Interesting article at theweekinchess.com/john-wats … publishing
I have been using both the Everyman app and the New In Chess Magazine app for quite a while. They’re both excellent allowing one to play through games in the magazine and the books with great ease, especially when looking at variations and the comments on them.
My only observation and minor complaint is that of pricing. Unlike by Kindle books through Amazon where the electronic version is often less expensive by far compared to the hard copy, the savings are not as great from Everyman and at NIC there is barely any discount when going electronic. It would be nice to see Everyman deep discount some of their older volumes. In fact, it looks like they may be beginning to do that from my last look at their list of ebooks.
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I own a handful of chess ebooks:
- ‘static’ format, meaning Kindle.
- ‘semi-dynamic’, such as Gambit’s Android app.
- ‘dynamic’, such as ForwardChess and Everyman apps.
[size=128]CANNOT EASILY JUMP[/size]
One BIG problem with all these ebooks is it is faaaar more difficult to jump around in them compared to paper books. This is frustrating because more effort by the authors (or whoever converts from paper edition) could reduce this problem with more effort put into use more intra-ebook links. I admit that this requires substantial thought by the author, more than I am willing to type in here.
To better understand this problem, I bought the paper edition of book after I bought and started using the ForwardChess dynamic ebook edition. I find myself using both concurrently!
Sometimes part of the blame belongs on the app. Amazon’s Kindle app for Android doesn’t even have the BackwardReturn & ForwardReturn buttons that all web browsers have. And maybe the Kindle app could have one LatestAnchor concept as a location you can return to from anywhere, by one menu touch.
[size=128]LIMITED FORMATTING[/size]
A second BIG problem is that dynamic ebooks rely on the ChessBase format. Indeed ChessBase is the primary authoring environment. Obviously ChessBase was never designed to have fancy features like tables etc that MS Word .docx files routinely have. In the long run a better authoring format and environment is necessary; but I fear we will be waiting another decade or more before it happens.
After incomplete research, I think even the Kindle format is so simplistic and limited that it cannot really do things like tables (except by ugly resorting to a .JPG image of a table).
[size=128]PHONE A BIT TOO SMALL[/size]
I bought a cheap $120 Lenovo 8-inch screen touch pad computer. It is like a larger phone without any telephone ability. I bought it solely for reading ebooks of all types.
I can read all ebooks on my Android phone, but sometimes it is uncomfortably cramped on the phone.
I read dynamic chess ebooks in landscape orientation; but Kindle chess ebooks (like the updated Fred Reinfeld 1001WCSaC) in portrait orientation. I am concerned at how hard it was to find plastic or other skins (cases?) that make it easy to prop up the phone or the larger pad in whichever orientation I prefer. The pad company should make more of an effort to ensure the aftermarket has good skins for their pads. The screen is a bit awkward to see when the device lies flat on the table.
The person/people who designed the Kindle ebook for the updated Fred Reinfeld - 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations did an obviously inferior job than whoever designed the Kindle ebook for John Nunn’s - 1001 Deadly Checkmates. Each design was executed and implemented fine; but the designs themselves are not of equal intelligence or effort.
[size=128]INDEPENDENT SELF-PUBLISHERS NOW SUPPORTED BY FORWARDCHESS[/size]
Everyman and NewInChess and Gambit etc must have felt a disturbance in The Force when they recently saw ForwardChess’s new support for “Independent” publishers of dynamic chess ebooks.
[size=128]BOOK REVIEWER SHOULD ASSESS DYNAMIC APPROPRIATENESS[/size]
A person who reviews a chess book would ideally also mention how well the book would mesh with the dynamic ebook format. For instance, shot puzzle books do great as dynamic ebooks; but Willy Hendriks’ - Move First, Think Later would be relatively pointless as a dynamic ebook.
[size=128]WHAT IF GO OUT OF BUSINESS?[/size]
One possible long term problem for buyers of dynamic chess ebooks is that companies like ForwardChess and Gambit might go out of business someday (indeed it seems like Gambit has wound down most of its operation). What happens when their apps go stale or are removed from GooglePlay Store, and then it is time for you to buy a new cellphone?
[size=128]CHESS OCR & ANALYZE THIS, APPS[/size]
I used the app Chess OCR to scan all the diagrams in one of my paper shot puzzle books into a new .PGN file. I am surprised at how well this app does what it is supposed to do.
Then I go through the .PGN file of puzzles by using the Analyze This app. I convinced the developer of Analyze This app to add the ability to enter the Null move. The technique he chose was to touch one king then the other. Next the user has the option of starting the engine to see what the current “threat” is.
This pairing of apps essentially created a dynamic ebook edition of my old paper chess book.
A lot more could be written about all these dynamic chess ebook apps; too much really. Besides all such written reviews go out of date quickly in these early years of this new technology.
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Good points. I wasn’t aware that gambit has their own app. Will have to check that out. Your point about certain books being better in real book form is well taken. There are many books that simply do not work well in the current ebook formats.
Downloaded the Gambit app and bought a book. Nice app. I like it more than the Everyman app.