Comments on: Moving beyond my preconceptions

By: Anita Jesse

Anita Jesse — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:17:33 +0000

I would think that these devices would be irresistible to those who travel a great deal.

By: Earl Moore

Earl Moore — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:18:29 +0000

@Mark – I’m expecting the Apple Tablet to be on the order of a larger iPod Touch or iPhone–excelling at digital media. Hopefully it will have a full OS X operating system but I wouldn’t be surprised if that too was similar to the Touch/iPhone. While I believe they will offer an ebook capability I don’t think it will excel at it. I’ve also found the “digital ink” screen of the Kindle to be much easier on the eyes then reading on at a typical backlighted screen, such as the Touch.

@Eric Jeschke – I agree that the DRM is an issue and I’m not a fan of Amazon’s restrictions, but I have to admit it hasn’t gotten in the way of my use of the Kindle thus far. Like with music DRM will evolve and eventually fade away. Publishers will need to develop a new business model just as the music industry needs to, but I imagine they will go kicking, screaming all the same. Look for lots of legal battles.

@Markus Spring – Markus, I can identify with many of your concerns. The local music/record/cd store has almost disappeared here with the advancement of the digital music age and I would expect the same to eventually happen to the local book stores. It makes me sad but it’s a change that will happen. Privacy is an illusion these days. Under the guise of security it’s becoming almost impossible not to be “tracked” or watched. I don’t have answers to this worries.

By: Markus Spring

Markus Spring — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:28:39 +0000

Re. the kindle: It seems that I am still not at the point to really savour it. It probably has to do that I spend 8hrs/day on a computer screen, so I really like the touch and feel of real things, and then I read quite often books with illustrations… Instant delivery is not so much a problem, here in Germany, amazon often delivers the very next day.

And this is the first point that worries me already: If I buy from the big guys including delivery, how will the infrastructure in my small town survive? And the instant delivery of ebooks into the kindle is tightly connected with getting tied up in this permanent network of digital restrictions management, of sucking personal data out of all activities, and even letting the vendor, amazon in this case, decide if they want to delete what I stored on my reader. I do remember fighting the census in Germany 30yrs back, and now the majority gives up (without knowing it or wanting it to know) a huge part of their privacy.

No – at the moment this is not for me.

By: Eric Jeschke

Eric Jeschke — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:11:24 +0000

I’ve got a couple of ebook readers on my iphone, including Kindle for iPhone. I enjoy it, although it is easier to read on a netbook, since the iphone display is just a smaller lcd, not e-ink. As someone with too many bookshelves filled with musty books, I think this is a great future, especially because it means many books will never go out of print, and many interesting books will be self-published. I do think that the DRM issue will need to get sorted out or they will never achieve quite the traction they should. Just like it fell out in the music world, I think the ultimate future in ebooks is DRM-free.

By: Sidney

Sidney — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:35:17 +0000

Well…as an ex-printer… who made a living by selling traditional books…. it is quite a shock… but then… if you can’t fight it…embrace it
But still … I like my books too much to trade them for digital versions of them.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:56:01 +0000

Personally, I am suspecting this is what Apple will be taking on in their rumored tablet for next year. I am just starting to learn about PDF publishing – and a device that can do what the Kindle can, and be just as good for color is probably going to start the landslide away from print media. As much as I like coffee table style books, eventually you either just run out of space, or money to get them or to create them.

By: Earl Moore

Earl Moore — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:30:44 +0000

@Drew Fulton – Maybe the rumored Apple Tablet will combine all those functions. They think it will be announced this coming January.

@Monte Stevens – Thanks! I believe traveling as you do you’d love it. Then you could have a whole library at hand wherever you are.

By: Earl Moore

Earl Moore — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:26:32 +0000

@QPB (Mary Ann) – Hi Mary Ann. You can go to the Amazon site and do a search on the Kindle Store (specified in the search drop down box) to see if they have books he may be interested in. They seem to cover a fairly wide range.

I just did a search on “History Books” in the Kindle Store and got over 53,000 results.

By: QPB (Mary Ann)

QPB (Mary Ann) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:15:58 +0000

I want to get one for hubby for xmas, but he reads a lot of history books, not popular fiction etc–is the variety available, or are you stuck with popular fiction, etc?

By: Monte Stevens

Monte Stevens — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:46:33 +0000

I have looked at the Kindle for months but money has kept me from taking the leap. I have downloaded the Kindle reader for the iphone but find my eyes get pretty weary after a while. It is so appealing as I travel a lot and it would be nice to have a few of my favorite books on hand. You have again shared some wise words with us all, “…not to let my preconceptions limit my options.” I’m glad to hear you are enjoying it.

By: Drew Fulton

Drew Fulton — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:41:41 +0000

I’m with you on this one. I’m intrigued by the idea, especially as I have been reading a lot of big heavy textbook type books recently and if I could get them in a smaller version it would be very welcome. I’m not quite ready to make the financial jump yet but probably would look a lot closer if you could get something that took the function of an iPhone (like Mail, iCal, etc) and combined it with an ebook reader. I’d love to simplify, not add another piece of electronics to stick in my pockets when I leave.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:45:59 +0000

Well, I would try her’s, but it seems as though I cannot pry it from her hands! She’s become quite attached to it!

By: Earl Moore

Earl Moore — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:54:16 +0000

@don - Thanks for the comments on the photo. If you get an opportunity to try an ebook reader you might like it. @Paul - Paul, it's funny, those are the same reasons I had for not trying one. It only took me less then a book to no longer miss the physical feel books offer. I think they're right about the backlighting being harder on the eyes. I've found that with the Kindle if I have enough light to read a book I have enough light to read the Kindle. It's turned out to be a non-issue for me.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:40:07 +0000

My wife loves her Kindle. She’s a big fan of the instant delivery and she takes it with her wherever she goes. I’ve looked at it, but have not bought one. I really like the feel, touch, and heft of books … but, I could see getting used to a Kindle.

The only thing that I don’t like about it is that it doesn’t have a backlight. They say that this would make it hard to read and is not what the Kindle is for. If you want to read in subdued lighting, you’ll need a lamp or a booklight, just like a paper book.

By: don

don — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:37:02 +0000

This is a beautiful autumn scene with the deep colored leaves and the swift moving river. Very nice image. I’m a bit further behind than you!