Update on the Status of OverDrive App

[BruceMcF]

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seacitylady wrote: Many of the people I see are elderly and/or handicapped. Their tablet or reading device is not a tech toy to them. Often reading is one of the few pleasures they can still experience. It takes a lot of time to help them and, even if I set up ADE for them, they do not have the physical capability to drag & drop the book to the Nook Icon.

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So the ADE app does not work with MouseKeys? Normally, if Mouse Keys is turned on, you use the numeric pad to move the cursor, "insert" to click to drag, and "delete" to release when you are over the Nook Icon.

[seacitylady]

Good question re using  Mousekeys with ADE?? Never had to use Mouse Keys personally but was pretty straight forward for all versions through Win 98 & ME & could be set through the control panel. Things started to change with XP when all accessability functions got shifted to what is now called the Accessability Center. The focus now seems to be on using voice recognition & touch screen monitors to perform mouse functions. In both Vista & Win 7 there is not even a mention of using Mousekeys in the  Accessability Center. In fact, this is the only reference to Mousekeys I could find was under keyboard short cuts  "Left ALT+ left Shift+ Num Lock to turn Mousekeys on or or off." No other instructions or KB shortcuts provided for performing mouse functions.

I'll research this more & maybe some of the national organizations that deal with persons with physical challenged might have more information so I could @ least develop a cheap-sheet.  The problems is not so much with younger people with challenges as most of them have learned to deal & are willing to put forth the effort needed. It's very difficult for older people to retain information & they are easily frustrated if there are more then a couple of steps. Many of my elderly customer have problems with the mouse/touchpad if it involves anything more complicated then just clicking. Drag/drop is difficult concept even if they have fairly good flexability. I don't know if they would do any better trying to remember/use keyboard shortcuts with Mousekeys. It's worth a try but, frankly, I think it is going to be way over most of their heads.  If they have a laptop & can bring it in I can try & show them. Many have desktops & just tell me "my son installed the program but now the book is sitting in the box but I can't get it out." Or, they can't find the book after clicking download. A little difficult to work with that! I only volunteer 2 hours twice a week so there is only so much I can do. Most of the staff have no time to help anyone. Frankly, many are not well trained on OD & just refer people to the website for help.

All I know is NOBODY should have to go through this hassle!  BTW I understand that Kindle is having a lot more problems with ebook piracy since they started their lending program. I was very surprised to find out that when you download an audiobook from the library it never expires & most can be burned (with the library's permission to a DVD). Since I just got the Hunger Games in audiobook this made me very happy as i have no time to listen to it right now.

[BruceMcF]

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seacitylady wrote:

... In fact, this is the only reference to Mousekeys I could find was under keyboard short cuts  "Left ALT+ left Shift+ Num Lock to turn Mousekeys on or or off." No other instructions or KB shortcuts provided for performing mouse functions.

... It's very difficult for older people to retain information & they are easily frustrated if there are more then a couple of steps. Many of my elderly customer have problems with the mouse/touchpad if it involves anything more complicated then just clicking. Drag/drop is difficult concept even if they have fairly good flexability. ...

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This is an XP machine, so I'd have to try it out with one of the machines at the college to check if Win7 does MouseKeys correctly. If it does, drag on drop with Mousekeys seems to me to be simpler, since its two distinct actions, one to grab, and one to release, instead of "hold onto it while moving".

It is, however, something that disabled rights support groups ought to start hassling Adobe about ~ there is no excuse for not having keyboard shortcuts and/or a menu system built in for those actions.

[seacitylady]

Thanks for the info. I've got Win 7 on laptop & still running Vista (ugh) on desktop. All I could find for either of these is the skimpy info I posted above. In the meantime I came accross something pretty scary about how Amazon is collecting a whole lot of info on users who download library books for Kindle using the Kindle OD app. Don't know how they are getting away with violating privacy & not telling anyone what they are doing. If we get something similar for the Nook I sure hope not executed in same way. I will be very hacked off if I start getting sales pitches every time I download a book!http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/10/wegotscrewed.html

[BruceMcF]

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seacitylady wrote:

Thanks for the info. I've got Win 7 on laptop & still running Vista (ugh) on desktop.... 

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I'm writing from a computer running Windows 7 at school. MouseKeys works same as before: (left) Shift-Alt-NumLock turns it on, the 4 8 6 and 2 go the direction shown, 7 9 2 and 1 go on diagonals, 5 clicks the mouse, 0 (INS) to start a drag and drop . (DEL) to release it. "+" to double click and "-" to right click.

Under the standard setting hitting NumLock again goes back into regular cursor mode, but if someone does not want to lose their number keys, it can be set so its MouseKeys when the NumLock is off and the number keys when the NumLock is on.

An advantage of MouseKeys is that you can let people practice it on any Windows computer at hand, and as long as they learn how to turn it on, and which keys to push for mouse clicking and drag and drop, they are set.

Mind,the default MouseKey speed is pretty slow ~ someone comfortable enough to want to speed it up could use the exercise of going into the Control Panel to practice using MouseKeys. 

[Strayer]

Library patrons have problems using the public access computers as well as something like ADE. If someone needs help with getting a Nook authorized to borrow books, a member of the library staff will help. Nothing to do with computers is easy. Computers don't make sense. B&N may not be going with Overdrive. There was an article in Publishers Weekly last summer that Baker and Taylor and B&N might start another lending program in libraries. One major problem with Overdrive is that it is expensive.

[BruceMcF]

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Strayer wrote:
Library patrons have problems using the public access computers as well as something like ADE. If someone needs help with getting a Nook authorized to borrow books, a member of the library staff will help. Nothing to do with computers is easy. Computers don't make sense. B&N may not be going with Overdrive. There was an article in Publishers Weekly last summer that Baker and Taylor and B&N might start another lending program in libraries. One major problem with Overdrive is that it is expensive.

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Note that while the Accessibility problems with ADE came up in this topic because they affect Overdrive, given the sideloading approach that stock Nook's rely on ~ ADE is not limited to Overdrive library lending. ADE is what makes the Nook more open to other ebookstore than the Kindle: its also used if you buy books from, eg Kobo or Sony. So the ADE accessibility problems do not go away with a direct Overdrive app or other system to borrow books ~ they will just affect a smaller number of users of the Nook.

However, if B&N could work out something sufficiently less expensive than OverDrive that my local library could afford it, then that would be brilliant.

[seacitylady]

Given the current brouhaha between Overdrive & it's major suppliers in the book publishing industry that has the libraries up in armsI do not see that there is going to be movement on this anytime soon. (See my post re new requirement to sideload if you want any Kindle content). Publishers are very paranoid due to Amazon's move into the publishing biz & so anything similar to the Kindle model is not going to fly. Given there may be much less new content, except from smaller houses & indies, there may not be much of interest to download. Publishers are unlikely to support anything that makes it easier for library patrons to download FREE books. Even before this latest defection by Penguin the few big 6 publishers who  provide content were imposing  stringent limitations on how many copies of new books could be purchased for use by Overdrive's library clients. I guess they figure if waiting lists get too long library patrons will just give up & buy the book. As usual its all about money.

[Al_Adams]

I chose Not To BUY a Nook eReader Totally Because of the Lack of the OverDrive app Available. The Only Other eReader I even Considered was the Kindle, because it Did Have the OverDrive app Ready-to-Go, I WILL NOT BE ANY eREADER THAT DOESN'T SUPPORT THE OVER DRIVE LIBRARY BOOK SET UP, PERIOD!! Barnes and Noble Lost at least Me as a nook eReader owner, I will still use My Android Tablet, to read nook eBooks!! Al Adams

[Al_Adams]

I have the Kindle Android app and it loads and reads epub just fine on the Android Tablet {Google Android Supported Tablets} Al_Adams..

[jelabarre59]

Themajor problem with ADE is that it is a MSWindows application. ADE needs to communicate with the Nook over USB (obviously), but Wine does not have USB support (and may be quite a while before it does). So the only solution is for B&N to provide Overdrive. Well, that or root the bastard and load CM7.