Site of the Day for Thursday, December 31, 2015
eReader Extensions for Firefox and Chrome: Software of the Month
EPUB Reader for Firefox
In this age of technological wizardry and multiple devices it may not be
readily apparent that there are those who have yet to succumb to the allure of
ereaders. Nevertheless, they do exist, even though they at times struggle to
adjust to a world of digital books. This month's software offers a modest
lifeline to these folks in the form of extensions for both Firefox and Chrome
which enables these browsers to automatically handle digital books in epub
format.
Firefox's addon, the very popular EPUB Reader by an anonymous coder, can be
installed on any flavor of Firefox -- Windows, MacOSX, and Linux. Featuring an
easy to use interface, the extension creates its own private library for
managing downloaded epub books, where they can be conveniently tagged by the
user. Other options include saving the book to a user designated location,
deleting it or viewing its metadata. The reading interface allows the font to
be altered to a preferred size, while the layout offers a choice between a
typical book-like two page view or a single, scrollable page. Naturally,
bookmarking is available.
A bit of hunting will turn up the location of the Private Library, which is
usually tucked away in Firefox's Profiles section buried in the AppData area of
the C drive.
The extension can access already stored epub files on the user's computer
through Firefox's File --> Open File menu, while new downloads are
automatically and conveniently handled by the EBUB Reader extension, processed
for reading, and placed in the Private Library.
For those who would like to enjoy reading the vast number of epub books, from
Cicero to Sherlock Holmes which are freely available, but who do not want to
invest in a special device to do so, Firefox's EPUB Reader is an easy and
comfortable choice.
View screenshots, additional information and the installation at Mozilla's
official addon location at:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/epubreader/
Readium for Chrome
The continuing popularity of the Chrome browser indicates that a similar epub
reader extension must be available. Readium for Chrome, from a nonprofit
foundation which encourages reading, takes its place as a generally
well-regarded epub reader for this browser. Offering adjustable background
colors, font size, and margins, the extension leans towards simplicity and ease
of use in its interface.
Slip over to the Google store for reviews, screenshots, and installation at:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/readium/fepbnnnkkadjhjahcafoaglimekefifl
A.M. Holm
Comments? Suggestions? amholm@xxxxxxxxxxx
Manage your subscription and view the List archives on the web at:
//www.freelists.org/cgi-bin/webpage?webpage_id=sotd and
//www.freelists.org/archives/sotd
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UNSUBSCRIBE by sending a blank email to sotd-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with
unsubscribe in the Subject field.
