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[toomanybarts]

I use Media Center 12 as a great d'Base management tool for my ebooks - the problem is, it wont import lrf files : you have to drag and drop them.

Anyone know how I could add .lrf to the list of filename extensions Media Center would recognise?

(I'm trying to tidy up my stray ebooks scattered across network drives and hard drives etc and Media Center is a great way to do this and then to use 'rename and move' commands to consolidate).

[edbro]

Sorry, don't know how to implement this in MC. But, have you given Calibre a try? It is an all in one solution for managing, converting, and transferring reader files. Highly recommended over Sony's provided software.

[toomanybarts]

yes I have that installed, it shows promise, but its a little clunky.
I wanted to use MC12 to review all my ebook files - I have dupes all over the place - get rid of the dupes and then maybe put them into Calibre.

[edbro]

Throw them all into Calibre and it will show you the dupes before they get imported.

Calibre clunky? How so? I find it to be an excellent piece of software and it is getting a lot of positive press on the web lately. Not bad at all for freeware.

I use Calibre to organize my ebooks but I still use the Sony software to transfer because the Sony sw can paginate while it transfers. Calibre can not do this so the first time you open a book on the reader it takes a couple of minutes for the reader to paginate it.

[toomanybarts]

Dont get me wrong, Calibre is an AWESOME program, the newsfeeds, conversion etc are fantastic as is the support Kovid gives : he replies to every query...I remember when J River was like that?!

Calibre seems more 'mac-like' in its operation : it seems to do stuff behind the scenes to 'make it user-friendly' - I like to know whats going on and dealing with raw data lists etc...I should however, based on your recommendation, try the dupe detection feature and see how I get on...

Its a real shame J River seem to focussing on video interfaces etc when really, pretty soon everyone will be doing it via a web browser anyway...it would seem to me, their opportunity lies in helping you better organise ALL your data : Music, Videos, Pictures and Documents and then help you synchronise with your portable devices...I love the fact the Kovid has added internet access to your ebooks to Calibre!

(I just got an offer to upgrade to MC13, if they added lrf support i'd do it...seems like an easy way to get $15 to me...!)

Thanks for the replies...

[edbro]

No offense but just how much do you expect for $15? MC is a bargain at full price. It has a lot more functionality than I need. I can't imagine that if you look at the feature set you could conclude that it isn't worth $15 because it doesn't offer support for your Sony Reader.

I agree that ebooks are in fact media but we are now of the fringes of the traditional set of music, pictures and videos. MC already can manage documents. But, I think you need to be fair and realize that not every type of media can be supported for every type of device.  Having said that, I also think it would be cool to manage my Reader with MC.

[toomanybarts]

no offence taken, but if media center also made tea, whether its $15 or not, thats no use to me if I dont drink tea!

How long have you actually been a user of MC?  I already own 2 different versions and I'm not sure the added functionality is what I need - right now, I need lrf recognition - upgrading for the sake of upgrading would seem silly...i'll probably do t anyway, just to support the team!

The mainstream of consumers (read : where j river can build a sustainable business) are not looking for all these bells and whistles, they're looking for simplicity : one program to manage all their digital media.  If you look at what itunes has become, you can see how cluttered it is, I guarantee you will see a simplifying of that interface. 

Actually ebooks are on the rise, just look at the kindle (1, 2 and 3 later this year) and the popularity of the iphone and its ereader apps...more and more magazines and newspapers are begin consumed digitally...pc magazine has even stopped printing physical copies altogether...

Anyway, the point is, I know enough about programming (enough to get me into trouble, but not enough to actually get the job done!), to know it wouldnt be THAT hard to add lrf to recognizable file tyes...in fact for the dBase mgmnt side, the program would merely need to recognise the file and associate a "launch program with it - something that is actually done thru windows anyway - see the handling of .lit files)...

The irony in all of this, is that Calibre, of which we both speak highly of, does just that : Kovid has put a GUI shell around disparate command line ebook programs...

Anyway, we're now into esoteric pontificating...now if I'd asked for some obscure and highly beta video codec support, the forums would be alight with suggestions...!
(Now then, which one of those smilies projects irony?)

[edbro]

Okay, I didn't realize that you already owned prior versions of MC. I thought you were coming into this fresh. To answer your question; I've owned each version of MC since ver 10.

I believe that Kovid did more than just throw a gui around those command line programs. He wrote each of them I believe. As I mentioned earlier, I agree that it would be nice to do in MC. I was thinking that you were new to MC and were dismissing it solely because it didn't support the Sony reader. And you are probably right about the amount of effort. Kovid did it for free in his spare time.

[toomanybarts]

Nope, you and I are on the same page - I LOVE media center...apart from the occasional crash!

I paid the cash today anyway...here's hoping there's more than just you and I reading and wanting this small and simple feature...anyone from J River reading this?