Copied for posterity:
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It's now possible to do this 100% within Linux, without running any emulators or Windows software, even though Adobe don't care about Linux support.
Knock is no longer maintained, however apparently it was just a wrapper around libgourou which is still maintained.
Installing libgourou (on Arch Linux it can be found in the AUR) allows you to download the ACSM file to a PDF or ePub:
# Use your username and password from https://account.adobe.com # This registers your device so only needs to be done once. adept_activate -u user -p pass
# Download the ACSM file acsmdownloader -f myfile.acsm
The downloaded file requires a password to open it, but if you need to open it in a normal viewing application, you can also remove the password:
adept_remove file.pdf
This process allows Linux users to access the same materials as their Windows and Mac friends, even without support from Adobe.
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One reason that I love my Kobo is perhaps very tech-specific in a way this audience may appreciate.
It's great for plain text files. In particular, it's pretty good at reading plain RFCs. I have to choose a font size so the hard-wrapped RFCs fit right, and it doesn't ship with a monospaced font (but you can install and use your own fonts, so that's a minor speed bump).
Reading very dry and technical documents like RFCs can be challenging, so having a distraction-free ereader that handles them can be very helpful.
That especially doesn’t work for tables, diagrams, etc which many RFCs are full of. I think it’s best to just match the width.
Only issue I have is syncing. There is no wireless sync, right? I have to plug it in to sync my library and tack on extra files.
The Overdrive/Libby support is excellent, though.
Also glad to get away from the Amazon proprietary formats.
https://brandonjkessler.com/technology/2021/04/26/setup-kobo...
There is also a number of home brew readers and utilities available for the Kobo readers. Plato is a reader written in rust, and covered in this post:
I also read way more now that I've gotten the Libra, largely because it's so light and ergonomic for laying in bed at night and flipping pages. I added a popsocket to the back for easier 1-hand holding.
The Elipsa is better for reading large content like Communications of the ACM or similar, where the Libra was simply too small to be readable. I hardly use the pen for either highlighting or notes, but it's there if I want it.
If/when either of those die, I'll look at the color versions as potential replacements. It highly depends on how much of an effect the lower resolution has on readability. If it's less pleasant to read at night, or if PDF journal articles are a little fuzzier, I'd rather stick with B/W. If the only downside is that the screen is a bit darker so I have to turn the backlight up, then only get 2 weeks between charging instead of 4, I might consider it.
The page turner was one of these keyboard smash brands. Searching for “ebook wireless page turner” yields quite a few results.
Which Kobo model would you recommend for both reading and creating notes that can be saved as text?
I am considering getting one for my software development work, so that I can read on the go, while sitting, or in bed, and also jot down short and medium length notes about my project ideas, during my daily walk (in the rest break).
Walking helps me to think better.
A laptop is too heavy to carry around everywhere, and particularly when walking.
The Elipsa 2E is very nice for large format reading and note taking. I bought it recently and compared it to other options from Boox and reMarkable. I ended up with it because I already had and enjoyed my Libra 2, and "like the Libra 2 but bigger and with a stylus" was appealing.
That said, if I wanted something for your use case, I'd probably start with the Sage. The short version is it's a Libra 2 with a stylus, and that seems like it'd be a good combo.
Somewhat related, I tried some non-electronic options for such things before, like a Rocketbook. Clever idea but I didn't like the implementation at all. Its OCR couldn't deal with my handwriting at all. I now have 2 distinctly separate note taking systems:
- My Elipsa 2E for writing down meeting notes (while avoiding the distractions of an iPad or laptop, which is important for me personally but other people might not care about at all).
- A paper journal (Traveler's Notebook) I take everywhere and use for my personal thoughts.
- I lied. Number 3: "hey Siri, remind me ..." for capturing ideas while I'm out and about, and then I follow up with them when I get home. That works so well with AirPods, too. If I have an idea while I'm out jogging, I can ask Siri to remind me about it without breaking stride. First time I did that it felt like Star Trek.
I'll check out the Sage.
That last paragraph about Siri was cool :)
I use the Siri approach all the time. I'm not going to stop running long enough to catch my breath and dictate a novel into the thing, but "Hey Siri, remind me that cats can eat pancakes" is enough to let me resume the thought when I'm back home and resting.
After aching eyes from being a heavy reader of ebooks on my iPhone, I got the cheapest most basic kobo - basic even by the standards of the day when I brought it - and instantly fell in love.
Haven’t needed to change default software, haven’t needed to enable WiFi etc. just need a usb cable and calibre app and it all just works great.
My fiction addiction is through the roof. Never realised how big a deal getting a kobo is.
In my experience koreader integrates much better with calibre and allows managing my library with a filestructure. So that is a requirement for me.
Also the stock firmware on the Pocketbook was able to deal with my huge epub archive, because it didn't require indexing the library on the device, which Kobo struggled with.
From that experience I would pick a Pocketbook over a Kobo.
But maybe I should give Kobo another look.
Is this info up to date? It was not the case with our 2E - an option to start koreader just got added to the menu.
I understand that some users currently have access, and it will be rolled out to everyone in the next month.
You can check beforehand by installing Calibre with the de-DRM plugin and transferring a few books: Once they are on Calibre you are good to go.
One thing I only learned today is that you can set up web sync from Calibre to Kobo [0], [1], but just plugging in to sync has been working fine for me.
For the initial sync, it used to be you could directly de-DRM your whole collection from the storage of the kindle desktop app. At some point the desktop app was using a DRM that had not been broken: I do not know if this is still the case, or if there is another way to download everything from your account.
[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39996455 [1]: https://brandonjkessler.com/technology/2021/04/26/setup-kobo...
I felt that one, the reason I love those buttons is, because that way I can keep my display clean as I don't have to touch it.
The Pocket integration is fantastic, as are the physical page turn buttons. I always thought they were unnecessary, but I really do prefer them now. The warm night light is also great. It's a bonus as well not to be in the Amazon ecosystem more than I have to.
The biggest downsides are maybe a bit niche: the dictionary is terrible (although you can upload your own, but not make it the default) and there's no built-in translate function. I read mostly in my non-native language, so these two features make life a bit more difficult, but they're outweighed by the rest.