Comments on: The OLPC laptop as a promising school and library machine–plus detailed e-reading tips for people lucky enough to own XOs already http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:28:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-690809 David Rothman Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:50:26 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-690809 EBook Eng.: It's hard to do a battery life test since I try to keep the thing charged up; I hate to be without use of the XO. Perhaps that in itself says something. My casual impression, from the times I haven't keep the thing plugged in, is of a battery life around the five hour range. But I could be wrong. I agree that the contrast without the backlight isn't as good as with, say, the Sony. But there's no contrast comparison with the XO backlight even partly on. The OLPC machine wins! It also helps that with FBReader I can easily add bolding, one way to improve the perceived contrast. Meanwhile keep in mind the real audience, kids in developing countries, who'll spend plenty of time outside in bright sunlight, where contrast in the reflective mode is much easier to achieve. Thanks, David EBook Eng.: It’s hard to do a battery life test since I try to keep the thing charged up; I hate to be without use of the XO. Perhaps that in itself says something. My casual impression, from the times I haven’t keep the thing plugged in, is of a battery life around the five hour range. But I could be wrong.

I agree that the contrast without the backlight isn’t as good as with, say, the Sony. But there’s no contrast comparison with the XO backlight even partly on. The OLPC machine wins! It also helps that with FBReader I can easily add bolding, one way to improve the perceived contrast.

Meanwhile keep in mind the real audience, kids in developing countries, who’ll spend plenty of time outside in bright sunlight, where contrast in the reflective mode is much easier to achieve.

Thanks,
David

]]> By: Ebook Engineer http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-690766 Ebook Engineer Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:40:31 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-690766 Check out this link: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Battery_Results Admittedly the tests are a bit dated, but it looks like with backlight _off_ you get 4-5 hours, and with it on you get 2-4 hours. I've seen OLPC in person and I agree that the screen is pretty cool, and a nice improvement on standard transflective LCD technology, which never really took off in most devices. But with the backlight off at least, the contrast (which is one of your major beefs with E Ink) is subjectively less than an E Ink device, at least to my eye in a well lit indoor situation. Obviously OLPC has the edge in very low light or complete darkness, and with color. The monochrome resolution of OLPC at nearly 200ppi is excellent too. I would be curious about your experience on battery life when using it for a reader; maybe you can let us know after you have used it for a bit. Check out this link:
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Battery_Results

Admittedly the tests are a bit dated, but it looks like with backlight _off_ you get 4-5 hours, and with it on you get 2-4 hours. I’ve seen OLPC in person and I agree that the screen is pretty cool, and a nice improvement on standard transflective LCD technology, which never really took off in most devices. But with the backlight off at least, the contrast (which is one of your major beefs with E Ink) is subjectively less than an E Ink device, at least to my eye in a well lit indoor situation. Obviously OLPC has the edge in very low light or complete darkness, and with color. The monochrome resolution of OLPC at nearly 200ppi is excellent too.

I would be curious about your experience on battery life when using it for a reader; maybe you can let us know after you have used it for a bit.

]]> By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-690182 David Rothman Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:04:04 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-690182 Ebook Eng.: The battery life issue is one reason why the XO intrigues me. Remember, you can not only switch off the backlight but also dim it to save power. I haven't really given the unit the full test but, with the light dimmed, I wouldn't be surprised if I could use FBReader for a good six hours---and much longer without any backlighting. I'd love to get a more definitive answer from XO owners who have researched this fully. An old article in Linux today mentions six hours (not sure of all the variables). Excellent question. Thanks. David http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2007-01-09-023-26-NW-HW-EV Ebook Eng.: The battery life issue is one reason why the XO intrigues me. Remember, you can not only switch off the backlight but also dim it to save power. I haven’t really given the unit the full test but, with the light dimmed, I wouldn’t be surprised if I could use FBReader for a good six hours—and much longer without any backlighting. I’d love to get a more definitive answer from XO owners who have researched this fully. An old article in Linux today mentions six hours (not sure of all the variables). Excellent question. Thanks. David

http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2007-01-09-023-26-NW-HW-EV

]]> By: Ebook Engineer http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-690033 Ebook Engineer Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:07:57 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-690033 David, you don't find the ~4 hour battery life at all an issue for an ebook reader device? David, you don’t find the ~4 hour battery life at all an issue for an ebook reader device?

]]> By: Incremental Blogger » Blog Archive » Using the OLPC XO as an e-book reader http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-689666 Incremental Blogger » Blog Archive » Using the OLPC XO as an e-book reader Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:22:05 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-689666 [...] David Rotham goes into great detail discussing how the OLPC XO can be used as an e-book reader. [...] [...] David Rotham goes into great detail discussing how the OLPC XO can be used as an e-book reader. [...]

]]> By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-689588 David Rothman Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:52:35 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-689588 Doug and Robert... Doug: Thanks for the feedback. I don't think I wrote that FBReader supports PDF. The XO does. But, yes, I've enjoyed books with FBReader in RTF, epub, TXT. and HTML. Some FBReader fans want LIT added. Until we have a standard e-book format, which is the aim of .epub, you'll encounter lots and lots of gotchas such as the lack of CSS support in .epub. Sad. Let's hope that the IDPF stays on track and develops .epub. Robert: I found FBReader to be MUCH faster than PDF on the XO. Not perfect but more than adequate in speed. I hope you test it yourself and share impressions. Thanks, David Doug and Robert…

Doug: Thanks for the feedback. I don’t think I wrote that FBReader supports PDF. The XO does. But, yes, I’ve enjoyed books with FBReader in RTF, epub, TXT. and HTML. Some FBReader fans want LIT added. Until we have a standard e-book format, which is the aim of .epub, you’ll encounter lots and lots of gotchas such as the lack of CSS support in .epub. Sad. Let’s hope that the IDPF stays on track and develops .epub.

Robert: I found FBReader to be MUCH faster than PDF on the XO. Not perfect but more than adequate in speed. I hope you test it yourself and share impressions.

Thanks,
David

]]> By: Robert Nagle http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-689531 Robert Nagle Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:24:52 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-689531 Douglas: FBReader does not support PDF. In general FBReader can support many formats, but not really images or tables. (I don't know about fb2 though). Douglas: FBReader does not support PDF. In general FBReader can support many formats, but not really images or tables. (I don’t know about fb2 though).

]]> By: Robert Nagle http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-689525 Robert Nagle Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:09:29 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-689525 David, did you find the performance of FBreader to be sluggish in any way? I found reading PDFs slow and cumbersome using the XO PDF reader. David, did you find the performance of FBreader to be sluggish in any way? I found reading PDFs slow and cumbersome using the XO PDF reader.

]]> By: Robert Nagle http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-689514 Robert Nagle Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:20:16 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-689514 XO has merged the browse function and the read function, which is unfortunate. Lots of content will never be web-pages or require Flash or platform-specific plugins. What I find mystifying is how there doesn't seem to be ebook bundles for easy download. The <a href="http://dev.laptop.org/pub/content/library/search/bundle_index.html" rel="nofollow">obvious place to start looking for OLPC-friendly ebooks </a> doesn't seem to have lots of stuff. Good idea about library icon. I realize that bitfrost is keeping people from direct access to files; but it should be easy to have read access to the contents on the SD card. XO has merged the browse function and the read function, which is unfortunate. Lots of content will never be web-pages or require Flash or platform-specific plugins.

What I find mystifying is how there doesn’t seem to be ebook bundles for easy download. The obvious place to start looking for OLPC-friendly ebooks doesn’t seem to have lots of stuff.

Good idea about library icon. I realize that bitfrost is keeping people from direct access to files; but it should be easy to have read access to the contents on the SD card.

]]> By: Douglas K Beagley http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-689492 Douglas K Beagley Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:05:46 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-689492 I'm confused. You say that FBReader can read PDF, HTML, TXT, RTF... but according to their site (http://www.fbreader.org/docs/formats.php), they don't really fully support any of those formats. Or the support them, but with a bunch of little "gotchas"? Maybe I'm just whining the same whine everyone is... the hunger for cross-platform reading software that REALLY reads common formats. LIT would be nice, while we're at it. :-) Any advice welcome-- I'm willing to listen to an FBReader fan tell me I'm wrong. Just don't make me convert all my books into a format that I won't be able to read 20 years from now... I mean, can't someone write a reader that interprets HTML, TXT, RTF, and will also run clit on your LIT files for you? I knew I should have stuck with computer science... -d I’m confused. You say that FBReader can read PDF, HTML, TXT, RTF… but according to their site (http://www.fbreader.org/docs/formats.php), they don’t really fully support any of those formats. Or the support them, but with a bunch of little “gotchas”?

Maybe I’m just whining the same whine everyone is… the hunger for cross-platform reading software that REALLY reads common formats. LIT would be nice, while we’re at it. :-)

Any advice welcome– I’m willing to listen to an FBReader fan tell me I’m wrong. Just don’t make me convert all my books into a format that I won’t be able to read 20 years from now…

I mean, can’t someone write a reader that interprets HTML, TXT, RTF, and will also run clit on your LIT files for you?

I knew I should have stuck with computer science…
-d

]]> By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-689188 David Rothman Mon, 14 Jan 2008 03:09:51 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-689188 Fear not, Mike. My kid creds are intact---I read off my XO at times with the green machine on my tummy and my head on a pillow propped up against a closet door. I've changed the copy to reflect this. Wish the XO were still lighter, but kids will love it enough not to care. BTW, because of the "rest on" factor, perhaps older people with arthritis and hands too weak for holding books would like the machine, too. They could use the mouse wheel for page-turning. David Fear not, Mike. My kid creds are intact—I read off my XO at times with the green machine on my tummy and my head on a pillow propped up against a closet door. I’ve changed the copy to reflect this. Wish the XO were still lighter, but kids will love it enough not to care. BTW, because of the “rest on” factor, perhaps older people with arthritis and hands too weak for holding books would like the machine, too. They could use the mouse wheel for page-turning. David

]]> By: Sherman Dorn http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-689180 Sherman Dorn Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:57:26 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-689180 For a bit more on the social context, see my <a href="http://educationpolicyblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/olpc-skepticismhope.html" rel="nofollow">roundup of issues</a> and then <a href="http://enkerli.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/optimism-from-olpc/" rel="nofollow">Alexandre Enkerle's follow-up</a>. For a bit more on the social context, see my roundup of issues and then Alexandre Enkerle’s follow-up.

]]> By: David Rothman Hearts His XO « http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-689068 David Rothman Hearts His XO « Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:17:34 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-689068 [...] The OLPC laptop as a promising school and library machine–plus detailed e-reading tips for people ... Just as we need balance between books and the Web, however, so do we need it between constructivism and an appreciation of life’s immutable sequences. Fiction and other narrative can provide that; what better place to start than through the reading of such works as David Copperfield, the first chapter of which bears an apt title: “I am born.” Yes, novels can have flashback and other devices, but generally events happen because they unfold in a certain sequence. Isn’t time the ultimate algorithm? The core fact of David Copperfield’s life is his being orphaned . You cannot route around it, Internet fashion. No, you need to absorb this, along with the accompanying emotions, which Dickens can impart better than any textbook or Wiki writer, in order to understand what follows. I’m not suggesting that students on a Peruvian mountaintop start out with Dickens, but surely they can do the same with novelists meaningful to them. [...] [...] The OLPC laptop as a promising school and library machine–plus detailed e-reading tips for people … Just as we need balance between books and the Web, however, so do we need it between constructivism and an appreciation of life’s immutable sequences. Fiction and other narrative can provide that; what better place to start than through the reading of such works as David Copperfield, the first chapter of which bears an apt title: “I am born.” Yes, novels can have flashback and other devices, but generally events happen because they unfold in a certain sequence. Isn’t time the ultimate algorithm? The core fact of David Copperfield’s life is his being orphaned . You cannot route around it, Internet fashion. No, you need to absorb this, along with the accompanying emotions, which Dickens can impart better than any textbook or Wiki writer, in order to understand what follows. I’m not suggesting that students on a Peruvian mountaintop start out with Dickens, but surely they can do the same with novelists meaningful to them. [...]

]]> By: Mike Cane http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/comment-page-1/#comment-689067 Mike Cane Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:12:31 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/blog/2008/01/13/the-olpc-laptop-as-a-promising-school-and-library-machine-plus-detailed-e-reading-tips-for-people-lucky-enough-to-own-xos-already/#comment-689067 I'm still reading, but had to stop at this and comment: >>>The current machine is too heavy for young kids to hold it while reading hour after hour. You've forgotten what it's like to be a kid! They don't sit like we adults. They lie down on their stomachs, head propped on hands (oh to be able to do that again!). I passed many days reading comic books like that! I’m still reading, but had to stop at this and comment:

>>>The current machine is too heavy for young kids to hold it while reading hour after hour.

You’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a kid! They don’t sit like we adults. They lie down on their stomachs, head propped on hands (oh to be able to do that again!). I passed many days reading comic books like that!

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