Wanted features

[Yar-PocketBooker]

Originally Posted by Marcy

A real dictionary! Not a translation dictionary, but one to look up words in that is more current than 1913. I'd pay for this.

-Marcy

Almost done. It will be in one of the next firmware updates (soon).

[BookJunkieLI]

As a soon to be PB360 owner I'd love metatag support. LIT support would be nice to as I have a number of files I wasn't looking forward to having to convert.

[anabelee]

I apply for the dictionarie too, improved, and of course, a language dictionary (I'm Spanish, and although I'm doing my best, help is always welcome).

Thank you for this thread.

[IndecisiveMe]

Originally Posted by BookJunkieLI

As a soon to be PB360 owner I'd love metatag support. LIT support would be nice to as I have a number of files I wasn't looking forward to having to convert.

I wasn't looking forward to converting files either, but I've found that using Calibre to convert LIT files to FB2 is quick and easy, not anything to worry about at all

But yes, LIT support would be lovely so we can avoid the conversions.

[Logseman]

I adhere to the LIT support, the Theme making wizard, and the dictionary. I rest assured that there is one in the making. However, I wonder if it will support less common combinations like German-Spanish, or if we'll have to build 'em ourselves. In such case, some more documentation on dictionaries (knowing that Stardict is open-source ) won't harm.

[Marcy]

I don't think .lit support is feasible, given that it is a proprietary format owned by Microsoft and they haven't given permission to anyone to write a program to display it on a system other than Windows. You need to be realistic when asking for features.

However .lit docs are so easy to convert they aren't a problem. The GUI DRM-stripping tool is simple to use and will process multiple books at one time. Calibre will then easily convert your books to a multitude of other formats.

-Marcy

[Guns4Hire]

I third tags.

Automatic (finish the book and it removes itself) or manual way to clear the 'last open books' from within the PB360 (maybe there is a way now just not aware of it).

[mimosavj]

I vote for tags too.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Marcy

I don't think .lit support is feasible, given that it is a proprietary format owned by Microsoft and they haven't given permission to anyone to write a program to display it on a system other than Windows. You need to be realistic when asking for features.

I can imagine a situation when an anonymous hacker, with nick Ivan Kuznec (John Smith) releases litreader.app on some filesharing servers.
You copy it to /system/bin directory and add a line with lit extension to the extensions.conf file.
What can Microsoft do?
They will do the same as they did with the "convertlit" program or with Calibre. Nothing.

[Marcy]

Originally Posted by kacir

I can imagine a situation when an anonymous hacker, with nick Ivan Kuznec (John Smith) releases litreader.app on some filesharing servers.
You copy it to /system/bin directory and add a line with lit extension to the extensions.conf file.
What can Microsoft do?
They will do the same as they did with the "convertlit" program or with Calibre. Nothing.

Of course that can be done. But Pocketreader as a company can't add specific support, as they are not an anonymous hacker and Microsoft would definitely have recourse.

So, that would be a wish-list item for anonymous hackers...

-Marcy

[kacir]

I have a modest request.

I would like to have English documentation for the existing Theme Builder.
I would also like to have an example that show all the options. Theme "sheep" and "Sherlock", or theme "Five" I have posted to another thread demonstrate that there are many possibilities that the three default themes do not use.

[mtravellerh]

Originally Posted by kacir

I have a modest request.

I would like to have English documentation for the existing Theme Builder.
I would also like to have an example that show all the options. Theme "sheep" and "Sherlock", or theme "Five" I have posted to another thread demonstrate that there are many possibilities that the three default themes do not use.

I'll try to get that for you

[Logseman]

Originally Posted by Guns4Hire

I third tags.

Automatic (finish the book and it removes itself) or manual way to clear the 'last open books' from within the PB360 (maybe there is a way now just not aware of it).

What you can do right now is wipe all reading marks from your memory, which automatically empties your "last open" list.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by mtravellerh

I'll try to get that for you

I have prepared and formated a rough translation using Translate.google.com, so the developer preparing the document for us does not have to do tedious work (and he can spend as much time as possible improving the firmware ;-) ).

It would be good if one of Guys From Kiev (TM) could check the translation and perhaps add some more explanations.


If they could also provide themes "Sheeps", "Sherlock" and "Covers-S-r2" (if possible with sources) that won the competition at the-ebook.org forum, we could learn from the very best examples.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Marcy

I don't think .lit support is feasible, given that it is a proprietary format owned by Microsoft and they haven't given permission to anyone to write a program to display it on a system other than Windows. You need to be realistic when asking for features.
-Marcy

Beg to differ ma'am.
MS Reader DRM is MS proprietary but the LIT format itself is fully documented and open to use by others. That is precisely why Calibre and other apps can convert to/from LIT in the first place.

The Hanlin V3 and V5 ereaders (sold under many different names) have for several years offered LIT support. Flaky but real. No lawsuit has ensued.

There is also at least one commercial application, TinyReader from Golden Crater Software that supports LIT format. (I have it installed on my WinMo Smartphone.) Again, no lawsuit after 7+ years on the market.
http://www.goldencrater.com/

And then there is Stanza on PC and IPxx that also supports LIT. Ditto.
(MS isn't half as demonic as they're made out to be, you know...)

LIT in itself is simply OpenEbook in a Microsoft-defined compression wrapper.
As such it is a precursor of sorts to ePub, minus the attempts to graft PDF features onto OpenEbook, that give us ePub "wonders" such as hard-wired margins, non replaceable fonts, and all-image ePubs.

Add in that the LIT spec features a standard dictionary format that is fully documented in multiple languages and includes the free converter tools and that free and commercial dictionaries exist in LIT format for most major languages and the argument can be made that LIT is a more mature format than ePub at its current state of development. No shame there; ePub is barely a year old while LIT is over a decade old. Also, it doesn't hurt that MS Reader on PC and Pocket PC has excellent typography.X

The relevant fact here is that there are entire libraries' worth of ebooks in LIT format (The University of Virginia's eText collection comes to mind; MS helped fund their conversion efforts early in the last decade) and that a lot of us coming to eInk readers from the PDA world are deeply vested in commercial ebooks in LIT format. To such as us, LIT support is a lifeline and a selling point (I, for one, bought my BeBook solely because of its LIT support at a time *before* Calibre supported LIT conversion).

Now, given the MS-phobia prevalent in the publishing industry and LINUX community, I know the MS taint makes it unlikely that we'll soon see a LIT reader app on another LINUX-based system (the Hanlin one hasn't been updated in over a year), but to wistfully ask for one is hardly unrealistic; the source code for opening LITs into their internal OEB file structure is readily available and so is the code for OEB rendering in LINUX so the project is quite feasible in *technical* terms.

Whether it is a feasible use of the time and skills of the Guys in Kiev(tm) is a Pocketbook Global management decision. I'm not holding my breath (hence my blue sky comment) but I'm not giving up the hope that there's enough of us old PDA-reader veterans out there to make it worth their time to add LIT support.

After all, "maybe the horse will sing".

Fair'nough?

Peace!