|
Some new
e-readers for electronic books create an interesting
problem: It's now possible to own a book you can't read.
The
problem occurs with free electronic books that have been
digitized in the widely used PDF file format for PCs
equipped with the free Adobe Reader program. These PDF
files sometimes don't display properly on tiny e-reader
screens, even though they're compatible.
I decided
to see how the Amazon Kindle e-reader would display some
PDF files of classic books, including the novel
"All Quiet on the
Western Front
" and two collections of
Sherlock Holmes
short stories. The books are free to download to a PC
because their copyrights have expired.
But, in a
problem daunting enough for Holmes, the words in these
PDF files shrank to nearly microscopic size when I
transferred them to the smaller Kindle screen. The
Kindle could make the type larger, but it failed to
compensate by reducing the number of words per line. As
a result, every page ran off the edge of the screen,
making it necessary to scroll back and forth to read
each line. This occurred only with free PDF files; the
for-pay books in Kindle format resized automatically to
fit the screen.
Seeking a
solution, I used my PC to adjust the type in the PDF
files before transferring them to the Kindle. The Adobe
Reader software did enlarge the type size and rearrange
the lines so they didn't run off the edge of the page,
but it refused to save the changes. For that I needed
the
$299
Adobe Acrobat program.
Rather
than pay that much, I downloaded the literary works
again, this time in HTML Web page format — which,
unfortunately, the Kindle can't read. I copied and
pasted the words from these files into Microsoft Word,
and used Word to nearly double the type size (to 20 or
22 points.) Word automatically rearranged the lines so
none ran off the side the screen. Then I used Word's
"save as" feature to store the books as new
PDF files.
When
transferred to the Kindle's small screen, the giant PDF
type shrank dramatically but remained easily readable.
No doubt Holmes would have solved the problem much
sooner.
QUESTION:
Recently we decided to try using a first-generation iPod
Touch again. But we found that the apps we wanted
required the newer 3.0 operating system, which I can't
find on iTunes. (It can't use the new 4.0 operating
system.) Do we have an antique Touch?
—
Steve Adams
,
Minnetonka, Minn.
ANSWER:
No, you can still buy the 3.1 operating system for a
first-generation Touch. Go to http://tinyurl.com/onu2dr,
which provides a link to the right section of iTunes.
———
ABOUT THE
WRITER
Steve Alexander
covers technology for the
Minneapolis Star Tribune
. Readers may write to him at Tech Q&A,
425 Portland Ave. S.
,
Minneapolis, Minn.
55488-0002; e-mail: steve.j.alexander@gmail.com.
Please include a full name, city and phone number.
|
