4 ms·

I'd like projects like this to include some kind of rationale for their existence. This reader sounds fine, but what's wrong with Calibre and LibreraFD?

Configure0251 3y ago
I wish calibre could look like this. Calibre is a lovely project that I've used happily for years but that UI is really something else.
- crooked-v 3y ago
  Also, the attitude in the Calibre community to even minor UI suggestions, at least in my experience, amounts to "if you think there's any room for improvement, you're wrong and should leave forever".
  - zie 3y ago
    At least it's a stable UI. Sure it's not whiz-bang fabulous, but consistency is it's own win.
    - d3w4s9 3y ago
      "stable UI" is not a high bar.
      - zie 3y ago
        Sadly, it is.
- dugite-code 3y ago
  One of the first things I do with calibre is install a nicer icon pack. There are a ton of ui focused modifications you can do at least
jzb 3y ago
Because they wanted to? Why should they have to justify providing free software?
- jkingsman 3y ago
  Not the original commenter, but I totally agree with you -- no one needs to justify free software at all; the more the merrier. I do think that there's something to be said for clarifying why one might use one over the other in a space with multiple options or one clear winner (which I think Calibre is right now). Offering some improvements, problems that are fixed, etc. explicitly could help users make a jump or understand their options better. That's absolutely a nice to have, though -- free software for the sake of free software is excellent, and always justification enough.
- throwaway81523 3y ago
  Well that's fine, that's a perfectly good rationale, but it would be helpful to actually state it. Once it's out there with some effort to get other people's attention, why not say what is supposed to make it interesting? I like Calibre even if its UI is a bit quirky. It's not perfect and I'd look into something new if there is a concrete reason to do so, but I have better things to do than investigate every possibility without such reasons.
- Qwertious 3y ago
  >Why should they have to justify providing free software? They don't, but they have to be honest about what they're presenting. There's this shitty motte-and-bailey situation in open source where their website ( https://librumreader.com/ https://librumreader.com/ ) looks like marketing for a serious application - but the moment you treat it like a serious application, people are like "it's free, why are you treating it like a serious application?". Look: >Simplicity >Focus on what actually matters, using a simple and straight forward interface. >Your time is too valuable to be wasted on complex applications. What does the tone here convey? Is it "this is just a cool project I wrote"?
  - BobaFloutist 3y ago
Double_a_92 3y ago
For the love of God this is an alternative to Google Play Books, not to a desktop software.

Configure0251 3y ago

I wish calibre could look like this. Calibre is a lovely project that I've used happily for years but that UI is really something else.

crooked-v 3y ago
Also, the attitude in the Calibre community to even minor UI suggestions, at least in my experience, amounts to "if you think there's any room for improvement, you're wrong and should leave forever".
- zie 3y ago
  At least it's a stable UI. Sure it's not whiz-bang fabulous, but consistency is it's own win.
  - d3w4s9 3y ago
    "stable UI" is not a high bar.
    - zie 3y ago
      Sadly, it is.
dugite-code 3y ago
One of the first things I do with calibre is install a nicer icon pack. There are a ton of ui focused modifications you can do at least

jzb 3y ago

Because they wanted to? Why should they have to justify providing free software?

jkingsman 3y ago
Not the original commenter, but I totally agree with you -- no one needs to justify free software at all; the more the merrier. I do think that there's something to be said for clarifying why one might use one over the other in a space with multiple options or one clear winner (which I think Calibre is right now). Offering some improvements, problems that are fixed, etc. explicitly could help users make a jump or understand their options better. That's absolutely a nice to have, though -- free software for the sake of free software is excellent, and always justification enough.
throwaway81523 3y ago
Well that's fine, that's a perfectly good rationale, but it would be helpful to actually state it. Once it's out there with some effort to get other people's attention, why not say what is supposed to make it interesting? I like Calibre even if its UI is a bit quirky. It's not perfect and I'd look into something new if there is a concrete reason to do so, but I have better things to do than investigate every possibility without such reasons.
Qwertious 3y ago
>Why should they have to justify providing free software? They don't, but they have to be honest about what they're presenting. There's this shitty motte-and-bailey situation in open source where their website ( https://librumreader.com/ https://librumreader.com/ ) looks like marketing for a serious application - but the moment you treat it like a serious application, people are like "it's free, why are you treating it like a serious application?". Look: >Simplicity >Focus on what actually matters, using a simple and straight forward interface. >Your time is too valuable to be wasted on complex applications. What does the tone here convey? Is it "this is just a cool project I wrote"?
- BobaFloutist 3y ago

Double_a_92 3y ago

For the love of God this is an alternative to Google Play Books, not to a desktop software.