[Tfug] OT: RFC about Android and ebook software

[Robert Hunter]

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On Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 05:25:04AM -0700, John Gruenenfelder wrote:
> So... ideas?  You don't really need to know the precise details of the current
> Palm version if you don't want to.  Suffice to say that it does its primary
> job well.  An Android device, though, is far more powerful, has a much richer
> API which can make adding certain features much easier, and has much easier to
> use Net access.

John, I'm not a big user of ebook software.  It's still hard to beat
the convenience of reading printed text, in my opinion.  It's possible
that the technology will eventually improve to the point that the
experience of reading electronic and printed text will be very
similar.  Even then, there will probably be a number of people who
will cling to their printed books: perhaps those without means to
acquire the technology, or the collectors, or Luddites.  But until
then, for me it's simply a matter of quality.  It's easier to curl up
on the couch, lean back in my chair, or stretch out on the rug with
with a book.  And more importantly, it is easier to read.

I have mildly limited vision, and the problem with electronic displays
is usually just a matter of not being able to see as much text at a
reasonable size.  For instance, when faced with reading pages upon
pages of text on an electronic display, I usually prefer a high zoom
level, as it relieves a considerable amount of eye strain for me.
Something like a 15-inch display with 1600x1200 pixels in portrait
orientation is ideal, in my opinion, because I can view the entire
page without scrolling.  And a 24-inch display in landscape
orientation is large enough to display two full pages simultaneously
- -- the ultimate in luxury!  (at least until something like this is
available: http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleid=39094)


I'd love to have a full letter-sized view on my 15.4-inch laptop
display, but the print is too small for extended reading.  Therefore,
I usually use a "sub-page" zoom level, and scroll as necessary.  Due
to the smaller displays of hand-held devices, even more scrolling
would be necessary for someone with limited vision.

"Intelligent" document navigation

To this day, I haven't found a document reader that scrolls text in a
way that is aesthetically pleasing, efficient, and ergonomic to my
complete satisfaction.  If the page jumps around when I'm not
expecting it, causing me to lose track of my position, it is
distracting.  Anything that requires several clicks, or key presses to
incrementally reposition the text is tiresome.  I would also like the
ability to configure keys to do what I want, rather than being
permanently stuck with the program defaults.  The two paradigms of
navigation (discrete and continuous) are complementary, and you should
be able to use either one as you require, and with minimal fuss and
button-work.

Another cool feature for document navigation would be adaptive control
responses.  For example, a soft touch, or single tap on your touch pad
or screen could incrementally scroll the text, whereas a firm touch,
or double tap could reposition to beginning/end of the line or page.  A
longer button press might accelerate the scrolling.  Also, with
"gestures" and multi-touch there are probably some cool things you
could do.

So that's the half-brained suggestion from someone that doesn't like
e-books: try to make reading them as effortless as possible using
clever and flexible controls.  Most of the things I mentioned are not
new in UI design, but it is surprising that these features are not
implemented in some of the more common document readers.





> 
> Some of my quick ideas were:

> - proper unicode support.
> 
> - draconian DRM that both tracks users and punishes them with mild shocks,
> even when they haven't done anything wrong.  Maybe severe shocks?
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