Comments on: Hooray! I can read .epub—the new IDPF e-book standard—on my XO machine from One Laptop per Child

By: Mike Cane

Mike Cane — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 23:55:24 +0000

>>>Remember, the display cost is a fraction of e-inks.

Yes, well that’s what I keep asking around here but the question seems to be veering wildly off the mark and not hitting you!

Is the screen *better* than eInk? If you had a choice — because now you’ve experienced both — of a Sony Reader, say, with an eInk screen or that XO screen (with both being the same size/weight, well just about, as the current Reader), which would you prefer? (Keeping in mind, of course, the XO screen is bound to have dramatically less battery run time!) And having stated your preference, do you think it would scale up to the general public too? In other words, is eInk now a quaint antique compared to the whizzbang XO screen? And should e-reader manufacturers consider it instead of eInk? And maybe offer *both*? (With that screen, Sony could indeed offer a Sony Scholar e-reader since doing Search would not be onerous as the Kindle has proven with eInk!)

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 22:11:09 +0000

Mike: Best of luck re shoulder. Yep, it’s a user thing. But lighter-weight tablets using the same display might well be along in time, if my hunch is correct. Remember, the display cost is a fraction of e-inks. David

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 22:08:47 +0000

Excellent question,Dave, but, hey, this is the green machine with the reflective-display mode that works nicely outside and is easy on battery life. Inside you can use battery power. Depends on the user. I myself will be leaving on all the time, powered by the usual AC. For stuff like the doctor’s office or other Wait Zones, I’ll just keep using a PDA. Wouldn’t want to mess with a tablet there anyway. David

By: David C

David C — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:56:50 +0000

What about the boot time for the machine and startup time for applications in the olpc? That seems like it would be a deal killer for using it as an ebook unless its battery life is long enough to leave it on all day.

By: Mike Cane

Mike Cane — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:41:52 +0000

>>>the XO could be a much better library machine than the Kindle

For a certain segment of the population.

For me, not and never.

It weighs THREE FRIKKIN POUNDS! I’ve had to abandon *two-pound* books because their weight was too much to lug on my shoulder.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:34:43 +0000

Yep–just as buttons normally would in FBReader. The catch is setting up stuff to make the customization stick. I wonder if it’s a path thing. Why not mess around yourself and see what happens? Thanks. David

By: Robert Nagle

Robert Nagle — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 19:28:14 +0000

do any of the buttons on the XO display work?

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 16:30:15 +0000

Thanks,Hadrien. Will do so later this weekend. Above all, thanks for Feedbooks’ pioneering .epub efforts for the public domain community! – David

By: Hadrien

Hadrien — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 16:09:28 +0000

Very nice David !

Have you tried the hyperlinks in FBReader ? It should be possible to directly download a new book inside an epub file.