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Why do you need to download explicitly when your book is already offline using a service-worker? Serious question.

simonh 8y ago
How about for the reasons given, non of which you addressed? But to the point you do raise - so now I have to keep a tab open in safari constantly for each book I'm reading or might want to read? If I'm going on a trip and want to take half a dozen books because I'm not sure which I will read, now I've got 6 tabs open in safari constantly.
- marvindanig 8y ago
  > so now I have to keep a tab open in safari constantly… You can close the tabs and re-open any number of books without an Internet connection. The books will work normally. That is the whole point of offline-first!
  - Angostura 8y ago
    How? by trawling through History?
    - bunderbunder 8y ago
      I'm guessing it's something like readthedocs.io, where you can navigate to that url when you're offline, and it'll give you a somewhat restricted UI that lets you browse any documentation that you've downloaded for offline reading.
    - sonicaa 8y ago
      We load the entire book in one shot and offline it immediately using a service-worker [0]. Feel free to test it! Bookmark the url and turn off the Internet. Now close the tab, hard refresh or restart your computer if you want to test that far. Reopen your browser and open the bookmarked url and the book will open up on the last page you were on and work normally with full UX/UI without Internet connection. [0] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Service_Worker_API https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Service_Wor...
qwerty456127 8y ago
I just really want to be able to read a book in different apps on different devices. Given an electronic book at least I want to have a file I can copy to my eInk PocketBook (via Calibre or by just copying a file manually). My wife would like me to send her the file she would read in iBooks on her iPad. And would probably also like to open it on my Android phone to read it in an app that implements Spritz-like speed-reading technique.
- sonicaa 8y ago
  Spritz won't work for books with illustrations. It's a complete no-go for photo-books and children's books, for example.
  - qwerty456127 8y ago
    Obviously. But this is not the type of books I read (or write) often. I also feel like picture/children ebooks books don't make much sense, I prefer to buy these in hardcovers. By the way, there is another speed-reading aid technique which can fit children books - beeline (gradient-coluored text). But I'm not sure how can it affect children learning to read.
    - sonicaa 8y ago
      > I also feel like picture/children ebooks books don't make much sense… Have you seen this two books?: https://bubblin.io/book/abcd-animal-book-by-judith-neumann/1 https://bubblin.io/book/abcd-animal-book-by-judith-neumann/1 https://bubblin.io/book/ladakh-by-satie-sharma/1 https://bubblin.io/book/ladakh-by-satie-sharma/1 I've personally read Judith's book on animated ABCs to toddlers in our community. In general, I'd want to optimize for attention span when it comes to kids--Bubblin helps with that. Most importantly, kids are already on the iPad, so it makes sense to go take it where they are. Thank you for sharing the beeline technique. We can probably provide it as one of the layout template options! :-)
bunderbunder 8y ago
Speaking just for myself -- Reading is about so much more than simply getting printed words in front of a pair of eyes. When you're reading, you're very actively engaged with whatever device you're using to read, so the ergonomics and aesthetics of the experience are much, much more important than they are on something like a music streaming service, where basically 0% of your time using the service is spent physically interacting with the app. I have an e-reader that I strongly prefer using when it's an option. It's easier on my eyes than the iPad, it's more comfortable to hold than the iPad, spending a 2-hour flight reading a book on it won't take the battery down to 0 the way it will on the iPad. It doesn't glow blue and ruin my sleep if I use it to read before bedtime like my iPad will. Sometimes I do read on the iPad, too, in cases where I need to scribble notes or the page layout needs to be preserved. (So, work stuff and comic books.) When I do that, I already have a reader app that I strongly prefer to all others I've tried. I've spent years and years developing a personal connection with my e-reader and that reader app. They've become an integral part of my expectations when it comes to reading an ebook. Imagine if a park didn't let you bring your own bike on the trails. Even if they had bikes they let you use free of charge, even if the trails were stunning, I'd still probably find somewhere else to go riding, because, if I'm going to go mountain biking, I just assume it's going to be on my bike.
silveroriole 8y ago
Because my reading apps can do more than the website’s reader can. Because then I own the file and the website cannot simply take it down. Because of all the reasons I listed originally. Basically - is this site selling itself as Bandcamp for books, which means ‘hardcore’ readers can discover new and interesting ‘indie’ books and do what they want with them in whatever format they want, or is it selling itself as a fancy reading app with animations and things (which imo appeals more to casual readers/children, and the giant font also gives off that impression)? It is trying to be both - or is clearly the latter but has been posted here as the former - and that seems conflicted. You simply can’t make me believe that I am MORE free by being locked into one reading app vs downloading a file! :)
- marvindanig 8y ago
  > my reading apps can do more… What are the top three features on an app that you find so unique and useful that web can't offer it?
  - halfjew22 8y ago
    I’ve got to commend you for actively responding to feedback in an unbiased way. Some seem not to gel with the wording you’ve used for your website, but you’ve put lots of work in and your passion and honesty show through the feedback and responses you’re providing. Bravo.

How about for the reasons given, non of which you addressed? But to the point you do raise - so now I have to keep a tab open in safari constantly for each book I'm reading or might want to read? If I'm going on a trip and want to take half a dozen books because I'm not sure which I will read, now I've got 6 tabs open in safari constantly.

marvindanig 8y ago
> so now I have to keep a tab open in safari constantly… You can close the tabs and re-open any number of books without an Internet connection. The books will work normally. That is the whole point of offline-first!
- Angostura 8y ago
  How? by trawling through History?
  - bunderbunder 8y ago
    I'm guessing it's something like readthedocs.io, where you can navigate to that url when you're offline, and it'll give you a somewhat restricted UI that lets you browse any documentation that you've downloaded for offline reading.
  - sonicaa 8y ago
    We load the entire book in one shot and offline it immediately using a service-worker [0]. Feel free to test it! Bookmark the url and turn off the Internet. Now close the tab, hard refresh or restart your computer if you want to test that far. Reopen your browser and open the bookmarked url and the book will open up on the last page you were on and work normally with full UX/UI without Internet connection. [0] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Service_Worker_API https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Service_Wor...

qwerty456127 8y ago

I just really want to be able to read a book in different apps on different devices. Given an electronic book at least I want to have a file I can copy to my eInk PocketBook (via Calibre or by just copying a file manually). My wife would like me to send her the file she would read in iBooks on her iPad. And would probably also like to open it on my Android phone to read it in an app that implements Spritz-like speed-reading technique.

sonicaa 8y ago
Spritz won't work for books with illustrations. It's a complete no-go for photo-books and children's books, for example.
- qwerty456127 8y ago
  Obviously. But this is not the type of books I read (or write) often. I also feel like picture/children ebooks books don't make much sense, I prefer to buy these in hardcovers. By the way, there is another speed-reading aid technique which can fit children books - beeline (gradient-coluored text). But I'm not sure how can it affect children learning to read.
  - sonicaa 8y ago
    > I also feel like picture/children ebooks books don't make much sense… Have you seen this two books?: https://bubblin.io/book/abcd-animal-book-by-judith-neumann/1 https://bubblin.io/book/abcd-animal-book-by-judith-neumann/1 https://bubblin.io/book/ladakh-by-satie-sharma/1 https://bubblin.io/book/ladakh-by-satie-sharma/1 I've personally read Judith's book on animated ABCs to toddlers in our community. In general, I'd want to optimize for attention span when it comes to kids--Bubblin helps with that. Most importantly, kids are already on the iPad, so it makes sense to go take it where they are. Thank you for sharing the beeline technique. We can probably provide it as one of the layout template options! :-)

bunderbunder 8y ago

Speaking just for myself -- Reading is about so much more than simply getting printed words in front of a pair of eyes. When you're reading, you're very actively engaged with whatever device you're using to read, so the ergonomics and aesthetics of the experience are much, much more important than they are on something like a music streaming service, where basically 0% of your time using the service is spent physically interacting with the app. I have an e-reader that I strongly prefer using when it's an option. It's easier on my eyes than the iPad, it's more comfortable to hold than the iPad, spending a 2-hour flight reading a book on it won't take the battery down to 0 the way it will on the iPad. It doesn't glow blue and ruin my sleep if I use it to read before bedtime like my iPad will. Sometimes I do read on the iPad, too, in cases where I need to scribble notes or the page layout needs to be preserved. (So, work stuff and comic books.) When I do that, I already have a reader app that I strongly prefer to all others I've tried. I've spent years and years developing a personal connection with my e-reader and that reader app. They've become an integral part of my expectations when it comes to reading an ebook. Imagine if a park didn't let you bring your own bike on the trails. Even if they had bikes they let you use free of charge, even if the trails were stunning, I'd still probably find somewhere else to go riding, because, if I'm going to go mountain biking, I just assume it's going to be on my bike.

silveroriole 8y ago

Because my reading apps can do more than the website’s reader can. Because then I own the file and the website cannot simply take it down. Because of all the reasons I listed originally. Basically - is this site selling itself as Bandcamp for books, which means ‘hardcore’ readers can discover new and interesting ‘indie’ books and do what they want with them in whatever format they want, or is it selling itself as a fancy reading app with animations and things (which imo appeals more to casual readers/children, and the giant font also gives off that impression)? It is trying to be both - or is clearly the latter but has been posted here as the former - and that seems conflicted. You simply can’t make me believe that I am MORE free by being locked into one reading app vs downloading a file! :)

marvindanig 8y ago
> my reading apps can do more… What are the top three features on an app that you find so unique and useful that web can't offer it?
- halfjew22 8y ago
  I’ve got to commend you for actively responding to feedback in an unbiased way. Some seem not to gel with the wording you’ve used for your website, but you’ve put lots of work in and your passion and honesty show through the feedback and responses you’re providing. Bravo.