Am I allowed to vent here? - Page 2

rmeister0 · 06-08-2007, 12:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlauzon

We need a common, standard eBook format that all eBook readers can handle.

Like...oh...say, XHTML? Sure, there are edge cases where it doesn't work so well, but markup languages by nature are extensible. Perhaps it is time to stop reinventing the wheel and work with what we got.

NatCh · 06-08-2007, 01:36 AM

Sounds good to me, rmeister0, but frankly I'd personally be happy with any workable, agreed on 'standard,' even if it was something totally new and completely bizarre, like, I don't know, based on lava lamp movement or some fool thing. Just pick something and go with it already, I say.

But yes, some variant of XML would get my vote given choices.

yvanleterrible · 06-08-2007, 10:06 AM

There is a head historical library official here that had old manuscripts scanned and the documents rendered in PDF. There was no other way of doing it. Deciphering old language in handwritten format is a skill in it's own. Interpretation varies from one historian to an other. In this way those documents are well preserved and left for further historian's analysis. In this case PDF is as perfect as the scan and well usable.

Unfortunately PDF is not for every situation and so it is. Just as driving a truck is not like driving a race car.

PDF has its uses but not in our case. Translate your PDFs to other formats. It's not that hard. If you have Acrobat pro, at installation, it will also have installed a menu in Word, simplifying translation. Word has a batch proccessing translation Wizard that will proccess multiple documents in a flash.

The standard for readers does not yet exist because the reader has not yet been perfected. Period.

sborsody · 06-08-2007, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

There is a head historical library official here that had old manuscripts scanned and the documents rendered in PDF. There was no other way of doing it.

Awesome.

Quote:

If you have Acrobat pro, at installation, it will also have installed a menu in Word, simplifying translation. Word has a batch proccessing translation Wizard that will proccess multiple documents in a flash.

Microsoft Office has a feature where you can OCR text from an image. It doesn't work on other languages (like Russian) unless you have another piece of add-on $oftware from Microsoft and set your default Office language to the language you plan on OCR-ing.

Anyway, thanks all for venting with me. I'm thinking about loading up an SD card with some test PDFs and going back to Borders to see for myself how the Sony Reader displays them.

yvanleterrible · 06-08-2007, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sborsody

Awesome.

Microsoft Office has a feature where you can OCR text from an image. It doesn't work on other languages (like Russian) unless you have another piece of add-on $oftware from Microsoft and set your default Office language to the language you plan on OCR-ing.

Anyway, thanks all for venting with me. I'm thinking about loading up an SD card with some test PDFs and going back to Borders to see for myself how the Sony Reader displays them.

I was talking of manuscripts. Texts written by hand. There is no OCR for them. It is impossible to create software for that. Even historians often disagree in their interpretations and deciphering.

NatCh · 06-08-2007, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sborsody

I'm thinking about loading up an SD card with some test PDFs and going back to Borders to see for myself how the Sony Reader displays them.

That's an excellent notion. Two things I'd suggest you do, though. The first is run a PDF through RasterFarian or one of the other slice-n-dicers on the forum, so you can also see what that approach might do for you. A lot of folks find it works fine for them, but you'll want to decide that for yourself.

The second suggestion is not to put too many files on the card for your testing. The reason I say that is that the Reader indexes the entire card when you insert it, looking for files that it can display. If you've got a largish card crammed full of mp3 files, for instance, you'll have to stand there for a few minutes while it does that indexing. If you just put 10 or 20 PDFs that you want to look at on it, it'll only take a few seconds to recognize those.

sborsody · 06-08-2007, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

That's an excellent notion. Two things I'd suggest you do, though. The first is run a PDF through RasterFarian or one of the other slice-n-dicers on the forum, so you can also see what that approach might do for you. A lot of folks find it works fine for them, but you'll want to decide that for yourself.

Thanks for the suggestions. Is there a file section somewhere around here or are these tools buried in a thread?

NatCh · 06-08-2007, 02:01 PM

Here's a link to the latest RasterFarian thread (it has the advantage of having the files and instructions all together), the others will require some more poking about to find, I'm afraid.

Glad to help, I don't want you to end up with something you won't like.

sborsody · 06-12-2007, 02:05 PM

So I did it. I checked out the display Reader at Border's with some pdfs and some RasterFarian converted lrfs. I played around with both portrait and landscape display. It wasn't too bad (mind you I don't have any A4-sized PDFs). The lrfs seemed just slightly larger.

The e-ink screen is still the big selling point for me in this device because of where I plan to be reading a lot (outside). So yesterday I went to my local Border's to purchase the Reader (it seems easier to obtain than the other devices) and they were all out, sort of. They said they had three "received" but unpacked and so for whatever reason they wouldn't be available for like a week. Sounded stupid to me. I reminded the store clerk that it was the 11th already and their sale ends on the 17th so she called around to other stores. Seems like either Border's doesn't carry many of these devices or the sale is drawing people to purchase them because after calling several stores she finally located a store that had ONE left. I was able to purchase it over the phone and it should arrive at my house in a few days (free shipping).

yvanleterrible · 06-12-2007, 02:16 PM

Good move! You won't regret it cause you've done your homework.

NatCh · 06-12-2007, 02:30 PM

Welcome to the club, sborsody, I'm glad it looks like the PDF's you want to use will work with the Reader.

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06-08-2007, 01:36 AM	#17
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Sounds good to me, rmeister0, but frankly I'd personally be happy with any workable, agreed on 'standard,' even if it was something totally new and completely bizarre, like, I don't know, based on lava lamp movement or some fool thing. Just pick something and go with it already, I say. But yes, some variant of XML would get my vote given choices.

06-08-2007, 10:06 AM	#18
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	There is a head historical library official here that had old manuscripts scanned and the documents rendered in PDF. There was no other way of doing it. Deciphering old language in handwritten format is a skill in it's own. Interpretation varies from one historian to an other. In this way those documents are well preserved and left for further historian's analysis. In this case PDF is as perfect as the scan and well usable. Unfortunately PDF is not for every situation and so it is. Just as driving a truck is not like driving a race car. PDF has its uses but not in our case. Translate your PDFs to other formats. It's not that hard. If you have Acrobat pro, at installation, it will also have installed a menu in Word, simplifying translation. Word has a batch proccessing translation Wizard that will proccess multiple documents in a flash. The standard for readers does not yet exist because the reader has not yet been perfected. Period.

06-08-2007, 02:01 PM	#23
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Here's a link to the latest RasterFarian thread (it has the advantage of having the files and instructions all together), the others will require some more poking about to find, I'm afraid. Glad to help, I don't want you to end up with something you won't like.

06-12-2007, 02:05 PM	#24
sborsody Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Northern California Device: Sony Reader	So I did it. I checked out the display Reader at Border's with some pdfs and some RasterFarian converted lrfs. I played around with both portrait and landscape display. It wasn't too bad (mind you I don't have any A4-sized PDFs). The lrfs seemed just slightly larger. The e-ink screen is still the big selling point for me in this device because of where I plan to be reading a lot (outside). So yesterday I went to my local Border's to purchase the Reader (it seems easier to obtain than the other devices) and they were all out, sort of. They said they had three "received" but unpacked and so for whatever reason they wouldn't be available for like a week. Sounded stupid to me. I reminded the store clerk that it was the 11th already and their sale ends on the 17th so she called around to other stores. Seems like either Border's doesn't carry many of these devices or the sale is drawing people to purchase them because after calling several stores she finally located a store that had ONE left. I was able to purchase it over the phone and it should arrive at my house in a few days (free shipping).

06-12-2007, 02:16 PM	#25
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	Good move! You won't regret it cause you've done your homework.

06-12-2007, 02:30 PM	#26
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Welcome to the club, sborsody, I'm glad it looks like the PDF's you want to use will work with the Reader.

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