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I like e-readers now

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Re: I like e-readers now

#121

Post by ojagodzinski »

sharikous wrote: post #68

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…

> 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.

Re: I like e-readers now

#122

Post by admax88qqq »

grlass wrote: post #92

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-…

Super cool. I feel like the bigger struggle will be getting actual books.

Unless you pirate them, most books are encumbered with DRM.

Re: I like e-readers now

#123

Post by kbenson »

Spivak wrote: post #111
morsch wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

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?

Re: I like e-readers now

#124

Post by danhor »

kbenson wrote: post #123
Spivak wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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?

If he's playing the switch docked, the split controllers mean that the arms can be moved freely. Normal controllers don't allow that

Re: I like e-readers now

#125

Post by toast0 »

f0e4c2f7 wrote: post #90
sharikous wrote: post #68

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…

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…

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.

Re: I like e-readers now

#126

Post by diffCtx »

morsch wrote: post #109
stinkytaco wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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) a…

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.

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.

Re: I like e-readers now

#127

Post by greenie_beans »

grlass wrote: post #92

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-…

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.

Re: I like e-readers now

#128

Post by UncleOxidant »

f0e4c2f7 wrote: post #90
sharikous wrote: post #68

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…

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…

> 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.

Re: I like e-readers now

#129

Post by Hemospectrum »

kbenson wrote: post #123
Spivak wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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?

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.

Re: I like e-readers now

#130

Post by UncleOxidant »

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.
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