Thank you Ester for this wonderful nugget. I've downloaded and installed with no issues thus far. The only downside to this ap thus far is the lack of responsiveness with Voiceover on the iPod touch. I'm definitely interested to hear what others think.
On May 10, 2010, at 1:57 PM, marie Howarth wrote: > Thanks for this info Ester. > > On 10 May 2010, at 19:47, Esther wrote: > >> Hi All, >> >> Here's an alternative, promising eBook reader for books in ePub format >> without DRM: Ibis Reader. It works with VoiceOver on the iPhone, iPod Touch, >> and iPad, and allows bookmarking but has some odd features in terms of >> navigation. You can read DRM-free ePub books either on your computer or >> mobile device, and keep them in sync. I'll excerpt the description from >> Wired's Gadget Lab article by Charlie Sorrel, "Ibis Reader for iPhone: A Web >> App That Thinks It's a Native App": >> <http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/ibis-reader-for-iphone-a-web-app-that-thinks-its-a-native-app/> >> <begin excerpt> >> >> Ibis reader is an e-book reading application that does everything that you’d >> expect an iPhone e-reader to do, with one big difference: It doesn’t come >> from the App Store. The app runs on any iPhone or iPod Touch and offers full >> offline access to your library of books, and is as fast and responsive as a >> native iPhone application. It manages this through the magic of HTML5, which >> is supported by Mobile Safari and - crucially - offers offline storage for >> web-sites. >> >> To install Ibis you navigate to the page in Safari. You will be asked if you >> will grant the site 50MB of storage space. After agreeing, you hit the “+” >> button and add the app to the home-screen. Now, when you hit that button, >> you are launched directly into Ibis, not just a tab in Safari, and because >> it stores both itself and your downloaded books locally, it’ll even work >> with an iPod Touch out of Wi-Fi range. >> >> The controls are similar to Stanza or Kindle for iPhone: tap either side of >> the screen to flip pages and touch the center to access more settings. You >> can browse for public domain books from Feedbooks from within the app, and >> even add books from the URL of your choice. Anything downloaded is stored >> for you in a local library, and if you opt to sign up for an Ibis account, >> you can read, fully synced, across multiple platforms. >> >> Like Stanza and Apple’s upcoming iPad app, iBooks, Ibis uses the ePub >> standard format, and you can even upload these files to your account from >> your desktop web browser, from where they will automatically appear on your >> mobile device. And because Android uses Webkit for its browser, it too can >> install and use the app offline. >> >> I have been playing around with Ibis for a little while and it really does >> behave like a local application, although sometimes it is not quite as fast >> when flipping between different sections. In fact, there’s only one thing >> that really gives it away: scrolling is a lot slower. Whereas in a native >> app you can “throw” a page and it speedily scrolls up or down, the “elastic” >> holding the pages of web apps is a lot stronger. It’s not just Ibis. This is >> a problem with all non-native applications on the iPhone. >> >> As a full-featured e-reader, Ibis is surprisingly good. As a >> proof-of-concept for non-approved, non-App Store applications, it is >> straight-up amazing. >> >> <end excerpt> >> >> Additional Information and Some VoiceOver-Specific comments: >> 1. The web site to visit is: >> <ibisreader.com> >> If you visit this site from an iPhone or iPod Touch, the link to install >> comes up immediately. On an iPad, there will be a link to a version that is >> optimized for the iPad. In both cases, the "+" button is what VoiceOver >> reads out as the "Utilities" button in Safari. This is at the bottom center >> of the screen on the iPhone, and along the top menu bar on the iPad. The >> iPad-specific installation is a bit confusing because there is a graphic >> that is an arrow pointing to the button (that you won't be able to use), as >> well as the fact that VoiceOver announces the button as "Utilities" instead >> of "+". Just ignore this part of the instructions, find the "Utilities" >> button, and double tap the "Add to Home Screen" button. I actually found it >> easier to navigate the iPhone/iPod Touch version of the app, since the links >> and buttons are laid out out to be close to each other. >> >> 2. When you reach the account page you can create your account by simply >> typing in an email address and password into the text fields. There are >> buttons just above the virtual keyboard for "previous", "next", "autofill", >> and "done" that you can use to move focus to the next text field (e.g., type >> in your email address, then double tap the "next" button above the virtual >> keyboard to move to the password field, and either double tap the "done" >> button to dismiss the keyboard and access the page to double tap the "OK" >> button, or double tap the "Go" button at the bottom right of the keyboard). >> Alternatively, you can just double tap the text field for password and input >> -- the "next", "previous", and "done" buttons are easier to use on the iPad >> to move focus to fields. Using the "Go" button saves you having to double >> tap the "OK" button on the field -- login is immediate. >> >> 3. The top buttons on the home page are "My Books", "Get Books", and "Sign >> In/Out". At present "Get Books" points to various feedbooks links. There's >> also an "Add book (download from URL)" button that I haven't successfully >> used yet. However, some eBook publishers, like O'Reilly, have links on >> their pages that allow you to download your eBook into an Ibis Reader >> account. If you access the "O'Reilly Ebooks" link in the Stanza app under >> "Bookstores", and go to "My oreilly.com Bookshelf", and select your book, if >> ePub is one of the available formats, there will be both a "Download to >> Stanza" link and a "Read in Ibis Reader" link at the bottom of the page. >> Double tapping the "Read in Ibis Reader" link will download the book to your >> Ibis Reader account in the "Cloud". >> >> 4. The process of actually downloading the book into your local reader >> (i.e., when you double tap the "Ibis Reader" app on your screen, double tap >> "My Books", double tap the "My Online Bookshelf" link, then double tap one >> of the listed books listed and double tap "My Books" again) seems to take a >> while under wireless transfer (a couple of minutes), and there aren't >> progress indicators. >> >> 5. The easy way to access the book is through the "Book Info" link, which >> takes you to a page that gives a brief description of the book, then lists >> the table of contents links. (This way you don't have to start reading at a >> graphic cover that is unresponsive.) There are also controls to let you >> delete the book if you swipe to the bottom of the page. >> >> 6. You can use a two finger flick down to start reading. Similarly, you can >> use a two-finger tap to stop reading, and a two-finger tap to resume reading >> from that point again. If you need to bring up the controls to navigate >> back to the table of contents, double tap the center of the screen. You'll >> get a summary of your location in the book, with the title and page number, >> e.g "The Geek Atlas Page 2 of 5 into "49. Greenwich, London, England" 37% >> into the book." The top buttons should also appear: "Home", "Book Info", and >> "Settings". You'll also hear the links for "Bookmark" at the upper right, >> just below "Settings", "Previous" at the center left edge, and "Next" at the >> center right edge. If you have difficulty bringing up this screen, toggle >> VoiceOver off, touch the center of the screen, and toggle it on again. >> >> 7. What's weird: when you do your two finger flick down, VoiceOver will keep >> reading through the chapter, but the first page won't update. I can get the >> page to advance by double tapping the center of the screen to bring up the >> menu with "Previous" and "Next" at the left and right. If I double tap and >> hold on the "Next" button or the "Previous" button so that you hear the >> burbly noise for the pass through gesture, or simply double tap hard on the >> button, I can then double tap any where on the screen and get the previous >> or next page, and each double tap advances or reverses the page by one step. >> However, as soon as I touch a section of the screen to read the text (and >> verify that I've moved ahead or back however many pages I've tapped), the >> focus is removed from the previous or next button. Also, if you do a two >> finger flick down, you'll continue to read from the present page onward, but >> if you do a two finger flick up, your reading will start at the beginning of >> the chapter. >> >> 8. To bookmark a page, toggle VoiceOver off and touch the upper right corner >> of the page, then toggle VoiceOver on again. To remove a bookmark from a >> page, toggle VoiceOver off and touch the upper right corner, then toggle >> VoiceOver on again. Bookmarks are stored as links on the "Book Info" page, >> just after the Table of Contents link entries and above the "Continue >> Reading" link that lets you resume where you left off, and above the >> "Delete" option. Just swipe to get down to it. >> >> Final thoughts. Ibis Reader only works for DRM-free eBooks, but there are >> an increasing number of sites that provide books in this format. You can >> also use tools such as Stanza Desktop and Calibre to convert other DRM-free >> book formats into ePub (with different degrees of success). The main present >> advantage of Ibis Reader over using iBooks is that it's possible to easily >> upload from other sources instead of adding files to the iTunes library and >> syncing through USB. However, this is still less flexible than Stanza -- >> which is perfectly accessible in its catalog and upload sources, just not >> entirely accessible in terms of the actually reader navigation as of yet. >> This will probably get better, and there are entries in the designer's blog >> about easy ways for publishers to formulate links to easily download the >> book to Ibis Reader. You can also access the books through a web browser, >> but the nice feature is that once downloaded onto your iPhone or iPod Touch, >> you can read the book without requiring an internet connection. It's also >> superior to O'Reilly's Bookworm in allowing you to set bookmarks, as well as >> not requiring that active internet connection to read on your iPhone or iPod >> Touch. On an iPad, using iBooks to read and navigate is still the superior >> reading experience with VoiceOver. Incidentally, I don't understand who >> recommend Stanza as an accessible solution for the iPhone, iPad, or iPod >> Touch are managing to navigate and read continuously -- i.e. without >> continuously having to touch the screen to read out each section. Stanza >> Desktop on a Mac is accessible, but doesn't provide a solution for people >> with mobile devices. It also doesn't bookmark eBooks. There are other >> solutions for PDFs, but not so many accessible solutions for the mobile >> eBook readers. >> >> HTH >> >> Cheers, >> >> Esther >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
