palm-pilot as e-book
Michael Cieslik
since last, I read more and more digitally stored texts and get annoyed if I
cannot read them, *where* I want to. Especially in bed, at toilet or
even in the tram.
So I am looking for a solution.
Copying the texts to a palmpilot and take them, where I want to, would be a
opportunity, but there are several questions unanswered:
- Does anybody of you have made experiences with reading (longer) texts
on your pilot? (e.g. time (batteries), light, contrast, concentration on
reading, scrolling texts, or getting annoyed of anything else?)
- (What do you use your pilot for, actually?)
- Are there possibilities to transfer pdf-/ps-formatted texts to a
pilot?
- Do think, buying a pilot just for reading is overkill, and the pilot
isn't suitable for reading (longer) texts, even books. So a notebook is the
next (suitable) oppurtunity?
- *Please dont kill me in this NG*: Or am I better-advised with another
palm?
thanks for answering,
--
-:! Michael !:-
.
visit the future!:... . . . .
http://www.fjutsha-njus.de
Larry Baerveldt
says...
> Hi crowd,
>
> since last, I read more and more digitally stored texts and get annoyed if I
> cannot read them, *where* I want to. Especially in bed, at toilet or
> even in the tram.
> So I am looking for a solution.
> Copying the texts to a palmpilot and take them, where I want to, would be a
> opportunity, but there are several questions unanswered:
>
> - Does anybody of you have made experiences with reading (longer) texts
> on your pilot? (e.g. time (batteries), light, contrast, concentration on
> reading, scrolling texts, or getting annoyed of anything else?)
Actually I do this all the time, and except for the calendar
and memopad, this is the primary function of my Palm. I've read
e-books on my Palm that, if printed, would run well over 400 pages,
and had no problems.
I try to make sure I read in good light, although even when the
light is bad, I can use the backlight without significantly
draining my batteries. The batteries hold up quite well for me
(I use a Palm Pilot Pro upgraded to a III), I usually get from
4-6 weeks on a pair. The screen is sometimes wearying,
particularly in poor light, but it's not bad enough that I
can't cope. I've read that the newer Palm IIIe, IIIx and V's
have better screens.
Regarding scrolling: I usually hold the palm in one hand, with
my thumb resting over the down button. After awhile (say an
hour or more of solid reading), I do take a break to rest my
thumb ;), but that's the only real problem.
I've read books on my Palm almost everywhere (except while
in the bathtub, for obvious reasons), and find it quite
comfortable to hold for long periods, even when lying on my
side in bed.
> - (What do you use your pilot for, actually?)
Primarily calendar, memopad (I keep a lot of lists and
reminders there), and as an e-book reader.
> - Are there possibilities to transfer pdf-/ps-formatted texts to a
> pilot?
I've read that you can, but can't recall the program. Go to
PalmGear HQ (http://www.palmgear.com) and do a search on "pdf"
and you should find something.
> - Do think, buying a pilot just for reading is overkill, and the pilot
> isn't suitable for reading (longer) texts, even books. So a notebook is the
> next (suitable) oppurtunity?
Not at all. As I've said, I find the Palm very useful for reading
longer texts. I recently travelled to Ireland for two weeks, and
I was able to take four novel length books along on my Palm. Those
books, if printed, would have taken up valuable luggage space. Plus,
unlike the Rocket E-Book, you can use the Palm for many, many other
things.
One final recommendation. My main document reader program on
my Palm is iSilo. It is without question one of the best
DOC readers out there, and also one of the best bargains.
Since a lot of what I read starts out as a web page (or
series of web pages), iSilo combined with iSiloWeb makes for
an unbeatable combination.
--
Larry Baerveldt
PALNI Library Systems Specialist
Return e-mail is bogus, use larry at palni dot edu
Lee Fyock
<CodeCo...@gmx.de> wrote:
> - Does anybody of you have made experiences with reading (longer)
> texts
> on your pilot? (e.g. time (batteries), light, contrast, concentration on
> reading, scrolling texts, or getting annoyed of anything else?)
Reading is a fairly low-power activity, so I typically go at least a
month on a pair of AAAs.
I use the Peanut Reader (not surprising :-) so I don't have any
experience with scrolling-text readers -- I really like the
page-at-a-time that our Reader does.
As for contrast, the newer generation of machines (IIIx, V on up) have
much nicer screens than the previous models. However, there's still a
certain range of light that isn't quite bright enough to comfortably
read by, but turning on the backlight actually makes things worse.
Outside that range of lighting, everything's great.
Reading long texts on the Palm is awesome. As you pointed out, just
being able to grab your Palm and read wherever you are is a major
benefit.
I've found that people who say "I would never read a long book on a
Palm" just haven't tried it -- give them 10 minutes with something good
to read and they forget it's on a handheld device.
Check out our site <http://www.peanutpress.com/> for some great ebooks
and current fiction.
Good luck!
Lee
ogunda melli
> Hi crowd,
>
> since last, I read more and more digitally stored texts and get annoyed if I
> cannot read them, *where* I want to. Especially in bed, at toilet or
> even in the tram.
> So I am looking for a solution.
> Copying the texts to a palmpilot and take them, where I want to, would be a
> opportunity, but there are several questions unanswered:
>
> - Does anybody of you have made experiences with reading (longer) texts
> on your pilot? (e.g. time (batteries), light, contrast, concentration on
> reading, scrolling texts, or getting annoyed of anything else?)
I read books on my PalmV8 - free-ware books from www.memoware.com and
purchased, current books from peanutpress.com. I get good battery life
even with the backlight turned on - IF I underclock the unit with tornado.
Usually, I overclock at 200% but when reading for long stretches, I
underclock down to 60% to extend battery life.
The visability on a PalmV or Vx is TERRIBLE in low-light situations -
basically you either need regular lighting or total darkness.
I have no problems with scrolling or seeing - you can adjust the text size
if you need to from small to large and some programs - like peanutpress's
proprietory program has italics and bold face typed mixed in with regular
text.
> - (What do you use your pilot for, actually?)
Reading text is totally secondary for me. My Palm replaced ten years with
Franklin Covey's paper planner and use it for honouring my committments,
managing my time, keeping my finances in control, eMail, games and
reading. If you absolutely want to read and only to read electronic books
you might want to look into a Rocket book which does only that. I've both
and, truthfully, nothing b eats a paper book. However, there are times
when they are just not available or handy and reading on the Palm is fine.
I was trapped in a thrid world airport for two days and thank the gods for
the books I had on my Palm!
> - Do think, buying a pilot just for reading is overkill, and the pilot
> isn't suitable for reading (longer) texts, even books. So a notebook is the
> next (suitable) oppurtunity?
I think if you ONLY want to read, you should get a rocket book. On the
oother hand, if you do get a Palm I would wager that no only would you use
it to read but would be amazed at how quickly and totally it ingrains
itself as an invaluable tool in your life.
Joe Tuсуn
happy iSilo user.
I have read a dozen books or so and I must say two things, 1 good, 1 bad.
First the bad:
(1) lighting either has to be good or dark enough for the backlight. The
inbetween lighting, in my opinion is the only problem compared to a
paperback, and it is remedied by turning the Palm at a better angle. But the
advantage goes to the Palm for things you can't do with the paperback:
(2) I actually find reading on the PalmV even more comfortable than a
paperback in many situations, like when in bed, or on the "throne", if you
know what I mean. Scrolling is cake, resting the thumb on the scroll button,
you can read under the covers with the backlight, or choose from several
books on the can! Can't do that with a paperback.
Oh, one more thing which is crucial for me. When you want to search for
something, you can't beat the electronic format. I have the whole Bible, the
Catechism, and several reference books that are much more productive
electronically. For instance, why buy a paper concordance when you can look
up every instance of any word in the Bible? What a powerful research tool!
Bottom line: go electronic! It really works and it's really comfortable.
Larry Baerveldt wrote in message ...
>In article <83nn5p$fck$2...@news.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de>, CodeCo...@gmx.de
>says...
>> Hi crowd,
>>
>> since last, I read more and more digitally stored texts and get annoyed
if I
>> cannot read them, *where* I want to. Especially in bed, at toilet or
>> even in the tram.
>> So I am looking for a solution.
>> Copying the texts to a palmpilot and take them, where I want to, would be
a
>> opportunity, but there are several questions unanswered:
>>
>> - Does anybody of you have made experiences with reading (longer)
texts
>> on your pilot? (e.g. time (batteries), light, contrast, concentration on
>> reading, scrolling texts, or getting annoyed of anything else?)
>
>Actually I do this all the time, and except for the calendar
>and memopad, this is the primary function of my Palm. I've read
>e-books on my Palm that, if printed, would run well over 400 pages,
>and had no problems.
>
>I try to make sure I read in good light, although even when the
>light is bad, I can use the backlight without significantly
>draining my batteries. The batteries hold up quite well for me
>(I use a Palm Pilot Pro upgraded to a III), I usually get from
>4-6 weeks on a pair. The screen is sometimes wearying,
>particularly in poor light, but it's not bad enough that I
>can't cope. I've read that the newer Palm IIIe, IIIx and V's
>have better screens.
>
>Regarding scrolling: I usually hold the palm in one hand, with
>my thumb resting over the down button. After awhile (say an
>hour or more of solid reading), I do take a break to rest my
>thumb ;), but that's the only real problem.
>
>I've read books on my Palm almost everywhere (except while
>in the bathtub, for obvious reasons), and find it quite
>comfortable to hold for long periods, even when lying on my
>side in bed.
>
>> - (What do you use your pilot for, actually?)
>
>Primarily calendar, memopad (I keep a lot of lists and
>reminders there), and as an e-book reader.
>
>> - Are there possibilities to transfer pdf-/ps-formatted texts to a
>> pilot?
>
>I've read that you can, but can't recall the program. Go to
>PalmGear HQ (http://www.palmgear.com) and do a search on "pdf"
>and you should find something.
>
>> - Do think, buying a pilot just for reading is overkill, and the
pilot
>> isn't suitable for reading (longer) texts, even books. So a notebook is
the
>> next (suitable) oppurtunity?
>
Emily Ford
I use my pilot for a wide variety of things, many associated with my english
lit. college course.
I do use it for reading e-texts, and find it virtually problem free, other
than for the fact that the screen is very small. The lcd display is okay on
my eyes, and the backlight does not trouble my eyes too much.
However, I would not reccommend buying one for this purpose alone, since
many of the books available in this format are classics (presumably due to
copyright reasons) which you can pick up, at least in the uk, for under a
quid. The pilot is a very expensive alternative to these!
I am however reading 'Middlemarch' on it at the moment, several essays on
Salman Rushdie whcih I found on the internet and 'in brief' versions of the
Guardian newspaper.
I would say that you would be better off waiting until more books come out
in this format, and also until price drops make the pilot a more feasable
alternative to paperbacks.
Emily.
Sue Sayers
mack45
My first suggestion (being over 50 years of age) is get some 2X
glasses. Using a larger font and magnifying glasses works great.
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