In which she asks for advice

[zeborah]

At the moment, I can't deal well with unsolicited advice however kindly meant (and I know it's meant kindly). I think it infringes on my desperate attempts to pretend I remain competent and independent and in control. I'm proud of my ability to adapt and survive: it's one of the few things an earthquake can't take away.

Plus, I've spent six weeks reading official advice about both the practical things and the emotional things - no, make that six months - and working out how this applies to myself (and I know myself pretty well) so it's fairly unlikely that someone outside what's going on will be able to offer any good and appropriate advice that I don't already know.

And I find it hard at the best of times and particularly stressful at present to have to find ways to say "Yes, already doing that, thanks," or "No, that'd be utterly useless for me," without sounding terse and ungrateful and otherwise disappointing people who only wanted to help. I don't want anyone to think I don't appreciate the motivating sentiment, because I do, I just can't cope with the external manifestation of it.

Also at the moment I am, quite frankly, in a state of controlled falling apart. (A lot of people are really struggling right now, six weeks on. My own recent symptoms - other than weepiness brought on by going to work, choir, the bus, or the shops, or by thinking about any of these, or by thinking about almost anything at all really - include leaving my bag with wallet, cellphone and (expired) passport on a bus last night (tracked it down late this morning, Deo gratias, just before admitting defeating and reporting it lost to all and sundry; relief is a powerful drug) and using the wrong toilet this morning (oh well, I'll "let it mellow" and get some more uses out of my mistake).

I don't need advice or help or even sympathy; I just need a really good rest, which I'm communicating with my manager at work about arranging so that's all under control.

However. I do need advice on one thing, which is: Which e-reader should I buy?

I'm not fussy about features.

• I basically want to read books on it, synced from my (Mac) laptop.
• I rarely if ever read anything that requires colour.
• It must have native ePub capability (I'm not buying a Kindle); ideally I'd like it to support a range of basic formats like pdf, txt, rtf, html, but can survive if some of these have inexplicably not been implemented.
• I like the idea of e-ink but am comfortable with LCD screens too.
• Storage space and battery life are important though not to the exclusion of other considerations (including price).
• Something RSI-friendly would be nice - lightweight, comfortable, with left-hand/right-hand redundancy

I think I'm probably looking at a Nook or a Kobo and of the two I think I like the Nook better, but this is based entirely on looking at websites and feature comparison charts. All the charts say you should try them out yourself, but last time I saw anything one could try out was in a bookstore just before Christmas, and as near as I could tell approximately a gazillion other customers had already tested them and broken them. As for now... half the bookstores in town are destroyed or inaccessible and the other half are on the verge of bankruptcy (okay, I admit it, I can name two exceptions, but neither has e-readers) and I'm tired of travelling around anyway.

Bonus features I'd like but aren't necessary since I don't know if they really exist:

• Full Unicode support (including Māori macrons). You wouldn't think this would be so hard, and yet... Seriously, let me know if you know of anyone doing this.
• Note-taking functionality - but not if to get that I have to also get a thousand other features and pay through the nose for the combo. An iPad, for example, would be ridiculously overpowered for my purposes.

Experiences, (dis)recommendations?

Comments

iTouch

[errolwi.livejournal.com]

Don't forget the 2nd-hand option for the iTouch too.
If you have a deDRM'd file you can now transfer into Stanza (and various other apps) via iTunes fairly painlessly.
I assume that using the Kobo app on an iTouch is fairly seemless, and even if you don't strip the DRM you _should_ be able to use on new devices in the future. Should be fine for library loans.

In understand that there are 3rd-party add-ons to the Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/) application (at least the PC version) that makes the legal-in-NZ removal of most DRM from epubs straightforward. Unfortunately you need to trust that writer of the add-on isn't doing anything they shouldn't. Personally I have a mate who has used the same underlying code-breaking in a slightly clunky MS Word macro, and I trust my mate.
I always immediately strip DRM from any purchased file, as I don't trust any vendor to maintain the ability to update devices that I use. Note that Adobe's support of it's DRM (which is common on epubs, e.g. stuff you buy from Whitcoulls) is basically non-existent.

Re: iTouch

[zeborah]

I had a look at the iTouch but alas doing so instantly confirmed my current aversion to all its bazillions of features. I absolutely can't rationalise it but there it is: I think I'd almost be willing to pay for simplicity....

Thanks for the Calibre tip! I don't think circumventing DRM is really straightforwardly legal in NZ: my reading (226E) is that if DRM gets in your way you can either write to the publisher and ask nicely or, if you've asked and they refuse, you can ask a librarian or some such to do it for you. However, that really is a tremendous hassle; a Calibre plugin sounds much handier and I think may resolve my one last dilemma...

Re: iTouch

[errolwi.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I didn't include the 'removal for non-infringing purposes' (see definitions of that section). Removing region zoning is ok, having DRM-stripped files for own use ok, giving copies to your mates not ok.

Errolwi

Re: iTouch

[zeborah]

Yes, but even for a permitted use, the Act doesn't give you permission to remove the DRM yourself, only to ask certain others to do it for you. That is, the DRM isn't allowed to stop you exercising a permitted use, but if (when) it does stop you then the Act only allows you to ask the owner or a qualified person to use a "circumvention device" for you.

Possibly I'm taking an overly strong interpretation of "cannot practically do so because of a TPM"; but looking at subsection (3) I think they really are trying to prevent ordinary people from using "circumvention devices" ourselves.

Re: iTouch

[zeborah]

Wait, I think you're right and I'm wrong: 226E(1) is fairly unambiguous and although it limits itself to "to exercise a permitted act under Part 3" and technically speaking "reading a book you own" isn't explicitly mentioned in Part 3 I think it is or ought to be understood; so subsection (2) is then only intended for situations where the user can't circumvent it themself. Awesome-dawsome.

Re: NZ DRM removal (was iTouch)

[errolwi.livejournal.com]

Yep, that was my main argument.
The entity that you gave money to for 'your' copy of the file would probably argue that you are violating the terms of the limited licence that they have granted you (having not actually sold you the work), but that is different from violating copyright.
Also, the offences talk about selling/distributing/etc the TPM circumvention measures, but _using_ them is rarely mentioned. Just like Prohibition!