Integration with any e-reader?

raylee5
With all the new e-readers coming out - is there anyone that will play nice w/ zotero? It looks like quite a few are android based, and the firefox mobile for android is still in alpha stage. My personal favorite is the Notion Ink Adam, which uses the Pixel Qi screen, also based on Android.

Notion Ink is to have an apps contest - I would think Zotero could win easily. ;)

Seriously though, my e-reader purchase will be heavily dependent on Zotero compatibility or friendliness. We should try to convince a few of these manufacturers to take advantage of a great resource that is already available!
  • migugg
    see here, but no solution in sight thus far:
    http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/1781/integration-w-irex-iliad-or-othe-ereaders/
    http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/10834/the-unavoidable-ipad-thread/
  • raylee5
    Hi, - thanks, I was aware of those and started the first one, actually - but was hoping someone would have greater insight into possible integration methods, etc.

    Anyone else have a device they'd love to see zotero work on? maybe we should be organizing an effort to convince them to pay attention to zotero?
  • adamsmith
    I think the Adam seems like a good choice - it's running open source OS, it's announced with FF, it's a pretty small company that may not be as locked in, they have expressed interest in being for students/scholars...
    I don't think any of the other options currently on the table (that I know of) look anywhere close to this promising. It will be a couple of months until that comes out (they say 2 months after they have a stable flash) and Fennec (FF for droid) is scheduled for a first (presumably beta) release later this year.
    Does anyone know if Fennec looks like it'd be supporting Zotero?
  • Greg
    See my post about a possible integration with the iPad here:

    http://forums.zotero.org/discussion/10834/the-unavoidable-ipad-thread/#Comment_58941
  • kieren
    It would be a couple of hours work or less for someone with an ereader and basic knowledge of programming to make pdfs stored in the zotero collection downloadable through the ipad / other e-reader browser through using the tools that I've rigged together here: http://github.com/singingfish/zotero-browser - some network configuration is likely required, as basically you're running a http server from inside firefox, so you might want to add some features for offline viewing

    Skills required are a basic knowledge of HTML, and a willingness to play with javascript, but the programming style will be familiar to anyone who's played with PHP.

    Getting annotations back to the zotero collection in some non-clunky way would be slightly more complex and would require the cooperation of the ereader developers, but basically I suppose they'd send a HTTP upload to the configured server with some metadata about which file it is and where it's supposed to go.
  • migugg
    my bet is also the notion ink adam. However, if pixel qi (the company that produces the transflective screen for the adam) will sell its displays to more manufacturers, the whole e-reader vs. netbook vs. tablet vs. laptop categories might crumble and laptops will become e-readers. in this case, there would be no need for all this complicated port stuff, because (smaller and lighter) laptops/tablets with full OS would have e-reader screens (switchable to backlight full colour). What we are seeing at the moment might be just some in-between stage.
  • Bionatsci
    (smaller and lighter) laptops/tablets with full OS would have e-reader screens
    Ubuntu is listed on the spec sheet for the notion ink adam, as well as android and chromium; by all accounts it will ship with firefox (I assume they mean full firefox rather than fennec, at least in the ubuntu version) and it has a rear mounted touchpad - so that applications (like zotero) which require precise mouse movements will still be useable. I would say that we might be there already with this device. I have just reconsidered my decision to buy a tablet pc, at least until the adam comes out and I can see whether it meets my needs. I really hope someone comes up with a good pdf annotation solution in notion ink's upcoming app competition.
    Does anyone know if Fennec looks like it'd be supporting Zotero?
    It would need porting, since the UI structure is apparently quite different on Fennec. See this page on the mozilla wiki. Porting could range from very easy to very difficult depending on the exact differences.

    Finally here is an encouraging quote from the notion ink blog:
    We are also into lots of University Collaboration as well. Developing technologies with them, for them, for the open communities, and we are open to lot more to work closely with. “They will be the first ones to get early access to the devices as well.”
  • migugg
    well with regard to OS, on the adam homepage they only mention "improved andoid for 10inch devices"
    http://www.notionink.in/adamfeature.php
  • Bionatsci
    Ah - it may be that the spec sheet I'm looking at is out of date. That's a shame - it seems such a powerful device to be stuck running just a mobile OS.
  • anders_royce
    edited April 7, 2010
    Does anyone know if Fennec looks like it'd be supporting Zotero?

    It would need porting, since the UI structure is apparently quite different on Fennec. See this page on the mozilla wiki. Porting could range from very easy to very difficult depending on the exact differences.
    I have used the WM beta of FF portable (I thought they dropped the Fennec name). There is just no way I can see Zotero working there. All the existing addons are essentially just buttons or things that work in the background. The UI is completely different from FF (and very minimalist).

    Edit: It looks like Mozilla is suggesting permanent tabs as a replacement for sidebars, etc. So maybe if someone wanted to create something like that it would work.
    From Mobile/Fennec/Extensions/UserInterface - MozillaWiki:
    Fennec doesn't have any of these! It's helpful to think about what these areas tend to provide, and then look for ways to accomplish the same ends with the tools that Fennec provides.

    * menubars: random access to many, many options
    * toolbars: quick actions, quick access to sites, alerts, ambient indicators, search
    * sidebars: concurrent/background tasks, tools for content area
    * statusbars: quick access, alerts, ambient indicators,
    * context menus: object related actions, hiding many actions (unfortunately)

    So what can you use instead? Here are some ideas:

    * Sidebars -> permanent tabs? The idea behind sidebars is to provide ambient or close-at-hand access to persistent (list of bookmarks, notes) or updating content (like a twitter feed). On a small screen though, keeping it on-screen isn't really an option. Close-at-hand, though, is an option -- and it turns out we already have a handy mechanism for quickly switching between sets of content: tabs.
  • Bionatsci
    I have just noticed that a standalone version of Zotero is being developed: http://www.zotero.org/blog/standalone-zotero/

    The changeset states:
    (currently OS X only, but should be easy to build on other platforms)
    Requires installed xulrunner runtime to build
    Two questions:

    1. Is there any reason "other platforms" couldn't include android once xulrunner gets ported (the Firefox mobile roadmap implies that this is definitely planned)?
    2. This one is for the devs: Is portability to mobile platforms one of your reasons for developing a standalone version of Zotero?
  • migugg
    I continue to be confused about the zotero teams way to communicate what is being developped and why and in which order. There have been both questions such as bionatsci's above on more strategical questions as well as demands for a system of weighing user demands because of irritations for simple but crucial improvements that have been promised since ages (search and replace, multi-edit of fields, duplicate detection etc.). None of these questions get answered, while minor technical bugs ususally get answered within seconds.
    I think the zotero team could really do its community a service by communicating a bit more clearly why and in which order it attempts to implement certain new developments.
  • dstillman
    Is portability to mobile platforms one of your reasons for developing a standalone version of Zotero?
    No.

    http://groups.google.com/group/zotero-dev/browse_thread/thread/d9860e7fee028401#msg_49469f0cef32ed73
  • Bionatsci
    Thanks for the link to the dev-group thread and for the clarification. In any case, freeing Zotero from dependence on the full browser interface has the side effect of moving in the right direction for easy porting (community based or otherwise) to a wider variety of platforms, which is pleasing. I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help coding, but once the time comes I'd be happy to help out with testing and/or writing documentation for the standalone version.
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