Does Alan Hatcher's Topology book Work on 'Experimental' PDF Readers?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the performance of a specific book reader, particularly its experimental PDF support, with a focus on whether it can effectively display complex texts like Alan Hatcher's Topology book. Users express mixed feelings, citing both negative and positive reviews, and many suggest waiting for a price drop or a more refined version before purchasing. Concerns about bugs and long-term support for the device are prevalent, with users hesitant to invest in technology that may not gain widespread adoption. Sun glare is highlighted as a significant issue for outdoor reading, and the limitations of using the reader during flights are noted. The potential benefits for students are discussed, emphasizing the convenience of carrying multiple textbooks in one device, though there are suggestions for a dual-screen model to enhance functionality. The conversation also touches on the high cost of US textbooks and the implications of digital rights management (DRM) on the market. Overall, while there is interest in the book reader, many prefer to wait until its reliability and support are established.
Jimmy Snyder
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Does anyone here have one of these book readers? I want to know how good the 'experimental' PDF support is. For instance, will it display Alan Hatcher's Topology book?
 
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Ehh, I heard some pretty bad reviews about the system, but also some good ones. I would wait till the price drops or to see if they come out with a 2.0 version. I would wait till they work out the bugs.
 
Here are some reviews from amazon customers. I'd like to get one, but I'm going to wait until the bugs are worked out, too.

https://www.amazon.com/review/product/B000FI73MA/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&tag=pfamazon01-20
 
Like all new technology like that, I'm waiting to see if it "sticks" as well as all the bugs getting worked out. I wouldn't want to jump in early and find that too few people use it for them to continue supporting it, and some other reader appears on the market that's more popular and better supported and uses some other format for reading content incompatible with anything downloaded to the kindle.

With any such reader, my biggest concern is sun glare. I like to sit outside to read on nice days, and nothing I've seen compares to a good, old-fashioned printed on paper book for readability under those conditions. The other time I often read is while flying, and if I can't have the reader on until they permit other electronic devices to be turned on, it's not really going to be available during the time I really want to be reading a book.

I could see it being nice for students though, who can carry around one small electronic reader rather than lugging around a bunch of books for classes. Not sure about studying from a reader like that, but it would be useful for some quick reading between classes, or to be able to look at a problem assigned in class without lugging the book everywhere (ideally, for textbooks, I'd want a paper and electronic version bundled...keep the paper copy home to study and as a permanent reference, and the electronic version for portability during the day). Certainly would be good for traveling when you don't want to carry a lot of books in your luggage.
 
Moonbear said:
I could see it being nice for students though, who can carry around one small electronic reader rather than lugging around a bunch of books for classes.
For students, I would suggest a product with two screens, a normal one for reading, and a tablet pc type screen for writing. Loaded up with all the books for the current semester, that would be a Cadillac product (probably at a Rolls Royce price.)
 
Students are likely to be the big market for this - once Amazon and the textbook publishers get the deals tied up.
US textbooks are already ridiculously overpriced, if you manage to lock them into an ebook with DRM then you don't have to bring out a new edition each year to stop people buying them second hand and you don't have to worry about people borrowing them from the library instead of paying for them.
 
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