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Reading Ebooks
Contents
These reading hints focus on ebooks you can download for free from the Internet. They
are typically in plain text or HTML formats. Commercial ebooks are often made for only a
few operating systems or reading devices, so be careful to check compatibility with your
reading device/software before you buy.
If you find other book/text readers please let me know (see home page for contact
info).
A few years ago there was a lot of talk about ebook reading devices, but most such
attempts have failed due to lack of interest from the market. Most people now read ebooks
on PDA's or mobile phones, still there are a few more or less dedicated devices left (one
of the best is the hiebook). Unfortunately
PDA's and mobile phones typically have too small screens for a pleasant reading
experience.
I got me a Rocket eBook in 1999 and it's still working fine. I've read lots of ebooks
on it. See my review below. Not of much relevance now, except as an expose of how an ebook
device should or should not be designed.
Listings
Specific
I purchased a Rocket eBook Pro during 1999 (the one with 16 MB), and I'm actually still
using it. Here are my experiences.
Review
(Note that the text was written during 2000, which was before the Gemstar
acquisition of Nuvomedia and the further closing down of Gemstar's ebook reader division,
so read this only if you have absolutely nothing else to do. The Rocket eBook is
almost identical to the REB 1100.)
Rocket eBook is optimized for text-only documents, yet can show pictures (barely; 1-bit
black-n-white only) and play audio clips (sort of; almost inaudible and with very low
quality). I use mine mainly to read pure text documents (literature etc.) and web
pages. For the first it works quite well, and it's pleasant to read for hours at a
time. It does what it's supposed to do, and pretty much nothing else. I use its dictionary
to look up strange English words, especially in older literature. I also
sometimes use the underline and note functions to indicate places I need to further study
(e.g. web links). As an offline web page reader it's certainly not optimized, as the web
browser is very limited (doesn't even support tables and frames) and quite buggy (crashes
often). MS PocketPC (and the older WindowsCE) as well as the SymbianOS PDA's have much
better web browsers (pretty complete actually, and quite stable) and PocketPC has the new
MS Reader for reading OEB compliant ebooks (which
the eBook for some reason doesn't support yet; too few engineers working on it?) as well.
Where the eBook really shines is with its "whitish" display that is quite easy
on the eye with backlight on, and the quite hefty battery life, that makes any PDA bite
the dust. I find loading content quite simple. I would never go for a device that would
only use a modem for downloading content (like the SoftBook Reader) as most content I want
to read is already on my PC, and I certainly don't want to get locked in to one content
provider. 16 MB is plenty. As the Windows-based Librarian compresses both text and images
(the latter in a more or less destructive way; more about that under tips and tricks) I
haven't yet filled up the memory. A normal book takes between 200 and 400 KB.
So will PocketPC palmtops outcompete new Rocket eBooks (and new ones are to expect
soon, considering Gemstar acquired both Nuvomedia and SoftBook Press, and both their
readers are to be considered prototypes, yet working such)? I would believe so, if the
price goes down (current PocketPC's are using color screens, which I don't think anyone
has asked for, but increases the price and lowers the battery life) and get screens
adapted to reading (high contrast, high resolution, white backlight and large). Whether
ClearType really helps I don't know. The screens are IMHO too small for pleasant reading.
Probably the best thing would be if Gemstar licensed PocketPC, EPOC or PalmOS, and made
devices optimized for reading (mainly in terms of the screen, the key layout, the ergonomy
and the battery life) but would also support the functionality of a PDA (calendar, e-mail,
browsing, notepad, etc.). The main disadvantage would be more user hostility compared to a
fully dedicated reading device, but that could be simply solved through an intuitive user
interface design. Also, the device would probably be too large for mobile use.
Verdict: When used to read text-based literature it works even better than paper. For
other than that you'll quickly encounter all its limitations and "unexploited
territories". Even for text I find it an arguable buy, considering it will soon be
replaced and it doesn't seem to be updated anymore. If you need an offline web browser go
for a PDA. Yet, PDA manufacturers must do something about the lousy screen quality (size,
backlight etc.) and the battery life.
Tips and tricks
- Maybe you've tried downloading new fonts to the eBook. I've found Verdana 10 (or
even 8) pt and Verdana 12 pt to be a good combination as small and large fonts, and where
I normally use the small one. Easy on the eyes, yet a lot on each page.
- Don't disassamble the eBook unless you are certifiably curious. I am and I did, and now
the screws don't "stick" anymore. If you want pictures of what's inside I can
send you some (scanned them in).
- The ebooks don't have to be in RocketEdition format to work well with the eBook. HTML or
plain text is fine, and I use my Ebookfix tool on plain text
documents. Note though that complex HTML files can screw things up. Some have even crashed
my eBook (completely resetting itself).
- If the Import URL function in RocketLibrarian doesn't work well for you I have good
experience of Teleport Pro, that
can download whole web sites. After a download you use Import File on the main HTML file
as usual.
- To read while I use the computer (e.g. user's manuals and the like), I set the page
direction so that the page flipping buttons are at the top of the page. That way I can
easily read the text without having to hold the eBook.
- If you create content containing images, see to that you use an image editing tool to
create 1-bit/2-color dithered images (the eBook doesn't do dithering very well, so
grayscale or color images typically look pretty bad). By doing so you also make the images
smaller (file-wise), which is a good thing. Of course keep the original images,
considering other devices might support full color (e.g. PocketPCs).
- After having read a book/document I erase it from the eBook but keep it in the
Librarian. I never know when I need it next, and RocketEditions don't take much space on
the hard drive anyway.
eBookFix is a simple tool I made for preparing free ebooks in plain text format for
easier reading, main feature being "unwrapping" of text lines. It can generate
files in text, HTML, OEB, WML and RTF formats, and can (on a sunny day) find chapter
headers and format them appropriately. It can also format paragraphs: indent (by number of
spaces) the first paragraph line, line-separate paragraphs, skip initial spaces, as well
as bind hyphenated words at the end of lines. Generated HTML files can for instance easily
be imported to the Rocket eBook (see review). OEB files might work
with MS Reader, but I haven't had the chance to test that yet. WML can be used for simply
creating text content for WAP phones.
It's right now available as a "DOS" application to be run from a Windows DOS
Prompt or in interactive mode also from Windows Explorer. I have thoughts of making
eBookFix into a true Windows application, which would make it much more accessible.
Note that this is not commercial, nor is it supported, software. Rather, as I need this
kind of tool myself I can as well share it, as it's really quite simple yet it contains a
few neat heuristics (which is why I won't provide the source code at this time).
The only guarantees I can provide is that it doesn't contain any viruses and that it
works OK. As I use it extensively myself, I know it's quite reliable.
Legal stuff: You may not distribute converted books unless accepted by the source you
got the ebook from. I take no responsibility for any negative side-effects eBookFix may
have, including indigestion.
Currently the only way to get the software is to request it from me via e-mail.
Reader
The MS Reader software is available for Windows and WindowsCE, and enables you to read
ebooks in its specific format on your PC or PDA. It's supposed to be OEB compliant, which
it probably is, but you can't move such ebooks to other OEB compliant devices due to its
own method for encrypting (and compressing?) the ebooks.
Free ebooks
- Activate font smoothing. In Windows 98 / 2000 and later this is a built in feature (Open
the Windows Explorer (or any folder): View / Folder Options / View / Smooth edges of
screen fonts). In Windows 95 and NT 4 it's set from a separate tool that can be downloaded
from Microsoft.
- For video screens (not applicable to notebooks): Set the screen to a high refresh rate.
You might have to lower resolution somewhat to get enough rate. At least 75 Hz is needed
so the screen doesn't flicker visibly. Be aware of eye strain. Don't read for hours at a
time, and try to read from a distance using a quite large font.
- A mouse with scrolling wheel comes in handy when reading, especially if you set it to
advance one page at a time, but the arrow keys work as well.
- Generally, keep text lines short for easy reading. Set the font and window size so that
approx. 60-80 characters are shown per line. Not more.
- Ebooks in plain text: Open it in a word processor and change the font globally to a
proportional and easily readable one (e.g. Verdana) at a high point size. Zoom the page to
your liking.
- Ebooks in HTML: Open it in a Web browser. Set the font size to a good large size
readable from a distance.
- If you are hooked up to the Internet via a modem remember the cost of reading on-line.
Better then to download the book to your PC and read it off-line.
Reader
The Reader software is included in the Windows CE version shipped with newer Pocket
PC's, and enables you to read ebooks in its specific format on your PDA. The files are
compatible with the Windows based Reader. It's supposed to be OEB compliant, which it
probably is, but you can't move such ebooks to other OEB compliant devices due to its own
method for encrypting the ebooks.
Free ebooks
These are my empirically determined recommendations. I have a very old PDA with
alphanumeric keyboard, so all the hints might not be applicable to the palm-size models. I
haven't yet had the opportunity to test Reader in WindowsCE, so there's nothing about it
here.
- Ebooks in plain text can be directly uploaded to the PDA for reading in Pocket Word. No
conversion is needed (nor done), yet unwrapping of lines via eBookFix
or eText Explorer is recommended. Zooming up to
150% provides good readability. That's quicker than changing the font.
- Also ebooks in HTML can be directly uploaded, but note that the web browser in WindowsCE
is quite slow on longer files. Ebooks split up on chapters are normally no problem though.
- To get higher opening and browsing speed on a large HTML file and also enable note
taking directly in the file I first open it in MS Word and save it in Word format. Then I
copy/convert to the PDA. Virtually all formatting is retained.
- To download a book split up on many HTML files, and that might contain pictures as well,
I use Teleport Plus. The shareware version allows
downloading of 100 files, which is typically enough for an ebook. There are other off-line
browsing tools that should work as well. Check at for instance Download.com. Internet Explorer's offline support
should also be OK, so you may try that first.
- There is specific book/text reading software for WindowsCE. Search for 'ebook reader' at
Download.com.
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