I like e-readers now • Hacker News Board

Re: I like e-readers now

#161

Post by DashAnimal » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 4:55 PM UTC

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.

Re: I like e-readers now

#162

Post by agentdrtran » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 4:55 PM UTC

Farbklex wrote: post #155

All I want is an e-Reader with USB-C. I refuse to buy any device which require me to use another charging cable.

The new Paperwhite coming in october has USB-C

Re: I like e-readers now

#163

Post by dnilasor » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 4:55 PM UTC

stinkytaco wrote: post #107

TrailMixRaisin wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

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:

Re: I like e-readers now

#164

Post by BeetleB » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 4:58 PM UTC

clktmr wrote: post #9

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?

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.

Re: I like e-readers now

#165

Post by georgewsinger » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:00 PM UTC

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?

Re: I like e-readers now

#166

Post by arsome » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:01 PM UTC

georgewsinger wrote: post #165

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?

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.

Re: I like e-readers now

#167

Post by neonnoodle » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:02 PM UTC

dageshi wrote: post #91

xur17 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

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.

Re: I like e-readers now

#168

Post by 0des » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:03 PM UTC

arsome wrote: post #166

georgewsinger wrote: post #165

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?

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.

At least in the case of the new ereader amazon just released, some of them include LED backlighting.

Re: I like e-readers now

#169

Post by 0des » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:04 PM UTC

admax88qqq wrote: post #122

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.

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.

Re: I like e-readers now

#170

Post by praxulus » Tue, Sep 21, 2021, 5:06 PM UTC

AshamedCaptain wrote: post #105

kayodelycaon wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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'…

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.

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.