jim said:
>   I challenge you to write such a program
>   to run on _my_ choice of platform: Kindle DX

i wonder, jim, if you are being disingenuous on purpose?
or are you just incapable of having an honest discussion?

because i'm sure you know you "challenged" me to do
something that cannot be done.  and as much as you
might like to say "that's the point", it's really _not_...

because nobody else can meet that challenge either.

therefore, the obvious response to this "challenge" is
to do what one _can_ do, which is to custom-tailor
a beautiful e-book which _can_ be read on the dx...

and since the dx reads .pdf files, that's very simple!

so your big "challenge" is whisked away immediately,
in yet another testament to the power of plain-text...

z.m.l. can create very beautiful (and powerful) .pdf,
fully customized to your own personal preferences,
all with just the click of a button.  from a z.m.l. file.
(or a p.g. plain-text file you've modified into z.m.l.)
by using a program on your own personal computer.
you can choose any font you like from your computer.
and the leading you want.  and the margins you want.
and any font-size.  and any font-color.  and so on...
it's the ultimate in personal control.  people like that.

and if you prefer native kindle format instead of .pdf?

just do the zml-to-html conversion instead, where the
.html is generated to your own personal preferences,
and then convert that .html file to the kindle format...

you don't have to "put up with" the settings from some
online website, and hope that they'll be "good enough",
since you probably cannot change them if they aren't...

you get it the way you want, using your own machine,
with software that you know will keep working on it...

what's not to like?

-bowerbird