New RCA REB 1100 owner, with questions...

[RKnack]

Hi, all! Newbie here,so please excuse any "dumb" questions...

One of my aunts just gave me an REB1100 this past weekend. First e-book reader I've ever encountered (much less, owned), and I wasn't going to turn down a freebie (I also don't have $200+ for a new, up-to-date unit !). It came with USB cable, power adapter, and a soft case, but no SmartMedia cards. She said that it will only use files with the .rb extension, and that she thinks it will only hold about 8 books on the built-in memory. She also said that there are programs available that can convert other formats to the .rb format, but that they won't work with "copy protected" books. So...

1) Are the SM cards still being made? Can anybody recommend one? Where is the best source for them (price + availability)? I'm an avid bookworm , and I re-read the good ones over and over again, so I want as much storage capacity as possible...

2) What programs will I need to convert currently used formats to the .rb format, and where can I get them (preferably for free - I don't have a lot of $$$ to spend right now...)? And is there any way to get around that blasted "copy protection" my aunt was talking about? It seems to me that if I buy an e-book online, that what I did with it afterwards shouldn't matter as long as I don't re-distribute it - after all, I would be paying for it totally above-board!

Any help would be appreciated. My aunt left some fantasy/sci-fi on the reader, and I'm enjoying it immensely, but I'd like to be able to use it to its fullest possible potential. Thanks in advance !

[250 Coupe]

Welcome aboard!

The wiki for the 1100 is here.

You'll need a copy of the Rocketbook Librarian, you can get it here.

SmartMedia cards are rare these days but www.JR.com still lists them for sale. They are very fragile, I would not insert and remove a card unless absolutely necessary and NEVER with the reader on. You WILL kill the reader if you remove the card with it on. Card readers can also be hard to find but you don't need one as long as you have the USB cable for the reader. You can download the install CD from chromakinetics (link above), it should come with the USB driver. If you run Skype, it may interfere with the USB driver and will have to be shutdown before the USB driver and Librarian software.

As for actually using the 1100, I've never seen one in real life so you'll have to play with yours and share your experiences.

Michael

[rogue_ronin]

The REB1100 is the descendent of the Rocket eBook reader. RB files are indexed and compressed HTML. So, whatever the source of your books, if you can get them to HTML, you can get them to RB.

An excellent set of tools (for the command line) is the rbmake project. It can create, explode, make dictionaries, and much more.

The Rocket Librarian, for the original Rocket eBook can convert web pages to RB. But it cannot transfer files to the REB1100. Use the version on the downloaded CD for that.

Oh, and if you use linux, you can use rebcomm to transfer files.

Conversion is the bane of all ebook readers. I think almost all forms of "locked content" have been broken. You have a bunch to learn, but you'll figure it out. Check out the Calibre forum. Calibre can convert to RB.

There are some Yahoo groups that have a big archive of questions and answers, too.

m a r

[250 Coupe]

RKnack, I don't mean to hijack your thread but am wondering how rogue_ronin likes his Nokia 770? I've one sitting on my desk as I type.

Michael

[OldTechLover]

Originally Posted by rogue_ronin

The Rocket Librarian, for the original Rocket eBook can convert web pages to RB. But it cannot transfer files to the REB1100. Use the version on the downloaded CD for that.

I just pulled out the Rocket eBook Pro I bought new in 1997/1998 or so, and I've downloaded the Librarian software and connected the two.

I sent a text .txt file to the device and it worked. However, is the device supposed to sync with the software and return the favor?

I used to run Librarian on Win 2000 but am now running Vista on one machine and Win 7 Beta on another. Both will transfer TO the device, but will not sync what's on the device back to the Librarian.

My question is, am I remembering incorrectly that the transfer works both ways?

[250 Coupe]

Originally Posted by OldTechLover

I just pulled out the Rocket eBook Pro I bought new in 1997/1998 or so, and I've downloaded the Librarian software and connected the two.

I sent a text .txt file to the device and it worked. However, is the device supposed to sync with the software and return the favor?

I used to run Librarian on Win 2000 but am now running Vista on one machine and Win 7 Beta on another. Both will transfer TO the device, but will not sync what's on the device back to the Librarian.

My question is, am I remembering incorrectly that the transfer works both ways?

If you are talking about the all dark gray unit with no rubberized bits and uses a cradle to transfer data, then yes, the version 1.2.192 and version 2.0.244 software should sync the ebooks on the unit onto the PC. You may have to set it to do so in settings/Rocket ebook.

If you mean the Rocket that looks like an 1150, I'm a fish out of water there.

Michael

[OldTechLover]

Originally Posted by 250 Coupe

If you are talking about the all dark gray unit with no rubberized bits and uses a cradle to transfer data, then yes, the version 1.2.192 and version 2.0.244 software should sync the ebooks on the unit onto the PC. You may have to set it to do so in settings/Rocket ebook.
Michael

That's it. It prompts me to get Title and Markup info, but then it does nothing. It worked on my previous machine, the one running Win 2000, so I'm at a loss - though the software version I used was 1.3222 and not 1.2.192. I'll look for that one. Thanks.

OTL

[rogue_ronin]

My Nokia 770 is always in my bag. I used it to watch movies the other day, and I often read using FBReader. But FBReader development has slowed, and it really, really needs bookmarks. And CSS support. I'd really love to move to Mer, but it's not stable enough yet. There have been a few fixes for OS2006 that stabilize web browsing, and I've added the fast SDHC kernel, and I think a few other small improvements. Pretty stable, nearly never crashes out. Not as useful as I'd wish though, especially for PDA purposes.

As for syncing the REB1100, the old Librarian software(s) doesn't exactly do that. It's more like a file manager -- you need to explicitly move the files, I think.

If you like command-line stuff, there is a linux program called rebcomm that can do the job.

The old Rocket version of Librarian can do HTML conversion from web pages, but cannot communicate via USB. The newer REB1100 version can communicate via USB (and serial, I think) but cannot convert HTML. The new version was put out by Gemstar, which was trying to control content. It died very shortly after that.

There's also a program called GEBLibrarian that, I think, can convert and communicate with all versions of the Gemstar readers (and maybe the EB1150, too.)

m a r

[250 Coupe]

Right now I'm running maemo.org's hacker 2007 OS on my 770 but don't care for the random rebooting. I'll probably switch back to the official 2006 OS some day. FBReader works for me also but I too miss book marks. For $30 off craigslist, I'm OK with it.

I've never seen a 1100 but if you have either version of the old librarians, they will automatically sync the contents of an original Rocket depending on your settings. The GEBLibrarian/eBookwise Librarian works great with both the EBW1150/ETI2 and REB1200/GEM2150/ETI1 readers and says it will work with the REB1100.

Michael

[rogue_ronin]

yeah, I thought about going os2007, but it's just too much work for something that's unstable. I think the ergonomics of the 770 blow the other NITs out of the water, so of course Nokia dropped support for it.

I've got a Smart Q7, now. Both the 770 and the Q7 can support Mer. Just waiting for it to reach some level of reliability.

There may well be such settings in the Librarian; I haven't used the software in years -- I'm on Linux, so I use rbmake and rebcomm and another utility, that I can't remember the name of, that puts fonts on the reader.

I always meant to write a simple kaptain front-end for those three, but now I'm moving away from the REB1100. Might have a buyer, just waiting to hear back.

OP! Plenty of software, plenty of conversion options! Don't be afraid!

m a r

[OldTechLover]

Originally Posted by 250 Coupe

I've never seen a 1100 but if you have either version of the old librarians, they will automatically sync the contents of an original Rocket depending on your settings.

Any idea where to get the version 1.2.192? I've set up the newer version on three computers this week with the version 1.3222, and none of them will sync, only send to the device. If that's all I can expect, that's fine. I just seem to remember back in the day being able to sync.

OTL

[250 Coupe]

Originally Posted by OldTechLover

Any idea where to get the version 1.2.192? I've set up the newer version on three computers this week with the version 1.3222, and none of them will sync, only send to the device. If that's all I can expect, that's fine. I just seem to remember back in the day being able to sync.

OTL

I've got it on a CD that came with a Rocket but I can't figure an easy way to share it but am trying to attach it to this reply. It may be too big at 5,349kb and not show up.

It seems to have worked, can you give it a try and let me know?

Michael

[Elsi]

Originally Posted by 250 Coupe

I've got it on a CD that came with a Rocket but I can't figure an easy way to share it but am trying to attach it to this reply. It may be too big at 5,349kb and not show up.

It seems to have worked, can you give it a try and let me know?

Michael, the program you've posted is likely copyrighted by Rocket. Without permission to redistribute, we can't allow you to post it on our servers. I've left the attachment in an "unapproved" status so that if the CD contains a file giving permission to redistribute the program, you can provide that to us and one of the moderators can then just approve the file and you wouldn't have to upload it again.

If this file is available on an Internet server somewhere, you could post a URL.

[250 Coupe]

Originally Posted by Elsi

Michael, the program you've posted is likely copyrighted by Rocket. Without permission to redistribute, we can't allow you to post it on our servers. I've left the attachment in an "unapproved" status so that if the CD contains a file giving permission to redistribute the program, you can provide that to us and one of the moderators can then just approve the file and you wouldn't have to upload it again.

If this file is available on an Internet server somewhere, you could post a URL.

Oops, hadn't thought about that, thank you for the reminder.

I'll delete the attachment and look for it somewhere on the web.

Looks like I'm going to need help Elsi, I can't delete the attachment nor the post itself.

Michael

[Elsi]

Originally Posted by 250 Coupe

Looks like I'm going to need help Elsi, I can't delete the attachment nor the post itself.

I deleted the attachment for you. Rather than trying to delete your post, why don't you edit it and change the text. You could describe the software the came on your CD. And, I would hope that you might be able to find a download location.