Standard Ebooks produces free, high-quality ebooks for readers. They meticulously format and proofread public domain texts, creating beautifully typeset, accessible editions optimized for various e-readers. Their goal is to liberate classic literature from inconsistent and often poorly formatted digital versions, offering a superior reading experience akin to well-crafted print books, while also respecting the author's original intent. They encourage community involvement through contributions like proofreading and cover art.
KOReader is a free and open-source document viewer focused on e-ink devices like Kobo, Kindle, PocketBook, and Android. It emphasizes comfortable reading, offering features like customizable fonts, margins, and line spacing, along with extensive dictionary integration, footnote support, and various text-to-speech options. KOReader supports a wide range of document formats, including PDF, EPUB, MOBI, DjVu, CBZ, and CBR. The project aims to provide a flexible and feature-rich reading experience tailored to the unique demands of e-ink displays.
HN users praise KOReader for its customizability, speed, and support for a wide range of document formats. Several commenters highlight its excellent PDF handling, especially for scientific papers and technical documents, contrasting it favorably with other readers. Some appreciate its minimalist UI and focus on reading, while others discuss advanced features like dictionaries and syncing. The ability to run on older and less powerful hardware is also mentioned as a plus. A few users mention minor issues or desired features, like improved EPUB reflow, but overall the sentiment is very positive, with many long-time users chiming in to recommend it. One commenter notes its particular usefulness for reading academic papers and textbooks, praising its ability to handle complex layouts and annotations.
The blog post explores methods to extract content from an LCP-protected ePub file, primarily for archiving or personal use. It details the challenges posed by LCP's encryption and license validation, and walks through a technical process involving inspecting the ePub's structure, locating the encrypted content, and ultimately decrypting it using the user's own credentials and a modified version of Adobe's Digital Editions library. The author emphasizes this is for educational purposes only and discourages any copyright infringement. While acknowledging potential legal and ethical concerns, the post frames the process as a way to reclaim control over purchased digital content and ensure future accessibility.
HN commenters generally express skepticism towards the robustness of LCP "protection," viewing it as a minor speedbump rather than a genuine barrier. Several point out that determined users can always access content through methods like disabling JavaScript or using developer tools. One commenter mentions DeDRM tools as an existing solution for bypassing such restrictions, while others suggest that the real protection lies in social pressure and legal consequences, not technical measures. The feasibility of converting ePubs to PDF and then extracting text is also discussed. Overall, the sentiment is that DRM ultimately harms accessibility and legitimate users more than pirates.
The blog post details how to create audiobooks from EPUB files using the Kokoro-82M text-to-speech model. The author outlines a process involving converting the EPUB to plain text, splitting it into smaller chunks suitable for the model's input limitations, generating the audio segments with Kokoro-82M, and finally concatenating them into a single audio file. The post highlights Kokoro's high-quality, natural-sounding speech and provides command-line examples for each step, making the process relatively straightforward to replicate. It also emphasizes the importance of proper text preprocessing and segmenting to achieve optimal results and avoid context loss between segments.
Commenters on Hacker News largely discuss alternative methods and tools for converting ebooks to audiobooks. Several suggest using pre-trained models available through services like Google Cloud or Amazon Polly, noting their superior quality compared to the Kokoro model mentioned in the article. Others recommend exploring open-source solutions like Coqui TTS. Some commenters also delve into the technical aspects, discussing different voice synthesis techniques and the importance of pre-processing ebook text for optimal results. A few raise concerns about the potential misuse of AI-generated audiobooks for copyright infringement or creating deepfakes. The overall sentiment leans towards acknowledging the author's ingenuity while suggesting more robust and readily available solutions for achieving higher quality audiobook generation.
Summary of Comments ( 73 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43599637
Hacker News users generally praised Standard Ebooks' mission and quality. Several commenters appreciated the attention to detail and craftsmanship applied to the ebook formatting, contrasting it favorably with the often poor quality of commercially available ebooks. Some users highlighted the value of well-formatted ebooks for visually impaired readers using screen readers. A few commenters questioned the long-term viability of relying on donations and volunteered labor, while others suggested potential business models like a Patreon or selling curated collections. The DRM-free nature of the ebooks and the project's commitment to open standards were also commended. A minor point of contention was the choice of fonts, with some expressing preferences for alternatives.
The Hacker News post titled "Standard Ebooks: liberated ebooks, carefully produced for the true book lover" generated a substantial discussion with a variety of viewpoints on the project.
Several commenters expressed strong support for Standard Ebooks and its mission. They praised the high quality of the ebook production, emphasizing the careful attention to detail and the focus on creating a pleasant reading experience. Some specifically highlighted the value of well-formatted ebooks, contrasting them with the often poorly formatted versions available elsewhere. The project's commitment to open standards and public domain works also resonated with many, who viewed it as a valuable contribution to the literary landscape. A few commenters even shared their personal experiences using and enjoying Standard Ebooks, further reinforcing the positive sentiment.
However, some commenters also expressed reservations and criticisms. One recurring theme was the limited selection of books available, given the focus on public domain works. Some users wished for a wider range of titles, including contemporary works. There were also discussions about the project's reliance on donations and the potential challenges of sustaining such a model in the long term. A few commenters questioned the practical necessity of the project, arguing that existing ebook formats and sources were sufficient. There was also a minor debate about specific formatting choices made by Standard Ebooks, highlighting the subjective nature of reading preferences.
Beyond these main points, some commenters offered suggestions for improving the project, such as expanding the catalog, implementing different features, and exploring alternative funding models. Others shared links to similar projects or resources, contributing to a broader conversation about ebook formatting and accessibility. Overall, the comments section reflected a mixture of enthusiasm, skepticism, and constructive feedback, typical of discussions on Hacker News concerning new projects and initiatives.