Sony DPT-RP1 is good for reading, but could be great

4 points by xtiansimon 8y ago ↗ HN

I've owned the Sony DPT-RP1 eReader for a year. If you read technical papers (8.5 x 11), and want eInk, it's a good product. In May Sony announced a welcome firmware update. This adds improvements to the reading experinece (Page Jump, Page Thumbnails Mode), but I don't believe Sony understands note taking.

1) Highlights. I forgive Sony for not converting my handwriting into machine-text, but what about highlighted text? It's the first step in a Copy-Paste. If Sony understood note-taking, DPT-RP1 would export your highlights into plain-text file.

For example, here is a note I hand-typed on my laptop 2014-01-06: 100.1 "It is misspent effort to try to enlighten humankind. One has to be content with being wise oneself, if one can, but leave the mob to error and strive only to keep it from crimes that disturb the social order." (Frederick II of Prussia in a letter ot d'Alembert, 1770)"

Highlight text and the DPT-RP1 should automatically add page.paragraph, and save to plain-text.

2) Search for Marks. The DPT-RP1 can search a document for hand written marks (star) & (asterix). Why only these two marks? In the book "How To Read A Book" by Adler & Van Doren (NY: Simon & Schuster 1940, 1972), the authors describe the purpose of marginalia: “...these notes primarily concern the structure of the book, and not its substance—at least not in detail.” (p52)

I regularly use a small set of marks to describe the structure of a book I'm reading (https://goo.gl/4zsVjJ).

3) Chrome Browser has extensions, why not DPT-RP1?. If Sony doesn't want to improve the DPT-RP1, why not allow third-parties? Here is a short list of useful Chrome extensions:'

- Multi-Highlight. Takes a list of strings, and highlights those strings on a webpage.

- Bookmark Tagging. Manage your bookmarks with tags and folders.

- Super Simple Highlighter. Persistent text highlights on a webpage. Highlights can be tagged, color coded and exported as Markdown.

devins 8y ago ↗

I like to think I'm pretty well read, and I read mostly used paperbacks. But, aside from the universal question mark, I have never seen the markings you would prescribe for all to use. I have my own system involving brackets and post-its that suits me just fine.

My point is, it's hard to generalize reading requirements. I couldn't possibly write an extension to enable my markup style, because it changes to suit the book I'm reading. That's why electronic will never replace paper for me. Except for my trashy romance novels.

xtiansimon 8y ago ↗

Have you read Adler & Van Doren? I thought I knew how to read until I read that book. hehe

xtiansimon 8y ago ↗

And not to thread sit (but since we're the only two people here right now) let me re-add a point which I removed from the OP because it was a hair over 2000 word limit--I bought the DPT-RP1 to read research papers, technical books, and non-fiction/text books at 100% size.

Responding to your comment about suggested marginalia set, its not intended for every type of text. But in the above mentioned context, the tags I introduce in the document (q, r, t, d) when performed with a grep search on plain-text files I have for notes on these technical books, I can generate quotes, references, terms, and definitions for over ten years of reading in under 5 seconds. That's darn useful.

Adler and van Doren begin their book with the importance of defining terms. You can't understand a book if you don't know the terms the author is using. I would argue that universal to all texts. The Kindle has a great dictionary feature which supports this idea. When it comes to technical books though, many terms are not defined in the standard dictionary.

For paperbacks, I use a Kindle Paperwhite, and that's a great product if you don't mind the MOBI format.