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  • Onyx Boox Max2 Pro

    Serving PDF

    Using the Boox to read sheet music, I have to adjust my workflow. Previously, I had used a web server, KWS, to provide set lists and sheet-music pdf files to the browser.

    The Boox seems to be highly optimized to conserve battery life, and perhaps as a consequence the web server freezes. I see this happen on my Pixel C, but relatively infrequently — about once every 6-8 hours of use on the Pixel C versus once every 10 minutes on the Boox.

    To make matters worse, the Boox is slow to switch and restart applications.

    Organizing PDF

    The Boox default view is a PDF browser, and it supports organizing files by directory, but the selection process is slow and cumbersome and is opaque in that it doesn’t correspond to actual directories.

    Another idea is to concatenate sheet music into a single-file set list. There are lots of programs available to concatenate pdf, and Apple Preview is one of them.

    Another option is to use a sheet music app running on the Boox, such as Fakebook, Orpheus, or Mobile Sheets Pro. I have used Fakebook before to read chord charts, but didn’t realize it could read PDF, too.

    While searching for Android sheet-music readers, I stumbled upon Musical Android, a site devoted to Android audio apps.

    Bluetooth

    After several tries, I was able to connect my Airturn Duo pedal to the Boox. The process was tedious in that the pedal requires long button presses to send to pairing mode, the Boox only infrequently updates the list of available devices, and the Boox usually displays the Bluetooth address in the place of the device title.

    December, 2019 update:

    The afternoon of a performance, while I was warming up for an orchestra holiday show, the Boox did its best brick impersonation. I scrambled to print out my sheet music before rushing out for the performance across town.

    I was eventually able to return the Boox to usable condition, but only after booting it into safe mode and losing all of my sheet music.

  • Onyx Boox Max2 Pro

    I received my new tablet yesterday– an Onyx Boox Max2 Pro. The main selling point for me was the screen size, e-ink, and that it runs Android, though a dated version 6.

    Out of the box, it balked at signing into the Play Store, complaining about manufacturer/device licensing. Ereader Store posted a YouTube video to update the Boox version of Android and demo the play store.

    From Play, I installed Termux, KWS, File Manager, and Amazon Music. There was a hiccup installing Amazon Kindle, with error 910, solved just by restarting the Boox.

    From Termux, I installed git, openssh, and nodejs using pkg. To allow other programs to access Termux files, you have to run termux-setup-storage.

    Much of my tablet use before was viewing sheet music, either on-line or pdf. The latter looks beautiful on the Boox. For viewing material on-line, I’d suggest installing Chrome which handles color-to-gray mapping better than the built-in/default Boox browser and opens the default pdf viewer automatically. (Using the Boox viewer, you have to find the download alert and select the file.) For my use case, it will probably be worth scripting a set-list into a single pdf file, or keeping a directory of the ordered set list and use the Boox pdf viewer.

    My initial impressions using the Boox are that the display is nice, the control buttons feel clunky, the finger touch response of the display is unreliable, and the WiFi powers down automatically after disuse. I’ll be looking at connecting a Bluetooth page turner and keyboard, and perhaps a monitor stand.

  • SciFi/Fantasy Recs

    Over the holiday’s my brother in-law asked for science-fiction and fantasy recommendations, so here goes, with some caveats.

    • I don’t always trust my recollection/taste past a year or two. There are lots of books I recall falling in love with, but cannot remember how when I pick them up again, so the recommendations are heavily influenced with recent reads.
    • The list is biased by recent titles, partially because of the previous caveat, but also because science fiction and fantasy don’t usually age well.
    • I don’t have much patience for long n-ogies. Maybe I’m not a real fan, but so many great books begin repetitive series. The initial book creates a fantastic setting, and then I lose interest.

    In somewhat arbitrary (alphabetical author order):

    • Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale: Is this really science fiction? I wish this story didn’t age so well. If you cannot absolutely bear the investment of the short read, see the Hulu series, snark. Really, I’m a poseur — I didn’t read the book until I started watching the TV series. Nobody portrays dystopia better then Atwood, so this recommendation serves as a embarkation point for lots other work from her.
    • Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon: I wish I were observant enough to be a feminist. Helping me, Bradley uncovers stories of Morgaine and Guinevere that build the foundation for the Arthurian legends. The accusations of her personal life, cast a darker tone upon the novel….
    • Philip Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Philip Dick is great at tersely posing puzzles that unwind into short stories. Check out the short stories for more examples.
    • Nicholas Eames, Kings of the Wyld: This is what I wish my Dungeon and Dragons games sounded like. I love the humor in a world depicting adventurers as rock stars.
    • N. K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms: The mythology Jemisin weaves into the story has all of the drama and politics of classic Greek mythology, but you haven’t heard these stories a million times– or maybe all of them by the time you finish…..
    • Anne Leckie, Ancillary Justice: There’s a great mixture of perception, cognition, and gender here…. OK, I think everyone should be able to choose their pronouns, but I’m also a fan of gender-neutral pronouns that don’t shadow the plural.
    • Usula Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness: This is the earliest gender-politic sci-fi I know of. I love the discussion of gender roles by portraying an “alien” society. The story is 50 years old now, but it ages well.
    • George R. R. Martin, Storm of Swords: Storm of Swords is an anti-example of the value of tome-laden series…. except for installments of A Song of Fire and Ice series that follow don’t nearly live (or die) up to the standard set in book three. I haven’t found a better work from Martin than the story leading up to the Red Wedding, so just skip the rest…. Except that part of what makes the story so satisfying is your investment into all the victims.
    • Dexter Palmer, Version Control: An alternate take on reality, perception, and causality. There’s also a love story in code.
    • JY Yang, The Black Tides of Heaven: Kung-foo-fantasy-meets-steampunk setting, written with contemporary progressive gender views.