volume; Russian
| editions are either two or four volumes.
|
| Unfortunately, translated books are (in most cases) published
| in the same way as the original, so the tradition of multi-
| volume editions is dying out, being replaced by these awful
| bricks you can't properly hold or keep open, all set in tiny
| type with narrow margins.
| asdff wrote:
| I think part of that is the fractured expectations that
| publishers have set upon readers, especially of these longer
| classics. You have all these editions, translations, etc.,
| sometimes of dramatically different page number lengths, with
| no standard or clear way to differentiate between different
| printings without diving into some literature forum where the
| users have read both copies and can summarize these
| differences for you. It can be hard to know you are actually
| getting the whole thing without buying a huge tome
| explicitly.
| dominotw wrote:
| > The Gene
|
| I read this book but i had to take huge amounts of
| notes/scribbles on the pages to keep track of various acronyms.
| I go back and lookup stuff that i forgot about. I thin an
| ereader is less amenable to going back forth and refer things.
| I feel like ereaders are designed more for linear reading .
| fullstop wrote:
| Look into Kindle X-Ray [1]
|
| 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Ray_(Amazon_Kindle)
| valarauko wrote:
| X-Ray is great, if your title supports it. I did find it to
| be a bit of a spoiler, since it shows you all the
| occurrences of a character in the book - including in the
| future (?) - at least this is how I recall it.
| NoGravitas wrote:
| I agree about large books. I bought my first Kobo specifically
| for reading Alan Moore's _Jerusalem_ (1400 pages). It went
| great.
| AdmiralAsshat wrote:
| > I had a rather frustrating time setting up the damn device -
| it's annoying to have to connect to wifi, make a Kobo account,
| make an Overdrive account, and search for books with a terrible
| response time to text input, and it's especially annoying when
| you enter the wrong wifi password multiple times and end up
| restarting the device because you're so convinced you have the
| right password before finally realizing your mistake.
|
| The best advice I can give for the Kobo is to use all of the
| functions not directly related to reading as little as possible.
| By that I mean, don't try to search the Kobo store on the Kobo:
| search on the website or on the smartphone app, and just send the
| books to the Kobo automatically when you buy them. Don't try to
| search the library on the Kobo: search with the smartphone Libby
| app and let the Kobo sync them over when you check one out. Don't
| try to read Wikipedia articles directly in the Kobo's
| experimental browser: add the wiki articles you want to read to
| Pocket and sync them over.
|
| The Kobo is an excellent reading device, but it is a very poor
| internet browsing device. I minimize the time I spend "browsing"
| on it via the methods described above, and I have a much more
| enjoyable experience.
| bccdee wrote:
| Yeah -- I get my ebooks DRM-free and manage the contents of my
| Kobo through Calibre. It works great; I'm happy using my Kobo
| as little more than a screen for Calibre.
| JasonFruit wrote:
| Mine was a disaster to type on. Slow, unreliable, and for some
| reason the closer to the right edge of the screen you got, the
| further left on each key you had to touch, until finally you
| would have to touch the key to the left of the one you want.
| But it was a great reader until a kid stepped on my bag a
| couple weeks ago. I ordered an Onyx Boox Nova Air, in hopes the
| software will be better. I also hope it's anywhere near as good
| and durable a reader.
| mkr-hn wrote:
| That sounds like a faulty digitizer.
| mikepurvis wrote:
| I feel the same about my Kindle Paperwhite-- I just buy stuff
| on the Amazon website or sling mobis/epubs at it from Calibre.
| Zero patience for the on-device interface other than using it
| for reading.
| detritus wrote:
| > The Kobo is an excellent reading device, but it is a very
| poor internet browsing device.
|
| Sounds like a feature to me - perfect!
| Syonyk wrote:
| I've found a use for the browser - it allows me to easily
| load DRM-stripped books from various places without having to
| bother plugging the device in. You can set the homepage to a
| server on the LAN with your books and download what you want
| easily.
|
| That's... about all the browser really handles. But Pocket or
| Wallabag get you a far better article reading experience
| anyway. Any long form article on the web now gets shoved in
| Pocket and read on my Kobo.
| AshamedCaptain wrote:
| Apparently these days you can release a half-baked product
| and get away with it by saying "the obvious lack of features
| is so that you can have a focused, distraction-free
| experience!" or something similar.
| glial wrote:
| Do you complain about knives because they're not good at
| scooping? When something does one thing well, I don't care
| if it does auxiliary things poorly, or at all.
| morsch wrote:
| They half-assed the capability to mix two liquids with my
| Kindle, as well, IPX8 certification nonwithstanding.
| Useless. I'm sticking with spoons.
| AdmiralAsshat wrote:
| My counter would be that it was traditionally never the
| paperback book's job to help you navigate the bookstore.
|
| But yes, I'll grant that the Kobo's experimental browser
| (which I think is the component that powers all the pieces
| I mentioned above that are slow/cumbersome) is noticeably
| less responsive than the Kindle's. They could probably do
| some additional tweaking under-the-hood to make it more
| responsive.
|
| Beyond a certain point, however, the only way to make it
| faster would be to increase the hardware specs and put a
| beefier OS into it. But at that point, you wouldn't really
| have a dedicated eReader anymore--you'd have something
| closer to a conventional tablet with just an e-Ink screen.
| And there are definitely markets for those (see any number
| of e-Ink tablets running Android), but then the price
| starts skyrocketing.
| AshamedCaptain wrote:
| > My counter would be that it was traditionally never the
| paperback book's job to help you navigate the bookstore.
|
| This is like claiming that a phone never had the job of
| an internet browsing device. Sure, the hardware and maybe
| the form factor has some handicaps, but it is perfectly
| reasonable hardware, if only the software was up to the
| task.
|
| But the problem is people claiming the poor software is
| so that "you can have a more distraction-free
| experience". That's just ridiculous, and the net
| conclusion is that again I have to bring a entire
| backpack full of gadgets rather than just one because of
| _minimal_ software differences.
|
| If I am forced to bring new hardware in my luggage, I
| want it to be because of meaningful differences in the
| hardware itself (e.g. e-Ink easier to read outdoors),
| rather than ridiculous differences in the software (e.g.,
| I also need to bring another computer because the
| ridiculous software won't let me visit a website to
| download a new ePub, even on eInk speeds), most specially
| if these differences are explained with very dubious
| excuses such as "distraction-free" experience.
| AdmiralAsshat wrote:
| > But the problem is people claiming the poor software is
| so that "you can have a more distraction-free
| experience". That's just ridiculous, and the net
| conclusion is that again I have to bring a entire
| backpack full of gadgets rather than just one because of
| _minimal_ software differences.
|
| Fair, I think "distraction-free experience" is a cop-out.
|
| But I guess my point would be that there is a trade-off
| when you try to take a specialized gadget and make it
| more multi-purpose. The iPods and MP3 players of old did
| not have wireless-accessible storefronts, for example:
| you plugged them into a computer and pulled down your
| library, podcasts, etc. It was definitely more of a
| hassle from that perspective compared to using your
| smartphone as an mp3 player, but the advantage was
| arguably superior audio quality, and _objectively_
| superior battery life, since the mp3 player 's OS had
| only one purpose compared to a smartphone's.
|
| I'd argue the same on an eReader versus a conventional
| tablet. Yes, if you really wanted to browse the store /
| browse Libby & Overdrive library /browse Wikipedia while
| reading, you definitely could do all the reading on a
| standard iPad or Android tablet and use the Kobo App
| instead, and it would work. I have a 10" Samsung tablet
| and do this on occasion (mostly for comics, because the
| Galaxy Tab S5e has a _gorgeous_ screen for a mid-range
| device). But I generally don 't do it for any book that
| I'm going to read for more than an hour, because the
| reading experience on the tablet is subpar compared to
| that of the Kobo, to say nothing of the battery life
| (measured in hours on the tablet versus _weeks_ on the
| Kobo).
|
| And this is just me personally, but I don't think it's
| that big of a deal to pull out my smartphone and buy a
| book on the Kobo app, then click 'Sync' on my Kobo to
| connect to WiFi and bring it over. Or do the same with a
| Libby book checkout, or a Pocket article. It's not like I
| would've left my phone at home if the Kobo had been able
| to better do it on its own.
| asdff wrote:
| We are over ten years out from the ipad 1. it shouldn't
| be very costly to put in some hardware powerful enough
| that it at least makes it so typing text doesn't have
| input lag. That wouldn't even take much more beef than a
| $40 raspberry pi. This is like a TV manufacturer evil
| business genius tier move. Why spend $4 on a decent
| wholesale board when you can spend $0.04 instead on a
| terrible board and the consumers will buy it anyway?
| Sohakes wrote:
| The input lag is most probably due to page refresh on
| e-ink, and not hardware power.
| retrac wrote:
| Correct. Noticeable response lag is evident even on the
| HDMI e-ink panels driven by whatever you like. They have
| been getting better though.
| leppr wrote:
| Kobo can get away with it because their product is
| hackable. It's fine to release a platform with slightly too
| limited functionality if other people can then build on it.
| kayodelycaon wrote:
| > the obvious lack of features is so that you can have a
| focused, distraction-free experience
|
| This means the device is more of an appliance than a
| general computing device.
|
| A good example is a reMarkable 2. It is a solid, well-
| designed digital version of a paper notebook. (I will add
| paper notebooks aren't searchable.)
|
| Yes, anything else, including search, is bolted on but the
| core experience it was designed for isn't half-baked.
| AshamedCaptain wrote:
| Actually, reMarkable is _precisely_ what I had in mind.
| Distraction-free is just an excuse for obviously
| unfinished software; just go and see which con most
| reviews agree on.
|
| The hardware is quite capable, but held back by the
| software.
| the__alchemist wrote:
| Not every electronic device needs to run a general
| purpose operating system and arbitrary software! This is
| a big contributor to why modern electronics have high
| latency and frustrating UIs.
| jsjohnst wrote:
| Show me a general purpose computing device, like you are
| seem to be insisting every device should be, that has a
| month or more of battery life despite moderate to heavy
| usage, yet weighs as little and is as thin as the
| reMarkable. Products necessarily have trade-offs due to
| current technology limitations, so it's not just about
| "excuses".
| asdff wrote:
| It's not a technology limitation to withhold root access
| from the user.
| jsjohnst wrote:
| Instead of it being "excuses for limiting features
| because of poor software" it's "withholding root access"
| now? So we are shifting goal posts?
| asdff wrote:
| I'm not the GP but you mentioned general purpose
| computing device. All of these devices are general
| purpose computing devices in terms of the offered
| hardware and even the underlying software, the only thing
| stopping you from doing general purpose compute is the
| fact you aren't allowed to have root access to what is
| probably some unix OS running on the device. Imagine
| being able write your own scripts to run on your
| remarkable tablet and build your own features tailored to
| your own use cases, just like any laptop today. The only
| limitation is corporate policy rather than hardware or
| even software, both of these are capable of general
| purpose compute already.
| jsjohnst wrote:
| > Imagine being able write your own scripts to run on
| your remarkable tablet
|
| You have actual root access to a reMarkable device by
| SSHing into it, so not sure your point here? Were you
| thinking it was a device locked down like an Apple
| product?
|
| More details: https://github.com/reHackable/awesome-
| reMarkable
| praxulus wrote:
| Distraction-free is not just an excuse, it's absolutely a
| valuable feature for me and a nontrivial number of other
| people.
|
| It's fine if you don't like that feature, but not every
| customer would like them to "finish the software" by
| putting a highly functional browser on every e-reader.
| There's room in the market for both types of devices.
| bo1024 wrote:
| The problem is you can't use the Kobo until you create an
| online account and connect it to the internet. After that,
| though, you can do airplane mode forever.
| colonwqbang wrote:
| It sounds crazy but I actually see this inconvenience as
| something of a plus. Getting out my kobo means that I will
| commit to reading for a while, similar to when I pick up a
| physical book. The fact that all other functions (like Web
| browsing) are so inconvenient help reduce the distractions for
| me.
| TrailMixRaisin wrote:
| While I try to do that as much as possible it does not work
| with my country's version of overdrive. I have to use my
| e-reader and its awful browser to search for books I want to
| read. As the website is not even optimized for mobile devices
| the whole process is rather painful. But this is not the fault
| of the e-reader.
| stinkytaco wrote:
| Amazon has their hooks deep into Overdrive in exchange for
| supporting Kindle delivery for library books, so I doubt this
| will ever get better. Overdrive has moved its focus to its
| mobile app. I hope Kobo support will improve, but I am not
| optimistic.
| dnilasor wrote:
| It seems like they have deprecated their OD branded app in
| favor of the "Libby" app, right? Which does have better UX.
| It is really gross how Amazon feels the need to control the
| means of delivery used by most library systems :facepalm:
| stinkytaco wrote:
| Yes, it's Libby going forward. It fairness, Kindle
| delivery is _very easy_ if you are not a tech savvy
| person, which a lot of library users are not. They have a
| Kindle because they desire the accessibility tools
| (larger printer, lighter weight) or their kids bought it
| for them or whatever. Being able to do delivery just like
| they would buy a book is great. But Amazon requires
| prominent Kindle branding and locks the Libby app out of
| their app store, so it 's also somewhat annoying if you
| are a librarian who doesn't want to promote a specific
| brand. But the Kindle is such a huge part of our user
| base, it's hard to go back now. Other methods work,
| there's just nothing as smooth as the Kindle.
| visarga wrote:
| I like e-writers even more, I have a Remarkable 2. It's a great
| writing tool.
| codebook wrote:
| I'd had Ratta Supernote A5x for an e-writer. Really loved it.
| Bigger storage than reMarkable 2, better software and cloud
| integration than reMarkable 2. The pencil response time is
| somewhat slower than reMarkable 2 though.
|
| I'd used it extensively. And lost. I instantly changed my Ratta
| cloud password. But any taker can see my notes in the device.
| No way to block the access remotely. The only protection from
| theft is to set the 6 digit PIN.
|
| Now, I am hesitant to buy another Supernote A5x. Maybe I just
| admit the device can be lost, so that I just copy old notes and
| delete from the device regularly.
| selykg wrote:
| Their return policy is insanity. While I was okay with the
| device itself, the lack of search-ability in the notes
| (GoodNotes on iPad can do it just fine) was a deal breaker for
| me.
|
| The return process is just stupid. I had about a dozen
| different issues with the return process and their support is
| simply awful.
|
| I would not suggest getting one unless you plan to keep it, or
| write it off as a $600 mistake and keep it anyway.
| UncleOxidant wrote:
| I'm thinking I'd much prefer a non-internet connected ebook
| reader. Something that might have wifi but only for transferring
| books. The problem with a reader that's essentially an android
| device is that it's much too easy to become distracted as you go
| off to look up something that's come up in the text - and then an
| hour later get back to actually reading the book.
| throwaway1777 wrote:
| That's exactly how I use my kindle. Keeping the wifi off saves
| battery life and the web browser is terrible and the eink
| screen isn't color so it's not like you want to do web things
| anyway.
| inwit wrote:
| E-readers and books both have their strengths, but these days I
| read 95% on my Kindle. Things I like: - instant look up of words
| and vocabulary builder - highlights and notes - I would find it
| very onerous to keep a paper notebook to the same level of detail
| (I know some do - kudos) - search across books. For history books
| this is brilliant: 'Hmm La Mettrie, rings a bell ... oh yeah
| him'. Like having your own mini, super high quality wikipedia (or
| indeed www)
|
| As well as usual gubbins about convenience etc.
| ChuckMcM wrote:
| As _reference_ data I find e-readers are hard to beat. I 've got
| my entire library of No Starch books on my iPad and it beats
| trying to find some obscure command on the Internet. It also wins
| when I'm "off grid" and don't have access to the Internet. I also
| use a ReMarkable 2 with PDFs of data sheets for reference
| material as well. When doing embedded programming its like having
| a third screen dedicated to holding the page in the datasheet
| that describes all of the register bits.
| [deleted]
| grlass wrote:
| Worth highlighting the Open Book Project [1], an open source
| e-reader hardware design and software stack.
|
| The design is open, and you can make your own with commodity
| parts. People are starting to sell PCBs, and complete devices.
|
| It has its own open software stack, and I hope will have a
| variety of vendors in the coming years.
|
| Ofc the e-ink patent issues remain, but this goes some of the way
| to solve things at the e-reader level.
|
| [1] https://github.com/joeycastillo/The-Open-Book
| [deleted]
| fsflover wrote:
| Another open-source e-ink book reader is PineNote:
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28190756.
| admax88qqq wrote:
| Super cool. I feel like the bigger struggle will be getting
| actual books.
|
| Unless you pirate them, most books are encumbered with DRM.
| kenmacd wrote:
| It's very easy to remove that DRM. Personally I don't log in
| to my kobo so library books get stripped before being copied
| over (the kobo acts as a usb storage device).
| criddell wrote:
| The most recent version of DRM used by Amazon hasn't been
| cracked yet (AFAIK) and the workarounds get you a version
| of the file missing a lot of recent typographic
| improvements.
| kenmacd wrote:
| Interesting. I didn't realize they had their own. Thanks.
| jsjohnst wrote:
| > Unless you pirate them, most books are encumbered with DRM.
|
| Depends on the publisher/genre. Tech books (from
| O'Reilly/PragProg/Apress/Manning anyway) for example are most
| often not encumbered with DRM.
| 0des wrote:
| I appreciate companies like Packt who supply credits to
| download DRM-free versions of the books you read. I get a
| free credit each month to download any book from them, DRM-
| free.
| Arch-TK wrote:
| There are plenty of DRM unencumbered ebooks around if you
| look. But if you do find yourself dealing with DRM there are
| a number of methods of removing it.
|
| Personally, if I already own the book in question I pirate
| the e-book, I don't see anything wrong with this as the
| author has already received equivalent royalties for the
| book. In the cases that I do not own a physical copy, I will
| generally buy a physical copy and then pirate the e-book. In
| some cases it is impossible to find a pirated e-book in which
| cases I will search for a DRM free option to buy. And in the
| event that I can't find the DRM free option I will resort to
| an Adobe Digital Editions DRM version (which I will promptly
| turn into a normal copy). This has worked out well for me and
| I have a pleasant library of books on my e-reader.
|
| (Unlike the author, I find the idea of e-book "borrowing" to
| be completely ridiculous (as ridiculous as spotify or
| netflix). I would rather just check the book out of a
| library, or outright pirate it. At the end of the day, the
| author is not making any extra money out of my inconvenience
| of having a proprietary management software which stores a
| book locally on my device but doesn't give me direct access
| to the data.)
| greenie_beans wrote:
| i bought everything for this but got overwhelmed and haven't
| tried to put it together. it's all been sitting on my shelf for
| like a year. maybe one day! too many dang projects.
| siver_john wrote:
| As someone who tried e-readers back around the original Kindle
| launched, I ended up just giving it to my grandmother because it
| wasn't as satisfying to read as an actual book.
|
| Recently however I gave them another shot (specifically the Onyx
| Boox Nova) because I started trying to refresh my Japanese and
| reading manga was easier than other forms of media (lots of
| pictures rarely wall of texts). The problem is buying manga from
| Japan and shipping it across the world was a pain and after
| reading on my tiny phone and that really straining my eyes, I
| decided to invest in an e-ink tablet. (Partially to use kaku on
| it but that did not work, however the ability to switch to a
| dictionary is nice).
|
| I also used kobo similar to the author for my app because
| apparently their DRM was the easiest to break out of everyone
| which means if they go down at least I still keep my e-books.
| sharikous wrote:
| I really like e-readers and e-books, mainly for the reasons
| commenters pointed out (much lighter than physical books,
| configurable font size, etc..).
|
| But there are big downsides too. Mainly the market discourages
| ownership on the one hand and encourages piracy on the other
| hand. The result is that DRM protections are everywhere _and_
| some authors like Jonathan Lewin were burned up by e-book piracy
| and reverted to only physical copies. Also for some reason
| e-readers perform badly with technical writing (many references)
| and math formulas. It 's not a technical barrier, it's just that
| the software is not optimized for these use cases.
|
| Also showing off huge book shelves is impossible with an all-
| digital model. Some people care about that.
| f0e4c2f7 wrote:
| I wish there were a Netflix like model for books. I think
| Amazon has a service like that, but without very much content
| (last time I checked). If the selection was good I would be
| happy to pay monthly for what is effectively a library card
| (which is basically how you do that today with ebooks but for
| free. Much worse user experience than piracy unfortunately)
|
| I too love ebooks by the way. Between that and audiobooks I now
| consume more books than any other kind of content. It has been
| pretty amazing, highly recommend it.
| wintermutestwin wrote:
| Amazon's service IS a "Netflix like model" - like you note
| about Amazon's model, neither are a comprehensive solution.
|
| The model I want (and presumably you would as well) is a
| Spotify/Apple Music model, where the vast majority of all
| books are available for a single subscription. Audiobooks are
| even worse! Audible's consumer hating model still treats
| digital media as something you purchase one at a time (or
| rather two a month).
| toast0 wrote:
| Amazon has two services like that with different content;
| they used to have three!
|
| For kids, there's Amazon Freetime Unlimited, which has a
| catalog of younger people stuff. This one needs a newer
| kindle --- if you've got a Kindle Keyboard or similar, no go.
|
| For adults, there's the more expensive Kindle Unlimited? or
| Prime something which has more older people stuff, costs
| more, and may have the first book of a kids series, but not
| all of them.
|
| The Kindle Owners' Lending Library is now gone. It was a lot
| smaller catalog.
|
| A lot of libraries offer ebooks at no cost to patrons, so
| maybe check your local library to see if that's an option for
| you. It does come at a cost to the library (which is worthy
| of its own discussion, but probably not in this thread), so
| consider a donation if you can.
| Jtsummers wrote:
| It's Prime Reading which is like a light version of Kindle
| Unlimited. It's, as best I can tell, meant to entice you
| into the higher cost subscription. Particularly since it
| usually only offers the first book in a series, you either
| pay for the rest individually or get goaded into paying for
| Kindle Unlimited. Or go to your local library.
| UncleOxidant wrote:
| > If the selection was good I would be happy to pay monthly
| for what is effectively a library card
|
| Libraries offer this service for free. Our local library has
| a huge and increasing number of ebooks available.
| lapetitejort wrote:
| Also keep in mind that your local library may be in a
| larger system. My local library can borrow books from
| almost the entire state (minus from the largest city in the
| state, for some reason). If you're willing to wait a week
| or more, you can put books on hold and get an email when
| they arrive to your local branch.
| sandyarmstrong wrote:
| They do, yes. However, libraries typically have a very
| small number of "copies" of ebooks available to loan, which
| means there can be quite a queue. Add to this that there is
| literally no incentive for the person who checked it out to
| "return" it when finished, which means ebooks are always
| kept out for their maximum borrowing time. As a result, it
| can be months before a popular book is available to borrow.
|
| It's a very frustrating situation for an artificially-
| constrained supply.
|
| Putting physical books on hold at the library is a much
| faster experience. You can still initiate it online, but
| you get your copy much faster. And you naturally return the
| book when finished because this lines up with when you go
| in to get your next book.
|
| I use Overdrive for both ebooks and audio books, and I
| really appreciate the service, but it's really not a
| "Netflix for books". This is like saying Visual Source
| Safe, which prevented you from editing files a coworker had
| "checked out", is just as good as git. :-)
| valarauko wrote:
| > _However, libraries typically have a very small number
| of "copies" of ebooks available to loan, which means
| there can be quite a queue. Add to this that there is
| literally no incentive for the person who checked it out
| to "return" it when finished, which means ebooks are
| always kept out for their maximum borrowing time. As a
| result, it can be months before a popular book is
| available to borrow._
|
| My public library network has reduced the number of holds
| & checkouts of ebooks since the onset of the pandemic -
| 3, down from 10. I personally return audiobooks & ebooks
| immediately once I'm done since it frees up my slots. My
| holds get delivered semi-chaotically, so I checkout
| requested books as soon as I can. So holding on to
| digital books I don't need anymore comes with a tangible
| downside for me. If I had 10 digital slots I might never
| deliberately return books either.
| sandyarmstrong wrote:
| Good, I'm glad your network is trying to fix this.
|
| The other thing I do is return whenever, and just put my
| Kindle in airplane mode and read the book at my leisure.
| Sure, I can't add any content for a bit, but they can't
| remove anything either.
| asdff wrote:
| Anyone know why ereaders are so bad with this stuff? Rendering
| latex math is like 40 year old techology. You'd think there
| were a dozen open source libraries that these companies could
| utilize to do this. Maybe they figure only 1% of readers look
| at math formulas and its not worth the developer time to make a
| reasonable solution.
| ojagodzinski wrote:
| > The result is that DRM protections are everywhere
|
| Not everywhere, in Poland ebooks are only watermarked, there is
| no DRM protection and you get epub/mobi/pdf copies of every
| ebook you buy.
| mdp2021 wrote:
| From which reseller / publisher?
| acomjean wrote:
| Manning books in the US watermarks their ebooks too (each
| page have a "property of XYX" on it). Its not DRM or even
| unsharable, I think it just makes you think about who your
| sharing with...)
| Finnucane wrote:
| It probably won't surprise anyone that the _vast_ majority of
| ebook sales are for genre fiction and light, nontechnical
| nonfiction. I work for an academic publisher and we do ebooks
| (I wrote the code spec), but it is suboptimal when you start
| getting into large tables, charts, math, etc. on smallish
| tablet screens. Yes, better software support for these things
| would help. Apple iBooks isn 't terrible. But there's not so
| much incentive for the vendors.
| koof wrote:
| I resonate with the author preferring to read an e-reader than a
| book when their mind is more amped up. Why is it easier to read
| from a mutable screen than paper when I'm frazzled?
| hallarempt wrote:
| In my case, because the typography (except for some very
| obnoxious excceptions) is always the same. Same font, same font
| size, same margins, just different text. A book cannot distract
| me anymore through mediocre or awesome typography -- the text
| is on its own.
| asdff wrote:
| Screens wind you up, pages wind you down. I've ran this
| experiment on myself plenty of times. If I'm scrolling on the
| internet and reading articles there, I can be up almost
| indefinitely without getting tired. The mind keeps going with
| the screen. If I sit in the exact same chair at the exact same
| time of day with the exact same amount of rest the day before,
| and get into a book, I might last 13 pages before I nod off.
|
| If you like to read to help get tired for bed, I would think a
| book is the best method. Certainly works that way for me. I
| can't even read in the middle of the day because it makes me
| too drowsy and sometimes knocks me out entirely, then I lose
| like two hours before I awake from that unintentional nap.
| mrkickling wrote:
| I bought a Kobo Aura in 2013 or 2014. It handles epubs/mobis
| perfectly while PDFs are a terrible experience, but what
| impresses me is that the device works just as well as it did 8
| years ago. The battery life is weeks or a month, the (modest)
| performance feels as good as when I bought it and no updates has
| screwed it up. I guess it is because it specializes in one
| specific task and tries to be nothing else than just that.
| NoGravitas wrote:
| For what it's worth, KOReader does a much better job with PDFs
| on Kobo than the stock reader (Nickel). PDFs with large page
| size and complex layouts (like multicolumn that's periodically
| interrupted by images not in the text flow) are still Not
| Great, but more manageable.
| wahlis wrote:
| I have the exact same experience. Like many readers here on HN
| i love to get new gadgets. I've been looking for an upgrade for
| several years now just for the sake of it. But, the device is
| still rock solid and newer ones don't add any relevant
| additional extra value to motivate the decision. Since I read
| several books per week my Kobo Auro One is the single best
| purchase I've ever made. :)
| wlesieutre wrote:
| I replaced a Nook with an Aura One after the page turning
| buttons started failing. On the one hand the main thing I miss
| is the page turning buttons, which were great in the winter
| because I could read a book with my hands under a blanket and
| the book above it. But on the other, the Kobo should last
| longer without that failure point.
|
| It's waterproof too, though again being touch only and no
| buttons it's not great to turn pages if it's wet.
| [deleted]
| philips wrote:
| I bought a phone sized ereader and it has really amped up how
| much I can read. Now when I have a moment to spare I can decide
| to pull out my phone or my ereader and after a certain time in
| the afternoon I plug in my phone and leave it so I only consume
| books or saved items in pocket.
|
| My device of choice was the Inkpalm 5. Some setup instructions
| :https://github.com/philips/inkpalm-5-adb-english
|
| I also highly recommend readwise.io: a super polished service for
| collating and reviewing highlights from books.
| ConfusedDog wrote:
| I find my iPad bigger screen works better with PDFs for technical
| books. And if I want the Kindle /e-reader feel, I can just map
| accessibility greyscale shortcut. Reduction of colors actually
| makes a huge difference for eyestrain problem for me.
| hzhou321 wrote:
| An ebook device can easily hold many books and makes it equally
| easy or difficult to switch chapters or switch books. I think
| that is the very reason I still much much prefer physical books.
| Picking up a physical book confines me to a set of hierarchic
| contexts -- the book, the chapter, the page. The contexts helps
| me to read and enjoy the book.
| thomascgalvin wrote:
| One of the things I like about my eReader is that it has a
| "minutes left in chapter" feature. It knows roughly how fast I
| read, and how long it will take me to get to the next logical
| break in the story.
|
| This is really nice, because I tend to read in bed, and knowing
| whether the next chapter is going to be five minutes or twenty-
| five minutes helps me decide when it's time to go to sleep.
|
| Of course I used to do this with physical books, too; flipping
| forward until I saw the next chapter. But I like having the
| little number at the bottom of the screen.
| georgewsinger wrote:
| Is it really true that eReaders are easier on the eyes than
| comparable displays? (It seems true to me, anecdotally, but I'm
| curious if this is just a marketing campaign playing tricks on
| me).
|
| The PPI of eReaders don't seem that much higher than comparable
| high quality phones/tablets. Is there a theoretical explanation
| for why eReaders could be better for eye health?
| arsome wrote:
| The main difference is they use e-paper displays which reflect
| light rather than emit it. Less eye strain due to less
| difference in amplitude to ambient light.
| 0des wrote:
| At least in the case of the new ereader amazon just released,
| some of them include LED backlighting.
| dgarrett wrote:
| There are no e-ink devices with backlights. It doesn't make
| sense for the technology, which is purely reflective.
|
| There are plenty of e-ink devices (like Kindles) that have
| frontlights. Even better are the ones that adjust
| frontlights based on ambient room lighting. Ambient light
| adjustment (and lighting warmth adjustment) is what the new
| Kindle Paperwhite has.
| georgewsinger wrote:
| So in some sense do eReaders with backlights defeat the
| whole purpose (i.e. increase eye strain back to normal
| display levels)?
| frakkingcylons wrote:
| LED backlights have been available in ereaders from Amazon,
| Kobo, and others for a while now. The first kindle
| paperwhite with LED backlights came out in 2012.
| berkut wrote:
| I've almost exclusively switched over to a Kindle now as well
| (occasionally get physical books that aren't available
| electronically), and the one experience/workflow I haven't been
| able to re-create with the Kindle is very easily going back a few
| pages (or maybe more) for things like timelines in novels (i.e.
| with historical dates per chapter or something) to re-gain
| context.
|
| With a physical book, you just stick a finger between the pages
| of where you are, and start going back pages until you find what
| you're looking for, then switch back. With the Kindle, the best
| I've found is using bookmarks, which works to a degree, but isn't
| as easy...
| puzzlingcaptcha wrote:
| I've had a Kobo Glo HD for the past 5 years or so and it's been a
| very functional device. This looks like a compelling upgrade (I
| like that it's waterproof).
| q-base wrote:
| On the topic of e-readers I just want to share these two
| resources for free e-books. I am pretty sure I originally got
| them from HN and I have been reading almost exclusively from
| their collections ever since. So if someone can have the same
| enjoyment from them as I had then they do really deserve a re-
| post:
|
| https://standardebooks.org/ebooks
|
| https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/
| Farbklex wrote:
| All I want is an e-Reader with USB-C. I refuse to buy any device
| which require me to use another charging cable.
| agentdrtran wrote:
| The new Paperwhite coming in october has USB-C
| humen99 wrote:
| Onyx boox note air is USB-C.
| racl101 wrote:
| Once you make peace with not being able to have bookshelf full of
| paper books that, books, which, if you are honest with yourself,
| you:
|
| - will only read once
|
| - simply want to keep to fill up the bookshelf to let other
| people know that you read a lot
|
| - have no intention of lending to people
|
| - have no people who could / would inherit them
|
| then it's nice to not have so much clutter and convenience to
| read from one device and at night.
|
| Yes, the DRM issue sucks for the Kindle, but, again, when you
| don't tend to re-read books or lend them then it's not that
| noticeable an issue.
| willvarfar wrote:
| I fell into a phase of reading free e-books (I love amateur
| authors and fan-fiction generally) on my phone and that lasted
| about a year but the constant charging and eye strain was a pain.
|
| So I finally got an e-reader (the cheapest simplest Kobo) and
| I've had it nine months now. Oh what a difference the screen
| makes! Completely transformed how much I read and for how long I
| read.
|
| The software on the Kobo sucks, and even with a builtin web-
| browser there is no good way to get free e-books onto the device
| without a cable to a laptop with Calibre. But once you have your
| books on the reader, it's super easy and nice.
|
| I still love browsing old second hand book shops (they are dying)
| but I'm thinking there really isn't much future for commercial
| fiction generally. The chances of authors 'making it' is so
| slender and when its accepted it isn't a job, it can be unleashed
| as a hobby and they'll reach bigger audiences and get more
| interaction with readers by giving their work away. And that's
| what you see when there are over 800k Harry Potter books on
| fanfiction.org, and perhaps 50k are fantastic and fun to find.
| The 50k I like might not be the same 50k you'd choose, but its
| there.
|
| Any leads on where to find similar other sources of amateur
| fiction appreciated.
| severine wrote:
| Definitely install Koreader!
|
| http://koreader.rocks/
|
| I can't even begin enumerating the features. It really rocks!
| mooncakes_ooohh wrote:
| Came into this thread looking for anything to make my Kobo
| more tolerable. Gladly going to give this a go. I had an
| original Kindle and it felt just seamless at the time. I
| broke the screen and had to migrate to a Kobo Touch. It does
| the job but it's not nearly as responsive and the battery
| life is abhorrent.
| alasano wrote:
| Gonna install this just to get screen rotation on my Clara
| HD.
|
| Thanks!
| JetSetWilly wrote:
| > The software on the Kobo sucks
|
| The best thing to do with a kobo (if you have a modicum of
| technical interest) is to install koreader and use it instead
| of the default.
|
| koreader is pretty great specifically for reading epubs. It
| lets you specify almost _anything_ about how they are rendered
| even letting you easily create your own css modifications, and
| lets you fairly easily get books on and off whether by opds or
| even ssh or whatnot.
|
| If you are a bit anal and like your margins _just so_ and
| paragraph indent _just so_ and line spacing _just so_ and you
| want it to left justify and do word breaks _just so_ then
| koreader is pretty hard to beat.
| fullstop wrote:
| > I fell into a phase of reading free e-books (I love amateur
| authors and fan-fiction generally) on my phone and that lasted
| about a year but the constant charging and eye strain was a
| pain.
|
| Have you read Worm? [1] There are tools available to convert
| the whole thing to an eReader format, and it was the best work
| of fiction I've read in a long time.
|
| 1. https://parahumans.wordpress.com/
| dsign wrote:
| The Kobo reader is fantastic for _writing_ amateur fiction, or
| at least for self-editing it, because amateurs can only pay one
| or two editors instead of the small army that "professional"
| books require.
|
| You could head to the free section of Smashwords.com to get
| some free ebooks, but I know there are quite a few platforms.
| Also tons of people are always asking for beta readers in
| goodreads (check the forum section), there you have a chance to
| get close and personal with the authors while doing a great
| service to the community.
| _moof wrote:
| I long preferred "real" books, despite having an e-reader for
| over ten years, but the e-reader has a killer feature: the
| backlight. Having a backlight means I can turn the light off on
| my nightstand, and read at night without keeping people up. (Yes,
| I know they make reading lights. No, I haven't tried one. They
| look like they're a pain.)
|
| I also realized after looking over my (physical) bookshelves that
| I don't actually care about most of the books on there. This is
| after multiple rounds of clearing out the shelves and making
| trips to the secondhand bookstore, free library, etc., so it's
| not a matter of cruft. If I'm honest with myself, most books are
| "read once and discard," though there is a small collection that
| it feels distasteful not to keep copies of. Certain classics, or
| books with particular personal significance, for instance.
|
| The cost of ebooks is an issue, as is the DRM. I haven't
| experimented with digital lending from libraries so I don't know
| if that's a solution to the cost problem, but it could be. DRM
| is... well, a perennial problem for digital media. And it does
| feel like something is missing in a world without secondhand
| stores and free libraries.
|
| (Edit: It is in fact a frontlight, not a backlight. Duh.)
| orionstein wrote:
| All e-readers can read DRM-less books. It's trivial to convert
| from a DRM free epub on calibre to a mobi or azw3 to use on a
| kindle, even. I've never felt too restricted unless I buy books
| directly from Amazon, because their DRM is far more strict.
| _moof wrote:
| I guess my point about DRM is more that the books I want to
| read are generally only available in DRMed formats. But maybe
| that's not true? I don't use an Amazon e-reader, for what
| it's worth.
| AdmiralAsshat wrote:
| It's going to largely depend on the publisher. The
| publisher, not the platform, controls whether the book is
| sold with DRM or not. The majority are, yes, although the
| one genre where that's generally _not_ true is Sci-Fi.
| There was a time, at least, when most of the major sci-fi
| publishers opted _not_ to sell their books with DRM,
| because they thought it was an abuse of technology. Not
| sure how much that still holds true, but publishers like
| Tor still sell all of their stuff DRM-free.
| MikeTheGreat wrote:
| If you live in the US then you might check your local,
| public library. They've often got volumes of e-books (pun
| intended :) ), and you can borrow them for a while. Still
| DRM'd but an easy and free way to access books
| vincent-manis wrote:
| There's a calibre plugin that removes DRM from most epubs
| and some Kindle books. It's a pain to set up, because you
| need old versions of Adobe Digital Editions and/or Kindle,
| and those run on Windows (I haven't tried them on Wine).
| But once it's set up, it works fine.
| gangstead wrote:
| I'm 100% the same way in preferring dead tree books over my
| kindle. I almost switched over to kindle over the bedside table
| lamp keeping up my spouse until I got into very high end
| flashlights.
|
| One quality of a high end flashlight is the ability to go very
| low in addition to very bright. Also they have high CRI and
| different reflector patterns. My preference for bed time
| reading is a Zebralight H503c. Goes down to .01 lumen. I
| usually keep it at 1 or .1 which is about the same contrast as
| a kindle on 2/10 backlight level. It has a "flood" reflector,
| meaning no reflector. Just a uniform wall of high CRI light
| from the LED about a 170deg viewing angle with no hot spot. It
| is small, a single AA, and has runtime of months on low mode. I
| recharge the battery once or twice per year.
| asdff wrote:
| I've never been able to do a backlit screen in an otherwise
| unlit room. I get eye strain so fast. The litte reader lites
| are great. $5 and clips to your book or headboard or nitestand
| or wherever you want, and the light is pretty focused on your
| book.
| hosh wrote:
| The Kindle Paperwhite uses flattened fiber optics to bounce
| the light from the edges off of the epaper, so it is still
| more like indirect lighting than reading on a phone. In a
| darkened room, or when I am reading outside at night, it
| works pretty well. When I'm on a plane, or when I'm in a
| resturant, I don't have to fiddle with an external lighting
| device to read.
| dont__panic wrote:
| Technically ereader screens are frontlit: the glass in front
| of the e-ink display refracts light across the display
| evenly. So instead of looking right at a light source, you're
| viewing refracted light scattered across the entire display.
|
| I also get a headache from backlit screens. Frontlit e-ink is
| much better.
| throwaway1239Mx wrote:
| I've tried reading lights, but the backlight on my kindle is
| much better for preserving night vision. I _think_ it may also
| make less of an impact on ease of falling asleep... just to add
| my $0.02!
| hosh wrote:
| The backlight was a game changer for me too. There were times I
| used to use a headlamp to read when I'm hanging out at the
| porch to read.
|
| I went through the same process about my dead tree collection,
| and shrunk it down to the ones that I either will read again,
| or keep around as a legacy. These days, the main criteria I use
| for getting a dead tree book is, "is this worth keeping and
| preserving in a zombie apocalypse?"
| noneeeed wrote:
| I'm the same, I very rarely read a book twice. I think some of
| the Pratchett books are the only ones. Perhaps if I had a lot
| more time, or was a faster reader, I might, but for me there's
| always a new (for me) book that I would rather read.
|
| I can see why people keep lots of books, but for me a book on a
| shelf is just a wedge of paper, I'd rather give it away and let
| someone else read it.
| MivLives wrote:
| For me most of the books I keep are one of two things: -
| Books I want to lend to people - Books with visuals/ other
| weird structural things that need to be books
|
| A few examples of the second are House of Leaves, S., and
| Understanding Comics
| MikusR wrote:
| Frontlight!
| _moof wrote:
| Right, of course - silly mistake!
| JoeDaDude wrote:
| I share the mixed feelings about e-readers. It would appear these
| mixed feelings predate even the invention of e-readers, as
| humorously presented in this (politically incorrect) short story
| "The Holmes Ginsbook Device" by Isaac Asimov in 1968.
|
| http://sfwritersworkshop.org/node/1232
| hosh wrote:
| That's pretty much my experience with ebook readers years ago. I
| still love dead-tree books, but I find it easier to use the ebook
| reader in places I normally can't, or shouldn't:
|
| - Reading in places without a lot of light. It is that or bring
| my headlamp.
|
| - Travel, definitely, but also while running errands
|
| - Reading while eating (not healthy)
|
| - Reading while smoking (also not healthy ... )
|
| - Trying to search for keywords in a book
|
| Most recently, with having to help take care of an infant, I find
| myself unable to put in long, uninterrupted hours to read. It was
| easier to read a ebook on my phone or on my Kindle. And if my son
| spits up, it is easier to clean a device than it is my dead tree
| books.
|
| However, I remember growing up with my father's library filling
| up an entire wall, and my mother regularly bringing my family out
| to the library. That's an experience I'd like my kids to have. I
| have a wall of books, though these days, I am much more mindful
| about curating them.
| mitquinn wrote:
| eReaders are awesome. I used to read so many physical books but
| the physical space that they were taking + needing to carry the
| books around was a barrier.
|
| I tried reading books on my phone but it just destroyed my eyes.
| I got a super old Kindle Paperwhite and it has been super
| enjoyable. There are times I just throw it in my pocket now I
| will end up reading on the go.
|
| It took me a while to discover Calibre but once I did the
| management of ebooks became really so easy. I am 41 books in this
| year on my goal of 52.
| logosmonkey wrote:
| Yeah, personally I find e-readers significantly more useful
| than physical books for casual reading anyway. I might prefer a
| physical book for reference work but otherwise I find using an
| e-reader much easier overall. Calibre is great, I would second
| your recommendation.
| pfranz wrote:
| I'm not sure how many authors are aware when writing books, but
| it changes how you read it. With physical books I often peek a
| few pages ahead to the end of the chapter or just by the weight
| of the book know when I'm near the end. Sure, there are
| progress bars, but they're way more subtle. Knowing when
| something will wrap up I tend to have an expectation of what
| might happen. Without those cues I have a different experience.
|
| Similarly, my wife can burn through thick books without
| realizing it for the same reason. Previously, you may even be
| intimidated by how much is left, but now it's one screen at a
| time.
| freewizard wrote:
| Kobo is quite friendly with 3rd party software. Both Plato (in
| rust) and KO-Reader (in c/lua) are excellent alternative to
| builtin reader app, the only drawback is they can't open DRM-
| protected books.
|
| https://github.com/baskerville/plato
|
| https://github.com/koreader
| roland35 wrote:
| I may feel about this differently in the future, but right now I
| prefer to rent access to entertainment media (books, movies, etc)
| rather than try to maintain ownership. I find it difficult to
| even maintain digital resources, but physical media is especially
| challenging.
|
| Most books I read just once, so being able to check an e-book out
| of the library is perfect for me. Even if I bought a book on the
| Kindle and Amazon ripped it away 5 years from now, that would
| suck but it would probably not make too big a difference.
|
| I appreciate the argument about ownership vs DRM, but at this
| point in my life I would rather just have less stuff to worry
| about!
| jwalton wrote:
| If you're looking for a good source of ebooks at sensible prices
| and without DRM, check out Baen's web store. Their prices went up
| quite a bit a few years ago because of some marketing deal, but
| they're still pretty good, they're still DRM free, and they often
| have a "webscription" of the month with a collection of books at
| a fantastic price.
| morsch wrote:
| I finally found a way to do remote page-turning for Kindle --
| something I was trying to do for years. It does mean I have to
| read books on my Android phone instead of the Paperwhite. With
| OLED and white on black, I find it's pretty all right though. But
| I can finally rest the reader somewhere, on my knees, on a
| pillow, whatever, and click a remote button to get to the next
| page. Freedom!
|
| You enable volume button page turning in the Kindle app settings.
| This already means you can attach e.g. a USB keyboard to your
| device and use its volume buttons. But you can also use these
| tiny BTLE media control gadgets[1], meant primarily for putting
| on steering wheels of cars that don't have built-in media
| controls. The replaceable battery lasted a couple of thousand
| pages so far, which is kind of amazing. Note that the volume
| buttons of bluetooth headsets do _not_ work.
|
| I've never understood how this isn't a standard feature with
| standalone Kindles. People made it work using the USB port, but
| you need to install a custom ROM. It makes incredible sense for
| accessibility purposes, alone. Imagine a big fat button for
| people with limited limb control, or something based on eye
| movement for people who are even worse off.
|
| [1] e.g. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32948528629.html 5.49
| USD
| stinkytaco wrote:
| > I've never understood how this isn't a standard feature with
| standalone Kindles.
|
| Is this an accessibility issue? I work fairly extensively with
| ebook devices and users in my job and this has never come up, I
| doubt it even occurs to most people, which probably answers
| your question. However, I also work quite a bit with
| accessibility (for which the Kindle is excellent for many
| common challenges that come with age) and I know users that
| this would be quite useful for if it was a standard feature, so
| I'm curious what your use case is.
| acomjean wrote:
| Another use case is musicians.
|
| There is a whole market of foot pedals for tablets/e-readers
| to flip music scores and now can do so with their feet.
| morsch wrote:
| No, for me it's just a laziness issue. ;) I just enjoy not
| _having_ to hold the device. I can just rest my arms wherever
| they naturally would rest. Or put them under the sheets when
| the bedroom is cold. Etc.
| jorgesborges wrote:
| When I'm in bed I often turn the page with my nose, as one
| hand is holding the kindle and the other is holding hands
| with my SO, or petting the cat. So I understand the
| laziness and am interested in this but it's a lot of work
| for a lazy person.
|
| Edit: while we're on the topic can we solve accidentally
| dropping phones on our face in bed?
| roland35 wrote:
| I may be greasier than average, but if I did that there
| would be a pretty big smudge on the screen!
| crackercrews wrote:
| There are a bunch of bed mounts for smartphones and
| tablets. [1]
|
| 1: https://www.amazon.com/phone-holder-
| bed/s?k=phone+holder+for...
| nicoburns wrote:
| The kindle with page turning buttons (e.g the kindle
| keyboard) we're ideal for this . You could hold and page
| turn with one hand.
| derefr wrote:
| I think people just think of an e-reader the same way they
| do a book, and so use the same solutions they use for not-
| having-to-hold-up books: lecterns and stands, bed/bath
| tables, suspended clamps, etc.
| Spivak wrote:
| This is why I love playing games on my Switch. It's super
| noticeable now when I play on my PS4 that I have to think
| about holding the controller in front of me rather than
| just letting my arms fall.
| kbenson wrote:
| I'm confused. The switch has a screen and accelerometers.
| How does that that result in a situation you can just let
| your arms drop that you can't when playing the PS4?
| Hemospectrum wrote:
| Joycons are the game controller equivalent of a split
| keyboard. If you're using a stock PS4 controller, your
| hands need to be close together, and your legs obviously
| can't be in the way.
|
| For what it's worth, it's possible to use joycons with a
| PS4, if you have the appropriate adapters and chain them
| together just right.
| danhor wrote:
| If he's playing the switch docked, the split controllers
| mean that the arms can be moved freely. Normal
| controllers don't allow that
| kbenson wrote:
| Ah, I see. I really don't prefer having them split for a
| single game, so wasn't even thinking of that (in fact, I
| vastly prefer the pro controller if it's docked). Not
| that I've played it in quite a while. The kids usually
| have it and the docking capability broke a year or two
| ago (not the dock, other docks don't work either).
| sleepybrett wrote:
| Doesn't technically have to be docked to do this. It's
| how I use it on an airplane often. Screen on the tray
| table with it's little kickstand, arms to my sides maybe
| in my hoodie pockets. It took a little bit of getting
| used to strangely but once you do :thumbsup:
| kroltan wrote:
| The answer is twofold:
|
| - The PS4 controller's range is VERY limited, even
| playing crouched on the sofa with your legs interrupting
| LOS between the console and the controller can cause
| connection issues.
|
| - The Switch's tiny split controllers (the JoyCons,
| though there is also a traditionally-shaped Pro
| Controller) have very good reception, and being small and
| split means your arms can be in different positions.
|
| I sometimes play lying on the bed with the console on a
| stand in front of me, and my arms under the sheets, when
| it's cold, for example. It's a tiny thing but is mighty
| convenient when you feel like it.
| tailspin2019 wrote:
| > The PS4 controller's range is VERY limited, even
| playing crouched on the sofa with your legs interrupting
| LOS between the console and the controller can cause
| connection issues.
|
| Odd, I've never once experienced any sort of issue like
| this with my PS4 controllers.
|
| Makes me wonder if there could be something else
| environmental going on, or if I'm just lucky...
|
| EDIT: Just double checked and they use Bluetooth with no
| obvious need tor maintaining line of sight? (I should
| have remembered this as I've used my PS4 controllers with
| Raspberry Pis over Bluetooth before). So I guess
| localised radio interference will have the potential to
| affect range.
| kroltan wrote:
| It's probably interference then, when I had access to a
| PS4 I lived in a big apartment block with tons of WiFi
| and probably Bluetooth devices around.
|
| In any case, the Switch's controllers fared much better,
| even though both consoles were on basically the same
| place. YMMV, I suppose?
| tomc1985 wrote:
| Funny, I've never had issues with PS4 controller range
| but my joycons have trouble with dropped inputs if I use
| them more than a few feet away from the switch
|
| Not to say the PS4 controllers are good... they just love
| to drain their batteries when I'm not using them, and
| they only seem willing to charge on the PS4 and only when
| its in sleep mode. TBH this hassle makes me use the PS4
| pretty much never, which makes the problem worse
| diffCtx wrote:
| You implemented an entirely novel system.
|
| Somehow that's lazy?
|
| Weird priority maybe. Sounds like more effort was involved
| than just using functionality that's there.
| stinkytaco wrote:
| Fair enough.
|
| I can see this being useful for someone with Parkinson's or
| even someone who just has trouble regularly lifting their
| arm (they can lift a book and place it, but flipping the
| pages would just tire their arm out). I now wish there was
| a straightforward remote control you could buy with the
| Kindle.
| morsch wrote:
| Exactly. Like I said, I'm astonished that this hasn't
| been a thing you can buy for a long time. The new Kindles
| come with a USB-C connector, maybe that changes things.
| fnomnom wrote:
| i didnt know that i really really want this. attach the kindle
| in soem kind of flexible arm on the headrest and turn the pages
| with a small remote control.
| diob wrote:
| I already do the flexible arm, it's great for helping me to
| fall asleep at night! I read and read until I can't keep my
| eyes open.
| AdmiralAsshat wrote:
| What is the use-case, exactly? The only real-life experience I
| have with wanting to turn ebook pages remotely is during the
| winter, when my hands are cold and even touchscreen-compatible
| gloves/mittens don't work well with the touchscreen sensor.
|
| But if I ever truly got that desperate, there are several lines
| of Kobo and Kindle devices with physical touch buttons that
| would solve the problem.
| wintermutestwin wrote:
| Personally, I find that the tap or swipe to turn pages
| functionality is insanely difficult when I have highlighted
| the whole page of text. I miss the world of tactile buttons
| for many things - get off my lawn!
| AdmiralAsshat wrote:
| Then, again, the "premium" versions of the e-reader lines
| like the Kindle Oasis or the Kobo Forma should scratch that
| itch for you, right?
|
| https://us.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-
| forma?utm_source=Kobo...
|
| The biggest downside, of course, being that they're each
| about double the price of the Kindle Paperwhite or Kobo
| Clara HD models, respectively. Both of those devices are
| perfectly serviceable to me, so I'm not yet so old or rich
| that I'll pay an extra $100 for physical buttons.
| Taywee wrote:
| For me, I'd love to use my e-reader to handle sheet music
| while playing my piano or cello, but the screen size means
| that I have to turn pages far more often than with physical
| sheets, and ends up being impractical in real life. I love
| playing around with a lot of different sheets and trying
| things out before deciding if I want to really spend time on
| it, and I hate how much I have to print to do so, and using
| screens for the purpose ends up being also impractical (and I
| much prefer how sheet music looks on e-ink vs a backlit LCD).
| If I could tap a button on the floor with my feet to turn
| pages, it would make this quite reasonable.
| salamandersauce wrote:
| Boox sells a foot pedal for use with 10" or 13" eInk
| tablets for exactly that purpose. Ain't cheap though.
| acomjean wrote:
| My partner has the foot pedals and a tablet for her violin
| playing. One community orchestra she plays in most people
| are using tablets, the other one its paper sheet music. For
| the tablet its just a pdf reader on the tablet and page up
| /page down for the foot pedals.
|
| The tablet works, but its smaller, and there is always a
| question of making sure the batteries are charged up.
| (though with paper music it the little sheet music light
| needed to be charged too). Paper is pretty robust though,
| survives drops...
| powersnail wrote:
| I'd imagine any ereader that can connect to a bluetooth
| keyboard can work. They have those bluetooth page turning
| pedals that's pretty much just a PageDown button.
| sipior wrote:
| A lot of musicians these days keep their sheet music in
| digital formats; hands-off page turning is handy when
| playing. I'm sure there are many other use cases.
| morsch wrote:
| I've already gone into it in a sibling comment, but basically
| because I can rest my arms and hands wherever I want,
| especially when reading a book for hours on end.
|
| If you ever watch long-ish video content on your tablet or
| phone, do you keep holding the device? Or do you put it down
| someplace where you can see the screen? Same thing, really.
| Maybe it's not for you. But I've seen enough people in public
| precariously balance their phones on their knees while
| watching Youtube that I know I'm not totally alone.
| AdmiralAsshat wrote:
| It _could_ be for me in theory, I suppose. My ebook reader
| does have a "stand" option built into the case. But the
| screen size is only 6", and so I suppose I never found a
| situation where I'd want to prop the device a foot or more
| away from me, because then I'd be unable to read the text.
| And if I _could_ read the text, the font size would have to
| be so large that I probably couldn 't fit more than a
| paragraph on the screen before having to turn the page!
| ibraheemdev wrote:
| Does anyone happen to know if this possible with a Kobo?
| diob wrote:
| I absolutely agree. I read with a mechanical arm that holds the
| book for me so I can read on my back while I try to sleep. I
| would love a way to turn pages with a little remote.
| wintermutestwin wrote:
| That's a great idea! Could you please link the arm you use?
| diob wrote:
| Sure, it's here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P8YHK
| LF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...
|
| I have a shelf behind my bed, so I connect it to that.
| Works great.
| throwaway59553 wrote:
| My problem with e-readers is that they don't look that good when
| most of your reading is scanned books, e.g. from archive.org But
| if one only reads common e-books, they seem way better than a
| tablet.
| petercooper wrote:
| I really like the Kindle Oasis for things that can be read
| sequentially and where the formatting doesn't matter (e.g. plain
| text) but as soon as you fall off those rails it turns into a
| nightmare. You can't flick through the pages easily, draw on it,
| jump back and forth easily, and all manner of natural things you
| can do with the physical book.. so they'll never go away, IMHO.
| 2Gkashmiri wrote:
| i listen to audiobooks. come to think of it, i have been doing
| that for the last decade and i recently found out that i do not
| sleep well if i do not have some book speak to me while i fall
| asleep.
| robsalasco wrote:
| what kind of audiobooks you enjoy for that purpose?
| 2Gkashmiri wrote:
| i like to listen to detective fiction, louise penny, henning
| mankell, my favorites, then books like jusse adler olsen and
| lars kepler, johnathan kellerman series also.
|
| what i do is, i put on the audiobook on play with a 10 minute
| timer. voice app on android has a shake to play again. so if
| i like the book, i can finish the 10 minutes and i shake to
| start playing again. right untill i fall asleep. that way the
| next morning i have to go back within the last 10 minutes to
| the point i can no longer remember what was said. that is
| where i continue
| fullstop wrote:
| How do you remember where you left off?
| 2Gkashmiri wrote:
| voice. android app. does what i want. auto sleep timer
| bookmarks
| damontal wrote:
| the audible app has a sleep timer you can set that will turn
| it off after a specified period of time. 15 mins is usually
| enough for me.
| clktmr wrote:
| Personally would love to use an e-reader to read lengthy blog
| posts, but last time I tried it was very tedious. I converted the
| post to PDF using firefox's reader mode and uploaded these to the
| device. Are there any e-readers with something like firefox's
| reader mode integrated?
| xekul wrote:
| Kobo has Pocket integration.
| te_chris wrote:
| Yep, it's super convenient for storing up long-form articles.
| dont__panic wrote:
| I use a Boox device (see my top-level comment in this same
| thread for a breakdown of my experience), it runs Android with
| some light customization on top. So you can just install
| FireFox right on the device. Or you can use EinkBro, an e-ink
| optimized fork (of FF, I think?) that has paging built right in
| to better work with e-ink.
| organsnyder wrote:
| Pocket or Instapaper work well for this.
| NoGravitas wrote:
| Kobo's stock reader has integration with Pocket: you add an
| article to Pocket on your desktop/phone, and your reader pulls
| queued articles when it's on WiFi. You can read them offline,
| and they're _basically_ like reader-mode.
|
| KOReader, which you can install on several ereader devices, has
| similar integration with Wallabag. I find it extremely
| convenient to read lengthy blog posts and news articles this
| way.
| spicybright wrote:
| Not sure if it still exists, but when I had a kindle, I had a
| virtual printers you'd print documents to, and it would
| automatically appear on the kindle. Very good experience.
| damontal wrote:
| you can still email documents to your kindle
| magpie09 wrote:
| I use Kobo with Pocket integration for exactly this! Just
| install the extension, click the button, refresh on your
| e-reader and get reading :) It doesn't work for _every_ page
| but it has been really useful for me.
| BeetleB wrote:
| No one gave the answer that's worked for a decade: Calibre has
| a "Fetch News" option. You can customize it to any RSS feed.
| Calibre can then just download posts daily/weekly and make
| ebooks out of them.
| jetrink wrote:
| A long time ago, I used a service where you subscribed to any
| number of blogs via their RSS feeds and the service created a
| daily or weekly e-book for you with all of the new posts,
| complete with a table of contents. If you had a Kindle, you
| could have it automatically sent to your device via the
| device's email address. It was wonderful, but eventually shut
| down - probably due to fewer and fewer blogs offering RSS
| feeds.
| mmcdermott wrote:
| If you are looking at the big names (Kindle, Kobo, Nook), I
| doubt it. The devices become far more open elsewhere. I have a
| Boyue Likebook eReader which has unfettered access to the
| internet via built in web browser and Chrome.
| vmurthy wrote:
| >I'm still not into the prospect of purchasing books on the
| e-reader - it's something I'll probably avoid
|
| Agree with most of what the author (including a preference for
| physical books) says but this. I must have spent close to USD 2k
| on various e-books (I use Amazon because of legacy reasons ..
| availability of e-readers in India around 2013 etc ) and the joy
| these purchases have given me can't compare with what I might
| have gotten with Overdrive etc. YMMV but I like to be able to go
| back and refer a passage I read 5 years ago.
| jacurtis wrote:
| My favorite part about ebooks, and specifically Kindle/Amazon
| is that you can flip through your highlights. I will highlight
| parts of a book I really enjoyed and sometimes write personal
| notes about them as I read.
|
| I enjoy going back and spending 15-30 minutes going through my
| highlights and notes on books I previously read and re-reading
| sections around highlights. It brings back a surprising amount
| of memories and emotions from the book that get lost over time.
| Now Amazon lets you read these with read.amazon.com and offers
| some export features. The export features are still not
| perfect, but are better than they were.
|
| I also like the sheer number of books I can keep on my Kindle
| and they don't take up physical space in my home. I don't want
| hundreds of books stacked up that i read once. So instead I
| find that I read on Kindle first. Then if I REALLY enjoy the
| book, I will purchase a physical copy for my bookshelf. So my
| bookshelf becomes a physical embodiment of my curated
| favorites. I also have an obsession with old books, so I enjoy
| hunting down cool copies at used bookstores to get the right
| one for my bookshelf.
|
| Here is the tool I use to get highlights and notes off my
| Kindle and onto Notion, which allows multi-device syncing and
| web-access to my notes and private storage.
|
| https://github.com/paperboi/kindle2notion
| 2Gkashmiri wrote:
| i am a pirate and i extensively use a borrowed overdrive. i
| still buy kindle from olx because i can get them on the cheap,
| much more than amazon itself.
| Otek wrote:
| Ebooks are so cheap these days, that it's a shame to pirate
| them.
| BeetleB wrote:
| I'm not sure what you mean by "cheap". A lot of nonfiction
| is $15-50.
|
| Also, when I buy physical books, I often buy used ones. At
| local used book stores, I can often get them for $5 or
| less.
| Otek wrote:
| I mean, while the prices of paper books and ebooks don't
| differ much after release, the discounts on ebooks, are
| often much higher than on paper books. I've seen great
| books for a dollar more than once.
| 2Gkashmiri wrote:
| i borrow from overdrive. i wrote that. i pirate stuff not
| on overdrive because buying from amazon ties me to their
| devices and they give me a "license" to read on their
| devices only. i want mp3 of ebooks. i pay for an ebook and
| get a epub file. is that too hard?
| Otek wrote:
| So don't use Amazon. ebooks.com sells epub files. Was
| that too hard to find?
| xur17 wrote:
| I realize it's irrational given the price of ebooks, but
| the lack of "ownership" of the books makes me a lot less
| interested in buying them.
| Otek wrote:
| It depends on where you buy the book. Many stores will
| just send you a mobi or epub file so you can archive that
| yourself. If you buy through amazon, you are tied to that
| store unfortunately, but the situation is similar to
| games. It is very rare now to buy a game that is not part
| of some account.
| xur17 wrote:
| > Many stores will just send you a mobi or epub file so
| you can archive that yourself.
|
| Do you know what stores offer that? Last time I looked
| around it was mostly small shops with very minimal book
| offerings.
| Otek wrote:
| I can name two (never used any of them, I'm going full
| Amazon)
|
| ebooks.com but you have to look if the book you like has
| an unencrypted epub versions
|
| smashwords.com
| dageshi wrote:
| Personally I very rarely re-read books so the concept of
| owning them just doesn't really matter to me. If my ebook
| collection suddenly disappeared I wouldn't particularly
| care, I already got the value out of them I was going to
| get.
|
| As for physical books, I'm trying to get rid of 200 or so
| I bought pre ebooks and damn it's a pain.
| neonnoodle wrote:
| I love lending books to friends without the expectation
| or need to get them back, and ebooks often make this
| impossible. I also love perusing used book stores,
| another sad casualty of digital formats.
| 2Gkashmiri wrote:
| i tried once to find paperbacks of my favourite books i
| have heard over the years, like louise penny or henning
| mankell series in thrift book stores mainly in Delhi
| (sunday market) but havent been there in a couple of
| years because of the pandemic but i would like cheap
| paperbacks on the shelves but not all the books i have
| heard over the years.
| 2Gkashmiri wrote:
| cheap? amazon india at least has ebooks priced equal to or
| more than paperbacks which makes no rational sense other
| than that amazon is price gouging. for a physical paper
| back, i was told that the author is lucky to get 5% of the
| sales price. Would it be hard to price an ebook lets say
| 10%, 20% of the paperback with 100% of the proceeds going
| to author. or does that price canibalize the paperback
| industry so they price match it to keep the demand of
| paperbacks alive. ?
| Otek wrote:
| Printing a book is cheap. Very cheap. Most of the cost is
| prepress, proper typesetting, proofreading. There is no
| reason why ebooks should be noticeably cheaper than paper
| books, because the costs are not where people expect them
| to be.
| frosted-flakes wrote:
| Also, I've come to realize that physical books are heavy and
| take up more space than they're worth, for me. I have probably
| about 50 books that I value most (mostly novels), but the rest
| I own as e-books or audio books. I used to have more. It's one
| thing if you have a permanent home with space for a large
| library, but when I've had to move my books, and try to fit
| them into small living quarters, I decided to pare them back a
| little and keep only what I value most. I haven't regretted it.
| stakkur wrote:
| I buy print books for those I value and probably want to read
| again or share with others; otherwise it's e-reading (especially
| tech/learning books).
| bobek wrote:
| I have ended up with Onyx Boox about a year ago and it is
| awesome. Being an Android tablet opens up space for a bit of
| customization. For example, I am running syncthing on it keep
| book collection in order without any 3rd party...
| dmart wrote:
| I've found that e-readers are perfect for novels or nonfiction
| books meant to be read linearly from beginning to end. I don't
| buy paperbacks anymore because the experience is superior
| (lighter weight, backlight, word definitions).
|
| But I do still buy physical copies of technical textbooks or
| reference-style works. Ebook formatting is still just not good
| enough in my experience for things like code blocks and math
| formulas. Also, for those types of books, the ability to quickly
| scan through the pages to find something is important, and
| e-readers still do a very poor job at this.
| WalterBright wrote:
| I'd like them more if they'd implement any of the UI suggestions
| I send them, but no response from any of the e-reader companies.
|
| Grump grump grump :-)
| ipaddr wrote:
| I stopped using readers after the open ereader maker alaratek
| stopped making them. The brands left are twice the cost and do
| not support as many formats.
|
| If anyone knows of a good non-amazon, kobo brand is please share.
| mdm12 wrote:
| I have an Onyx Boox Note Pro that I have had for about two
| years now. Not cheap (was $500 when I purchased it) but well
| worth it for me, given how much time I use it and how much
| space it saves.
|
| I only use it for reading, so I can't attest to its writing
| capabilities. Or all the other crap that it technically
| supports, as it is an Android device.
| dnilasor wrote:
| Lol I like your unvarnished criticism embedded in encomia. But I
| share it...as soon as I started thinking...I can use it in the
| bathtub...and with my OverDrive account?? I want one. I started
| reading real books much more frequently this year (my #1
| childhood pastime) after yearssss of basically only "reading"
| audiobooks besides books for grad school. So maybe I want one.
| Hardware experience sounds annoying AF, but that's nothing a
| shitty/lazy Linux user can't handle, right? And as others have
| said...a natural deterrent from doing anything but reading, woot.
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