Trek Kindle eBook "Update"

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by BritishSeaPower, Jul 25, 2013.

  1. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    That book was released when S&S did not give a crap. They went from decent MS Reader to ePub and when they did, my guess is they farmed the eBook making to the lowest bidder based in India. That common these days. But S&S have since decided to care and put out fairly good Trek ePub.
     
  2. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, I haven't noticed any issues in a while.
     
  3. Endgame

    Endgame Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I just upgraded to a new computer and software so that I can better access reading materials and store libraries. I noticed among my EPUB books that some of the SCE books are Starflleet Corps of Engineers and at least one is Starfleet Core of Engineers (I think on the cover IIRC). Finding books often requires more than title and the correct form of author's name is required. Would there need to be a thread for other e-book sources (e.g., Kobo)?

    Do serious readers recommend getting both Kobo and Kindle?
     
  4. Csalem

    Csalem Commodore Commodore

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    I think I had the same issue with one of the Stargazer books on Kindle. A few times I had to go back and find where the scene break occurred.
     
  5. CaffeineAddict

    CaffeineAddict Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    As in getting both devices? I'd say not - I have a Kindle, and I've not found anything I can't get on it that I could get elsewhere, and the prices are comparable.
    If you were going to read on a tablet, both have apps so you can read from whatever source you like.
     
  6. CaffeineAddict

    CaffeineAddict Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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  7. Data's Cat

    Data's Cat Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    No. Kindle (Amazon) has the best selection of books, and if it's in other formats, it's probably in Kindle. And there are plenty of books available in Kindle that aren't found in other formats (I'm talking about books in general, not specifically Star Trek books. I haven't even looked for Star Trek books in ebook formats).
     
  8. BritishSeaPower

    BritishSeaPower Captain Captain

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    Yeah, I read that nearly 2 years ago and didn't encounter any issues on the Kindle with Immortal Coil.
     
  9. bfollowell

    bfollowell Captain Captain

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    That's likely because it's one of the titles that has received the cleanup treatment over the past several months.

    - Byron
     
  10. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    That's doesn't make the Kindle better. That just means that S&S has gone back and fixed up their messed up Trek eBooks. Back then, the Kindle versions had the same problems as the Kindle version was made from the same source. They still are made from the same source. Now S&S is making things better.
     
  11. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    I recommend waiting to see what the forthcoming (later this year) Sony PRS-T3 will be like and then choose between Sony & Kobo. Forget the Kindle. Go ePub.


    If you have a tablet, the Kindle app is awful. If you have an iPad, Marvin is quite good. But it only handle DRM free ePub. There is Bluefire Reader that handles ePub in both iOS and Android. Bluefire does handle ePub and handle Adobe's Adept ePub DRM and you can use Bluefire to borrow library ePub.
     
  12. CaffeineAddict

    CaffeineAddict Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I've used the kindle app on several different tablets, and found it to be just fine. Not sure why you think its awful. I've tried other eReader apps on tablets, and i've found them a bit annoying.

    As for the ereaders, I don't think a lot of books come in non-DRM ePub, so if you're going to go for a locked in solution, why not use the kindle? you can read it on pretty much any platform, or on the dedicated device, and the selection of books is the best out there. Maybe its just that I use amazon a lot anyway, but it just seems to be a great ecosystem for me.
     
  13. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

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    What exactly is your ax to grind with Amazon? The Kindle app on the iPad works like its suppose too.
     
  14. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    That's the problem. It's designed very poorly and works that way. No fonts, huge margins, it's just weak and doesn't look good at all.

    One really good reason to go with ePub is because it's a better format then anything Amazon has to offer.

    I'm not locked into DRM. All of my eBooks have had the DRM removed. So given a choice, ePub is it. Marvin blows away the Kindle app. And there is going to be an iPhone version as well that will again blow away the Kindle iPhone disaster (err app). On an iPhone, screen space is precious, but Amazon doesn't care at all about usability.
     
  15. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

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    What the Hell are you talking about? There are a selection of different fonts and you can control the size of the fonts.
     
  16. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    I was wrong about the fonts. Been a while since I ran Kindle on my iPad. But there are a couple of things that make reading more difficult and there is nothing we can do to fix things.

    The margins are very large and very annoying. On an iPhone it's abominable. On an iPad it's not nice.

    The line spacing is huge and we cannot fix that. On an iPhone it looks stupid and on an iPad it's just very annoying.

    Kindle wasn't made with users in mind. It was made so you'd get fed up of using the poorly designed app and move to an eInk Kindle.
     
  17. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Admiral

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    I've never had any issues using the Kindle app for reading. On either my iPad or iPod Touch. :shrug:
     
  18. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    I find it uncomfortable to use to read. I'll stick with ePub where I can use Marvin to read with where I have options to set things so they are comfortable.
     
  19. cdgodin

    cdgodin Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    Yeah, I have both a Kindle and the Kindle app and they both appeal to me. Nothing wrong with the app when I didn't think to bring my Kindle somewhere.
     
  20. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    You might want to check your quote there, I didn't say that.