Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Astak Reader well used!

Monday, August 10th, 2009

Ok, I have used my Astak reader for a couple of months now and I am very impressed by its useability. I have had some trouble with some chm files and pdf files, and LIT files. These file formats need more work because they sometimes cause it to crash or don’t render properly. But overall with the the storage of a 4GB SD card I can fit a large number of books from Baen and other sources.  Sometimes an RTF file will format part of the page in an overlapping and small font that causes problems.

I have tried openinkpot and it still needs some work. The main problems I saw were the lack of recent books listing which is usefull for reading multiple books at a time.  No battery meeting and also the battery life was not as good as the standard software. Some of the book reading software in openinkpot doesn’t save your position in the book.  The pdf reader in Openinkpot is better than the one on the Hanlin so I keep a copy of the openinkpot on the SD card for those occasions when I need to read a pdf.

I would like to see the case made out of something other than this type of plastic though because I dropped it from about 2 feet with the cover on it and a corner of the case broke off. The Ipod, Kindle, and sony readers are made from various metals and I would really like to see one of these readers made in metal.

Overall I like reading from the Astak/Hanlin v3 or reading on my IPhone equally well. Some people don’t like reading on the iPhone but I find the experience with the phone is almost equal to the Astak. I use both quite abit. The Iphone is especially nice at night when my wife is sleeping because I don’t need to turn on a light.

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Astak Reader

Friday, April 17th, 2009

Well dispite my earlier post about the Kindle I broke down and bought a reader. However, I didn’t go with the Kindle or the Sony but with the ASTAK EzReader.

My reasons are as follows:

  1. Astak EZReader is basically a Hanlin v3 which allows the use of Openinkpot.org opensource Reader software or you can install more recent Hanlin v3 software. Currently the most recent can be obtained from bebook.
  2. Because of the software installed on the device it supports more formats than either the Kindle or the Sony. I have noticed that MS Lit files sometime crash the software but at least they can be read. Also the openinkpot pdf viewer is much better than the hanlin software.
  3. Netbook tablets are still several months off and they are not being priced similarly to the original netbooks. Functionally the tablets only require a more complex hinge and touch screen but it looks like the price will take a little time to drop to a sub $600 price tag. I still believe that they could be the reader killer that I described before.
  4. I needed some kind of reader for PDF and HTML files for when I am away from the keyboard. I needed it mostly for the Apple Documentation on the IPHONE

The device is kind of slow but for the convenience it is acceptable. The USB upload sucks but the SD card makes up for it. Definetly get a 4GB SD card as a complement to the reader because it really is the only acceptable way to get and store data on these devices. Also openinkpot.org also offers a runable version of the software that you can use to boot into without reflashing your device. This then allows you to reboot back into your hanlin software without reflashing the reader.

I got my ASTAK from Fry’s about a two months ago. There are many Hanlin readers branded under different names such as bebook. Shop around I am sure you can find a good deal.

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L4D

Friday, April 17th, 2009

Well L4D has absorbed my life and I am sorry for neglecting my programming except at work. I hope to get more done soon towards my Iphone projects. Also it has caused me to neglect my responsibilities concerning this website and blog.

Out of 15 pages of comments I have approved 5 posts that weren’t blatently advertisements for something noone cares about. If you are posting comments please make them pertinent. I know this request will do little to deter the bots, criminals (#$%^!*) or other automated posters, but one can hope.

As for L4D I have never been so addicted to a game. It has actually gotten me to join the SelectedSurivors.com clan. If you play L4D I hope to see you around my handle is Nash the Smasher.

As for my current programs there are no known bugs and they were more for me to learn about developing for the IPHONE platform. I am working on a business app but I am waiting a little for some changes in the API that will make my life easier. I probably should proceed however because what I have done is quite good and useful.

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Death of the Kindle 2 !!!

Monday, February 9th, 2009

Well to little 2 late. I don’t know how much it actually cost to build a Kindle but the price needs to be around $150 and should include at a minimum of 8GB of storage space. It doesn’t have either of these things. Also within the next 6 months the netbooks will be shipping as tablets and that will mark the end of a Kindle. Why because even though a netbook battery will only last 4 hours how often do you read more than 4 hours at a time where you are not close to electricity. Also you can cary a change of batteries.

Also with a netbook you can run several different types of browsers, RSS Readers, Email, ITunes or other media player, Stanza, Microsoft Reader, and the list goes on and on and on. Kindle and the Sony can’t survive in that market. I admit there is some appeal to me for a device that is as lite as the Sony and Kindle with a single charge that will last more than 10hours but at $359 I think I will buy a tablet netbook.

Also we are not even taking into account the effect of the IPhone. I used to use a windows mobile device to read my Baen and other books. But I got the Iphone over the summer and that by far is the most convenient of all because I am already carrying the device, so there is nothing more to carry. It is also backlit so you set it to white text on black so that it doesn’t disturb your partner while you read in bed.

Happy Reading!

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