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From: Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid>
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design
Subject: Re: hobby electronics
Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2024 16:41:35 -0700
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On 7/9/2024 7:54 AM, BillGill wrote:
>> No.  The PDF is a (lossless) photo of the page.  For "pocket books"
>> (i.e., the paperbacks of the 60's), my ereader screens are large
>> enough that it is as if I was holding the original book in my hand
>> (but only seeing recto or verso page-at-a-time).
>
> One advantage of the EPUB format is that it can be read on
> any size device, including a phone, although I for one can
> not imagine trying to read on a phone.

I can read a PDF of a "pocket book" paperback on a cell phone
by twisting the phone sideways as most pocketbooks have only
a single column layout and the column width is ~4 inches -- easily
accommodated by most smart-phone screens.

The fact that you have to scroll the image is no different
than having to "flip" pages in an epub -- esp as epub "screens"
don't correspond 1:1 with book *pages*.

On an ereader, the entire PDF image appears on the screen as
if it was a physical paper book you were holding.

Where PDFs fall down is multicolumn layouts (where you have
to "pan and scan" to find the next line of text as you move
from the bottom of one column to the top of the next).
Or, in wide page layouts that require scrolling left-right
to parse individual lines.

But, if you're just scanning paperback novels, chances are
its a single column layout.  Newer texts have wider pages
so you'd want a wider screen (e.g., SWMBO uses a Nook HD
which is about the size of an iPad screen) if you wanted to view
PDF scans of those pages.

>> [Imagine finding yourself in an extended care facility (stroke,
>> mobility, blindness, injury, etc.) and never really being able to
>> return home to PERSONALLY sort out YOUR things.  "Imposing" that
>> task (chore!) on someone else -- and wondering what might not
>> be happening as YOU would have intended, had you been present to
>> "supervise" the activity]
> 
> I am only scanning in my collection of fiction books.  Sorting
> them should be relatively easy, although my daughter is also
> a reader, so she might have a problem sorting out the ones she
> wants to keep.

Do you really think she will want to spend that time when she
also has your sudden "malady" weighing on her mind?

I've watched many friends/neighbors moved into assisted care
(or worse, "memory care") facilities.  Leaving their "stuff"
and "home" behind is very traumatic for them.  Esp as they
often have delayed that transition to a point where adjusting
to a new environment (new friends, etc.) is exceedingly
difficult.

The woman two doors down made that transition a few years
ago -- at the insistence of her children (cuz she was
unable to take care of her own physical needs).  Because
her mind had deteriorated a fair bit, she was unable to
process the fact that she was no longer in "her" home which
just added to her confusion.

Another friend delayed that transition until a few months before
(unexpectedly) dying.  Leaving her husband to deal with the
loss of their long-term "dream home" (and possessions) on top
of her death.

The folks across the street just moved east -- to enjoy the
cold winters?  They will similarly discover that their memories
of what life WAS like, back there, won't serve them well.  And,
their bodies won't be as able to deal with iced sidewalks,
cold/rainy weather, experiencing the deaths of their old friends
"first hand" (vs. getting an email about someone's passing),
the added chores consequential to life, there, etc.  This on top
of having to liquidate their home (possessions) of 40 years, here.

I'm not keen on finding myself (or SWMBO after my demise) in
a similarly traumatic "adjustment".  To that end, I can afford
to rid myself of dead trees, paper financial/business records,
test equipment, etc.

"What do I *need* this for, at this point in my life?"

YMMV.  But don't underestimate the impact it will have on
those around you!