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Everything Else => General Support and Discussion => Zaurus General Forums => Archived Forums => Software => Topic started by: daufoo on April 24, 2006, 04:37:21 am

Title: Any Ebook Software That Can Read .pdb For Palm?
Post by: daufoo on April 24, 2006, 04:37:21 am
As stated in Title.

i.e. the format that can be opened by Isilo.

(The reason is that I do have a number of ebooks in those format, now just bought the Z and would like to read those with it.)
Title: Any Ebook Software That Can Read .pdb For Palm?
Post by: Cresho on April 24, 2006, 04:51:10 am
There are a couple of pdb file readers for the zaurus.  Bdicty reads pdb files and if you can get the 5.1 version, you can install the files under sd and read them.  under the qtpalmtop, create a folder called bdicty and stick them in there.  only 5.1 version works in this manner.

other pdb file readers are..

http://www.timwentford.uklinux.net/ (http://www.timwentford.uklinux.net/)

http://justreader.sourceforge.net/ (http://justreader.sourceforge.net/)
Title: Any Ebook Software That Can Read .pdb For Palm?
Post by: ken on April 24, 2006, 06:17:49 am
http://only.mawhrin.net/fbreader/ (http://only.mawhrin.net/fbreader/)
Title: Any Ebook Software That Can Read .pdb For Palm?
Post by: Cresho on April 24, 2006, 06:43:54 am
Quote
http://only.mawhrin.net/fbreader/ (http://only.mawhrin.net/fbreader/)
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actually, this is a better reader than the ones i posted.
Title: Any Ebook Software That Can Read .pdb For Palm?
Post by: daufoo on April 24, 2006, 09:45:19 am
ok....tried all of those software but they all failed....
I guess the pdb file I've got are in iSilo format, which is not PalmDoc.
Looks like there is no way to view them in Z at the moment.

 
Title: Any Ebook Software That Can Read .pdb For Palm?
Post by: masanga on April 24, 2006, 10:47:20 am
Quote
ok....tried all of those software but they all failed....
I guess the pdb file I've got are in iSilo format, which is not PalmDoc.
Looks like there is no way to view them in Z at the moment.

 
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=124359\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Yes, the .pdb suffix is a generic one used for all PalmOS datafiles, whatever their actual format. (Applications use .prc, and confusingly PalmDoc files can actually be either.) iSilo has its own proprietary format, though it can also read Doc and text files. OpieReader claims to be able to read iSilo 3 files, but not the current 4.x format. If your iSilo files were created in iSiloX and you still have the original .ixl file, you might be able to reconstitute them in Plucker for use in OpieReader - but I haven't tried this myself.

Nick.
Title: Any Ebook Software That Can Read .pdb For Palm?
Post by: TimW on April 24, 2006, 11:33:31 am
masanga pretty much summed it all up correctly.

Additionally, any DRM applied to even the formats that opie-reader *does* support will also prevent opie-reader from reading the files. This applies particularly to MobiPocket, eReader and Rocket eBook formats.
Title: Any Ebook Software That Can Read .pdb For Palm?
Post by: guylhem on April 24, 2006, 12:19:23 pm
Quote
Quote
ok....tried all of those software but they all failed....
I guess the pdb file I've got are in iSilo format, which is not PalmDoc.
Looks like there is no way to view them in Z at the moment.

 
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=124359\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Yes, the .pdb suffix is a generic one used for all PalmOS datafiles, whatever their actual format. (Applications use .prc, and confusingly PalmDoc files can actually be either.) iSilo has its own proprietary format, though it can also read Doc and text files. OpieReader claims to be able to read iSilo 3 files, but not the current 4.x format. If your iSilo files were created in iSiloX and you still have the original .ixl file, you might be able to reconstitute them in Plucker for use in OpieReader - but I haven't tried this myself.

Nick.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=124365\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]


opie-reader does more than "claim" to read iSilo3 files - it *does* read them. I was involved in the reverse engineering, with another friend who dislikes publicity.

We would have added iSilo4 if we had the time and the need. Since it was for a backward compatibility reason, there was no need. Since it took weeks only to add iSilo3 format, and iSilo4 was much more complicated, we didn't.
Title: Any Ebook Software That Can Read .pdb For Palm?
Post by: Ragnorok on May 04, 2006, 10:23:47 pm
- The only way I think eReader .pdb books are usable is via QPose, or another emulator.  I've not gotten that to work because I haven't researched how to copy the ROM image from the wife unit's unused HandEra, which runs a version of Palm III.
- If'n someone had a link for that, I'd sincerely appreciate it.  Far as I know the eReader books are all usable on that, so emulation should be workable...