…so I can format the files that go into the downloads.
For example are you using PC or Mac, give the OS (just in case: I don’t think I need to know, but..)—if you are using your computer as a reader?
Are you using Kindle, Sony, or some other kind of reader?
Are you using Palm, Droid, or some other kind of device?
Give your future (what you asked for Christmas) as well as present choices. I’m happy to create the other kinds of files, but it’s futzy, and I want to have a list so this’bear of small brain’ can remember what she needs to do.
What you’ll get will be a bundled zip file of whatever number of formats we turn out to need. Right now I have 3.
Give a look at Jane’s site, while you’re at it.
I have Win XP and use MS Word as a reader. My preferences is RTF (which will work on any Win system using WordPad). However, anything that can be copied and pasted should work.
You will probably be best off keeping the chain of conversions are short as possible, as you probably know. Best would be read into one program, then save as this, that, and the other thing–assuming the program doesn’t convert the file in memory, as some products do (then re-read before each save).
As you also probably know, TXT supports no formatting whatsoever, so you will lose italics and possibly some diacritical marks or odd characters.
I agree with Tulrose about looking at Baen. http://www.baen.com/library/defaultTitles.htm may be a more useful URL since it links a bunch of sample books you can download to see what things look like when you do a whole book. A link to various readers is in the left column–perhaps this can fill a hole or two in what you can test yourself. (The RocketBook link appears dead.)
Baen does not do PDF. I’m unsure why, but you might want to test an entire book before committing to it. I’ve seen very small PDF file be so slow as to be useless, and many that are annoying.
THanks, Walt: you confirm what I suspect. Rocket and Peanut are, I think, orphaned, more or less, and I was surprised to find Calibre reads and writes Rocket.
And thanks to you and to Tulrose about the tip on the readers list on Baen.
I use FBReader for Android — uses epub files! Works great.
OK, so Android is FBR. I think I can target that one specifically. Calibre has a lot of choices, but they’re listed oddly. Knowing the file type, I think I can do it. THanks!
My reader is Kindle 1.0, so Mobi for me!
Can you post a list of preferred e-readers when you are done with the poll? I am contemplating buying one, since I think it will be better than reading on the computer, but want some idea of which one seems the best buy (in other words, not the BetaMax of today) before I just blindly buy one.
What my research has shown is that Kindle is leading the market, but its DRM (restricted) file policy (it reads mobi, but its own files are mobi-drm [afx or somelike]) is inspiring a lot of furor; the Sony seems to be a good one too: I don’t know about DRM and sony. Sony reads e-Pub, which is the biggest challenge to mobi. Mobi files are .prc, a generic format that works on many readers. E-pub via Calibre also sometimes turns out as .prc (if you ask for generic); and gets more specific for Sony, as e-Pub: BUT the Sony files may (if I read my files correctly) break up a file because that’s the way Sony likes them, creating artificial breaks in the file. One good source is the ‘help’ site at davidkoval via the Calibre.com site, which is his creation. I’d read that before buying.
But certainly I think setting a thread for readers to talk about their ‘reader’ choices and the pros and cons would be a good thing. I’ll do that. Holidays are coming, and prezzies could be asked for, eh?
Myself, I’m sticking to my laptop: it’s comfy, and it has COLOR screens, which readers don’t, yet.
One alternative might be one of those mini-mini notebook computers that could provide you dual use and be just a little lighter on the lap.
I build my own Pc’s I have win 7 ultimate and works 9, I was also thinking off the subject but, Has Lynn Abbey or you ever tried voice recognition software????????
I don’t know about Lynn, and I know Jane hasn’t; but I did. You had to speak like a robot to get it to pick you up correctly, you had to speak the punctuation, and while I could do it, it wasn’t that accurate, despite extensive ‘training’ of the program. I was using Dragon. So I gave up. The newest Kindles have the capacity to ‘read’ to you, and that is being fought tooth and nail in court by the audiobook people: I’m not sure, however, that Kindle would read, for instance, Hunter of Worlds. It probably can’t even handle alien names…if my GPS is any key.
I’d love it if these programs got better.
David Weber reportedly “writes” those huge books of his with voice software, so there must be better out there. Or they work better with male voices, maybe …
I don’t think computer-read books are any threat to the narrated market. Not yet. Even without alien names in the mix. 😉
My reader is eReader on Palm OS. Old technology, I know, but hey it works for me.
I can convert from txt, htm or pdf or else use the eReader pdb files direct – though I prefer if pdb files are not the ones that display on the eReader as (doc) files. To date I haven’t exactly investigated what the differnce is between the two types of pdb files, but am very happy to research this if it would help.
Windows Vista Home Premium; Mobipocket reader.
I’m interested in (as in haven’t got) Goblin Mirror
and if they’re revised, Chernevog & Yvgenie.
Am I the only Luddite here who prefers to read dead tree? My eyes begin to hate reading off a screen after an hour or so *smacks dentures noisily*, along with many other reasons why I would rather have a book in hand.
If forced to it, I can use PDF files on my Vostro (XP Office at present, eventually maybe Win 7).
Baen has a free library that you can download so
if you are going to test it’s formats you might as
well find a book that you are interested in. They
freely admit that they offer one or two books from
their authors to entice you to buy more from that
author.
Chondrite,I too love to hold a book and reread it
till it’s tatty. Maybe some day they will make
paper from bamboo,a very renewable source!
I’m also a Sony Reader so Epub is great.
(chondrite – next time you’re in a bookshop have a look at the E-Ink screen devices, they’re very different to reading on a LCD screen)
I use a iRex DR1000S, which supports mobi, PDF, TXT and HTML. I am fine with all of them.
PC system (on which I never read) is WinXP Corporate.
–Thea
Herzogenaurach, Germany
I’ll be using a computer (PC). My OS is Windows Vista. I’ll probably get Windows 7 in a couple of years but that shouldn’t be a problem.
I’m glad things are moving along for you.
ericf
I’d be using a Kindle most likely, although if you have trouble with the format permissions, I can read .pdf files with it almost as well.
Is there any chance that Bren’s world will be available as well, or will it just be the older books?
Bren is with DAW and DAW will be offering e-books. I wish—but that’s the way it is.
I use my Kindle, so .mobi format for me.
I’m coming up with an idea—separate folders by device; and a generic mobi folder, and an ‘other formats’ folder for pdf, rtf, txt. I don’t want too many folders in the bundle, but I think I’m going to start over, redo the initial build, then build individually—one of the things that drove me crazy was Windows dropping new files all over my disk, and then having to track them down: it has this notion of putting certain kinds of downloads into its ‘My—-‘ folders come hell, high water, or your specific instructions. Arrgh.
But I’m onto what it’s doing now, and I may wipe every ‘built’ e-book file I own and start over.
I have a Sony; so, EPUB is my ‘native’ format of choice. I have Calibre; so, almost any non-DRM format will work for me.
Amazon is expanding its universe although still keeping the DRM Mobi files it uses (AZW suffix). It has an app for your i-phone and has just developed a kindle reader for the PC which is rather nice. You can sync all three devices.
Ok, the list as I have it:
EPUB–Elonix,FBR Reader, Android, Sony, Stanza, and, I think, Cybook and Irex
Mobi generic (prc)–Kindle 2, Cybook, Stanza, 1RexDR1005, Epub for Kindle 1 and 2
Stanza (a reading software, like Mobipocket and Calibre) handles conversion for ipod touch, evidently via ePub and Mobi generic
PDF—Android, Mac OS 10.5.8, Sony, IRex, Smartphone, blackberry, eReader
TXT—Cybook, Palm, IRex, Sony, eReader, eBookwise
PDB—Palm, eReader, ipod Touch
LIT—windows CE, smartphone
RTF—sony and eBookwise
I think if I offer the following formats, everybody is covered somewhere: .LIT, .PDB, .TXT, .PDF, EPUB (.prc) and specialized Sony, MOBI GENERIC (.PRC), MOBI KINDLE (non-drm .prc created by ePub specifically for the Kindle). Have I missed anybody? If you have any doubts, look up your reader on the internet and find out what formats you can coax it to read either directly or what formats will convert somehow to something you can use? I will bundle 7 folders (one for each type) into one zip file for download.
I am going to go back and erase everything I’ve done so far on formatting. I will start with the basket of HTML files, convert them via mobipocket into a .prc (mobi) file, take that mobi file to Calibre and create a .lit file; then store that, and reimport the original mobi file and let Calibre convert it to a generic .prc of its own; then repeat, until I have the whole alphabet soup foldered separately and designated for various devices.
That is my plan, at least.
If your device turns out not to like a particular format, try another that it can take. Do be aware: we are warned that the .txt version will shed all italics, so you will be reading plainer text than most: if you have another choice with your reader you will want to avoid .txt.
Sorry, Kindle 1 doesn’t do Epub. Only generic mobi,txt, html, doc, and other basics.
That may be confusing—or a confusion in my head. Calibre produces a .prc which is its ‘generic reader’ file, which may be in most respects identical to the files put out by mobipocket, which are also .prc. Kindle 1 MAY be able to handle that, since it takes mobi, which is also a .prc—I thought it might at least give a choice of formats. Its designated “Kindle” format may read on Kindle 2 (I’m not sure—I don’t know what its actual format is, whether .epub or .prc again). I pushes the buttons and I am often surprised by what comes out!
Thanks for staying with me on this, TulRose, and keep me honest! I’ll let you know what happens when I actually push these buttons and find out what drops into the hopper…
That’s fine. I’ve got a lot of mobi and prc books on my K1 and haven’t had many problems. Sometimes the formatting is a little wierd but hey, these were very often books that cost me zilch so I can’t complain. I WILL complain about Topaz formatting. Very ugly, and very large files that slow down the K1 making a page turn take forever. The few I’ve bought from Amazon in that format I’ve returned for my money back. If you do it within 7 days Amazon is OK with it. I wouldn’t do it very often as I’m sure you would end up on their black list.Rosemary
This sounds wonderful. Also like a lot of busywork for you. Is there a macro that will do some of that? Or an impoverished student who will work for books 😉 ?
Makes no diff to the list of needed formats, but the Cybooks that read Mobi are the originals, and those that read Epub the new ones; one machine does not, I believe, have the capability to read both. I think.
Well, I think I’ve got it down to a process. Here’s what I’ve got:
MOBI PRC, EPUB, EPUB generic (another variety of prc), FB2, LIT, PDF, TXT, RTF, PDF: those 11 formats have (as best I can read my list and study the converter outputs) just about everything covered. If you have trouble with what’s there, try running a standard mobi file through calibre for conversion to specific readers by name, as in Sony, Cybook, etc. Calibre should become your friend, because it is a very good converter with a wide range of outputs—including RB, which I didn’t do, because TXT seems to cover it.
If you are still stuck, of course, report to me. I need to know.
You will be downloading a single zip file that has ALL those folders in it. Just pick the one you need. That way there’s no fuss with getting the wrong file, etc. You’ll have all of them.
Also, as I will stress on the CC site, PLEASE create a safety backup of your file. If your computer blows up 3 years from now and you lost a file, well, we just aren’t set up to run a big-business operation. Please..please…please create a safety copy and we’ll both be happy.
I use Sony PRS-505, mainly .lrf format. I convert various formats to .lrf using calibre or lib2go.com