Hadrien Gardeur posted today over on the OPDS dev blog that the standard had been updated. v1.1 adds a number of improvements, including:
- support for facets (Spec)
- support for indirect acquisition (Spec #1, Spec #2 & Spec #3)
- recommendations for advanced search (Spec)
- new rel value for recommendations (Spec)
- new media parameter to identify navigation/acquisition feeds (Spec)
FYI: This standard is why you have the ability to search for ebooks from PG, Baen Books, Feedbooks, Fictionwise from inside Aldiko or Stanza. It’s a way for the app and the ebookstore to communicate.
So what does the update mean for the average ebook lover? If you don’t use an app, not much. This standard isn’t as widely supported as I’d hoped it would be by now. I know that it’s being used by Aldiko, Bluefire, and Stanza, but none of the leading ebook readers support it yet.
On the other hand, once the apps are updated to support v1.1 you’re going to see some interesting improvements. The changes to the search and the recommendation sections look promising.
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>>>So what does the update mean for the average ebook lover? If you don’t use an app, not much.
For people who root Android, it could matter a great deal. See this MobileRead thread I referred to in my Nook rooting posts. This madman creates his own OPDS catalogs in Calibre and uses them on a NookColor with a program called Trook.
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139850
Yes, exactly. He’s using an app. The Nook itself doesn’t support OPDS.