Plucker eBook Reader and Compiler
I have been playing with Plucker. Like iSilo it is an outstanding product and one well worth using for an ebook format.
Plucker consists of two parts: a reader which resides on your Palm OS PDA*; and a compiler which converts HTML files to Plucker format and will also download web pages. The compiler will run on Windows, Mac and Linux computers. (*OpieReader for the Linux based Sharp Zaurus PDA will also read Plucker format ebooks.)
Plucker does not spend enough time trumpeting how good of an ebook compiler and reader they have. The reader, on the Palm has one of the most elegant interfaces I have seen. The compiler is not quite as straight forward but if you play with it you will figure it out rather quickly. Both reader and compiler are absolutely free and without any royalties for publishing in the format.
Plucker format supports, images, bold, italic and text size in it's format. It also support hyperlinks, which is handy for short story collections and table of contents. Since it converts from HTML, just like iSilo, it is just an extra 5 minute operation to convert an ebook into both Plucker and iSilo formats. Give people the choice. And given that the Plucker reader is free, choice is good.
I can see what eBookCulture is talking about now with perhaps using Plucker for ebook conversion of OpenReader XML based ebooks to a format usable on the Palm OS handheld. Why Plucker? Because Plucker format is open source. Others can make readers and compilers for the format so the format is less likely to die out if one company goes out of business. Hopefully the commercial companies like Mobipocket and iSilo will also support conversion of OpenReader format.
Plucker does not have the commercial market penetration that other formats have: Fictionwise does not offer Plucker as one of it's multiformats. However, there are several free book collections offering Plucker formatted books: Manybooks.net, Pluckerbooks and Memoware, to name a few. I also converted a short story collection from Blackmask from HTML (Zipped format) to Plucker very easily, but it was an extra step.
Pros:
Easy/fast conversion from HTML.
Text formatting.
Hyperlinks.
Images
Open source format
Elegant reader
Free reader and compiler
No royalties
No DRM scheme
Compiler for Win., Mac, Linux.
Cons:
No commercial use of format.
Reader only for Palm OS and Zaurus handhelds.
Not as widely known as commercial ebook readers.
This is a great format for Palm OS handhelds (60% of the PDA market). It is so easy to convert you would be foolish not to offer it. This one is worth checking out.
5 Comments:
I got the Isilo and IsiloX programs. They are amazingly easy to use. It produces a .pdb file that I've uploaded ten books onto EbookAd (great site!). While it's not as complete or elegant as .pdf, it's easier on the reader, so balances. The great thing about Isilo is that you can use the reader on Windows, so know exactly what it will look like, much as you can do with Adobe and .pdf.
Plucker is an incredible reader. I have used both it and iSilo extensively and though they are very similar, I have enjoyed Plucker much more. I especially like the category system, which is very simple and intuitive but powerful.
One thing that you didn't mention is that there are multiple compiler/converters available in addition to the Python-based program that comes with the base package. JPluck is great, and though the original developer has left the project, it is being picked up by the other members of the Plucker team. Sunrise is the new project from the JPluck developer, Laurens Fridael, and it has many improvements on JPluck. The only thing to note is that Sunrise will eventually be the converter for a proprietary ereader that Laurens is now working on. But while it's in development (eg. all releases pre 1.0) it will support Plucker. Even in it's current iteration (0.3) it is a great converter and new releases are coming out every couple of weeks.
Finally, for lots more information on Plucker (including conversations with the Plucker team and Laurens) head over to MobileRead.
Hi Ignatz,
Thanks for pointing out those Plucker resources. The fact that they exist shows me the strength of having open source projects like Plucker.
I think it is just a matter of time before even more projects will begin using the Plucker format.
As an example I would love to see other document readers (software) on all operating systems be able to read Plucker formated documents in addition to those formats they already support. This could be a big bonus for the ebook business.
I know this is an old post, but I thought I'd mention, just in case you didn't know, the Plucker isn't PalmOS (and Zaurus)-only, there's also a PocketPC reader available, for free, even:
http://vade-mecum.sourceforge.net/
Go check it out, it's pretty spiffy. I love the fact that I had an old Handspring Visor, then I moved to a Sharp Zaurus 5500, and now I have an iPaq 2215 and I've been able to take my Plucker docs and sites with me on all three devices. :)
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