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Ebook reader/tablet.



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 15th 13, 10:03 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
Ian Field
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 36
Default Ebook reader/tablet.

Is there a specific group for questions about ebook reader/tablet type
devices?

What I intend is; obtain a very cheap - simple tablet for reading PDF as a
bare minimum.

Someone told me I won't be able to transfer files without Wi-Fi (my PC
doesn't have it), I was hoping file transfer would be as simple as USB - the
same person told me; "not without using Wi-Fi to download the app you
won't".

Any help please?

Thanks.

  #2  
Old March 15th 13, 10:49 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 7
Default Ebook reader/tablet.

You can get a lot of good information at

http://www.mobileread.com/

The forum covers all ereaders.

You CAN move files without Wi-Fi by using a usb connection between
your computer and ereader.

For reading PDF files note that ereaders are not the best choice for
reading PDF files. The screen is small and ereaders do not allow for
reflow (changing magnification). It can be done but if your main
requirement is PDF consider an Android tablet. They are better than an
ereader for PDF and you can read epub and mobi files.

Harry



On Fri, 15 Mar 2013 22:03:39 -0000, "Ian Field"
wrote:

Is there a specific group for questions about ebook reader/tablet type
devices?

What I intend is; obtain a very cheap - simple tablet for reading PDF as a
bare minimum.

Someone told me I won't be able to transfer files without Wi-Fi (my PC
doesn't have it), I was hoping file transfer would be as simple as USB - the
same person told me; "not without using Wi-Fi to download the app you
won't".

Any help please?

Thanks.

  #3  
Old March 16th 13, 06:01 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
Bert[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 21
Default Ebook reader/tablet.

In "Ian Field"
wrote:

Someone told me I won't be able to transfer files without Wi-Fi (my PC
doesn't have it), I was hoping file transfer would be as simple as USB
- the same person told me; "not without using Wi-Fi to download the
app you won't".


My wife has a basic Kindle. We're able to load files onto it via USB from a
PC with no problem. WiFi is only needed if you want to be able to buy books
or check them out from a library when you're away from your PC.

The basic Kindle reads PDFs just fine, but most PDF documents are formatted
for 8.5"x11" (US A size or European A4 size) paper and don't work well on
the small screen.

--
St. Paul, MN
  #4  
Old March 16th 13, 06:41 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
Ian Field
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 36
Default Ebook reader/tablet.



wrote in message
...
You can get a lot of good information at

http://www.mobileread.com/

The forum covers all ereaders.


Thanks.


You CAN move files without Wi-Fi by using a usb connection between
your computer and ereader.



Thanks - I did suspect I was being fed weapons grade bolonium!

  #5  
Old March 16th 13, 06:45 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
Ian Field
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 36
Default Ebook reader/tablet.



"Bert" wrote in message
...
In "Ian Field"
wrote:

Someone told me I won't be able to transfer files without Wi-Fi (my PC
doesn't have it), I was hoping file transfer would be as simple as USB
- the same person told me; "not without using Wi-Fi to download the
app you won't".


My wife has a basic Kindle. We're able to load files onto it via USB from
a
PC with no problem. WiFi is only needed if you want to be able to buy
books
or check them out from a library when you're away from your PC.



Buy?! - I have nearly 2Tb of ebooks downloaded from one of the binaries.

  #6  
Old March 17th 13, 05:35 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
Bert[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 21
Default Ebook reader/tablet.

In "Ian Field"
wrote:

Buy?! - I have nearly 2Tb of ebooks downloaded from one of the
binaries.


"We could do that, but it would be wrong." - Richard Nixon.

--
St. Paul, MN
  #7  
Old March 18th 13, 03:07 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
Ian Field
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 36
Default Ebook reader/tablet.



"Joel" wrote in message
...
"Ian Field" wrote:

Is there a specific group for questions about ebook reader/tablet type
devices?

What I intend is; obtain a very cheap - simple tablet for reading PDF as
a
bare minimum.

Someone told me I won't be able to transfer files without Wi-Fi (my PC
doesn't have it), I was hoping file transfer would be as simple as USB -
the
same person told me; "not without using Wi-Fi to download the app you
won't".

Any help please?

Thanks.


The NewsGroup for eBook Reader is pretty much called GOOGLE. It sêms like
you misunderstand the question and answer

1. In order to BUY or brorrow eBook from library or similar you will need
either Wi-Fi or 3G (or similar) in order to transfer ebook from store or
library

2. PDF is the last thing you really want. In other word it would be nice
to
have PDF supported, but you don't really want PDF eBook Reader. IOW, the
other format(s) usually work lot better with the eDoob reader than PDF
format

3. With most eBook readers (not iPod and most Apple products) you should
be
able to transfer eBook using USB.


Unfortunately the vast majority of the ebooks I have are PDF, although the
Kindle Calibre app might solve that one.

I was thinking of avoiding Apple stuff unless I was offered a S/H one at a
price I can't refuse.

I have a Netgear dongle that is intended for use with a Wi-Fi router,
presumably the Wi-Fi would be integrated into the tablet - would my USB
dongle complete the link?

  #8  
Old March 18th 13, 03:11 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
Bert[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 21
Default Ebook reader/tablet.

In Joel
wrote:

With Kindle, you can use the free eBook converter called Calibre to
convert mosts formats to MOBI which is similar to Kindle's own format
AWZ (renamed from MOBI).


I use Calibre, but it doesn't do too well on most PDFs, since they
apparently don't contain much in the way of formatting hints for Calibre
to use.

Kindle's read MOBIs just as well as AZWs. I don't know if there's any
difference between the formats beyond the name.

--
St. Paul, MN
  #9  
Old March 18th 13, 05:17 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
Paul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 13,364
Default Ebook reader/tablet.

Bert wrote:
In Joel
wrote:

With Kindle, you can use the free eBook converter called Calibre to
convert mosts formats to MOBI which is similar to Kindle's own format
AWZ (renamed from MOBI).


I use Calibre, but it doesn't do too well on most PDFs, since they
apparently don't contain much in the way of formatting hints for Calibre
to use.


PDF is actually a programming language. So it's more than
"just a few hints". It contains all the commands necessary
to produce vector graphics or bitmap graphics or fonts
with glyphs or... you name it.

So to say it doesn't have "formatting hints", is disingenuous.
It works at an entirely different level (i.e. not a word
processor format).

If you've ever tried to write conversion programs, to
go from one format to another, you discover rather quickly,
that some of the things you've been asked to translate,
have no exact equivalent in the other environment. And
then your "translation" looks pretty dopey.

It's like when someone asks for a "PDF to Microsoft Word"
translator. Well, PDF is mostly focused on graphics primitives.
The "letters" may not be associated with each other any more
(you can have trouble telling where words begin and end,
where spaces should go and so on). When I hear someone ask
for a "PDF to Microsoft Word" translator, it just makes me wince
thinking about it.

Like, imagine converting this (easily expressed precisely
in a PDF), into Microsoft Word. PDF has the ability to display
text characters along a mathematical path. Does Microsoft
Word have that capability ? There might not be an
exact way to do this in Microsoft Word (without cheating,
and just inserting a picture).

http://candlvarsityjackets.com/image...aight-text.jpg

This is one of my favorites. Originally written, by hand,
in the PostScript language. Then distilled to PDF (another
programming language). You can open this first link easily
in Acrobat, to see what it looks like. Engineers use this
for certain electrical design problems. Normally, the university
book store charges an "arm and leg" for a sheet of
this graph paper, which is why people were enamored
with printing their own copies on a laser printer.
(Thirty years ago, we would have bought this dude a beer!)

http://ecee.colorado.edu/~kuester/smith/smith.pdf

(The PostScript version is next - you can open this in Notepad,
and read the comments by the author... This is one of
my favorite hand-hewn diagrams, because it's so damn
clever. Try translating this into Microsoft Word. Because
this is hand-hewn, the code isn't obfuscated.)

http://ecee.colorado.edu/~kuester/smith/smith.ps

Doing translations is not easy - especially when
every user who uses your tool comments "Huh! It didn't
do a very good job". Well, of course not, they're not
even conceptually close. They can both have "text strings"
in them, but in the case of PDF, that's not essential.
In fact, some PDFs store text as a bunch of tiny pixmaps,
which is most annoying as a technique. If you wanted to
reverse translate such a PDF to Microsoft Word, you'd have
to do OCR to get there.

Some of the things done in PDF, are done on purpose to make
the documents less useful (i.e. so you can't steal the content).
For example, one such hack I undid, it causes the "text copy"
buffer to be filled with garbage, if a user attempts to copy
a passage from the document. (That is different than the
"do not copy" security setting - it's an additional form of security.)
It's when the PDF is purposely "disrupted" with that objective
in mind, that translation could be pretty damn difficult.
So when you look at the actual programming language used in
a PDF, most of the code in there is to "obfuscate" what
is going on - documents would be much smaller, byte-wise,
if there weren't so many creative efforts to stop translation
or copying.

(All about PDF - 1310 pages)

http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe...erence_1-7.pdf

(The predecessor, PostScript printer language - years ago,
the only way to get a copy of this, was purchase a printed copy.
The irony... I still have mine, but the back is cracked.
Now you can download the damn thing, for free.)

http://www.adobe.com/products/postscript/pdfs/PLRM.pdf

As a result of my own pitiful efforts to do translators,
I'm most impressed when someone else does one, and they
even get half-close to a successful translation. Some
things are easy to translate, and some... not.

Paul
  #10  
Old March 18th 13, 05:34 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware
Bert[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 21
Default Ebook reader/tablet.

In Paul wrote:

So to say it doesn't have "formatting hints", is disingenuous.
It works at an entirely different level (i.e. not a word
processor format).


Fine.

But Calibre still doesn't do a very good job convering PDFs into any
other format.

And "disingenuous" was certainly not appropriate, unless it was your
intention to be insulting.

--
St. Paul, MN
 




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