A Bit of Electronic Advice
Nov. 13th, 2021 07:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecosophia
These days an enormous amount of old occult literature is available in PDF format. For ecological reasons, I'd prefer not to print out everything on paper, and it gets old having to sit at my computer desk rather than lounging on the couch, so I'm considering picking up some kind of electronic e-reader for the purpose. The difficulty, of course, is that I'm about twenty years out of date when it comes to technology and I have no idea what's available. What I'm looking for is a simple device that will allow me to read PDFs. I don't want it to be connected to the internet if I can avoid that, and I certainly don't want it to be dependent on one of the big predatory internet firms; I can get all the books I want from archive.org and iapsop.com, and I'm not averse from using USB drives to get them to my e-reader.
Do such devices exist? Have you used one? Would you recommend it? Inquiring Druids want to know.
(If I can get it used, that would be a plus -- I prefer to get all my technology that way, to keep things out of the e-waste stream..)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 12:58 am (UTC)I hate that it makes money for a evil rich old bald guy who flys metal dongs into space.
I hate that it is an amazon product.
I hate that amazon knows what I'm reading and when I'm reading it.
I hate that it stirs up so much hate in me.
I hate that it is the best e reader on the market.
I hate that it is so easy to send PDF files to my kindle account and Bezos will convert them to kindle format for me.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 04:12 am (UTC)You don't have to connect to the wifi - you can attach Kindle to a PC/Mac and drag and drop files in it. And yes it can read pdf native - no need for conversion.
To build up on JMG's point, I am amazed how many great books you can find online. Plus, I can find originals in latin, french etc and Kindle have relatively good dictionaries for a lot of languages (there are many dictionaries created by people even for minor languages).
Why not buy new an older generation Kindle? They were available Amazon and they are cheap.
I would not buy it used unless you are ok with reading always connected to an outlet - the batteries don't last that long (similar to a laptop)
(no subject)
From: (Anonymous) - Date: 2021-11-15 12:49 am (UTC) - Expand(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 01:02 am (UTC)The best simple e-reader out there, outside of the big tech firm ones, is the Kobo Clara HD. It still allows for internet access but that is easily disabled. The device is useful when it comes to renting e-books from public libraries and you can move pdf files to it via your home computer.
https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/kobo-clara-hd
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 04:21 pm (UTC)Unfortunately I have a Kindle.
I would like to second the Kobo.
The main reason being the ability to loan from public libraries as you say.
(no subject)
From: (Anonymous) - Date: 2021-11-14 06:58 pm (UTC) - Expand(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 01:23 am (UTC)I use a small tablet but tablets all have grubby operating systems.
Kindle
Date: 2021-11-14 01:32 am (UTC)It has wifi, but that can be turned off. You can use a USB cable and some free software to get pdf or epub books onto it.
The screen is black and white e-ink, not an LCD. It is easy on the eyes and you can read it in full sunlight. Battery life is great - like a week or two between charges.
I'm really happy with it. Problem is, I don't think they make them anymore. The new kindles have color touchscreens, to be an ipad competitor. Maybe you can find one used somewhere. You can't have mine; I'm not parting with it.
Re: Kindle
Date: 2021-11-14 11:04 am (UTC)It's a personal thing....
Date: 2021-11-14 01:37 am (UTC)Surprisingly I found the weight a big problem with even "lighter" tablets, which I have problems reading anyway. The Kindle is geared towards reading, of course, and doesn't have color. You can manually load books/files on to it via USB, but of course it's more user-friendly when staying inside the Amazon moat, and downloading things from their website.
It supports the mobi and newer Amazon formats, and PDF, txt, doc and html - BUT NOT epub. However, I use Calibre on my Linux desktop to convert EPUB files as necessary. The charge lasts a few weeks, though mine is 5 years old now and the charge isn't lasting quite as long. You can get them used/refurbished on Amazon's web site for under $100 (some I see for $60 out there).
Mine "only" has 8 GB of storage, but that's plenty since I hook it up to my PC at least once per month, and most books and docs are only a few MB.
My advice would be to see if you can borrow some other ereader brands, or a tablet if you think you may like that (a lot of people love to surf on their tablets). I'm not a fan of Apple products, but they are very popular as well. I'd prefer to have a bland, monochrome Android device with Calibre embedded on it, but I don't think that exists.
Re: It's a personal thing....
Date: 2021-11-14 05:01 am (UTC)Re: It's a personal thing....
From:My experience with my e-reader
Date: 2021-11-14 01:43 am (UTC)The display uses electronic paper, which makes it better for reading.
It consumes a lot less juice, so your battery will last for many hours before needing a recharge.
You can set the font, and font size, and alter the 'warmth' of the paper.
In my experience, PDFs may not always be formatted properly on the reader. They can be read, but expect to see line breaks in place of justified text. It depends on how the PDF was created.
Sites like this one provide e-books with proper formatting, which will look good on e-readers:
https://standardebooks.org/
The Kobo is wireless enabled, but this can be turned off. (Also conserves power when it's off).
You don't need to purchase books, and it offers software updates that usually improve the features. My device has 6 GB of memory, and uses a USB cable to transfer books.
Whichever model you choose, I highly recommend them. They are designed specifically for books.
Ereader
Date: 2021-11-14 01:45 am (UTC)You could use a drive but afaik anything with a drive will have internet access.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 01:48 am (UTC)You can download PDFs on it and read them without any special workarounds. And the simplest way to download anything onto it is to first download to your desktop, then plug the ereader in with a USB cord, and copy the books/texts to the device. Nothing complicated.
The main reason I went with the Paperwhite (not something from a less evil company) is because it's the only ereader I could find with a flat, black-and-white LCD screen that is not backlit. It does have a light around the edge of the screen that you can turn on to shine *onto* the screen for reading at night or in dark closets, but no lights shining directly in your face, which reduces eyestrain considerably (I flat cannot read book-length text on a regular screen. Makes my eyes go sideways). There may be other non-backlit LCD readers on the market by now, I haven't kept up, but they are worth having. Particularly if you're not planning to use the device to cruise the internet or watch videos (it can *sort of* access the internet, but definitely can't do video).
Downsides:
1) If your book has color pictures, tough luck. No color.
2) If you do choose to use it for wireless things, River-in-Brazil will, once in a blue moon, randomly update the software and change the way your "library" appears on the screen. Mildly annoying, but so far has only happened to me once in about five years. They're much lazier about software updates than your typical default computer OS.
3) all the usual annoyances of touch-screens. Touch it just the wrong way, and instead of advancing a page, suddenly you're in the settings menu, or highlighting something, or consulting a dictionary, or you've gone ahead three pages.
Kindle
Date: 2021-11-14 01:51 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 02:08 am (UTC)Any used reader will do what you want (even the Amazon one can usb to open source software for easy transfers, I use calibre). But, be aware that many (all?) PDFs can't be rescaled dynamically. In essence, you are browsing a jpg picture of each page, and it wont look great or be pleasant to read at all.
On the other hand, if your files are in a dedicated ereader format (.mobi etc) or even Word/text files, the reader can scale the text correctly, page changing will work and you can make the text giant if your eyesight requires it.
Used kindles are basically free, my one is 10 years old and still works, but battery only last two weeks instead of a month.
If you *have* to read PDFs, you will probably need a bigger tablet sized device as opposed to the 'paperback' sized readers. And even then, it may not be great to read. The automatic pdf to emobi conversion tools can work, but expect plenty of transcription errors.
Hope this helps,
Damian
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 05:26 am (UTC)Landscape?!
From: (Anonymous) - Date: 2021-11-14 11:13 am (UTC) - Expand(no subject)
From:I'm no Expert...
Date: 2021-11-14 02:16 am (UTC)Casey
Onyx Boox
Date: 2021-11-14 02:18 am (UTC)They are based in Asia though, could be more pricey in the US.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 02:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 02:52 am (UTC)A big one is the PDF requirement. Devices with e-ink displays (which are much nicer for reading on, like Kindles etc) tend to have small displays and the PDF format is a print format - ie it has a fixed size and scale - so does not re-scale at all well to the small screens of most readily available devices. Larger e-ink devices are just coming onto the market but are still very expensive (and locked down). Thus if you want an actual e-ink device, then you'll need to read books in e-pub format which can rescale to the screen (and also to your needs - I read with large fonts) - many have been converted and are freely available on Project Gutenberg.
As to devices, if you want something that is relatively flexible a well supported then I suggest something from the Kobo range of e-ink readers. Kobo firmware is quite readily hackable and so far they haven't shown any indication of changing that. You will need a desktop computer with Calibre (free software) to manage the content via a USB cable, but that is easy enough. PDFs can be read on them, but it is very very clunky (and small!). And I would buy new - the earlier generation devices have old firmware that tends to limit what can be done somewhat, and also the batteries are fixed so will be wearing out. The good news is that a new e-ink reader will last much longer than a tablet or equivalent computer.
The alternative is a tablet with an LCD display (like a computer). Not anywhere near as good for reading on, the battery life is poor, and the older the device the worse the support and performance. I have an iPad, and have had many android tablets. They are all locked down in one way or another that severely limits how they can be used. Nowadays I have gone back to a lightweight Macbook for (literal) laptop use as the software is reasonable and so much more flexible in what can be done. PDFs are not problem. Ebooks are no problems. Whatever really, it is just a computer. Battery life is not great, so a charger handy is a must - but you do not need to have any active internet connection. For second hand, on the Macbook front they peaked in quality around 2015, so that vintage or before is best (2016-2019 are junk). For new, the M1 Macbook Air is an astounding device - long battery life and extremely performant. With an external keyboard and monitor it would also easily do your day-to-day computing for all the foreseeable future if you wanted.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 02:53 am (UTC)Most tablet computers support pdf readers and often come with them installed. I use an Android device with a mini SD card to store the files. You can also get an adapter that accepts the mini SD and can be hooked into an USB slot on a regular computer, that way you can transfer a file from your computer to the tablet without putting the tablet on the internet.
Just a suggestion
Raymond R
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 03:01 am (UTC)I use a ruggedized phone at work for voice and aps. They hold up.
My second thought was a portable microfilm reader. I’ve seen pictures of one that used an ordinary lightbulb and had an array of plug adapters and even jumper-cable clips for use with a car battery. One model supposedly had the bulb on a removable tray for the lightbulb that could be replaced with a candle in a lantern-like holder. (Rumors only on that, no data.)
Printers for plastic film already exist. Perhaps one of the tech gurus in the commentariat would know if any have the resolution for microfilm?
Rhydlyd
E-Reader
Date: 2021-11-14 03:09 am (UTC)As for the rest: I have an older Kindle Paperwhite which I'd be willing to give to you if you wanted it. It's pretty good for reading .pdfs, but I understand if you don't want the Amazon connection. Another option is to try to get a tablet of some sort. You can download e-reader apps to the tablet and then upload your .pdf files for reading later. If you have a library card, you may find that your library also has an e-book lending system that works with both Kindle and other tablet apps for your reading pleasure.
I hope this helps.
Re: E-Reader
Date: 2021-11-14 01:57 pm (UTC)Portable devices I have known...
Date: 2021-11-14 03:10 am (UTC)e-ink e-readers:
I have tested an old Kobo e-reader with Calibre to load the documents from a PC. Mine was a small model that didn't render well, but modern 8" models render better. With Calibre and a cable the device never needs to connect to a network.
Supposedly newer Kindle e-readers can handle PDFs, but I have not tested them. Calibre supports sending documents to them.
There are other e-ink ereaders out there, but I've had no exposure to them. Calibre supports many of them.
tablets:
Tablet form factor PCs frequently have USB ports. Since you already use Windows there won't be a learning curve. Excellent PDF reader support. These are hard to find on the refurb market.
Android tablets and iPads are not a good fit for your needs. They can be made to work without the internet, but don't generally have simple USB stick support.
laptops:
The other portable option are laptop PCs. Virtually every device in this class will have USB ports, and all will have PDF document reader options and word processing software. Many options in the refurb market.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 03:10 am (UTC)1. Older Kindles should be available dirt cheap and despite the default way they want you to use them, they are not entirely dependent on Amazon. You can transfer files to them via a USB cord. This is the method I currently use for ebooks, when I don't read them on my computer. I'm still using my 2nd generation Kindle, which has a non-backlit screen, and the only thing I use the wifi for is to download ebooks I have bought through Amazon (something I'm working on getting away from). The older ones also have non-backlit screens, which is easier on the eyes than the LED screens on tablets. One caveat: not super great resolution for images, so PDFs of older texts that are mostly made up of images of the pages (which I reckon is most of your target PDFs) might not be as readable on this as on other options.
2. A slightly more extreme example, and not used, is the "Open Book", which is an open-source hardware ereader. It's meant to be a fairly simple DIY project, at least if you're comfortable with a bit of soldering, but I think some folks have put some up for sale. Here's an article explaining with links to the developer who wrote the software that makes it work: https://itsfoss.com/open-book/ .
3. Other than that, all that I can think of is a used Android tablet with the wifi turned off. It would have a lot built-in that you don't need, but ought to be pretty readily available and for not too much money
I'll be interested to see what other folks
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 11:24 am (UTC)1) I was going to suggest this so I opened an old homeopathic book from archive.org (The Homeopathic Domestic Physician by Constantine Hering) on my Kindle and it was a terrible experience. The colors were inverted sometimes because the yellow of the pages probably confused the thing from distinguishing font and background. Also, kindles are so small and e-ink slow that zooming in and out is not an option, unfortunately. E-ink is wonderful for paper-like reading experience but it takes a while to render the screen. Since E-ink doesn't have a refresh rate but rather inks the screen with something that makes light bounce off it is basically a one frame per action screen --that is great for battery life but if you want to zoom in it has to refresh the whole screen again and if it's a scan, like this one, it took several seconds per render of the page. I also opened a Monthly Letters from Manly P Hall and though it got the colors right the small size made it unusable because of the zoom issue. I love e-ink, it's good tech really and that is saying something these days, but since I also do most of my digital reading on PDF and not ebook formats my kindle is mostly just gathering dust on my shelf. However I've seen some big e-readers (not Kindle) coming out with a pen to annotate but they are considerably pricier, tablet price basically but they could be worth looking into. Those would not have the zoom issue but I can't speak for the quality of displaying not-pristine PDFs. It was the two generations ago Kindle Oasis by the way. E readers are also much more tied to the companies "ecosystem".
3) I think this is the right option considering the issues mentioned above. What I use and do recommend though, given quality/price is a refurbished iPad that supports the "Files" app. It was an improvement they did on how you manage files and now you can do so as it's done on the File Explorer on Windows (Mobile devices had taken the strategy of storing files inside the apps themselves instead of having a central file system which the user can use.) I basically downloaded a big zip file to it years ago, opened it inside Files and that's it. I would get a refurbished last years 10.2 inch preferably but not much before that since "Files" was released on 2019 and bugs corrected 6 months after. Looking at their website, this years refresh which I think just happened last month or so (small bumps but same overall) apparently it is cheaper than getting a used one from last year so probably used and refurbished prices are going to come down in the next few months for this model. They come with a finger print reader so if uncomfortable you could tape it or disable the scanning of the fingertip to unlock the device. (the main button is also the reader for many mobile devices, not only apple ones).
As for android, I've never used one for more than a few minutes but I can tell you that overall, because of a much broader gamut, you have to be careful with brands and tiers as there is a lot of low quality tablets that don't really work well and degrade fairly quickly. The ones I know are good are Samsung's Galaxy Tab. These ones have the advantage over apple that I think their storage is removable and upgradable and come with a stylus (apples pen is quite expensive and not included).
I know you have an old computer running some old Windows so probably having wifi on it wouldn't be as bad an idea given that I don't know if your computer would support the accompanying software, perhaps yes but future problems are likely. You could download files using the tablets browser and then go into "airplane mode" and shut off wifi and bluetooth. (Android also has its Files equivalent) Per this article (https://support.google.com/android/answer/9064445?hl=en#zippy=%2Cwindows-computer) I think android tablets can be connected into computers as usb flash drives though so if you really wanted to you could brick the tablet by removing, if removable, or cutting the wifi antenna. The mobile device repair shops could do that in under 15 minutes, so I think this is your best bet.
4) Here is a list of sites ti get used electronics. I've used amazon(their refurbished electronics website) and newegg from the list. https://hometoys.com/best-discount-electronics-sites/
(no subject)
From: (Anonymous) - Date: 2021-11-14 06:24 pm (UTC) - Expand(no subject)
From:Not all droids have the same abilities enabled
From:(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 03:30 am (UTC)I like my old kindle
Date: 2021-11-14 03:46 am (UTC)BUT I could connect it to my computer (via USB cable), and the computer just thought it was a big disk drive. So I could copy kindle-compatible files to it from the computer and they show up on the device's index. (Other brands probably work the same.)
Gutenburg & archive.org provide most books in kindle/mobi format, which is a bit more convenient than PDFs, re navigation within the book. I think kindle will also show you PDFs too, but they're not as convenient to get around in.
Unfortunately, my old computer forgot how to see mass-storage USB devices, so I'm not using the kindle at the moment. When I get a new computer (soon—fingers crossed!), I'll go back to the kindle for books (rather than the iPad), because I liked how light-weight and energy efficient the kindle is, in comparison.
Old, defunct kindles like mine are dirt cheap.
falling into a rabbit hole
Date: 2021-11-14 03:46 am (UTC)There are many type of tablets, some very much stuck in a gated community (Apple being the worst culprit) there are many that can be well used independent of the internet for long stretches with loading ones electronic media over a USB cable from your computer.
You have the general use tablets on one side, some that are full Cell phones, others that are 'just' WiFi models, where the main operating system is either Android or iOS. Then there are focused e-readers, many that use e-ink rather than the illuminated colour screen. Some have their own OS, while some become full Android devices. All I've seen have a degree of wanting to call home at least once and a while.
E-ink has the advantage of being much easier on the eyes while consuming much less power (I can got more than a month of heavy reading between charges). This is how I do much of my reading with a Kobo. I can load PDF's with variable success, as it is more natively an ePub format reader. I have been able to readily load ePubs independent of the Kobo mother-ship just fine as well as the unlocked MOBI formats.
We can use an open source tool called Calibre to convert between the formats of computer generated content and you will find many places that have ePub along with PDF.
For PDFs of scanned materials, a tablet may be your better bet, just at the need for more frequent charging, and harder on the eyes.
Project Gutenberg is a great source of ebooks in most formats.
In many ways you will have to see what is actually available at your local tech resale offerings. Have a key of some typical content with you to actually see what it looks like.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 03:58 am (UTC)After that one died, I got the Rakuten Kobo, as it wasn't tied to using any one store at that time, which the other brands were (I gather they might not all be restricted to just the one store anymore).
(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 05:32 pm (UTC)https://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/the-aluratek-libre-pro-e-reader
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 04:11 am (UTC)Here is more information about Good Reader.
https://www.goodreader.com/
The way I use it is, I put the PDF files I want to read into a folder in One Drive. It’s easy to connect the iPad to the Internet and download those PDF files into a Good Reader folder on the iPad. Once the files are on your iPad, you don't need an Internet connection, you just read them.
The Good Reader website describes many other ways of getting your PDF files into Good Reader:
“Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, box.com, SugarSync, and also any WebDAV, AFP, SMB, FTP or SFTP server. GoodReader also supports e-mail server access, and e-mail attachment downloads.”
What I like about Good Reader is the way it’s so easy to organize material into different folders, each with its own subject. It’s easy to move or rename or delete any individual file or folder. It’s easy to flick the screen and make what you’re reading larger or smaller. It has a ton of features I haven’t used.
I have other iPad apps I sometimes use for reading. The native app used to be called iBooks; now it is called Books. It can definitely read PDF files. I use it for a few important files, but it isn’t so good at organizing materials.
I also have Aldiko, KyBook and Ebook Reader... they are in the “learn more when I have time” category.
iPad
Date: 2021-11-15 03:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-11-14 04:16 am (UTC)Now for the specs. I recommend a screen size of 7 to 8 inches lengthwise, which will fit a standard paperback page comfortably. Larger sizes would be too unwieldy, and smaller ones would need you to constantly keep zooming to make the text readable. Other things don't matter much, for your needs. Most tablets have 32GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, which is enough for reading pdfs.
I recommend throwing in a decent leather case as well. The back of the device can be slippery and it gets a bit too warm after an hour. (Though you don't need it if you can knit a loose-weave cover and put it on).
You will never ever need to connect it to the internet. It might show a prompt every now and then to log in with a google account (and might warn that you will be missing the "latest updates";)). You can just ignore them ad carry on. If the device gets a bit slow after a few months, do a factory reset from the settings. That will clear up all the junk the device has accumulated, and will return it to the original state. (It will remove all the files you would have copied as well).
There are specialized ebook readers from Amazon but I have not used them. I personally think a tablet would be good enough. Other readers with experience on them can chime in.