Got It! Initial Impressions! Some Help?

firekat · 07-28-2006, 02:22 AM

Got home from my trip. Opened up the iLiad that was waiting for me. I did not mess with it too much other than plugging into the "travel hub" (that's a little chintzy in design) connecting it up to the charger and the internet. Immediately updated to 2.5 Then I started to play with it. It seems a little faster than Henrycat's rendering videos. That was a nice surpise. Hopefully it will continue to improve.

Played with the Notes and found that they are "templates" in that everytime you open them it creates a new file. Does anyone know how you can re-name them? I would also like to know if there is a way to create your own templates.

I was a little dismayed that when opening up some of the illustrations the same thing seemed to happen - but I might have hit the wrong pen button.

I was having problems navigating with the stylus. I could only seem to get it to pull up the keyboard and work on the notes. I was having problems deleting some of the notes that I pulled up. Reading here on the site someone suggested booting with the stylus out of the well. That worked - that is pretty strange. Definitely needs to be fixed.

Navigating through different files all of a sudden a bunch of the demo ones don't show up! What's going on? Connect up to the computer and browse the iLiad as a drive and they are still there. Re-boot a couple of times, flailing around in the directory structure and getting used to the interface and there they are! Goofy!

Go to the laptop and pull some of the files that I worked on while on the road and pop it into the iLiad to see how it would handle it. It did well, swallowed some of the rather large pdf's that are formatted for 8.5" X 11". They seem to work and are rather small in print but still servicable/readable. Go back to the card - no files listed! Re-insert the card voil'a there they are. Weird!

The interface is decidedly different than what I would have expected. Takes a little getting used to. The thing is when your reading a doc and you want to get back to your list of files the thing I end up doing is either hitting the doc button or going back to the root directory (second key from the top), then having to re-navigate back to the SD card or USB drive. Is there an easier way? I am still not fully clear on what the function of the stairstep key is (the top key). I will like an idiot just keep pushing it and nothing will happen. Give it the long push - still nothing. Anyone's insight would be greatly appreciated.

It seems fairly buggy right now. I am not sure if it because the battery might not be fully charged (I was playing with it while it was charging) or just getting used to the thing or some combination of a number of factors.

Overall the display is pretty nice though I do have to say that I was a surprised and a bit disappointed with it's haunting (the ghosting).

Not having bookmark support in the pdf's is a real pain and renders my longish tech manuals as just about unusable as you could be paging through it all day. Someone posted that they were having luck with some bookmarking in the TOC page of their documents. I will have to experiment with this and see if I could get some satisfaction. I additionally have to see if I can "print" the pdf's to a size more appropriate to the iLiad. I have been having some problems with that in Adobe and I can't seem to find where it dumps the printed file.

IMHO system navigation really needs some work. I have been pushing buttons and nothing will happen other than that little green light will go into uninterrupted spasms. I guess I am used to PC's and internet navigation protocols. But then I held off getting a new cell phone for many years based on that fact. I have a new Razr, but compared to my old Startac the interface is just downright goofy and not very intuitive.

Overall it seems like the iLiad is a sound concept that I am hoping will come into the full fruit of it's capability in the near future. Having something to play with right now is probably better than waiting for near winter for the Sony reader which I am sure will not be as capable as the iLiad.

The device seems to have the potential for a fair amount of functionality. I am hoping that this will all come to fruitition.

It would be nice if I could browse the web, grab and save some images. That a number of different things that some people have already mentioned would be welcome improvements to what seems to be in it's basic form a pretty good device.

I would say that I is now a beta tester! My first time! I will try to remain patient and look forward to what iRex and you master hackers out there can do with it! Now you guys/gals don't go out there and brick anymore of them though!

Thanx everybody!

ElaHuguet · 07-28-2006, 02:49 AM

If you notice, many of the images are .bmp's and so are the note templates, it treats those files all the same, creating copies (sigh!)... I just let them be, and when I connect to the PC (much faster file handling), I erase all the unwanted ones, but I wish it would only create a copy when you change the original, not every time.

I haven't navigated any card (yet), so I'm not sure how to get back to the file system from there, but you are right that it's not too easy or intuitive to do generally; that ladder button could be put to some use during document navigation, to function as a "close file and go back" button, eh? What I do really like is switching it on, hitting "books" once, then again, and having it open my last file at the last page I read, doesn't take long to be back where I was.

I've found just sticking the stylus back into its casing and then out again usually fixes it, without having to reboot, have you tried that?
Have fun and enjoy your reading!

firekat · 07-28-2006, 11:36 AM

I find the stylus issues to be the big thing right now. For functionality I have to boot with it out of the silo. Put it back in the silo and poof! The stylus will not work at all! I think it might be the software as with the short bit of fiddling that I did with 2.4 it seemed to have a least enough functionality to pull up the keyboard and enter my network information. Now if you start with the stylus in the silo, pull it out for use it will not even toggle the keyboard up. I have noticed when the stylus is working on a few occasions just putting the stylus in the silo will give the iLiad conniptions and will flash up the last used directory even though I am in a document.

My question to all is are these problems common or am I having a hardware problem as well?

ElaHuguet · 07-28-2006, 12:07 PM

It's not common for me, at least, maximum trouble I've had with it is it stops responding, I stick it back in place, take out again and go. Maybe you should take it up with iRex?

07-28-2006, 02:22 AM	#1
firekat Groupie Posts: 157 Karma: 314 Join Date: May 2006	Got It! Initial Impressions! Some Help? Got home from my trip. Opened up the iLiad that was waiting for me. I did not mess with it too much other than plugging into the "travel hub" (that's a little chintzy in design) connecting it up to the charger and the internet. Immediately updated to 2.5 Then I started to play with it. It seems a little faster than Henrycat's rendering videos. That was a nice surpise. Hopefully it will continue to improve. Played with the Notes and found that they are "templates" in that everytime you open them it creates a new file. Does anyone know how you can re-name them? I would also like to know if there is a way to create your own templates. I was a little dismayed that when opening up some of the illustrations the same thing seemed to happen - but I might have hit the wrong pen button. I was having problems navigating with the stylus. I could only seem to get it to pull up the keyboard and work on the notes. I was having problems deleting some of the notes that I pulled up. Reading here on the site someone suggested booting with the stylus out of the well. That worked - that is pretty strange. Definitely needs to be fixed. Navigating through different files all of a sudden a bunch of the demo ones don't show up! What's going on? Connect up to the computer and browse the iLiad as a drive and they are still there. Re-boot a couple of times, flailing around in the directory structure and getting used to the interface and there they are! Goofy! Go to the laptop and pull some of the files that I worked on while on the road and pop it into the iLiad to see how it would handle it. It did well, swallowed some of the rather large pdf's that are formatted for 8.5" X 11". They seem to work and are rather small in print but still servicable/readable. Go back to the card - no files listed! Re-insert the card voil'a there they are. Weird! The interface is decidedly different than what I would have expected. Takes a little getting used to. The thing is when your reading a doc and you want to get back to your list of files the thing I end up doing is either hitting the doc button or going back to the root directory (second key from the top), then having to re-navigate back to the SD card or USB drive. Is there an easier way? I am still not fully clear on what the function of the stairstep key is (the top key). I will like an idiot just keep pushing it and nothing will happen. Give it the long push - still nothing. Anyone's insight would be greatly appreciated. It seems fairly buggy right now. I am not sure if it because the battery might not be fully charged (I was playing with it while it was charging) or just getting used to the thing or some combination of a number of factors. Overall the display is pretty nice though I do have to say that I was a surprised and a bit disappointed with it's haunting (the ghosting). Not having bookmark support in the pdf's is a real pain and renders my longish tech manuals as just about unusable as you could be paging through it all day. Someone posted that they were having luck with some bookmarking in the TOC page of their documents. I will have to experiment with this and see if I could get some satisfaction. I additionally have to see if I can "print" the pdf's to a size more appropriate to the iLiad. I have been having some problems with that in Adobe and I can't seem to find where it dumps the printed file. IMHO system navigation really needs some work. I have been pushing buttons and nothing will happen other than that little green light will go into uninterrupted spasms. I guess I am used to PC's and internet navigation protocols. But then I held off getting a new cell phone for many years based on that fact. I have a new Razr, but compared to my old Startac the interface is just downright goofy and not very intuitive. Overall it seems like the iLiad is a sound concept that I am hoping will come into the full fruit of it's capability in the near future. Having something to play with right now is probably better than waiting for near winter for the Sony reader which I am sure will not be as capable as the iLiad. The device seems to have the potential for a fair amount of functionality. I am hoping that this will all come to fruitition. It would be nice if I could browse the web, grab and save some images. That a number of different things that some people have already mentioned would be welcome improvements to what seems to be in it's basic form a pretty good device. I would say that I is now a beta tester! My first time! I will try to remain patient and look forward to what iRex and you master hackers out there can do with it! Now you guys/gals don't go out there and brick anymore of them though! Thanx everybody!

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07-28-2006, 02:49 AM	#2
ElaHuguet iLiad freak Posts: 339 Karma: 243 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Mallorca, Spain Device: iRex iLiad	If you notice, many of the images are .bmp's and so are the note templates, it treats those files all the same, creating copies (sigh!)... I just let them be, and when I connect to the PC (much faster file handling), I erase all the unwanted ones, but I wish it would only create a copy when you change the original, not every time. I haven't navigated any card (yet), so I'm not sure how to get back to the file system from there, but you are right that it's not too easy or intuitive to do generally; that ladder button could be put to some use during document navigation, to function as a "close file and go back" button, eh? What I do really like is switching it on, hitting "books" once, then again, and having it open my last file at the last page I read, doesn't take long to be back where I was. I've found just sticking the stylus back into its casing and then out again usually fixes it, without having to reboot, have you tried that? Have fun and enjoy your reading!

07-28-2006, 11:36 AM	#3
firekat Groupie Posts: 157 Karma: 314 Join Date: May 2006	I find the stylus issues to be the big thing right now. For functionality I have to boot with it out of the silo. Put it back in the silo and poof! The stylus will not work at all! I think it might be the software as with the short bit of fiddling that I did with 2.4 it seemed to have a least enough functionality to pull up the keyboard and enter my network information. Now if you start with the stylus in the silo, pull it out for use it will not even toggle the keyboard up. I have noticed when the stylus is working on a few occasions just putting the stylus in the silo will give the iLiad conniptions and will flash up the last used directory even though I am in a document. My question to all is are these problems common or am I having a hardware problem as well?

07-28-2006, 12:07 PM	#4
ElaHuguet iLiad freak Posts: 339 Karma: 243 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Mallorca, Spain Device: iRex iLiad	It's not common for me, at least, maximum trouble I've had with it is it stops responding, I stick it back in place, take out again and go. Maybe you should take it up with iRex?

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