.KEYWORD librius
.FLYINGHEAD WINDOWS CE POWER BOOK CLUB
.TITLE Bringing today’s best-sellers to the palm of your hand
.OTHER
.SUMMARY As the end of the millennium approaches, 1999 may be remembered as the year of the electronic book. Portable, paperless books that provide the reader with an electronic alternative to the traditional paperbound book have finally arrived. In this important article, Clifford Brooks shows you some of your options.
.AUTHOR Clifford Brooks
As the end of the millennium approaches, 1999 may be remembered as the year of the electronic book. Portable, paperless books that provide the reader with an electronic alternative to the traditional paperbound book have finally arrived. I know what you’re thinking — it’s been coming for a long, long, time. But this year, with the launch of NuvoMedia’s Rocket eBook, SoftBook Press’s SoftBook, and a slew of announcements from other manufacturers, the time is here.
.H1 The Rocket eBook
Back in latter half of 1998, I was lucky enough to attend a public demonstration of NuvoMedia’s Rocket eBook, shown in Figure A. I found the Rocket eBook well-designed, easy to hold, and its slate grey screen very easy on the eyes.
.FIG A Here’s a look at the Rocket eBook from NuvoMedia.
The Rocket eBook includes a stylus for tapping options and controls from a pop-up menu, a built-in dictionary for defining unknown words in the text being read, and an ever-growing selection of eBooks available from Barnes and Noble’s Web site. All-in-all, a fine piece of workmanship. But at the time, I had a few concerns:
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.BULLET Despite the comfortable grip of its curved "handle", it was a bit large.
.BULLET The selection was lacking in the fiction area.
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Though they had a list of more than 100 books at the public demonstration, there were few, if any, that I was interested in. During the presentation, we were told that a lot of major authors, including Stephen King, were interested in the format. It was just a matter of working out contractual details with their publishers. In March, Stephen King’s The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was released simultaneously in Hardcover, Rocket eBook edition, and SoftBook edition. They’ve also published works by Bill Gates and Monica Lewinsky.
.H1 Yet another device in the age of portable devices
The portability factor was great, even necessary, but I already carried around a Palm-sized PC that was perfectly up to the task of reading electronic books. Why would I want to spend $500 for a device that, although major cool, only served a single function? I didn’t want to carry both my Nino and an eBook with me. So you guessed it, I suggested that NuvoMedia look at Windows CE, Palm OS, or developing their own PIM software.
So there I was, holding this near perfect reading device, a device that brought me one step closer to the ability to carry around a personal library. But $500 was a lot to pay, and I definitely didn’t want another device to carry around. So I did the next best thing. I went home that night and downloaded a couple of electronic book reader programs for my Palm-sized PC, and then I downloaded a few of the many classics available for free.
Thanks to the fine folks behind Project Gutenberg, we have access to hundreds of classic novels and public domain documents. And for a while, it was enough. I really enjoyed reading The Picture of Dorian Grey on my Nino 320, and Colette read well on my Cassiopeia E-100, but like any good thing, I wanted more. I’ve always been a sucker for a good horror novel, and some of those Oprah Book Club selections looked pretty inviting. After all, man does not live by classics alone.
.H1 Librius.com
Enter Librius.com. Back in 1998, amidst little fanfare, Librius.com was launched. At the time, their plan was to produce The Millennium Reader, a sub $200 electronic book reader that promised to provide the solution for people who didn’t want to spend $500 or more just to read the latest potboiler. But more importantly, Librius.com planned support for Windows CE and Palm OS devices via free software download.
Since that time, there have been a number of changes at Librius. A few months back, a decision was made to shelve The Millennium Reader in favor of supporting the established user base of Windows CE devices. Future plans include support for Palm OS, EPOC, Windows 95/98/NT, and the Macintosh operating system.
In order to prepare this article, the fine folks at Librius drafted me as a tester for the alpha version of their Windows CE software, eReader, and their online bookstore.
Using Librius’ service is easy, and can be broken down into seven simple steps. Please note that the information provided in this article is based on using alpha software, and the screenshots and procedures may change or be altered prior to their actual launch. But the following steps are expected to reflect the final procedure.
.H2 Step 1: Establish an account
The first thing you have to do is go to Librius’ bookstore site ,which is shown in Figure B, at http://www.books2read.com. Though Librius.com is still a month or two from opening the site to the buying public, you can preview their Books2Read bookstore.
.FIGPAIR B Here’s a look at Librius’ Books2Read site.
At the top of the screen, next to the shopping cart icon, you’ll find the words Your Account. Members need only click on the icon, and then enter their user name and password to gain access to their own personal library. Librius.com keeps track of all purchases, and stores them in a personal library. Once you’ve purchased a book from Librius, you can download it as many times as you like from your personal library.
The first time you log on, you’ll be directed to establish an account.
.H2 Step 2: Download the free eReader software
After signing up and establishing a user name and password, you can download the eReader software. The program is relatively compact, so the download is pretty quick. I didn’t time it, but with my 28.8 modem, it took no more than five minutes.
.H2 Step 3: Copy the eReader software to your Windows CE device
Now that you’ve downloaded the eReader software, you’ll need to copy it to your device. Minimize the Books2Read site so you have access to your desktop. Put your Windows CE device in its cradle and establish a connection with your desktop computer.
The alpha version of the eReader software doesn’t have an installation program, you simply copy it from your desktop computer to your Windows CE device. Future versions may include an installation program.
.H2 Step 4: Register the eReader software
Open your browser window again and click the register button on the instructions screen. You will be asked to run the eReader software. When you run the eReader software and the registration box appears, it will look something like Figure C.
.FIGPAIR C When you run the eReader software, you’ll see the Info screen.
You’ll need to supply the serial number that appears on the eReader Info screen to complete the online registration. This is an important step as the serial number is used in identifying your reader software. It’s also incorporated in the encryption process. For security purposes and copryright protection, books you purchase will be encrypted and can only be decrypted (read) on your device.
.H2 Step 5: Shop for the books of your choice
Now the real fun begins. The Librius bookstore, Books2Read.com, is well organized. Select the category you want from the main screen, shown in Figure D, to take a look at the offerings, or use the search function to search by keyword.
.FIGPAIR D Select the category you’d like to browse from the Books2Read.com main screen.
On the preview site, the books are, for the most part, paperback originals. The average price is $4, which is much less than their paperbound counterparts. And unlike the other electronic publishers, classics that are public domain are free downloads.
.H2 Step 6: Purchase your novels
Using the now-familiar shopping cart analogy, you can select books and later review your selections before making your purchase. As soon as you’ve completed your transaction, your new books are put into your own private library account. Downloading is as simple as clicking a button. The download was extremely fast. On my 28.8 modem, it took approximately 3 minutes to download a novel.
Each book entry provides an impressive amount of information. Click on the author’s name, and in addition to other available titles, you’ll often get a picture and a bio. Click on the publisher’s name and you’re linked to an essay on the publisher and links to other books available from that publisher. You can also provide a review. The best feature is that you can read the first chapter from the book online before you decide whether you want to purchase it.
.H2 Step 7: Use the eReader software
Once you’ve downloaded your selections to your desktop computer, you’ll need to transfer them to your Windows CE device.
To launch eReader, simply tap double-click on the book’s document icon. This launches eReader and opens the book to a black and white representation of the cover.
To move through your document, you have three choices:
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET Tap the right side of the screen with the stylus or your finger to move forward a page. Tap the left side to move back.
.BULLET Use the scroll wheel or scroll button on your device.
.BULLET Cassiopeia E-15, E-100, and E-105 users may also use the joypad.
.END_LIST
In addition, as you read through your book, you can set up to four bookmarks. If you look at Figure E, you can see that the eReader uses the entire screen to display your text. At the bottom of the page you’ll find the page number followed by the total number of pages in the document. Changing font size or justification will change the number of pages in your document. One caveat — there’s no easy way to jump forward or backward in the document unless you’ve bookmarked a page. For instance, if you’re on page 563 and want to go back to page one, you’ll have to move backwards a page at a time. Hopefully, the released version will allow you that flexibility.
.FIGPAIR E This is what the eReader screen looks like.
To change your settings, tap the center of the screen and the eReader options screen appears, as shown in Figure F.
.FIGPAIR F You can change settings by using the eReader options screen.
This options screen allows your to set up to four bookmarks, jump to a bookmark, and select a font size. You can select among three font sizes: Small, Medium, and Large.
I found all three of the sizes viable, but I especially liked the small size. Unfortunately, I was unable to select a font. I liked the included font, though some readers will no doubt want to change it.
Justified text can be somewhat ugly, as the program leaves big white spaces on some lines when creating equal line lengths. Even using the small font option doesn’t resolve this issue. Fortunately, you can turn justification off.
To exit the program, you need to select Exit the Reader. This is the only way to exit the program as Windows CE doesn’t seem to recognize the program is running. It doesn’t show up in any of the task switcher programs. I expect this to be resolved in the near future.
The Rotate option rotates the display through 90 degree angles. It is quite useful for H/PC users.
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.H1 Conclusion
Microsoft (and their third party developers) were thinking when they devised the CE Palm-sized PC standards. By incorporating a scroll device in their Palm-sized PC specifications, they made it easy for these devices to be used with one hand. And by creating a removable screen input panel, they freed up the screen real estate so you could get some real work, or reading, done. In effect, when designing the Palm-sized PC, they created the perfect electronic book reader.
I enjoyed beta testing this service and I look forward to their official launch. For $4 and a half an hour of your time, you can transform your Windows CE device into an electronic book reader that rivals the dedicated readers on the market. And as you lose track of time, reading the great American novel, your ever-vigilant Windows CE device will be there to make sure you don’t forget that 3 o’clock meeting.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Librius.com can be found at
http://www.librius.com and http://www.books2read.com.
Visit NuvoMedia at
http://www.nuvomedia.com for more on the Rocket eBook.
For more on the Sof tBook Reader, see SoftBook Press at http://www.softbook.com.
The Rocket eBook editions can be obaitned at Barnes and Noble at http://www.barnesandnoble.com.
For more information on eBooks and ePublishing: http://www.ebooknet.com.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Clifford Brooks is a technical writer living and writing in Sunnyvale, CA. He can be reached at cbroo@msn.com.
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