Digital eBook reader devices...

[Kuroshima]

Originally Posted by furrystarcat

It's the DRM. The encryption technology they use is subject to U.S. Import/Export laws. They could dumb down their encryption, but then it would be SO much easier to bypass. (The encryption strengths you're allowed to export aren't intractable to crack with a brute-force attack.)

For some reason, encryption technology falls into the same export category as assault rifles and nuclear technology, so they can't export the Kindle because it contains embedded encryption technology, and they can't export software to decrypt Kindle files.

Another reason to dislike DRM!

BTW, after some testing with the eee, I must say it's FANTASTIC. I have removed the Linux for real dummies that is the default Xandros distribution, and installed Linux for slightly less dummies (Ubuntu Netbook Remix). The batery life is AMAZING, the screen is crisp, and while it's not big enough to have a whole page on display, it's big enough for checking during the games.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

Another reason to dislike DRM!

BTW, after some testing with the eee, I must say it's FANTASTIC. I have removed the Linux for real dummies that is the default Xandros distribution, and installed Linux for slightly less dummies (Ubuntu Netbook Remix). The batery life is AMAZING, the screen is crisp, and while it's not big enough to have a whole page on display, it's big enough for checking during the games.

So how much did you have to pay for this gimpedly too-low-resolution ebook reader? (And what is its resolution?)

[Rocket Man]

And then, of course, there's the cutting-edge solution.

[mook]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

So how much did you have to pay for this gimpedly too-low-resolution ebook reader? (And what is its resolution?)

I think from an earlier post the one being referred to is the 901, currently $280 at Amazon. Resolution looks like 1024 x 600.

One of the eee PCs has been on my wish list for quite a while, specifically for PDFs, specifically for gaming and at-the-table use. Nice to hear it seems to perform well.

[Kuroshima]

Well, so you can see what to expect, I'll pot a couple screenshots:

My desktop
The credits page of Thaumatology

[Þorkell]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

So how much did you have to pay for this gimpedly too-low-resolution ebook reader? (And what is its resolution?)

Just how much resolution do you need to read text?

[mook]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

Well, so you can see what to expect, I'll pot a couple screenshots:

My desktop
The credits page of Thaumatology

Looks pretty sweet! But - why does the bottom paragraph of the Thaumatology page refer to it as 'Thaumatlolgy'?

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by Þorkell

Just how much resolution do you need to read text?

I don't know how much I need in, order to be able to read an entire page of table-heavy RPG text, without having to zoom in, but I'm guessing something like 2 megapixel. Probably 3 just to make sure.

[Þorkell]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

I don't know how much I need in, order to be able to read an entire page of table-heavy RPG text, without having to zoom in, but I'm guessing something like 2 megapixel. Probably 3 just to make sure.

OK, there's something I'm not getting in all this. The screen I'm writing this on is a laptop screen, it's about the size of an A4 sheet of paper, it's 1280x800 which is if I'm not mistaken just over 1MP. If it was tilted on the side I could read an A4 page on it. So doesn't the actual size of the display matter as well?

[ericbsmith]

Originally Posted by Þorkell

OK, there's something I'm not getting in all this. The screen I'm writing this on is a laptop screen, it's about the size of an A4 sheet of paper, it's 1280x800 which is if I'm not mistaken just over 1MP. If it was tilted on the side I could read an A4 page on it.

Correct, 1.02 MP to be little more precise. I too have a laptop with that screen resolution, and find it to be just a tad too low a resolution to display A4/Letter sized PDFs full screen without zooming them in a little (croping the right & left sides). Of course, the size & weight of the laptop has many limitations also

Originally Posted by Þorkell

So doesn't the actual size of the display matter as well?

Surprisingly, not so much. I've got a Nokia N800 Internet Tablet featuring a 4.1 inch 800x480 screen, which is high enough resolution to display gaming PDFs zoomed in a little beyond "Fit Width", scrolling up & down to read them. While the screen is smaller than your typical Laptop, the LCD dpi is significantly higher (225 dpi vs 110 dpi for a 14" Laptop), resulting in a good crisp image & text which are easy enough to read. So the only real limitation on screen size is whether or not your eyesight is good enough to read text of that size.

So it doesn't really matter if the screen size is 4.25x5.5 in. or 8.5x11.0 in., both are large enough to display a gaming book PDF crisply, provided they have the same resolution. Whether or not you'll need glasses to read the 4.25x5.5 in. screen is another matter.