E-book Reader Hardware
The holiday season is here and you might well be craving for some new books to read when you are tired of partying! Even if you are packing your bags for a vacation, you might be putting in a few books. But then the old paperback or hardcover books are so passé that you might be craving for something different. So, why not convert your mobile phone or net-book into e-book reader hardware? After all, with the help of some open source e-book reader platforms, you can easily do that!
If you want to have an e-book reader it is really not necessary to go out and splurge on the latest e-book reader devices such as Kindle and Nook. This is because you might already possess a device that can serve your purpose if you equip it with the right application. And the following open-source software can help you do just that.
1. The FBReader is free software that works on
• Windows XP/Vista PC’s and laptops
• Linux PC’s
• Various other Linux-based mobile devices such as Motorola Smart-phones and Nokia internet tablets.
If you use it on your e-book reader hardware, you can get the benefit of the following features.
• Automatic library building, which means that the various e-books that you download will be systematically stored for better accessibility.
• Embedded image, footnotes and hyperlink support.
• Text search and automatic generation of a table of contents.
• Full-screen mode and direct reading from .zip archives.
2. Calibre proclaims itself as a ‘one stop solution for all your e-book needs’. It is basically a,
• Free, open source and cross-platform software
• Software that works on Linux, OS X and Windows platforms.
The Calibre has become really popular because,
• It enables format conversion of e-books, for example from .PDF to .doc.
• It is equipped with library management tools.
• It can sync easily with your other mobile devices such as the iPhone.
3. A great open source software for your e-book reader hardware is the Flipbook. This is a beta version of a new e-book reader released by The Internet Archive and can read scanned books stored on their website. It supports e-books in many different languages and can even be used to view blogs.
The main reason why you can use these open source software for your e-book reader hardware is that in case you do not like one, you can easily use another. There are no switching costs!
