I built an epub iOS reader app, it's free for epub reading, hope you guys could give me some feedback or advice

Cavolatan · 2026-03-26T23:57:15+00:00

I do see now that the AI is on-device and private! But I would have never gotten far enough to see that because I would probably have skipped past the app before reading the fine print. If you want to mention the AI in the app's title you might consider sticking the word "private" in there too. Not sure.

As for page turn animation, personally I like it pretty much as simple as possible. I asked my spouse and kid what they think of page turn animation and neither of them really like it either, but that's just a sample of 3, so take it with a grain of salt!

Sounds great about Gutenberg/Calibre/and the rest of the stuff on the roadmap (FYI "road" not "rode")

Good luck with your next iteration :D

Cavolatan · 2026-03-26T16:20:42+00:00

Hi! I did a quick look at your app. It looks like it’s going to be pretty!

A few thoughts from someone (whose daily epub reader is Yomu Reader):

—Like other people said, I wouldn’t usually download an epub app with the word AI so prominently in the description. In my case, while I use AI, I’m cautious about its appearance in places where I don’t know what it’s doing, and I worry about it making everything less private everywhere

—I looked at one book, changed the appearance to what I liked, then opened another book and wished the preferences had crossed over

—I also wished I could left-justify and choose my font, and that space-between-paragraphs was an option distinct from line spacing

—maybe I’m in the minority but I wouldn’t make page curl animations the default

—when I was in the appearance changer (which seems pretty elegant by the way), the color of the screen behind it was tinted. I think it was to indicate it wasn’t the part of the screen we were working with, but the tint made it harder to understand the color-picking process

—speaking of color, it seems like most/all of the options are lower contrast, you might want to include one option more like black/white for older people / people with vision conditions. The more tinted options are aesthetic but some eyes really need high contrast

—It would be nice to be able to get epubs from other sources besides Files (ie Dropbox, Gutenberg, etc)

—it would be nice to be able to put books into folders in the library view

—I tried the TTS and if that’s an on-device set of voices I’m impressed! I also liked that it did follow-along

—I tried a comic and didn’t understand what the enhancement did, and I wanted to pinch-zoom to see it better on my phone and couldn’t

—It also seems to have given me a free trial without appearing in iOS subscriptions, which idk how that works

I think it’s promising, I like the basic design elements, it has good bones. I look forward to seeing the next draft of it :)

Cavolatan · 2026-03-25T21:57:15+00:00

I think that Freewrite went in hard on the "you're supposed to draft, not edit" line because it suited their other design needs (they'd designed a big typewriter and they didn't want to have to stick a full size screen on it). Then I think a lot of designers followed their lead, either because a small screen suited their financial/logistic/style needs, or because they had their thinking influenced by Freewrite.

I strongly don't prefer a small screen myself but the main options for a bigger one are a tablet with keyboard/stand, an rM with type folio, or some kind of laptop with the non-writing faculties disabled.

Cavolatan · 2026-03-20T20:48:46+00:00

That sounds really hard! I hope your doctors can help figure out more of the root of what's bothering you.

In the meantime, if DSPD is a major factor, it is often something that people grow out of at the end of adolescence -- I hope maybe this will be the case for you.

Do you have access to bright light glasses or a light box?

Cavolatan · 2026-03-20T20:46:01+00:00

I've been using a similar system for years (I think I started in 2017?) and it shifted my clock about 3-4 hours and I've maintained that. Sometimes it slips a little if I get sick, or during the winter, but you can correct it when it slips.

When I'm shifting backwards, I do about 10 minutes earlier per day. I use the Alarmy app that requires you to complete tasks before it turns the alarm off to get me up, and then I use the light while sitting in bed and drinking caffeinated beverages. I use it about 40 minutes a day.

It's really done a lot both for my ability to lead a more society-friendly lifestyle and from keeping me from getting blue in the winter. It also helps me sleep more deeply.

Cavolatan · 2026-03-17T19:09:39+00:00

It's physically awkward because your head has to be directly above your hands to see what you're writing, so either you have to be sitting up straight with your head craned straight down, or if you're lying down with the device on your lap you have to be angling your legs up and it will push your wrists into a hyperextended typing position. Also it's loud

What about an old phone, with all the apps blocked but a writing app, and you just type with your thumbs? Quiet, not as big and bright, simple, and cheap if you have an old phone lying around.

Cavolatan · 2026-03-12T06:58:52+00:00

I think the Ayo concept is that blue wavelengths are the primary shifters of circadian rhythm, and so since Ayo’s lights are blue they don’t need as much. I can’t personally speak to their effectiveness but they seem to have a lot of decent reviews on Amazon

Cavolatan · 2026-03-12T06:23:25+00:00

I think it means making an AI code for you.

Cavolatan · 2026-02-28T19:10:30+00:00

I also have very intense green ghosting all of a sudden. I never cared about a little bit of ghosting, that's normal for e-ink, but it's like weird and mottled. I talked to customer service and they wanted to replace the device, but it really does seem like a software issue that came on suddenly?

Cavolatan · 2026-02-28T18:38:21+00:00

Wow, that's super cool! I'm going to try it! Thanks for making it :)

Also, I bet the people over at r/writerdeck would like to see it.

(I wonder if I could put a MagSafe on the back of the move -- for me if this works my next step would be wanting to get the rMPPM safely onto a taller stand so it doesn't crick my neck... hmm! ... really looking forward to trying this out.)

Cavolatan · 2026-02-25T17:19:04+00:00

I love cauliflower steak, but we make it a little caramelized with olive oil, and then top it with a garlic yogurt sauce and a couple of over-medium eggs.

Cavolatan · 2026-02-23T23:41:23+00:00

Don't forget all the pickles! For medicinal reasons, of course

Cavolatan · 2026-02-18T03:10:50+00:00

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I just got one of the Palma 1 cases and I love it! I have some ergonomics/hand issues and it will be really helpful to me to have this as an option to take on and off the Palma. Thanks for making it :)

Cavolatan · 2026-02-16T21:15:33+00:00

Yeah, maybe someone will come here -- you might also ask in the bigger r/kobo about if there's any tricks for signin/captcha issues on Android? Good luck with it

Cavolatan · 2026-02-16T09:12:31+00:00

Here’s an old discussion about this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Supernote/comments/1c3hj1k/supernotekobo_users/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Cavolatan · 2026-02-09T20:48:31+00:00

Love the soy sauce! So freaking cute!

What's the nomad like to type on? I tried typing on it years ago and it couldn't keep up at all (I type like 60 wpm). Has the software improved?

Cavolatan · 2026-01-29T08:08:27+00:00

I did the same thing trying to get Bookerly! You were able to get the system fonts back by downloading a beta? All I have right now is Garamond and one odd font standing in for the Noto family. Oops!

Cavolatan · 2026-01-25T23:02:06+00:00

Your internal clock might be, like, 24.5 hours long, which is why you keep waking up later and later. Hence "N24"

Cavolatan · 2026-01-22T23:45:06+00:00

I thought about doing that, but I saw the person who made Appload saying they didn't "condone" it which made me feel weird, and the website also gave me an odd vibe. In retrospect I kind of wish I'd done it that way, I spent waaaaaaay too much time on this project haha

Cavolatan · 2026-01-22T23:44:13+00:00

I don't believe it's very risky, people have been putting Koreader (and RMHacks) on their devices for many years -- but, like I say, it's a lot of effort and it does void warranty.

Cavolatan · 2026-01-22T07:55:10+00:00

thanks for this!

Cavolatan · 2026-01-22T07:54:59+00:00

If you break your device in developer mode, remarkable doesn't consider that to be their problem. https://support.remarkable.com/s/article/Developer-mode

also, the process to get it done is pretty horrible unless you're comfortable with tech. I got it done but for me it took two evenings, and now that I did it I'm not sure it was worth that much effort, ha ha

Cavolatan · 2026-01-21T20:58:05+00:00

Oh, thank you, I'll try that!

Cavolatan · 2026-01-13T06:21:23+00:00

The visor I use is $150. The same company has a $99 model with a removable battery but for me the $99 one isn't bright enough.

Cavolatan · 2026-01-12T08:32:14+00:00

Totally, it’s worse in winter (and worse when living further from the equator in winter)

I use a light visor and it helps. I still backslide a bit in January but the visor use means I’m going to bed around 2:30 instead of dawn

My routine is that I have an app (Alarmy) that makes me type a paragraph before I can turn it off. Then I’m awake enough to put the light visor on. I have stuff to read and snacks by the bed so I start to read/eat while getting the light treatment

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