fbReader update
 

fbReader has finallly updated for the Maemo platform, to version 0.10.4-1. Enable the FBReader repo at http://www.fbreader.org/maemo, distribution chinook, and install. The new interface is slightly prettier, IMHO, the typeface is a tad more readable. Full changelog is available at http://fbreader.org/#0.10.0; it can now search the libraries at Feedbooks.com and LitRes.ru; follow the directions at http://fbreader.org/docs/network/ and search by title/author/whatever for free eBooks (mainly from Project Gutenberg.)

Re: fbReader update
 

Wow, thanks!
This is great news! :)

Re: fbReader update
 

Wait for the Extras update instead.

Re: fbReader update
 

any possibilty of auto scrolling features that would be nice.

Re: fbReader update
 

That would be up to the developer; I'm just reporting an update I like. General, do you think there will be any diff in the extras version?

Re: fbReader update
 

i like the new os style nav scrollbar, just wish it could be positioned horizontally at the bottom of the page rather than a vertical bar. In portrait view i like plenty of width, dont like giving up space to the scrollbar.

Re: fbReader update
 

At least FBreader's developer has had the common sense to give the user the choice (old style navbar can be set in preferences).

Re: fbReader update
 

Well, fifth actually wants new-style, just horizontal rather than vertical for portrait mode. I agree with him, I'd like that too.

Re: fbReader update
 

I don't even see that in prefs. ??

Nevermind, found it.

Re: fbReader update
 

In the latest update there now appears to be a tap/incremental/timed scrolling in the Preferences tabs *BUT* like the versions before, this feature doesn't seem to be functional on my N800.

Re: fbReader update
 

I assume by 'timed' scrolling you're implying an automatic scroll. There is nothing in the preferences about automatic scrolling.

There is the ability to specify the delay between scrolls. That is, you can specify how fast the pages scroll when you push the page down button, and the speed lines scroll when you tap or push the d-pad.

Re: fbReader update
 

A Sho said, I was talking about having the os style scrollbar in place of the traditional nav bar. I already have the set the preferences back to the old style, but would be nice to have this in the os style.

Liking the tap to scroll/turn page, makes life easier on the n810, since the +/- buttons can be awkward to use depending on how you hold the IT while reading.

Re: fbReader update
 

Just been updated again today;

Re: fbReader update
 

Un27Pee,

check out the 418 entries regarding autoscroll requests for fbreader ... http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-...CROLL+FBREADER

Developer hates autoscroll....
l8r

Re: fbReader update
 

Autoscroll is the *BEST* feature of MobiReader on my Nokia 9300b--you can tweak it up or down speed-wise as you go along.

I think that having to press a mechanical button to scroll just wears out the button and makes your finger sore. Maybe this is what is preferred by heavy game-players since they seem to have calluses on their thumbs? ;-v

Re: fbReader update
 

He can at least do it for those who find it helpful but thanks to him anyway for updating this useful app.

Re: fbReader update
 

Autoscroll can't be implemented cleanly with the current architecture. FBReader's portability is both a blessing and a curse, in this case, it prevents usable autoscrolling (here's a test, turn one full page and watch how long it takes to refresh the screen).

Whatever the developer does or does not think, FBReader + our hardware == no autoscrolling.

Re: fbReader update
 

I hope the next device to be released with fremantle can handle autocrolling because ebooks are on the rise and it is a must have in 2009.

Re: fbReader update
 

You can just tap in the bottom third of the screen to go forward to the next page, buttonlessly.

Re: fbReader update
 

Sorry, but I think you are wrong. There is at least one vertical scroller shoot'em'up game for the tablets and it scrolls the whole screen just fine. What makes you think that the current hardware prevents auto-scrolling?

Re: fbReader update
 

Comparing shoot'emups with fbreader is apples and oranges. Let me put it another way. Would you rewrite fbreader from scratch just to have autoscrolling ?

Re: fbReader update
 

I do not see why this is the reason for scrolling being impossible in fbreader while being possible in a shoot'em'up. In other words, both apples and oranges have seeds.

Could you elaborate on why the autoscroll feature would require a complete rewrite of fbreader? I would like to hear a technical explanation, if at all possible. Thanks.

Re: fbReader update
 

You missed the first part of my little equation. :)

I said the current hardware combined with FBReader (i.e., FBReader's architecture; i.e., libzlibrary)

You, apparently, missed the first paragraph, too.

I'm not saying it's not possible (I'm not familiar enough with libzlibrary to say whether optimizations would be feasible or worthwhile), but I definitely don't see the developer doing it, and it seems unlikely that anybody else would (or would you like to volunteer to prove me "wrong"?).

If somebody wanted to work on drop-in replacement renderer for libzlibrary, that might work, but in the end I suspect it'd be a lot easier to implement the UI and functionality niceties that FBReader has on something that's designed to run well (not just run on everything) like liqreader. . . .

Re: fbReader update
 

Autoscrolling is kinda fun, but it is hardly the must feature depicted above, it seems to me. To use it, you need to develop a new skill: "synchronized thinking".

With synchronized thinking, you can understand a difficult concept at EXACTLY the same speed as an easy one! That's right, "see Spot run" and "e=mc2" can be read with exactly the same speed of thought! Whereas people who mechanically turn pages are admitting that for them, some thoughts take longer than others.

Unfortunately, I haven't mastered synchronized thinking...

Re: fbReader update
 

AFAIK They use completely different video access. Mplayer and most of the games you talk about render through XV (so, no GTK, no universal RGB pixel drawing, no nothing). FBreader, on the other hand, uses regular X with GTK, and in *that* mode, video operations like scrolling are painfully slow (lcuk can tell a story or two on this).

So you'd have to do a serious rewrite to adapt everything to XV style operations, redo the whole interface, adapt font rendering to YUV, etc, at which point you're closer to a rewrite than a patch and it would be very maemo/linux specific.

I'd ask for any better informed person to say if I'm wrong here, as quite some time has passed since I've looked at fbreader innards.

You might also find this thread useful:
http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...ad.php?t=27206

Re: fbReader update
 

I use GTK rendering when running emulators in windowed mode on the NIT. Yes, the display updates are somewhat slow but they work. And I update the display much, much more often than required by autoscrolling.

This is obviously wrong. If you do want to do this at the low level, ask system for the /dev/fb0 device and render using hardware blitter. This is somewhat system-unfriendly but will work in windowed mode, as long as you do not ask the hardware to scale.

But, again, GTK should be enough for some light scrolling. After all, even that goddamn RSS widget scrolls (and has to be disabled to save battery).

Now, Lcuk uses YUV because the current version of XV extension does not let him use other modes. And he uses XV to stay compatible with the desktop that does support /dev/fb0 but does not support NIT-specific hardware blitting.

Re: fbReader update
 

How smooth are talking about here ? At portrait 1 minute / page (not a stellar reading speed) if you update by the pixel, that's roughly 15fps (not too battery friendly either), easily more if you use a larger font (=read quicker).

Re: fbReader update
 

I manage something like 18-22fps.

Re: fbReader update
 

I was excited about this program reading archive files, zip etc but guess I misunderstood. I've some ebooks that consist of like 100 individual html files (each chapter) .... was thinking I could zip them up and view them as one book but guess not? :( 4 books, 2 split by chapter annd 2 as 1 long html file. I tried out this new fbreader cuz browser choked on the large files; ironically I ended up really liking this fbreader but now have to use both.

Re: fbReader update
 

Obviously it depends on what you are reading. Romantic novels doesn't seem to have concepts too though.
Physic texts, on the other hand....

Re: fbReader update
 

Hey.

I have a compiled html help file called "The 5 minute medical consult"

FBreader opens the file just fine, and I can expand topics, however, once I choose a topic such as GRANULOMA INGUINALE, the screen stays blanks and nothing ever happens.

It's a 42 meg file. Is there a limit that FBreader can handle?

Also, is there a way to troubleshoot what I'm doing wrong, and if so, would you like to see a few screenshots of what happens on my end?

Thanks ahead!