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Nook Update,

By wiredog (Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 10:12:23 AM EST) (all tags)

Got Version 1.3 of the software last weekend. Meh.

The browser is teh suxxor. Not surprising, given the display type. The Nook Needs More Buttons. The tiny keyboard is almost unusable due to the fat finger problem. All of which makes for difficult browsing. The fact that it only works with WiFi is another problem.

The update to the LCD menu is Ok. Nice to have the WiFi button right there. Now if only I could get wifi to work with my AirPort base station. Perhaps the Nook doesn't like WPA2? It sees the access point, but won't connect.

Page turns are a bit faster.

Previous to the update I hadn't picked the Nook up in a couple months. Which is, as Rob Pegoraro noted, a devastatingly bad review.

You see, most of my reading is newspapers or magazines. Books I read tend to have some illustrations, and lots of foot and end notes. The Nook (and Kindle, from what I've seen) suck as newspaper readers, suck as magazine readers, don't do illustrations well (maps in LoTR are about 1.5 inches square), and don't handle footnotes or endnotes.

Technical books, such as from O'Reilly, are a disaster. I often look at the index to look up a particular item, then turn to that page. Nook doesn't do that. With the Nook it's: Open the search box. Type in the word you think you're looking for. Retype it because you fat fingered it. Don't find it, look again. Don't bother searching within a search. Search doesn't replace a good index.

The index for "HTML:The Definitive Guide" has three levels of indexing for some entries.

hyperlinks, 3, 25-29,193
- clickable image maps (various page numbers)
- - area tags
  - map tags

Search doesn't replace that.

If all, or most, of your reading is novels, then the Nook is pretty good. But you hit its limitations fast.

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Nook Update, | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)

You know. by nightflameblue (2.00 / 0) #1 Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 10:41:07 AM EST

I really thought one of these readers would be pretty cool for my technical/science reading. But everything I hear about any of them make it very clear that absolutely nobody in charge of them realizes the potential for footnotes/cross-references/indexes. It should be a simple matter to have click-open type footnotes. Or click to/click back cross-references. Or an actual index with linked in-line content. In fact, you'd think that would be something they would absolutely be perfect for.

Instead, those features are completely ignored. So, I guess I'm still waiting.

I've asked around about the iPad. by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #2 Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 10:44:18 AM EST

No one I know has checked to see if it's any better at that than the Nook.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}

[ Parent ]

: Well, the iPad fails on another level. by nightflameblue (2.00 / 0) #3 Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 10:50:14 AM EST

I'm not big on the type of viewing panel they use for long-term reading. I get enough of that type of display when I'm using regular computers.

[ Parent ]

Footnotes by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #6 Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 11:49:35 AM EST

The basic problem is that the eInk display makes popping up some sort of overlay window very difficult. The eReader does it by making the footnote marker a link to the page the footnote is on (with a reverse link to the original text.) Non-ideal but it works.

---
[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman

[ Parent ]

There's no reason the Nook couldn't do that. by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #7 Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 12:24:31 PM EST

As you say, non-ideal, but workable. But the programmers apparently never use footnotes...

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}

[ Parent ]

: I know by ucblockhead (4.00 / 1) #8 Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 01:23:11 PM EST

From everything I've heard, the Nook is great hardware let down by poor software.
---
[ucblockhead is] useless and subhuman
[ Parent ]

I will agree with most of that. by clock (2.00 / 0) #4 Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 11:08:54 AM EST

1. browser? wha? because my iPhone or laptop aren't good enough? wtf? never gonna use it. next!

2. games? chess is fun. soduku is not. next!

3. still isn't good for reference books. i don't think that an ereader ever will be. PDFs still suck for technical books. i don't think we can dodge the dead tree. also, get off my lawn.

4. i have read more this year with the nook than i did last year. i read novels, non-fiction, biographies, etc. for books like that it is a brilliant device. i use it daily. very glad i bought it.

5. magazines. i meant to try The New Yorker but then i didn't. there's a lot of work that can and will be done in epublications but it ain't there yet from what i can tell. maybe i'll get an issue and see.

overall, i'm very happy with the device. it suits my needs and it performs its primary task perfectly. all those other geegaws and doodads can suck it. i have no use for them. but just as i don't use a physical book to drive screws i'm not going to use my nook to read a programming language book. see also, get off my lawn.

_{I agree with clock entirely --Kellnerin}

Footnotes by StackyMcRacky (2.00 / 0) #5 Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 11:09:51 AM EST

I don't seem to have your footnote problem. I arrow down to the footnote, click and it takes me there. When i'm done I click the back arrow on the LED and it takes me back to my page. It's simple and efficient.

The browser is just plain stupid.

I read novels and novel type books - I heart my eReader!! Note: my love is most likely not Nook specific. I'm sure just about any eReader would make me happy. I've read more books since Feb than I've read in a few years.

Finally, I wouldn't bother using an ereader for reference books. There's no good way to jump around, as you pointed out.

Fat fingers? You sound fat. by ammoniacal (2.00 / 0) #9 Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 03:20:15 PM EST

Just wait for the Open Sauce Loonix firmware update to solve your woes.

"To this day that was the most bullshit caesar salad I have every experienced..." - triggerfinger

: Gotten 2 of those already by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #10 Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 03:40:13 PM EST

Nook runs on Android. It's the size of the lcd screen. Can't make the keyboard larger.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}
[ Parent ]

Nook Update, | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)