HOF
Posted 14 April 2015 - 10:37 AM
This isn't really an issue for a Kindle, since text takes up no space - you can fit thousands of books on one, even with no additional memory. And there's free cloud storage for any books that you buy.
And you can connect to a computer to directly add any books you want.
Fair-weather ex-diehard
Posted 14 April 2015 - 01:09 PM
This isn't really an issue for a Kindle, since text takes up no space - you can fit thousands of books on one, even with no additional memory. And there's free cloud storage for any books that you buy.
It's an issue if you have an aversion to closed systems which are designed to limit your choices and suck you in.
The fact that there are workarounds to overcome the closed system doesn't change the basic thrust of what it is.
Not saying you're supposed to care about that, just saying I do, that's all... which is why I won't buy Apple stuff either. I oppose all forms of fascism, even the commercial versions that try to make you feel good about buying into it. But it's fine with me if you buy it... it's your money, etc.
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige
HOF
Posted 14 April 2015 - 01:14 PM
It's an issue if you have an aversion to closed systems which are designed to limit your choices and suck you in.
The fact that there are workarounds to overcome the closed system doesn't change the basic thrust of what it is.
Not saying you're supposed to care about that, just saying I do, that's all... which is why I won't buy Apple stuff either. I oppose all forms of fascism, even the commercial versions that try to make you feel good about buying into it. But it's fine with me if you buy it... it's your money, etc.
Well, fight the good fight, I guess...
HOF
Posted 14 April 2015 - 01:14 PM
Shack - really? Do you think remote control cars should have an SD slot? I mean, I'm sure they have a motherboard and chipset and everything. I mean, it's an e-Reader. We're not talking about a tablet or a laptop or PC. I get it in general, but these e-Readers are pretty cut and dry, so I don't get it in this instance. And as far as I know, Amazon partners with Android, which as we know, is very big into not being a closed system. But some things are really only for their exact stated intention. I see nothing wrong or fascist about that at all. Not even a little bit.
Fair-weather ex-diehard
Posted 14 April 2015 - 01:17 PM
Shack - really? Do you think remote control cars should have an SD slot? I mean, I'm sure they have a motherboard and chipset and everything. I mean, it's an e-Reader. We're not talking about a tablet or a laptop or PC. I get it in general, but these e-Readers are pretty cut and dry, so I don't get it in this instance. And as far as I know, Amazon partners with Android, which as we know, is very big into not being a closed system. But some things are really only for their exact stated intention. I see nothing wrong or fascist about that at all. Not even a little bit.
Well, part of it is that I like having more than just e-reader capability in hand... while I mainly use it as an e-reader, I like having a mini-tablet capability for the odd moments when I want it for that... and I like having my music on it too... and I've got a *lot* of books, plus about 60GB of music on mine...plus, I use the IR like a remote for the TV and Roku int he BR... so, there's that...
EDIT: plus I can't stand their locked software... I might not mess around with android a great deal, but I like that I can change what I want...
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige
HOF
Posted 14 April 2015 - 01:21 PM
Well, part of it is that I like having more than just e-reader capability in hand... while I mainly use it as an e-reader, I like having a mini-tablet capability for the odd moments when I want it for that... and I like having my music on it too... and I've got a *lot* of books, plus about 60GB of music on mine...plus, I use the IR like a remote for the TV and Roku int he BR... so, there's that...
EDIT: plus I can't stand their locked software... I might not mess around with android a great deal, but I like that I can change what I want...
This is definitely a legitimate criticism of the Kindle Fire, but for the Kindle e-reader, I don't think you need any of that stuff.
Fair-weather ex-diehard
Posted 14 April 2015 - 01:27 PM
This is definitely a legitimate criticism of the Kindle Fire, but for the Kindle e-reader, I don't think you need any of that stuff.
If you're happy with your kindle, that's fine with me... I just don't want one...
I almost got a kobo glow, right when they were phasing it out for whatever they call the new one that doesn't have a sd slot... but I decided to grab a used Galaxy 7.7 instead... it's not plasticy and it does what I want... and the OLED screen is wunnerful, so I'm happy with it... I would not have been for the $600 it cost new, but for $100 cherry on ebay, it was a bargain for what I like... I could also use it like a big-ass LTE phone, just to look ridiculous while doing it, but I don't use verizon...
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige
HOF
Posted 14 April 2015 - 01:52 PM
If you're happy with your kindle, that's fine with me... I just don't want one...
I almost got a kobo glow, right when they were phasing it out for whatever they call the new one that doesn't have a sd slot... but I decided to grab a used Galaxy 7.7 instead... it's not plasticy and it does what I want... and the OLED screen is wunnerful, so I'm happy with it... I would not have been for the $600 it cost new, but for $100 cherry on ebay, it was a bargain for what I like... I could also use it like a big-ass LTE phone, just to look ridiculous while doing it, but I don't use verizon...
Yeah, that's the thing about the Kindle e-reader... it's built for you to do one thing: read books. It does that really, really well, but if you want to be able to multitask, then it's not for you. But as far as reading books goes, it's the best thing out there.
HOF
Posted 14 April 2015 - 02:34 PM
I picked up one of the Paperwhites this morning. Best Buy was running the same deal. I really like it.
HOF
Posted 14 April 2015 - 03:42 PM
I'm also sure you've read this, but if not, the King Killer Chronicles (The Name of the Wind) by Patrick Rothfuss is amazing.
Rothfuss is very good. His novella is also pretty good (The Slow Regard of Silent Things: Patrick Rothfuss ...) as long as you don't read it first. Although you sorta need to get into the books for it to make sense.
HOF
Posted 14 April 2015 - 04:26 PM
The Kindle supports different formats. So, you don't have to buy Amazon books to read; it will accept .pdf and .mobi and a few other types. Plus you can use a converter (I use Calibre) to get other formats (like ePub) into the right format.
If you are going to the effort of maintaining open systems, I can't see why the occasional file conversion would be too much of an issue.
I wouldn't recommend the Fire, though, because it is much more difficult to work around that way. I doubt I'll buy another one.
I'm reading In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball, by Mark Armour and Daniel Levitt. It's about the evolution of the baseball front office over time. They are the same ones who did the Top 25 GMs list I was posting a couple months ago.
Also, Mecca: The Sacred City by Ziauddin Sardar, about the history of Mecca and how it has always been a place of pilgrimage and controversy even prior to Muhammad and Islam.
HOF
Posted 14 April 2015 - 04:43 PM
Absolutely. He's also a bit of a bad ass. Huge fan of Rothfuss.Rothfuss is very good. His novella is also pretty good (The Slow Regard of Silent Things: Patrick Rothfuss ...) as long as you don't read it first. Although you sorta need to get into the books for it to make sense.
Fair-weather ex-diehard
Posted 14 April 2015 - 07:26 PM
If you are going to the effort of maintaining open systems, I can't see why the occasional file conversion would be too much of an issue.
It's not a matter of it being too much trouble... it's a religulous position 
I convert files all the time... in calibre... which I also use to strip DRM... my bride uses the kindle app on the ultrabook that never leaves her side (she doesn't want 2 devices), so everything winds up in both epub and mobi...
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige
HOF
Posted 24 April 2015 - 10:41 PM
I picked up one of the Paperwhites this morning. Best Buy was running the same deal. I really like it.
HOF
Posted 05 May 2015 - 02:43 PM
I picked this up almost two weeks ago. I read for at least an hour every night. It was on 50% charge out of the box and I still haven't had to plug it in.
Put it on airplane mode for even better battery life! How are you liking it so far?
I just started reading A People's History of the United States. I try to read at least 50 pages every night, but it doesn't happen all the time. This one's going to take me a while seeing as how it's 750+ pages.
Anybody have a Goodreads account?
HOF
Posted 05 May 2015 - 06:01 PM
I picked this up almost two weeks ago. I read for at least an hour every night. It was on 50% charge out of the box and I still haven't had to plug it in.
Put it on airplane mode for even better battery life! How are you liking it so far?
I just started reading A People's History of the United States. I try to read at least 50 pages every night, but it doesn't happen all the time. This one's going to take me a while seeing as how it's 750+ pages.
Anybody have a Goodreads account?
HOF
Posted 21 May 2015 - 05:42 PM
I picked up one of the Paperwhites this morning. Best Buy was running the same deal. I really like it.
Had to plug it in today. Almost 7 weeks of nightly reading on a device that was at 50% battery out of the box. I suppose that will do.
HOF
Posted 02 June 2015 - 01:11 PM
Just read through Ready Player One in two days. Thanks for the suggestion to read it (DJ and Ricker, I think). Probably would have enjoyed it even more if I grew up in the 80s 
Still a solid 4+/5 for me.
Moderator
Posted 02 June 2015 - 01:38 PM
Just read through Ready Player One in two days. Thanks for the suggestion to read it (DJ and Ricker, I think). Probably would have enjoyed it even more if I grew up in the 80s
Still a solid 4+/5 for me.
HOF
Posted 02 June 2015 - 01:39 PM
Working through two books at the same time right now, which is something I don't think I've done before aside from perhaps in school if I had assignments.
Reading A Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson that a friend of mine recommended strongly. It's a huge fantasy opus (fortunately it's on my Kindle app) that I struggled to get into or really even understand and comprehend at first, but I'm pretty into it now. Still only like 30% of the way through which is crazy though. And even crazier is that he intends to have 10 books in the series...doubt I'll ever get through all of those.
Also reading Wired by Bob Woodward, a biography of John Belushi. Really enjoying this, though it's incredibly sad seeing how thoroughly drugs destroyed his life. I've got another bio on him, the one written in part by his wife, that I'm gonna read next that apparently gets more into John as a person. The Woodward piece literally cannot go one page without mentioning his drug use.
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users
