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Open fb2 on mac. A worthy replacement for iBooks on Mac

Standard format for reading e-books on Apple mobile devices it is ePub. However, Mac computers, for some reason, were unfairly ignored, and in Mac App Store There is no “Books” category as a class. Yes, it’s more convenient to read books on an iPhone or iPad, but sometimes you need to look at a book from your Mac. While Apple has not released iBooks for Mac OS, third-party developers are taking advantage of the situation by installing quite high prices to your ePub readers. But there are also free exceptions, for example, the application Kitabu from Estonian developers from Sixty Four.

Library interface

The library looks simple and nice. Book covers, author and title - and nothing else is needed.

It is possible to change the mode, and then the books are arranged in the form of a list.

Reading and Settings

By default, a page in a book looks like this:

You can configure the text to appear in two or even three columns.

It is possible to navigate through the text using the content. The corresponding panel opens on the left.

The variety of supported fonts is absolutely amazing.

You can also change the text size and background color for the reader.

In the settings, we select that the book that is opened is automatically moved to the library or simply copied to it.

Advantages and disadvantages of Kitabu

font settings
change app background color
full screen mode support
ability to display text in columns
having a choice - copy or move books to the library
support for library search via Finder
ability to open content in the sidebar
slider and percentage indicator of the number of pages read
ability to open html links
support for embedded media files, audio and video

You can only open one book at a time
no text search
no bookmarks
there is no way to change the background color of the text
no gesture support
You can only read books in ePub format
Reading settings are not saved after closing the program

Conclusion

As you can see, the application is quite functional, but still far from ideal. However, being free allows you to close your eyes to many of them. The only really critical disadvantage I would consider is the lack of bookmarks. But even taking this into account, the program is quite usable. If you read a lot on a Mac, then it makes sense to think about purchasing a paid and more functional ePub reader. If the need for reading arises only from time to time, then Kitabu will be quite enough.

Application: | 299 rub. | OS X 10.11 and later | Install

Almost every day I observe people reading books on their iPhones and iPads - on the subway, in a taxi, or just on the street. Yes, it is convenient and portable, but there are times when reading on mobile devices is not suitable: I encountered this problem when I was writing my thesis and had to open 10 sources on my computer.

I tried to find a suitable e-reader for Mac, but things didn’t go further than the standard iBooks application. I can’t say that I was happy with it - I was missing many functions, and it’s difficult to call iBooks an ideal e-reader. Recently, the i2Reader Cloud application appeared on Mac, and although the thesis has long been written and submitted, I decided to take a look at the new product.

In general, i2Reader Cloud rich story: Book lovers all over the world have been using this application for many years. We can safely say that this is the Flipboard of the world of books - not in terms of functionality, but in terms of its ratings and positions. i2Reader Cloud for Mac appeared after a full 9 years.

In fact, the tool, so familiar to many from the iPhone and iPad, has now settled on Mac computers. Like the iOS version, it uses iCloud, meaning you'll always have the same library at your fingertips on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. However, in case you do not use the “cloud” in the mobile version, there is support for an OPDS server. You launch it and then download books to your mobile device into absolutely any e-reader that works with OPDS - for example, the same Marvin.

The application interface itself is not too different from the version for iOS - a list of shelves, libraries and, in fact, the downloaded books themselves. No one forces you to use any particular store, although free books download, fortunately this is done in one click.

Reading is convenient and pleasant, as if an ordinary paper book was expanded to fill the entire monitor. What captivates i2Reader Cloud is its settings: many available themes, different kinds flipping (3D, horizontal, with animation and parallax), flexible text settings (hyphenations, footnotes on the screen, tinting pictures), as well as quick switching through the book menu - contents, bookmarks, markers, and so on.

In the application, you can create your own library and keep it on your Mac so as not to take up free space on mobile devices and download it to iOS as needed.

To switch between different modes reading, just stretch or, conversely, shrink the window according to your desires and requirements, even to the full screen.

What else can you say - the version of i2Reader Cloud 1.0 for Mac turned out to be such that the phrase “the first pancake is lumpy” does not suit it at all. If it had been in the Mac App Store a couple of years ago, it would have helped me a lot with writing my thesis. You can try it yourself, I’ll leave the link below, just in case, for the iOS version. If you have any wishes or suggestions, feel free to write to developer Yuri at

I will assume that you did not use test versions of macOS Mojave. If so, quickly upgrade to the final one, it's worth it. By the way, it works great, so don't worry about your Mac.

I’ll bring you up to date with a selection of the most important features of the system that you need to try immediately after the update.

I draw your attention to nuances of use and alternatives.

1. First you need to try a dark system design

Where to enable: System Preferences > General > Appearance > Dark.

Yes, macOS Mojave “finally” has a dark theme. Why in quotes? Personally, I didn't like it. It seems like in evening time It’s more comfortable for the eyes, but the rest is unusual.

Dark design changes appearance Finder, iTunes, Safari, Mail, and other standard macOS Mojave apps. Try it, you may have a different reaction.

It's a pity, but this is not the "Smart Inversion" from iOS 12. Third Party Applications Without dark theme support, macOS Mojave won't get it.

To do this, turn on dark mode, open Settings in Mail, go to the Viewing section and turn off Display messages on a dark background.

But keep in mind that a lot of mail today comes with HTML markup. There the background is prescribed by the author, and this technique does not work.

2. Then make the wallpaper change depending on the time of day

Where to enable: System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver > Dynamic Desktop Background > Mojave or Sunrise to Sunset.

The opportunity is extremely interesting. With its help, macOS Mojave changes the desktop screensaver more than 10 times a day. It is as light as possible during the day and darker in the morning and evening.

When there is a lot of work, a change of scenery will help you navigate the time: if the Mac desktop is already completely dark, it’s time to stop working, and if it’s still light, go ahead and sing!

What are the nuances? Please note that for reasons unknown to us, the dynamic desktop background in the first test versions of the system did not work in its dark design.

This was very strange, because initially the dark design was positioned as a night theme for working in the evening.

However, today this feature works without problems with both dark and light designs.

3. Don't forget to enable tab icons in Safari

Where to enable: Safari > Preferences > Tabs > Show Website Icons in Tabs.

At this point, active Chrome users burst into loud laughter: this is an “innovation”; any normal browser has had this for several years.

I can counter: Chrome still eats up the MacBook’s battery life like crazy, so self-respecting Mac owners abandoned it a long time ago.

But the main thing is that website icons in tabs make navigating them noticeably faster, which is great.

What are the nuances? It's a shame, but the bookmarks bar still only has icons in folders.

Apple has always sacrificed convenience for appearance, so this state of affairs is not even puzzling.

On the other hand, the less interface elements distract from the content, the better.

4. Learn to manage stacks on your desktop

Where to enable: Call the context menu on the desktop > “Stack”.

macOS Mojave introduces a unique ability to sort files into stacks. It only works on the desktop and is designed to quickly clear it of useless junk.

Using stacks, you can scatter files into groups that will expand immediately after clicking.

Think of these as special smart folders.

What are the nuances? After enabling stacks, expand the context menu again and select one of the options from the Group Stacks menu:

The sorting happens in a really smart way.

For example, if you have both simple photos and screenshots there, the latter will fall into a separate pile.

5. Finally, disable the latest programs in the Dock

Where to disable: Dock Settings... > Show recent programs in Dock.

By default, the Dock on macOS Mojave shows the most recent programs you launched.

A special section of the panel shows only those programs that are not pinned to the Dock.

This feature seems mostly useless to me, because there are more interesting alternatives.

Reading books on a computer is less convenient than on a mobile gadget. But with the help of some programs you can ensure that the discomfort is almost unnoticeable. In this article we will talk about the 5 best e-readers for Mac and why they are so good.

Bookmate

Even though Bookmate doesn't have a Mac app and can only be used in a browser, it's still a top-1 book reading service. Cloud synchronization, nice appearance and the ability to download both your own books and purchase them in the built-in store make it one of best readers for Mac.

Bookmate

Caliber

Caliber is one of the most functional tools for working with books. In addition to reading, it also allows you to use your computer as a cloud library and convert books to any format. As a reader, Caliber is also very good and will appeal to many.
Caliber

iBooks is a standard e-reader from Apple that comes pre-installed on all Macs. If you have gathered a big library books in epub or you often buy books in iTunes, then iBooks will be the only possible solution. However, in terms of the number of functions and settings, it noticeably loses to other e-readers. Whether they are necessary is up to you to decide.

BookReader

BookReader supports all common book formats, has support for Retina displays, and is expensive. Something interesting: BookReader also supports Leap Motion controller, which means that you can turn pages without even touching the keyboard or mouse.

Clearview

Clearview also supports a variety of formats, allows you to choose a theme, and read multiple books in different tabs. I don’t quite understand why this is needed, but perhaps it will be useful to someone. Clearview's price is noticeably lower than BookReader's, so it's worth evaluating both apps carefully before purchasing.