e-readers and e-books
  • DrNefarioDrNefario
    I delete them when I've read them. It's quite easy to tell which ones you've read, then.

    Maybe not practical if you're sharing the Kindle.

    If they're normal Kindle books from Amazon, you can download them again from Archive if you need them.
  • TheGoodbyeGirlTheGoodbyeGirl
    Ah ok maybe I am being a bit blond then, I shall investigate further tonight :)
  • mogwinsmogwins
    Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader is £1.99 in the Kindle Store.
  • TheGoodbyeGirlTheGoodbyeGirl
    I changed the settings to last in, I think I might make some folders up though
  • EmzarEmzar
    I got a new Android phone yesterday and have just discovered the Kindle app, it's great. It synchs to the last page read pretty much instantly, and the text on screen is nice and clear.
  • budgiebudgie
    Wow.

    http://gizmodo.com/5803480/kindle-books-now-beating-all-print-versions-combined
  • mogwinsmogwins
    Yeah, I read that. My instant thought was "free downloads," but apparently they've been removed from the numbers. Incredible stuff, to happen so quickly.

    In other news, an e-ink sheet music stand. What a brilliant idea.

    image
  • budgiebudgie
    That's two screens isn't it? That's a beautiful piece of design if so as it gets around the blind spot of turning the page for paper sheet music or drawing the page in e-ink.
  • RexxFiendRexxFiend
    Yeah, that would be my concern - not sure eink is fast enough for a full refresh, but if you could do one page at a time then it would work very nicely.
  • mogwinsmogwins
    It is two screens, but the kindle takes less than a second to "turn" a page anyway. I imagine that by the time you reach out to your music stand and flip the real page, you've lost a second anyway. And this could be done with a foot pedal or similar.
  • mogwinsmogwins
    The new Kobo sounds interesting. Same screen tech as the Kindle, but with a better processor, which makes screen rewrites much faster. No word how that affects battery life. Also, it's touch screen, which apparently makes navigating PDFs bearable, but it does this using IR sensors in the bezel, rather than a coating on the screen (which is rexx's complaint about the new Sony e-readers). And it's cheaper than the Kindle...
  • RexxFiendRexxFiend
    ooo, funky.

    Not massively fussed about touchscreen on readers anyway, it just gets the screen manky. The amount of time you spend in the menus is miniscule compared to the amount of time you are reading so I don't really think it's justified for the extra cost and hardware required.
    Post edited by RexxFiend at 2011-05-23 11:28:57
  • mogwinsmogwins
    For reading books, I agree. If you want to try reading PDFs, it's a different matter.
  • RexxFiendRexxFiend
    True nuff.

    That's what the ipad is for ;-)
    (can't imagine panning around on an e-ink display would be much fun anyway, touchscreen or not).
  • DrNefarioDrNefario
    I really noticed trying to read a technical reference book on the iPad Kindle app that it was very handy being able to tap the hyperlinks to other sections. I imagine you'd have to laboriously navigate to the link with the d-pad on the real Kindle. (Not my book, so I can't check. I thought about buying it, but it's over £20. For work.)

    I think the combination of an iPad for colourful stuff and a Kindle for prose is hard to beat, and I don't know if trying to combine the two isn't self-defeating.
  • DioDio
    budgie said:

    Wow.

    http://gizmodo.com/5803480/kindle-books-now-beating-all-print-versions-combined


    Well, there is a really strong implicit bias in there, because to get a Kindle book you have to go to Amazon, while to get a paper book you can go a lot of places. So, if Amazon have 10% of the book market and 50% of the e-reader market, then Kindle books are still outsold by over 5:1 in reality.

    There's also another minor bias in that Amazon plug the Kindle, so they are more likely to convert their regular shoppers from paper to e.

    The rate of gain is still pretty impressive though. Be interesting to see if the rate of growth stays high (indicating that the Kindle is significantly eating into book sales outside Amazon's own market) or tails off now (indicating that Amazon are struggling to bring new people to the Kindle).
  • mogwinsmogwins
    RexxFiend said: can't imagine panning around on an e-ink display would be much fun anyway, touchscreen or not
    Watch the video on that link. It's not perfect, but it looks viable.

  • TwistedScroteTwistedScrote


    He can't watch it... it's in Flash and thats shit apparently.

    Apple said so.

    ;)
  • mogwinsmogwins
    Can't remember if I've mentioned this before or not, but those of you with a Kindle might be interested in this website:

    http://www.ereaderiq.co.uk/pricewatch/

    It watches Amazon ebooks for price changes (which do seem to vary enormously from one day to the next). You can paste in the Amazon link and it'll shoot you an e-mail if/when it hits the price you set.
  • TheGoodbyeGirlTheGoodbyeGirl
    @mogwins :) nice find, its got lots of free books for my kindle like the pricewatch thing too :)
  • DastardlyDastardly
    Mrs Dast would like a Kindle for her birthday. Are there just 2 to choose from, with and without 3G?
  • DrNefarioDrNefario
    In the UK, yes. There is a larger-screen model available in the US, I believe.
  • DastardlyDastardly
    @DrNefario

    Thanks for that. That's all I needed to know.
  • DastardlyDastardly
    Doublah postage :/
    Post edited by Dastardly at 2011-06-07 09:41:28
  • RexxFiendRexxFiend
    are you sure?
  • DastardlyDastardly
    Am I sure?
  • RexxFiendRexxFiend
    it's because you posted it twice, thought you still needed convincing ;-)
  • DastardlyDastardly
    I have a stutter and I'm very sensitive ab, ab, aberrrrr, aberrrrberrrrrr... about it.
  • mogwinsmogwins
    It's not for me, but Pratchett's new(?) book, I Shall Wear Midnight is £2.96 for the Kindle http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shall-Midnight-Discworld-Novels-ebook/dp/B003T0G9XU/
  • DrNefarioDrNefario
    That's his younger readers spin-off series, but I still enjoyed the first three.

    I can't even remember if I've read this one, but I might as well give it a go, for three quid.
  • DrNefarioDrNefario
    I seem to be accumulating ebooks at a much higher rate than I can possibly read them. It's like a disease, browsing the Amazon site every day and maybe clicking on a few freebies, and then throwing in the odd actual money transaction. I really need to stop. (Two paid and one free, today.)
  • RexxFiendRexxFiend
    ;-)

    I do the same with ios apps.
  • OnePunchMickeyOnePunchMickey
    Top Tips!

    American pastors - save money on burning expensive copies of the Koran by simply downloading the free e-book, then deleting it off your hard drive.
  • RexxFiendRexxFiend
    can I use a file shredder for extra impact?
  • starkstark
    This thread makes me feel dirty.
  • RexxFiendRexxFiend
    in a good way, or not?
  • starkstark
    Bad. I think I need to go cuddle my first eds.
  • EmzarEmzar
    Does anyone else switch their Kindle on and off until they get a good screen saver? I've realised recently that I can't bear to leave it on Emily Dickinson, Alexander Dumas or Ralph Ellison because I hate their faces.
  • mogwinsmogwins
    I like the fishes.

    Somebody needs to write a little kindle hack so that it shows the front cover of the book you're currently reading.
  • EmzarEmzar
    Yeah, I've always thought that's such an obvious feature that's missing on it.

    (I like the birds best, fishes second, Agatha Christie third.)
    Post edited by Emzar at 2011-07-24 17:43:51
  • mogwinsmogwins
    There are a few little mods/hacks out there that let you upload your own screensaver pictures. But none that do the current front cover. Shame. Though it should just be the default behaviour.

    I have a friend who's decided to read one book by each of the screensaver authors. Once he's finished his current chronological tour of literature (after 3 years of intense reading, he's just approaching the nineteenth century). Nutter.
  • mogwinsmogwins
    Super Sad True Love Story is currently 99p for the Kindle (it was £8 last time I looked). It's got some very good press.
  • PVBPVB
    Quick question; can you use the Kindle in landscape mode for reading?
  • mogwinsmogwins
    Yup. You can jimmy about with the font size, line spacing, etc., too if you so desire.
  • DrNefarioDrNefario
    I didn't know it could do landscape. Surely the buttons will be a bit awkward?

    I can't say I'm very bothered about the screensaver, but I do wish they'd make it more customisable.
  • mogwinsmogwins
    DrNefario said:

    I didn't know it could do landscape. Surely the buttons will be a bit awkward?


    Possibly. I've not tried it. You can do landscape "either way" (i.e., rotating the screen 90 or 270 degrees), so one of those might be ok for page up/down button position. Maybe.
  • PVBPVB
    Okay ta. :-)

    Someone at work asked me about it, as Tesco are apparently selling them and their hubby working there gets staff discount. :-)

    Edit: Terrible grammar, but I'll leave it. :-]
    Post edited by PVB at 2011-07-25 15:32:40
  • mogwinsmogwins
    All the "literature with monsters" books (Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Mansfield Park And Mummies, etc.) are currently 70p on Amazon. Not sure I can really be arsed with any of them myself.
  • DrNefarioDrNefario
    I'm struggling to see what there is to them other than a title.

    Might have a look for 70p though.
  • mogwinsmogwins
    PPZ was supposed to be quite fun, but I can't imagine the joke stretching to a whole book.
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