More on TechnologyTell: Gadget News | Apple News
Cybook tip: The Embolden feature—letting you bold even DRMed books for MUCH better reading with E Ink
December 26, 2007 | 11:52 am
|
By David Rothman
One of the more loathsome aspects of DRM is that you can’t customize your e-book files for easier reading.
Yes, you can enjoy great boldfacing on nonencrypted books on various E Ink machines, via tweaks in .rtf and PDF files and the like.
But what happens when you’re reading a locked, DRMed file and must suffer the less-than-perfect contrast of E Ink without being able to bold the words on the screen—especially handy in dim light?
E Ink, DRM and the contrast issue
“I was a bit disappointed in the contrast between background and text on the E Ink screen of my new Cybook,” a reader named Brad wrote us.
Ah! But that was before he discovered (through the TeleBlog) the existence of the Cybook’s Embolden feature, which I dearly wish that Sony, iRex Amazon/Kindle and others would add. It works even on DRMed books since you’re not changing the files themselves.
From “dim flashlight in a coal bin” to “great pleasure”
“Now reading on the Cybook has gone from a dim ‘flashlight in a coal bin’ sort of experience to one of great pleasure,” Brad wrote in today. “It is amazing how that one feature really improved the readability of the E Ink.”
Terrific news, Brad. Of course I also intend to keep telling people about areas where the Cybook could stand improvements. I’m hoping that Bookeen will address the page-change problem—an issue as I see it—by letting users select the buttons they can press. On the Cybook, in my opinion, the current buttons require too much finger pressure. I’d like to be able to use the center button within the nav set to move a page ahead. In the page-changing area, the champ remains the iLiad, where it’s easy but without the Kindle’s hair-trigger problem. Another recommendation is that Bookeeen do a software developer’s kit as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, in the interest of disclosure, let me remind you that the NAEB buyers club, which sells the Cybook, will be advertising in the TeleBlog. I’d still be eager to share this tip, though, even without the connection; Embolden truly helps as much as Brad says.
Time for Sony, Amazon/Kindle, iLiad and others to add Embolden-style features
Didn’t I raise this issue in July in the TeleBlog—the need for bolding capabilities? Why didn’t people at various hardware vendors pay attention or, as Bookeen did, reach the conclusion on their own?
A small, unscientific poll of TeleBlog readers documented strong interest in the addition of bolding capabilities. Of the 39 respondents, 26 wanted it. Now, in real life, we have word from Brad that bolding makes a world of difference. And believe me, with Embolden in use, the letters still look great, without distortion or other problems, at least as I see things. I also own a Sony PRS-505 and have alerted Adobe—doing new software for the Sony—about the need for bolding. No commitment. Would other Sony owners kindly joining me in demanding bolding capabilities via the promised software upgrade?
How to activate the Embolden feature on the Cybook: Center button at the lower right > Layout > Emboldened Text. Press the center button once you’re there, and a checkmark will appear beside the words Emboldened Text. Then use the second button down on the on left side to return to your text.
A negative of the feature: You can’t distinguish between boldface and regular text when you’re using Embolden. But for most reading, that’s very small price to pay; and you can easily switch Embolden off when you want to.
The typography setting I’m using with the Cybook: Georgia, with a font size that’s fifth down from the top. At times when I’m in the mood I use Verdana. By the way, if I had major problems, I could make the type size much larger.
Question for software vendors such as Mobipocket and Adobe: Can the equivalent of Embolden be included in E book software for all kinds of machines, not just dedicated e-book readers?
|
Previous
SUBSCRIBE TO RSS
Comments:
Grumble, grumble. Such things are nice in *pictures*. Grumble, grumble, hint bloody hint.
Well, Mike, as noted, the contrast prob of E Ink is still present (despite the photo). But the perceived contrast is still much better than on the Sony and other machines when you’re reading DRMed files, which, here in the States, you can’t legally open up to tweak with bold. Good point about the PR photo, though. The background does look whiter than in Real Life. Thanks for taking the trouble to note that. HH. David
The Kindle easily allows one to choose from 6 font sizes. Why would I necessarily care about embolding the text when I can just kick the size up a notch?
At smaller font sizes at least I would think that embolding the text would likely lessen readability.
What am I missing?
Thanks for your thoughts, HeavyC. It’s subjective, but even large light characters can hard to read. As for smaller characters, they come out fine on the Cybook even with Embolden in use. If you’re happy with the current Kindle arrangement, then good for you. Enjoy. Happy holidays. David
I always turn on the bold option in FBReader on the iLiad, and it does make a huge difference (I also use bold on my Nokia 770, so it isn’t just for E-Ink screens). Note that a “bold” font like Arial Black is another alternative, which again should work well on the Cybook.
To me, the question is why paper book publishers use non-bold fonts? Historically, this might be due to the cost of ink or the spreading of ink on paper. Perhaps they are right about non-bold serif fonts being best for paper, but bold sans serif is better even for screens with many pixels per inch (after all, 150-250 ppi isn’t much relative to paper).
Amen, Alan! I remain baffled why Sony insisted on such light fonts when even the recent PRS-505 has far-from-perfect screen contrast between text and background. Thanks. David
[...] of it slows me down, and probably lots of other users, too Last I knew, Bookeen was offering an embolden feature in its E Ink readers. When, just when, will other companies do the same for both E Ink and LCD [...]