epub format for e23

[ideapod]

hi all,

[newbie alert]

I've been reading gurps basic set and space books in pdf format for a while now. I have an ipad and I'm reading it on that. the text is just a little too small to read easily. I'd love an epub format so it would reflow nicely on the device.

Any news on when/if an epub format would be available?

cheers,

ideapod

[panton41]

The word I've heard is "not" and for a few reasons, but the biggest is economic. It costs money to reformat it which has to be made up somehow which means higher prices in a market where people complain the prices are already too high. Also, which format(s) to support? ePub is utterly worthless for me and my Kindle, which is arguably the best selling ebook reader.

PDF is the de-facto standard ebook format no matter which way you view it. It can also be read by nearly anything that has a powerful enough CPU and it's also, in theory, an ISO standard file format.

iPad != ebook reader, by the way. It's a general purpose computer that happens to read ebooks. It's no more of a dedicated ebook reader than my netbook or laptop.

[ideapod]

ok ta, and thanks for trying to start the ipad debate.

is there any assistance we can give in user land to help the conversion? can we 'open source' the project and then the cost is reduced?

[RobKamm]

The iPad allows print size to change with the swipe of two fingers -- does that not work with the pdfs?

We have an iPad at work (I can't install pdfs on it so I can't experiment with it) that has the BlueFire app - have you looked at that for pdfs? It is a designated ereader app that might improve your experience (or not, I haven't been able to get my hands on it long enough to play with it).

[ideapod]

Originally Posted by RobKamm

The iPad allows print size to change with the swipe of two fingers -- does that not work with the pdfs?

I'll give it a try - thanks for the tip.

BlueFire app - have you looked at that for pdfs?

Thanks also for this tip. my 6 year old is playing games on it, and when she's done I'll try it out...

Thanks for the quick responses guys....

[rlbeaver]

I use GoodReader on an iPad and almost all my pdfs display fine with it and I find it readable. You can enlarge using the standard apple 'gestures' although then you have to play with moving the page around to read it.

I think eInk would be easier on the eyes, but I haven't seen an acceptable rendering of pdfs, nor acceptable page turning.

[panton41]

Originally Posted by obatron

I think eInk would be easier on the eyes, but I haven't seen an acceptable rendering of pdfs, nor acceptable page turning.

My Kindle DX does both fine for GURPS books and low-complexity PDFs. Poorly formatted, overly complex PDFs (White Wolf) are so slow to change they lock it up and render poorly, but that's the idiots who push out press-quality PDFs for Internet release. (I ran them through Acrobat Pre-Flight for smallest file size and suddenly they turn like the GURPS ones.)

[ideapod]

Originally Posted by ideapod

I'll give it a try - thanks for the tip.

I tried bluefire reader - interesting results:
a) it renders a sharper image than ibooks.
b) it is slower and more jerky than ibooks.
c) good reader is on a par with ibooks.

all suffer from the problem of rendering a PDF in a screen that is too small for it. You have to zoom in, then move about the page, and then turn the page.

I guess the reason for epub is reflow (tried to find a good link to illustrate, and this is as good as I got, which isn't much. the bit on epub says it about right. " Consequently, just like a web browser page whatever ereader device or software an ePub file is opened in it should readjust for that format making it an ideal format for mobile devices."

I've purchased some books from pragmatic programmers, and the beauty of the epub reflow is that I only get as much content as my screen will display. You turn the page and you get another 'page' full. diagrams are reproduced (and may be a whole page!) but you get a great, comfortable reading experience.

so, any assistance I can give to convert these files... (or we all pay to get them...). I'm ready to do. I would really appreciate the epub format.

[RevBob]

Originally Posted by ideapod

I've purchased some books from pragmatic programmers, and the beauty of the epub reflow is that I only get as much content as my screen will display. You turn the page and you get another 'page' full. diagrams are reproduced (and may be a whole page!) but you get a great, comfortable reading experience.

Unfortunately, that's also the HUGE problem with epub: how do you make a meaningful cross-reference or an index when page numbers and contents are that fluid? That problem simply does not exist with PDF.

[ideapod]

Originally Posted by RevBob

Unfortunately, that's also the HUGE problem with epub: how do you make a meaningful cross-reference or an index when page numbers and contents are that fluid? That problem simply does not exist with PDF.

There's a variety of tools apparently. See epuper. this has automated index management.

This wikipedia entry has a bunch of other links.

In my view the tools should take care of all the indexing stuff for you. That is, based on your format and the pagination when you look at the index it'll jump straight to the page you want.