Life In 19x19

If I buy a book on my iphone, can I also sync that book to my ipad?

I'm having a blast with this. I have both an iPhone 4 and iPad 2. grillapa--yes, your purchases will transfer across devices (just go to "Restore Previous Purchases" in the settings button on the "Store" screen.

If I hadn't been convinced to buy an iPad 2 yet, I would probably do so based on SmartGo Kifu and SmartGo Books alone.

Is there a way to click through moves one by one or adjust the pause between moves? I see that I can hit play and pause for each move, but it seems a bit tedious. Also, is it possible to play out your own variations? The app is fantastic--I've purchased one book and will certainly buy more.

This app has shown the pretty stark contrast (no pun) between the iPhone 4 "retina" display and the iPad 2. As I've mentioned elsewhere, letters and words are MUCH clearer on the iPhone 4 and easier to read. And while the books are certainly readable on the iPhone's smaller screen, I'd much rather read on the larger screen . Of course, this is not the app's fault--this is an issue for me with reading anything on the iPad--it just means Apple will successfully convince me to give them more money and be grateful for the opportunity (assuming an iPad with a retina display is forthcoming).

<obligatory when will it be available for Android post>
When will it be available for Android?
</obligatory when will it be available for Android post>

Thx,

My iEyes hurt after reading that.

I had a trs-80 "back in the day" and while I liked it, it was the Apple II I really wanted. Unfortunately at that time the Apple was more than double the cost and beyond my means. The trs-80 has long since passed into history, but Apple is stronger (and more affordable) than ever…

Of course nothing lasts forever, but I think Apple will still be viable in 10 years. Also, the foundation of SmartGo Books is an enhanced version of SGF, which has had far more staying power than the Ishi go format. I'm pretty sure SGF will still be commonly used in 10 years too.

Responding to John Fairbairn "iGrumpy".

While the Ishi format didn't take off (as a testament to that, I hadn't even heard of it before), other things did develop. The compuer is the primary conduit through which I get game reviews, though I certainly have my share of books.

I don't really care if the iPad goes the way of the dodo (I have a love-hate relationship with Apple), but I just don't think it will be inconsequential in 10 years. Look at the iPod--its current iterations (of which the iPhone really is), are extremely consequential: if it isn't an iThing, it will inevitably be compared with one.

But, to the extent you imply or assume that e-books will not replace books anytime soon, I agree. The market for e-books is still much smaller than people realize, given the limited population that own the devices. The medium's development has already taken several unexpected twists and turns, and I'm sure there are several more to come.

Finally, hey, I really enjoy my new device and the SmartGo program, so I'm going to express that. I never intend to rub anyone's nose in it, or communicate some notion of superiority. Just like I really enjoyed my first computer (an XT with PC-DOS) way back when.

imabuddha wrote:Of course nothing lasts forever, but I think Apple will still be viable in 10 years. Also, the foundation of SmartGo Books is an enhanced version of SGF, which has had far more staying power than the Ishi go format. I'm pretty sure SGF will still be commonly used in 10 years too.

Of course, the only reason the SGF format is still viable is because it became an open standard that others could implement. The Ishi format remained proprietary and only lasted as long as the Ishi Press company. If this "enhanced" SGF format remains exclusively for Apple devices chances are these books will go the same way.

/iGrumpy2

Hey, if we're talking tech? BluRay is more proprietary and finicky than HD-DVD ever was, so there are examples of huge megacorps being able to keep their proprietary formats under fire.

I think judicata asked something about adjusting the speed of watching diagrams

Well I'm able to press on the bottom of the diag and slowly slide my finger to the right and the sequences play out like that without hitting play and u can control the speed

Hope it helps

Redbeard wrote:Of course, the only reason the SGF format is still viable is because it became an open standard that others could implement. The Ishi format remained proprietary and only lasted as long as the Ishi Press company. If this "enhanced" SGF format remains exclusively for Apple devices chances are these books will go the same way.

/iGrumpy2

I'm not privy to Anders' plans for the future of the format, nor when (or if) the SmartGo Books app will appear on other platforms. That said, I do hope that go books in this format will become widely available to those who do not have (or wish to have) an iOS device.

SmartGo Books has only been available for one day now; this is just the beginning. SmartGo isn't a mega-corp, so it would be unreasonable to expect a simultaneous release on multiple platforms. I think the reason it made its debut on iOS is due to the fact that it's a rapidly growing market, currently of over 100 million devices, with an easy to use store/payment system.

Personally, I'd like to see the SmartGo program available for Mac OS. It's only on Windows® currently.

From another thread: (viewtopic.php?p=58006#p58006)

John Fairbairn wrote:What I would respect more (indeed would welcome) is an e-book convert who acts successfully instead of talks. But talk is cheap and I'll hold off on my praise until I see that it works, and in the meantine will urge caution. In view of the recent banking debacle, I'd be specially wary of someone who sells himself as a risk-taker. More, if someone was about to fall off a cliff, I believe I would actively try to save them. If that makes me seem negative, so be it. But if I missed and they flew instead of falling, I'm certain I would be the first to smile in pleasure and wonderment. We grumpy old men are not as grumpy as all that.

While it's too early to make any claims about its financial success, I'd say keep your eyes open iGrumpy, this ebook convert is flying.

Now where's that smile?

Redbeard wrote:<obligatory when will it be available for Android post>
When will it be available for Android?
</obligatory when will it be available for Android post>

Sorry, no plans yet for Android. But assuming this turns out to be a success, and Android tablets turn out to be a success, I would certainly like to make it available on other platforms. And compared to SmartGo Kifu, SmartGo Books has significantly less UI and code that would need to be ported to another platform.

Redbeard wrote:

imabuddha wrote:... the foundation of SmartGo Books is an enhanced version of SGF, which has had far more staying power than the Ishi go format. I'm pretty sure SGF will still be commonly used in 10 years too.

Of course, the only reason the SGF format is still viable is because it became an open standard that others could implement. The Ishi format remained proprietary and only lasted as long as the Ishi Press company. If this "enhanced" SGF format remains exclusively for Apple devices chances are these books will go the same way.

The SGF Kifu format that's used in SmartGo Books is a work in progress. I'm happy to share the current draft with prospective authors, but I foresee significant changes, so I'm not promoting this as a standard for now. For example, the current version works well for annotated games, but is cumbersome for explanatory books like "Basic Techniques".
The book view in SmartGo Kifu works pretty much like SmartGo Books, except limited to one game at a time. To see some examples of SGF Kifu in action, look at the SGF for annotated games that come with SmartGo Kifu, especially game 9 from "Thick and Strong" and the game from "Go Consultants".

John, I bet Westerners read far more game commentaries in sgf form than on paper. Perhaps that indicates that computer commentaries are the way of the future, in the sense that they'll dominate. Of course facts concerning the other 99% of the world's go players may be relevant to the future of the game.

What dominates numerically may not be what's best. Consider the booze most people drink. That's certainly true of most commentaries we read--some are quite good, but they're not like what's in Invincible.

P.S iContrived

I want to buy some of the books but don't know how to pay for it. Can I pay using iTunes gift card or do I need to use a credit/debit card?