Cheaper Kindle
rab
competition, Amazon.com Inc. on Wednesday slashed the price
of its Kindle electronic-book reader by $40 to $259
(Amazon.com: http://xrl.us/Kindle259 ) and announced a
version that can work internationally.
Over the next few months new devices from Sony Corp.,
Netherlands-based iRex and U.S. upstart Plastic Logic are
set to hit the market. All three companies plan to sell e-
readers that include wireless access, just like the Kindle,
as well as other features not available on the Amazon
device.
Yet Sony and iRex have announced suggested retail prices
that exceed the Kindle's new price by as much as $150.
Plastic Logic has not set a price yet.
The reduction by Amazon could help stave off rivals or
force them to lower their own prices -- a strategy that
would benefit consumers but limit the profits of
competitors. Amazon is the far-and-away leader in the small
but rapidly growing market for electronic-book readers..
More: http://xrl.us/Kindle2A
Sean O'Hara
> MarketWatch - Anticipating the arrival of fresh
> competition, Amazon.com Inc. on Wednesday slashed the price
> of its Kindle electronic-book reader by $40 to $259
> (Amazon.com: http://xrl.us/Kindle259 ) and announced a
> version that can work internationally.
>
> Over the next few months new devices from Sony Corp.,
> Netherlands-based iRex and U.S. upstart Plastic Logic are
> set to hit the market. All three companies plan to sell e-
> readers that include wireless access, just like the Kindle,
> as well as other features not available on the Amazon
> device.
>
> Yet Sony and iRex have announced suggested retail prices
> that exceed the Kindle's new price by as much as $150.
> Plastic Logic has not set a price yet.
>
This is misleading. Sony has a *high-end model* that's more
expensive than the new Kindle price -- but cheaper than Amazon's own
high-end model, the DX. They're also coming out with a low-end model
for $199, which is $60 *cheaper* than the Kindle's new price.
--
Sean O'Hara <http://www.diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com>
New audio book: As Long as You Wish by John O'Keefe
<http://librivox.org/short-science-fiction-collection-010/>
Chris F.A. Johnson
> MarketWatch - Anticipating the arrival of fresh
> competition, Amazon.com Inc. on Wednesday slashed the price
> of its Kindle electronic-book reader by $40 to $259
> (Amazon.com: http://xrl.us/Kindle259 ) and announced a
> version that can work internationally.
Slashed?????
That's trimming the price, not slashing it. It's less than a 15%
reduction.
--
Chris F.A. Johnson, webmaster <http://Woodbine-Gerrard.com>
===================================================================
Author:
Shell Scripting Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (2005, Apress)
Paul Ciszek
under remote control? i.e., no files can be deleted from the device
unless the operator of the device deletes them?
--
Please reply to: | "Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is
pciszek at panix dot com | indistinguishable from malice."
Autoreply is disabled |
mimus
> Do any of these alternatives offer an operating system that is not
> under remote control? i.e., no files can be deleted from the device
> unless the operator of the device deletes them?
What's wrong, Microsoft not good enough for ya?
--
Everybody hates us.
< _Kontroll_
Paul Ciszek
In article <haj0pq$su1$1...@news.eternal-september.org>,
mimus <tinmi...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>On Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:09:23 +0000, Paul Ciszek wrote:
>
>> Do any of these alternatives offer an operating system that is not
>> under remote control? i.e., no files can be deleted from the device
>> unless the operator of the device deletes them?
>
>What's wrong, Microsoft not good enough for ya?
Definately not. I run Ubuntu at home, and my Asus is just the cutest
little Linux machine...
William F. Adams (willadams@aol.com)
> Do any of these alternatives offer an operating system that is not
> under remote control? i.e., no files can be deleted from the device
> unless the operator of the device deletes them?
That's the nature of DRM. I simply choose not to read any DRM files
and don't worry about such.
FWIW, Amazon just settled a lawsuit and promised not to do that again.
The Sony readers (and a number of others) use GNU/Linux and/or various
opensource utilities, and there is an effort to create an opensource
alternative firmware, OpenInkPot:
William
netcat
@l31g2000vbp.googlegroups.com>, will...@aol.com says...
> On Oct 7, 4:09 pm, nos...@nospam.com (Paul Ciszek) wrote:
> > Do any of these alternatives offer an operating system that is not
> > under remote control? i.e., no files can be deleted from the device
> > unless the operator of the device deletes them?
>
> That's the nature of DRM. I simply choose not to read any DRM files
> and don't worry about such.
I woulda thunk it more the nature of always-online devices that phone
home.
> FWIW, Amazon just settled a lawsuit and promised not to do that again.
I don't want promises, I want it to be physically impossible for them to
paw at the content of my device whenever it suits them. Can the Kindle
wireless connection be disabled?
rgds,
netcat
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
Bill Snyder
But how do we trick them into going in?
--
Bill Snyder [This space unintentionally left blank]
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
Choose the right flavor quarks for bait.
mikea
Convert a tinfoil hat into a tinfoil envelope. It's difficult to read
through it, but it should serve as an RF shield. Add a Mu-Metal envelope
if you also need to protect against magnetic-field attacks.
--
On the movie "Highlander II": "In an experiment to determine the
precise amount of beer required to enjoy this film, I passed
out." -- dave o'brien, in the Monastery
Kurt Busiek
It can be turned off, if that's what you mean.
It's not required -- you can buy stuff, download it to your computer
and put it on the Kindle by hooking up your Kindle to your computer;
the phone link is a convenience rather than a requirement, so you could
theoretically leave it off at all times.
In normal use, you kep it turned off most of the time anyway, because
it drains the battery quickly while in use, so the way you get that
two-week battery time they promote is to leave it off when you're not
actually buying something.
kdb
--
Visit http://www.busiek.com -- for all your Busiek needs!
William George Ferguson
wrote:
On the original Kindle, there's a Wireless On/Off switch on the back of the
device (beside the Power On/Off switch). On the Kindle II and the Kindle
DX, there's a menu selection to turn the wireless connection on/off.
Basically, it's there for power usage conservation, you more than cut your
power usage in half by not having the wireless connection on (from personal
experience with the DX, it takes the battery about two days to run down
with the wireless connection turned on, and about a week with the wireless
turned off, if you are reading it regularly).
If you're really paranoid, you could leave the wireless connection turned
off all the time, send any kindle item you buy to your computer, and
download it to your kindle from your computer with a direct USB connection.
I haven't seen anything yet that says Amazon can remotely activate your
wireless connection if it is turned off at your end. I don't think you
could get the level of energy savings that are present if the device was
regularly turning the connection on to phone home (I don't think I could
get four times the battery charge life using it regularly with wireless off
if it were periodically turning the wireless back on to phone home).
--
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
(Bene Gesserit)
Taemon
to read books from Amazon on another e-reader, specifically iRex's Iliad?
T.
Lawrence Watt-Evans
>With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
No.
--
My webpage is at http://www.watt-evans.com
I'm selling my comic collection -- see http://www.watt-evans.com/comics.html
I'm serializing a novel at http://www.watt-evans.com/realmsoflight0.html
Kurt Busiek
> With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
No, you can read books in the DRMed Kindle format, but you can also
read a variety of other formats, including unprotected Mobipocket,
plain text and some others.
I've gotten stuff for my Kindle from Amazon, Project Gutenberg,
Fictionwise, MyBookstoreandMore and other places.
> Is it possible to read books from Amazon on another e-reader,
> specifically iRex's Iliad?
I doubt it.
I expect there are ways to break the DRM and then do it, but as far as
I know, you can't even buy Kindle books without having a Kindle account
in the first place.
Stanley Moore
"William George Ferguson" <wmgf...@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:hlcsc5do1ehv1k0bl...@4ax.com...
Plus, even it Amazon could do it (which I doubt) why would they? <G> Like
Amazon is that interested in everyone's Kindle stuff. I keep my wireless off
unless I want to buy something and it works great. I normally use my PC to
order stuff (the keyboard on the DX is too small to be practical) and then
turn on the wireless to automatically download the book. Take care
--
Stanley L. Moore
"The belief in a supernatural
source of evil is not necessary;
men alone are quite capable
of every wickedness."
Joseph Conrad
Stanley Moore
"Kurt Busiek" <ku...@busiek.com> wrote in message
news:halhb8$lsm$1...@solani.org...
With the Kindle DX you can also read PDF format which is nice. Take care
Paul Ciszek
In article <GLGdnS8GlK4j5FPX...@giganews.com>,
Stanley Moore <smoo...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
>Plus, even it Amazon could do it (which I doubt) why would they? <G> Like
They cared enough to delete everybody's copies of 1984. One fox attack
is good enough reason to look for a henhouse door that can be locked.
Taemon
> On 2009-10-08 12:49:06 -0700, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> said:
>> With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
> No, you can read books in the DRMed Kindle format, but you can also
> read a variety of other formats, including unprotected Mobipocket,
> plain text and some others.
Very nice, thank you. Do you know if your typical Mobipocket book is
protected?
>> Is it possible to read books from Amazon on another e-reader,
>> specifically iRex's Iliad?
> I doubt it.
Ah, pity. Not that I really considered exchanging my iLiad for a Kindle, but
one must look ahead when it comes to book supply. My iLiad is only a year
and a half old (and it was quite expensive) and it works beautifully and has
a far bigger screen than the Kindle. Also, my newspaper subscription is tied
to it. But it is so slow... when the time comes that I can justify for
myself buying a new reader I want to be prepared! Thanks for the
information.
T.
netcat
So it's possible to turn if off in a way that it won't start again
unless _you_ turn it on? Thanks. That's all I wanted to know.
rgds,
netcat
netcat
> On 2009-10-08 12:49:06 -0700, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> said:
>
> > With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
>
> No, you can read books in the DRMed Kindle format, but you can also
> read a variety of other formats, including unprotected Mobipocket,
> plain text and some others.
Does 'some others' include html?
> > Is it possible to read books from Amazon on another e-reader,
> > specifically iRex's Iliad?
>
> I doubt it.
>
> I expect there are ways to break the DRM and then do it, but as far as
> I know, you can't even buy Kindle books without having a Kindle account
> in the first place.
Theoretically, one could purchase a Kindle and resell it while keeping
the use of the account, no?
rgds,
netcat
mike muth
> "Kurt Busiek" <k...@busiek.com> wrote in message
>
> news:halhb8$lsm$1...@solani.org...
>
>
>
>
>
> > On 2009-10-08 12:49:06 -0700, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> said:
>
> >> With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
>
> > No, you can read books in the DRMed Kindle format, but you can also read a
> > variety of other formats, including unprotected Mobipocket, plain text and
> > some others.
>
> > I've gotten stuff for my Kindle from Amazon, Project Gutenberg,
> > Fictionwise, MyBookstoreandMore and other places.
>
> >> Is it possible to read books from Amazon on another e-reader,
> >> specifically iRex's Iliad?
>
> > I doubt it.
>
> > I expect there are ways to break the DRM and then do it, but as far as I
> > know, you can't even buy Kindle books without having a Kindle account in
> > the first place.
>
> With the Kindle DX you can also read PDF format which is nice. Take care
I can read .pdf on my Kindle 1. It sometimes takes a while to render
some of the graphics, but it works.
--
Mike
mike muth
> Kurt Busiek wrote:
> > On 2009-10-08 12:49:06 -0700, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> said:
> >> With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
> > No, you can read books in the DRMed Kindle format, but you can also
> > read a variety of other formats, including unprotected Mobipocket,
> > plain text and some others.
>
> Very nice, thank you. Do you know if your typical Mobipocket book is
> protected?
Mobi is owned by Amazon. Yes, the books you get from there are
DRMed. You can get files in that formet which are not protected. I
have the Mobi creator software, so I can convert some formats. It
actually opens up some DRMed .pdf files.
> >> Is it possible to read books from Amazon on another e-reader,
> >> specifically iRex's Iliad?
> > I doubt it.
Depends on whether your files are DRMed (I'm guessing that they are).
If not, you can probably get a converter.
--
Mike
Kurt Busiek
> Kurt Busiek wrote:
>
>> On 2009-10-08 12:49:06 -0700, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> said:
>>> With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
>> No, you can read books in the DRMed Kindle format, but you can also
>> read a variety of other formats, including unprotected Mobipocket,
>> plain text and some others.
>
> Very nice, thank you. Do you know if your typical Mobipocket book is
> protected?
It varies. The Kindle format is a mobi format that's DRMed to work
only on Amazon. There are mobi formats DRMed to work only with other
systems. And there are unprotected ones. I don't know what's
"typical" -- at Project Gutenberg, the mobi files are unprotected, at
Fictionwise, some are and some aren't, depending on the publisher's
wishes. But the available formats are listed, so it's not like you're
buying on a guess. If it's available in multi-platform Mobi, it'll say
so.
Kurt Busiek
> In article <halhb8$lsm$1...@solani.org>, ku...@busiek.com says...
>> On 2009-10-08 12:49:06 -0700, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> said:
>>
>>> With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
>>
>> No, you can read books in the DRMed Kindle format, but you can also
>> read a variety of other formats, including unprotected Mobipocket,
>> plain text and some others.
>
> Does 'some others' include html?
No, and yes.
It won't read html files natively, but you can e-mail an html file to
Amazon, where it'll be converted into an azw file (the Kindle-specific
format). Or so the specs say; I haven't tried it with html myself.
You can e-mail it to Amazon and it'll e-mail the converted file back to
you for free, or you can e-mail it to Amazon and for a small fee it'll
download it in the new format directly to your Kindle.
>>> Is it possible to read books from Amazon on another e-reader,
>>> specifically iRex's Iliad?
>>
>> I doubt it.
>>
>> I expect there are ways to break the DRM and then do it, but as far as
>> I know, you can't even buy Kindle books without having a Kindle account
>> in the first place.
>
> Theoretically, one could purchase a Kindle and resell it while keeping
> the use of the account, no?
I would think not, unless the person to whom you sell the Kindle
intends to use it as a decorative paperweight.
Kurt Busiek
Yeah, the Kindle can read PDF, but the Kindle DX does it a lot better.
Or so it's said; I haven't used a DX myself.
Taemon
> On Oct 9, 8:45 am, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> wrote:
>> Kurt Busiek wrote:
>>> On 2009-10-08 12:49:06 -0700, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> said:
>>>> With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
>>> No, you can read books in the DRMed Kindle format, but you can also
>>> read a variety of other formats, including unprotected Mobipocket,
>>> plain text and some others.
>> Very nice, thank you. Do you know if your typical Mobipocket book is
>> protected?
> Mobi is owned by Amazon.
Duh (me), I knew that. Thanks for reminding me :-)
> Yes, the books you get from there are
> DRMed. You can get files in that formet which are not protected. I
> have the Mobi creator software, so I can convert some formats. It
> actually opens up some DRMed .pdf files.
Yes, I have that software too, works beautifully on pdf's.
T.
peachyashiepassion
You know, that's why I didn't answer. I'm not at all sure they
didn't leave some back door in. If they are sufficiently evil, they may
well have.
peachyashiepassion
Interesting. I find the navigation unwieldy for searching, so I
search online and then send a sample to my Kindle for use to purchase.
I don't like to purchase on the computer because it makes me go through
the checkout for every book. It annoys me.
Jim Gysin
peachyashiepassion sent the following on 10/10/2009 9:11 PM:
I was gonna ask you what you're doing on RAM, and then I saw the
crosspost. At least none of the usual dysfunctional groups was included!
As for the Kindle or any other similar device, I'd almost be surprised
if they *didn't* build in a "feature" like that for themselves.
--
Jim Gysin
Waukesha, WI
netcat
> On 2009-10-09 03:47:39 -0700, netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> said:
>
> > In article <halhb8$lsm$1...@solani.org>, ku...@busiek.com says...
> >> On 2009-10-08 12:49:06 -0700, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> said:
> >>
> >>> With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
> >>
> >> No, you can read books in the DRMed Kindle format, but you can also
> >> read a variety of other formats, including unprotected Mobipocket,
> >> plain text and some others.
> >
> > Does 'some others' include html?
>
> No, and yes.
>
> It won't read html files natively, but you can e-mail an html file to
> Amazon, where it'll be converted into an azw file (the Kindle-specific
> format).
It'd be easier then to convert html to text myself and upload it
locally. This e-mailing a file to them for conversion is as pointless as
mailing canned tuna somewhere for opening and waiting to get it back in
an opened state.
I guess there's no azw converters floating around out there?
> > Theoretically, one could purchase a Kindle and resell it while keeping
> > the use of the account, no?
>
> I would think not, unless the person to whom you sell the Kindle
> intends to use it as a decorative paperweight.
You just said yourself that Kindle can read a variety of other formats
besides azw. It would thus not be a paperweight.
rgds,
netcat
Louann Miller
news:MPG.253d59958...@news.octanews.com:
>> It won't read html files natively, but you can e-mail an html file to
>> Amazon, where it'll be converted into an azw file (the Kindle-specific
>> format).
>
> It'd be easier then to convert html to text myself and upload it
> locally. This e-mailing a file to them for conversion is as pointless as
> mailing canned tuna somewhere for opening and waiting to get it back in
> an opened state.
>
> I guess there's no azw converters floating around out there?
I just got an iPhone and the Kindle software that goes with it. How can *I*
upload things locally, anyone?
ELF
> In article <hann90$kpq$1...@solani.org>, ku...@busiek.com says...
>> On 2009-10-09 03:47:39 -0700, netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> said:
>>
>>> In article <halhb8$lsm$1...@solani.org>, ku...@busiek.com says...
>>>> On 2009-10-08 12:49:06 -0700, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> said:
>>>>
>>>>> With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
>>>> No, you can read books in the DRMed Kindle format, but you can also
>>>> read a variety of other formats, including unprotected Mobipocket,
>>>> plain text and some others.
>>> Does 'some others' include html?
>> No, and yes.
>>
>> It won't read html files natively, but you can e-mail an html file to
>> Amazon, where it'll be converted into an azw file (the Kindle-specific
>> format).
>
> It'd be easier then to convert html to text myself and upload it
> locally. This e-mailing a file to them for conversion is as pointless as
> mailing canned tuna somewhere for opening and waiting to get it back in
> an opened state.
>
> I guess there's no azw converters floating around out there?
How geeky are you?
http://igorsk.blogspot.com/2007/12/mobipocket-books-on-kindle.html
--
"We live in the interface between radioactive molten rock and hard
vaccum and we worry about safety." --Chris Hunt in alt.sysadmin.recovery
ELF
>> I guess there's no azw converters floating around out there?
>
> How geeky are you?
>
> http://igorsk.blogspot.com/2007/12/mobipocket-books-on-kindle.html
>
>
>
http://www.ehow.com/how_5068555_convert-pdf-azw.html
Errol
> netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> wrote innews:MPG.253d59958...@news.octanews.com:
>
<snip>
>
> > I guess there's no azw converters floating around out there?
>
> I just got an iPhone and the Kindle software that goes with it. How can *I*
> upload things locally, anyone?
Does Kindle-on-iPhone have any particular advantages over say Stanza
as a ebook reader if you don't have a Kindle account? Is it even
usable?
Errol Cavit | General Freyberg to the Minister of Defence, Aug 1940:
"I wish the people of New Zealand could know the wonderful effect the
presence of our men had upon the people at Home here. I also wish they
could have seen the fine sight of 6000 bronzed New Zealanders marching
across the Sussex Weald."
Kurt Busiek
> In article <hann90$kpq$1...@solani.org>, ku...@busiek.com says...
>> On 2009-10-09 03:47:39 -0700, netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> said:
>>
>>> In article <halhb8$lsm$1...@solani.org>, ku...@busiek.com says...
>>>> On 2009-10-08 12:49:06 -0700, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> said:
>>>>
>>>>> With the Kindle you can only read books from Amazon, right?
>>>>
>>>> No, you can read books in the DRMed Kindle format, but you can also
>>>> read a variety of other formats, including unprotected Mobipocket,
>>>> plain text and some others.
>>>
>>> Does 'some others' include html?
>>
>> No, and yes.
>>
>> It won't read html files natively, but you can e-mail an html file to
>> Amazon, where it'll be converted into an azw file (the Kindle-specific
>> format).
>
> It'd be easier then to convert html to text myself and upload it
> locally. This e-mailing a file to them for conversion is as pointless as
> mailing canned tuna somewhere for opening and waiting to get it back in
> an opened state.
>
> I guess there's no azw converters floating around out there?
No idea.
>
> Theoretically, one could purchase a Kindle and resell it while keeping
>>> the use of the account, no?
>>
>> I would think not, unless the person to whom you sell the Kindle
>> intends to use it as a decorative paperweight.
>
> You just said yourself that Kindle can read a variety of other formats
> besides azw. It would thus not be a paperweight.
Good luck finding someone to sell it to who doesn't want to use an
Amazon account as well. There are plenty of other ways to read those
other files, so ether you're losing a lot of money buying and reselling
it in order to have the account, or the buyer is overpaying.
But it's theoretically possible, as you say. Probably not practical,
though. Easier just to buy the Kindle and keep it, even if you're not
using it -- you might change your mind later.
Louann Miller
news:972f2ddd-427b-4824...@i12g2000prg.googlegroups.com:
>> I just got an iPhone and the Kindle software that goes with it. How
>> can *
> I*
>> upload things locally, anyone?
>
> Does Kindle-on-iPhone have any particular advantages over say Stanza
> as a ebook reader if you don't have a Kindle account? Is it even
> usable?
I for one intend to buy the next JD Robb on it, since otherwise I'd buy
the hardcover and I have the iPhone anyway. Some other non-Baen books may
fall into the same category.
The only problem I've found with the Stanza, two days in, is that it
strips out a few niceties of formatting like italics and linked
footnotes. I'd like to see the Kindle as an option, anyway.
Errol
> Errol <Erro...@hotmail.com> wrote innews:972f2ddd-427b-4824...@i12g2000prg.googlegroups.com:
>
> > Does Kindle-on-iPhone have any particular advantages over say Stanza
> > as a ebook reader if you don't have a Kindle account? Is it even
> > usable?
>
> I for one intend to buy the next JD Robb on it, since otherwise I'd buy
> the hardcover and I have the iPhone anyway. Some other non-Baen books may
> fall into the same category.
>
> The only problem I've found with the Stanza, two days in, is that it
> strips out a few niceties of formatting like italics and linked
> footnotes. I'd like to see the Kindle as an option, anyway.
Stanza _can_ display italics (e.g in the Jeffrey A. Carver books from
Tor, what I have on the iPhone is an ePub, and I can't remember the
exact steps taken to get it there), it's certainly possible that
format-shifting could remove them. I haven't read anything with
internal links (e.g. footnotes) other than a table of contents, and it
doesn't seem handle external links at all elegantly (i.e. with a bit
of mucking round I can get the url into the clipboard, and paste into
Safari).
--
Errol Cavit | "You should never bet against anything in science at
odds of more than about 10^12 to 1."
Attributed to Ernest Rutherford.
netcat
> On 2009-10-12 06:20:30 -0700, netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> said:
> > Theoretically, one could purchase a Kindle and resell it while keeping
> >>> the use of the account, no?
> >>
> >> I would think not, unless the person to whom you sell the Kindle
> >> intends to use it as a decorative paperweight.
> >
> > You just said yourself that Kindle can read a variety of other formats
> > besides azw. It would thus not be a paperweight.
>
> Good luck finding someone to sell it to who doesn't want to use an
> Amazon account as well. There are plenty of other ways to read those
> other files, so ether you're losing a lot of money buying and reselling
> it in order to have the account, or the buyer is overpaying.
Yes, yes. The deal is, I really don't need a Kindle, considering their
backward way of doing things. I need an e-reader capable of handling
plain html, and preferably also PDF documents I already own or create
myself, without having to mail them somewhere or run them through a
string of slightly illegal conversion scripts.
But I very much _would_ like the use of Amazon's store for buying
ebooks.
But there's no way of doing that without actually buying a Kindle.
Damn stupid of them.
rgds,
netcat
peachyashiepassion
True enough.
You CAN always make a backup copy of everything on your Kindle, so if
they swipe your stuff, you would still have your backup. So it has that
going for it.
Kurt Busiek
<exquisi...@hotmail.com> said:
>>> You know, that's why I didn't answer. I'm not at all sure they
>>> didn't leave some back door in. If they are sufficiently evil, they
>>> may well have.
>>
>> I was gonna ask you what you're doing on RAM, and then I saw the
>> crosspost. At least none of the usual dysfunctional groups was
>> included!
>>
>> As for the Kindle or any other similar device, I'd almost be surprised
>> if they *didn't* build in a "feature" like that for themselves.
>
> True enough.
>
> You CAN always make a backup copy of everything on your Kindle, so
> if they swipe your stuff, you would still have your backup.
I do that as a matter of course. I've got a 2 GB memory stick that I
use simply for backup copies of e-books. Not because I think Amazon's
out to get me, but in case of untoward mistakes.
Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy
news:hb32p...@news1.newsguy.com:
If they can activate the wireless remotely to delete stuff, it's
trivial to keep you from restoring it.
--
Terry Austin
"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more asshole."
-- David Bilek
Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.
mike muth
> On 2009-10-13 16:34:34 -0700, peachyashiepassion
>
>
>
>
>
> > Jim Gysin wrote:
>
> >> peachyashiepassion sent the following on 10/10/2009 9:11 PM:
> >>> netcat wrote:
> >>>>> On 2009-10-08 05:17:52 -0700, netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> said:
>
> >>>>>> In article <6821cddd-a198-4b5a-a72e-23e30f032051
I download kindle books to my PC. (I haven't turned on the wireless
interface for the Kindle for more than a year.) From there, I copy it
via USB to the Kindle. The folder of e-books (2,500 books in various
formats) gets backed up to my NAS and from there onto my wife's PC.
Every month or so, I add the e-book folder to my regular backup to
DVD.
On the other hand, the books on my iPhone are not restorable except
through Amazon. As far as I know, there is no app to allow the
transfer of Kindle books from PC to the Kindle iPhone app. I only
keep books I reference or am currently reading on the iPhone, anyway.
--
Mike
mike muth
> netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> wrote innews:MPG.253d59958...@news.octanews.com:
As far as I can tell, you can't. I seem to recall reading that the
capability was not enabled. I'm not sure the iPhone app can read
other formats, either.
--
Mike
mike muth
wrote:
> Stanley Moore wrote:
> > "William George Ferguson" <wmgfr...@newsguy.com> wrote in message
> >news:hlcsc5do1ehv1k0bl...@4ax.com...
> >> On Thu, 8 Oct 2009 15:17:52 +0300, netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee>
> >> wrote:
>
> >>> In article <6821cddd-a198-4b5a-a72e-23e30f032051
I buy my kindle e-books with one-click. I set that up when I got the
Kindle 16 months ago and it still works fine. I recently bought
_Unseen Academicals_ by one-click.
--
Mike
Louann Miller
ab71-6aa...@l2g2000yqd.googlegroups.com:
> On the other hand, the books on my iPhone are not restorable except
> through Amazon. As far as I know, there is no app to allow the
> transfer of Kindle books from PC to the Kindle iPhone app. I only
> keep books I reference or am currently reading on the iPhone, anyway.
I was wondering about that very thing, having just acquired an iPhone with
a Kindle app as one of its toys. But any e-book that's available through
Kindle is likely to become available elsewhere in other formats not long
after.
There are entire binary e-book newsgroups devoted to that sort of thing. I
hear.
netcat
loua...@yahoo.com says...
Among other things. But I thought we were discussing legal means of
obtaining and reading e-books here.
rgds,
netcat
Louann Miller
news:MPG.254007598...@news.octanews.com:
>> There are entire binary e-book newsgroups devoted to that sort of
>> thing. I hear.
>
> Among other things. But I thought we were discussing legal means of
> obtaining and reading e-books here.
Having paid for a book once, a hypothetical reader might feel justified in
getting an informal backup copy as well to make up any deficiencies (like
DRM) in the paid-for copy.
mike muth
> MarketWatch - Anticipating the arrival of fresh
> competition, Amazon.com Inc. on Wednesday slashed the price
> of its Kindle electronic-book reader by $40 to $259
> (Amazon.com:http://xrl.us/Kindle259) and announced a
> version that can work internationally.
Today, Amazon announced that it was expanding the market for Kindles.
They will go on sale in Germany on October 19th (per news spot on RTL)
for 250 Euros.
About 50 Euros of that price is VAT (value added tax), so the price
before taxes works out to about $280.
I note, too, that it appears that the Kindle will be available in a
number of counries besides the US and Germany. The UK is one.
--
Mike
Errol
> netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> wrote innews:MPG.254007598...@news.octanews.com:
>
> >> There are entire binary e-book newsgroups devoted to that sort of
> >> thing. I hear.
>
> > Among other things. But I thought we were discussing legal means of
> > obtaining and reading e-books here.
You know, removing DRM isn't in itself illegal in every country of the
world. If you don't have the technical nouse to strip DRM (and I
didn't get my iPhone until a mate had sorted out how to strip and
convert anything he had access to), such locations might be handy.
>
> Having paid for a book once, a hypothetical reader might feel justified in
> getting an informal backup copy as well to make up any deficiencies (like
> DRM) in the paid-for copy.
One of those lovely situations were everyone is guilty of something,
but there isn't a fuss because if you keep your head down you don't
get noticed and prosecuted(effectively by those that _think_ they have
an interest in doing so).
--
Errol Cavit
Jim Gysin
peachyashiepassion sent the following on 10/13/2009 6:34 PM:
That's good to know, and it appears that Orwell's books could have been
salvaged by users, in that case. Or would Amazon have continued to go
back in to try to delete it even after the uproar, I wonder?
Either way, personal experience tells me that not too many people share
my obsession with data backups, so they could be in a world of hurt with
no warning. (See T-Mobile and their Sidekick dustup over cloud
failure--coupled with the apparent failure of tons of users to back up
their own cloud data.)
Kurt Busiek
Actually, after the uproar, Amazon offered the readers the book back,
complete with any notes they'd attached, or failing that, a $30 credit
or $30 check. Presumably, they made a deal with the US copyright
holder of the material to allow them to do that.
At
least one of the customers who sued them over it got a settlement of
$150,000, and an agreement from Amazon that they won't deleted
purchased e-books in the future, unless (a) the user consents; (b) the
user seeks a refund or an electronic payment fails to clear; (c) a
court orders the deletion; or (d) deletion is necessary to protect
against malware.
There are some other exceptions, noted here:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/ebusiness/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=220300915
Either
> way, personal experience tells me that not too many people share my
> obsession with data backups, so they could be in a world of hurt with
> no warning. (See T-Mobile and their Sidekick dustup over cloud
> failure--coupled with the apparent failure of tons of users to back up
> their own cloud data.)
Yep. Backups are a good idea. If you never need 'em, they don't hurt,
but if you do need 'em, not having them hurts.
D.F. Manno
netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> wrote:
> But I very much _would_ like the use of Amazon's store for buying
> ebooks.
>
> But there's no way of doing that without actually buying a Kindle.
>
> Damn stupid of them.
Really? It seems to have worked for Apple, with the iPod and the iTunes
Store.
--
D.F. Manno | dfm...@mail.com
"Faith is a cop-out. If the only way you can accept an assertion is by
faith, then you are conceding that it can't be taken on its own merits."
(Dan Barker, former preacher, musician, b. 1949)
Mike Schilling
> In article <MPG.253e75245...@news.octanews.com>,
> netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> wrote:
>
>> But I very much _would_ like the use of Amazon's store for buying
>> ebooks.
>>
>> But there's no way of doing that without actually buying a Kindle.
>>
>> Damn stupid of them.
>
> Really? It seems to have worked for Apple, with the iPod and the
> iTunes Store.
In fact AFAICT iTunes is the reason that the iPod can still sell in great
quantities at such a premium to other MP3 players.
Mike Ash
"D.F. Manno" <dfm...@mail.com> wrote:
> In article <MPG.253e75245...@news.octanews.com>,
> netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> wrote:
>
> > But I very much _would_ like the use of Amazon's store for buying
> > ebooks.
> >
> > But there's no way of doing that without actually buying a Kindle.
> >
> > Damn stupid of them.
>
> Really? It seems to have worked for Apple, with the iPod and the iTunes
> Store.
Say what? From the very beginning, you could buy music from the iTunes
store and play it on your computer or burn it to a CD that could be read
by anything that understands CDs. These days, virtually everything in
the iTunes Store is DRM-free, meaning that you can play it on any device
which understands the (non-proprietary) audio format that they sell, or
convert it to a format which your device does understand.
You've never been required to own an iPod to use the iTunes Store.
--
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon
Stanley Moore
"mike muth" <mike...@unverbesserlich.org> wrote in message
news:fbf8c0dc-1872-45e9...@11g2000yqp.googlegroups.com...
--
Mike
Yeah the one-click is a real nifty idea. Unfortunately it make it very essy
to spend money very fast <G>. Take care
--
Stanley L. Moore
"The belief in a supernatural
source of evil is not necessary;
men alone are quite capable
of every wickedness."
Joseph Conrad
Mike Muth
> "mike muth" <mike.m...@unverbesserlich.org> wrote in message
It hasn't been too bad. I've been averaging one Kindle-format book a
week. Some of those were freebies.
I do spend a lot of time at the Baen Free Library and other places
where I don't need to buy the books.
I was one of amazon's earliest customers. for a couple of years after
the company came on line (and in the days before one-click), I spent
thousands of dollars. I don't regret a penny of it.
--
Mike
_I Eat Vegetarians: Cows are vegetarians, aren't they?_
_Tag Lines: bumperstickers for your e-mail_
http://wuf0170.livejournal.com
http://forums.delphiforums.com/Mikes_Place1
Louann Miller
news:65c58bd9-0c05-4b21...@u36g2000prn.googlegroups.com:
>> Having paid for a book once, a hypothetical reader might feel
>> justified i
> n
>> getting an informal backup copy as well to make up any deficiencies
>> (like DRM) in the paid-for copy.
>
> One of those lovely situations were everyone is guilty of something,
> but there isn't a fuss because if you keep your head down you don't
> get noticed and prosecuted(effectively by those that _think_ they have
> an interest in doing so).
In my specific case, getting the Kindle app for iPhone with the intent of
getting a cheap copy of the next JD Robb the day it comes out. I had been
thinking that all Kindle new books were $9.99 or so. I discover on the
Amazon site that "Kindred in Death" will be $14 and change. Which is only
_slightly_ lower than the deeply-discounted hardcover at Wal-Mart and my
local real bookstore. AND I have a gift card to my local real bookstore
at the moment. So it looks like I'm not going to be saving any trees on
this one.
(If a free market, non-DRM version of the e-book turns up at some point
later on -- as JD Robb usually does -- that would be a separate question.
For someone who bought the full-on hardcover which presumably gives the
author maximum royalties out of all formats.)
All I have on this Kindle app at the moment is a free Sherlock Holmes
collection. Any new books I buy Kindle will be competing not only with
dead trees (for things I expect to reread) but also with my local library
(for things I expect to read once and don't care if there's a bit of
delay.) I plan to read "Superfreakonomics" pretty soon, but probably not
on Kindle.
I'm not sure how often I _am_ going to use the Kindle app, frankly. For
some reason the ruthless DRM gives it a different emotional feel than
paid Fictionwise e-books that I can read several different ways.
Also as a general e-book reader remark, the iPhone (Stanza app) seems to
run its batteries down a lot faster than my old Palm TX did running
Mobipocket. That's not something I ever expected.
D.F. Manno
Mike Ash <mi...@mikeash.com> wrote:
> D.F. Manno <dfm...@mail.com> wrote:
> > netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> wrote:
> >
> > > But I very much _would_ like the use of Amazon's store for buying
> > > ebooks.
> > >
> > > But there's no way of doing that without actually buying a Kindle.
> > >
> > > Damn stupid of them.
> >
> > Really? It seems to have worked for Apple, with the iPod and the iTunes
> > Store.
>
> Say what? From the very beginning, you could buy music from the iTunes
> store and play it on your computer or burn it to a CD that could be read
> by anything that understands CDs. These days, virtually everything in
> the iTunes Store is DRM-free, meaning that you can play it on any device
> which understands the (non-proprietary) audio format that they sell, or
> convert it to a format which your device does understand.
>
> You've never been required to own an iPod to use the iTunes Store.
Before they dropped the DRM, the only portable media player that played
iTunes songs was the iPod.
Kurt Busiek
> Errol <Err...@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:65c58bd9-0c05-4b21...@u36g2000prn.googlegroups.com:
>
>>> Having paid for a book once, a hypothetical reader might feel
>>> justified i
>> n
>>> getting an informal backup copy as well to make up any deficiencies
>>> (like DRM) in the paid-for copy.
>>
>> One of those lovely situations were everyone is guilty of something,
>> but there isn't a fuss because if you keep your head down you don't
>> get noticed and prosecuted(effectively by those that _think_ they have
>> an interest in doing so).
>
> In my specific case, getting the Kindle app for iPhone with the intent of
> getting a cheap copy of the next JD Robb the day it comes out. I had been
> thinking that all Kindle new books were $9.99 or so. I discover on the
> Amazon site that "Kindred in Death" will be $14 and change.
Actually it'll be $9.00, or so it says today.
A lot of times, they'll have a higher pre-publication price, or even a
higher price for a week or two and then drop to $9.99 -- I think they
dont want to cannibalize early sales; they want the book to hit the
bestseller list as fast as possible. But once a book hits the NYT
list, they drop the price to $9.99.
In this case, though, there seems to be a promotion going on -- both
the Kindle edition and the hardcover are listed at a prepub price of
$9.00 even.
So whichever version you want, you might want to save that gift
certificate for something pricier.
kdb
--
Visit http://www.busiek.com — for all your Busiek needs!
W. Citoan
> In article <mike-904708.1...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> Mike Ash <mi...@mikeash.com> wrote:
>
> > D.F. Manno <dfm...@mail.com> wrote:
> > > netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> wrote:
> > >
> > > > But I very much _would_ like the use of Amazon's store for
> > > > buying ebooks.
> > > >
> > > > But there's no way of doing that without actually buying a
> > > > Kindle.
> > > >
> > > > Damn stupid of them.
> > >
> > > Really? It seems to have worked for Apple, with the iPod and the
> > > iTunes Store.
> >
> > Say what? From the very beginning, you could buy music from the
> > iTunes store and play it on your computer or burn it to a CD that
> > could be read by anything that understands CDs. These days,
> > virtually everything in the iTunes Store is DRM-free, meaning that
> > you can play it on any device which understands the
> > (non-proprietary) audio format that they sell, or convert it to a
> > format which your device does understand.
> >
> > You've never been required to own an iPod to use the iTunes Store.
>
> Before they dropped the DRM, the only portable media player that
> played iTunes songs was the iPod.
Yes, but as Ash said you could still play them on your computer or burn
them to a CD. With Amazon, you can only use the Kindle or their Kindle
iPhone app. Apple & Amazon's strategies are not the same.
- W. Citoan
--
If a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better
mouse-trap than his neighbor, though he builds his house in the woods, the
world will make a beaten path to his door.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Mike Ash
"D.F. Manno" <dfm...@mail.com> wrote:
> In article <mike-904708.1...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> Mike Ash <mi...@mikeash.com> wrote:
>
> > D.F. Manno <dfm...@mail.com> wrote:
> > > netcat <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee> wrote:
> > >
> > > > But I very much _would_ like the use of Amazon's store for buying
> > > > ebooks.
> > > >
> > > > But there's no way of doing that without actually buying a Kindle.
> > > >
> > > > Damn stupid of them.
> > >
> > > Really? It seems to have worked for Apple, with the iPod and the iTunes
> > > Store.
> >
> > Say what? From the very beginning, you could buy music from the iTunes
> > store and play it on your computer or burn it to a CD that could be read
> > by anything that understands CDs. These days, virtually everything in
> > the iTunes Store is DRM-free, meaning that you can play it on any device
> > which understands the (non-proprietary) audio format that they sell, or
> > convert it to a format which your device does understand.
> >
> > You've never been required to own an iPod to use the iTunes Store.
>
> Before they dropped the DRM, the only portable media player that played
> iTunes songs was the iPod.
Not so. Plenty of portable CD players exist, and iTunes lets you burn
DRM music to CD. You have to qualify it even further, something like,
"the only portable hard drive or flash based media player".
I'll be the first to admit that portable CD players pretty much stink
compared to something like an iPod, and the first to say that DRM sucks
and should be taken out back and shot, but the fact remains that Apple's
music was *not* inherently tied to its music player, nor the other way
around.
Louann Miller
>> In my specific case, getting the Kindle app for iPhone with the
>> intent of getting a cheap copy of the next JD Robb the day it comes
>> out. I had been thinking that all Kindle new books were $9.99 or so.
>> I discover on the Amazon site that "Kindred in Death" will be $14 and
>> change.
>
> Actually it'll be $9.00, or so it says today.
>
> A lot of times, they'll have a higher pre-publication price, or even a
> higher price for a week or two and then drop to $9.99 -- I think they
> dont want to cannibalize early sales; they want the book to hit the
> bestseller list as fast as possible. But once a book hits the NYT
> list, they drop the price to $9.99.
(having checked Amazon likewise) Sheesh. I wish they'd use the 'price' slot
to signal what the thing was going to cost.
W. Citoan
> x-no-archive:yes On Oct 7, 9:23�am, rab <remai...@reece.net.au>
> wrote:
> > MarketWatch - Anticipating the arrival of fresh competition,
> > Amazon.com Inc. on Wednesday slashed the price of its Kindle
> > electronic-book reader by $40 to $259 (Amazon.com:
> > http://xrl.us/Kindle259) and announced a version that can work
> > internationally.
> >
> >
>
> "10 reasons to buy a Kindle 2...and 10 reasons not to":
> http://tinyurl.com/Kindle10
Like most top 10 lists, it's got its share of pointless pro and con
reasons....
- W. Citoan
--
I will not be ashamed to defend a friend; neither will I hid myself from
him.
-- Ecclesiasticus (Book of Sirach)
Lawrence Watt-Evans
<wci...@NOSPAM-yahoo.com> wrote:
>rmak wrote:
>> x-no-archive:yes On Oct 7, 9:23�am, rab <remai...@reece.net.au>
>> >
>> > More: http://xrl.us/Kindle2A
>>
>> "10 reasons to buy a Kindle 2...and 10 reasons not to":
>> http://tinyurl.com/Kindle10
>
>Like most top 10 lists, it's got its share of pointless pro and con
>reasons....
I gotta say, I found none of the con items worthy of mention, and only
about half the pro ones.
--
My webpage is at http://www.watt-evans.com
I'm selling my comic collection -- see http://www.watt-evans.com/comics.html
I'm serializing a novel at http://www.watt-evans.com/realmsoflight0.html
Kurt Busiek
> On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:51:41 +0000 (UTC), "W. Citoan"
> <wci...@NOSPAM-yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> rmak wrote:
>>> x-no-archive:yes On Oct 7, 9:23 am, rab <remai...@reece.net.au>
>>>>
>>>> More: http://xrl.us/Kindle2A
>>>
>>> "10 reasons to buy a Kindle 2...and 10 reasons not to":
>>> http://tinyurl.com/Kindle10
>>
>> Like most top 10 lists, it's got its share of pointless pro and con
>> reasons....
>
> I gotta say, I found none of the con items worthy of mention, and only
> about half the pro ones.
Me, too, I think. Running through them:
"1. It’s great if you travel."
Yep.
"2. You can put anything you want on it. You can easily email DOC, TXT,
and PDF files to your own Kindle email address for conversion to the
Kindle – but that costs 10 cents."
There's a free workaround for that, as well.
"3. It looks great. The Kindle 2 is an amazing improvement over the Kindle 1."
I'll agree that it looks much better than the Kindle 1, but I don't
think that's a strong reason for buying it.
"4. It feels great. This new version has excellent button placement and
is thin enough to cut cheese."
This, on the other hand, is a good reason. It works well.
"5. Almost any book at any time. Except for a few esoteric reference
books I’ve found just about everything I need on the Kindle store."
I haven't. There are plenty enough books available for it to keep me
supplied, but there are plenty as yet that aren't available, either.
"6. It works in inclement conditions. I was in Mexico with the wife and
kids and I wanted to test the Kindle out near the pool."
What does this mean? "Inclement" means it's raining or storming. Was
it raining by the pool? Were people dunking their books? I wouldn't
read a Kindle or a regular book outside in the rain; I'd read either
poolside on a pleasant day.
"7. The bookmarking and highlighting systems are vastly improved."
Can't say I care.
"8. The dictionary is now in-line. When you move to a word, its
definition appears at the bottom of the page."
I like this, though, and have found it useful.
"9. You can almost see and understand the illustrations in 16 greyscale
shades."
Not a good reason.
"10. It is the future. Sorry, it is. Amazon nailed the ebook and
they’re going to own the space for the next few years."
Not this, either.
Add to this:
11. You can download sample chapters for free, and get to read more of
the book as a test-read than you're likely to read standing around in a
bookstore sampling a book.
12. Project Gutenberg's files are Kindle-compatible.
13. Owning a Kindle has allowed me to buy stories I'd otherwise have to
have bought entire anthologies to get; I've bought two Donald Westlake
novellas and a mort of Sherwood Smith short stories as individual files
for cheap.
14. Free books for the Kindle, including stuff like PERDIDO STRET STATION.
"10 reasons not to buy a Kindle 2
1. It’s bad for research. I’m working
on a book right now and I wanted to use the Kindle for all of my
research. Sadly, this is almost impossible. The book is a physical
object – you can move through it, skimming for notes and important
points – and there is something in our education that gives us a sense
of space inside a book. I don’t quite know how to explain it, but you
know how you can pick up a book and show someone what you’re looking
for in a few page turns? You know it was halfway through, maybe a third
of the way down the page, and it was near another set of words. The
Kindle is not conducive to that kind of mental map-making… yet."
No, but the ability to do a text search is an advantage one doesn't
have with paper books. It's harder to search via the "it was somewhere
about a third of the way through up on the left," true, but it's easier
to search by, "When did this Harold show up and who is he again? Show
me all the instances of 'Harold.'"
"2. It’s horrible for reference. Don’t buy a Kindle if you just read
programming manuals."
Not a factor for me.
"3. The Kindle is flimsy. You’ll go through your day thinking you will
break your Kindle."
No, I won't. It doesn't feel flimsy to me and I have it in a nice
protective case.
"4. It’s not ready for students. Add points 1, 2, and 3 together and
you come to the conclusion that this is not ready for students."
Since I disagree on 1 and 3 and don't care about 2, I don't buy this
reasoning. Plus, I'm not a student, so it's not a factor for me.
"5. The net connection doesn’t work internationally."
Don't care. And not just because they now have an international Kindle
and the workaround he describes in his own answer works just fine
anyway.
"6. No SD slot. While the Kindle can easily hold 1,500 books, what if
you’re the kind of person who likes to keep everything in its right
place? Maybe you want to make a book playlist? Maybe you have 1,501
books?"
So what? If you want 1501 books, store them on outside media, and load
them back in as needed. The fact that you can't carry around 1501
books at once is not a hardship; carry the Kindle and a thumb drive, if
you really need to have that many books available at once.
"7. Flight attendants will tell you to turn it off on take off and landing."
This bit's annoying, yes. I can generally find enough in the inflight
magazine to fill my time during those periods, but it's annoying.
"8. It contains a battery. Remember, Reader, the Kindle is mortal. It
will die on you when you don’t have your charger."
The battery lasts so long that it's not really a problem. If you're
going to be away from home for weeks, bring the cord.
"9. It’s bottom heavy. The internal battery makes the device want to
plop face down on your chest."
I haven't noticed it being difficult to prop up while reading; it
weighs less than a hardcover book, so if my brawny thews are up to the
herculean task of lifting a hardcover book, I expect this won't be a
problem.
"10. There’s just something about a dead tree book, isn’t there? It’s
nice to pop into the airport news stand and pick up a novel."
The thing I was most surprised about with the Kindle was how little the
"there's just something about a book" mattered. I expected it to be a
huge adjustment, and it just wasn't. And no, I'd much rather have the
ability to browse in Amazon's extensive Kindle store (plus Project
Gutenberg and other places, with appropriate planning) than be limited
to the contents of an airport bookstore. Heck, I can go ahead and
browse in the airport bookstore, and if I find something I want, I can
probably buy it for the Kindle; I do that in bookstores as is.
So that's four of the pro reasons I agree with (plus four more I
added), and one of the cons.
kdb
--
Visit http://www.busiek.com -- for all your Busiek needs!
Stanley Moore
"Kurt Busiek" <ku...@busiek.com> wrote in message
news:hbjeat$t0a$1...@solani.org...
I think that issue is a factor of newness. I can imagine a scholar a few
thousand years in the past complaining, "There is just something unique and
substantial about a cuneiform clay tablet that the new fangled papyrus
scroll doesn't have. You can see at the glance what;s written on the tablet
but you have to unroll the papyrus to find anything." <G>
Every new thing has this problem. In a generation or so this will even out.
Reminds me of a version of Hosnd of the Baskervilles I saw last night *Matt
Frewer as SH). Sir Henry moves into Baskerville Hall and asks the butler why
there is no electricity as there is a line just up the lane. The butler
explains the previous baronet wouldn't have the modern service preferring tp
wait a couple of decades to see if it catches on.
I love my Kindle DX mainly because I now get my newspaper on it and I can
enlarge the text for easy reading with my poor eyesight. The DX is large
enough to be just like a book to read. Take care
Taemon
>>>> "10 reasons to buy a Kindle 2...and 10 reasons not to":
>>>> http://tinyurl.com/Kindle10
> "7. Flight attendants will tell you to turn it off on take off and
> landing." This bit's annoying, yes. I can generally find enough in the
> inflight
> magazine to fill my time during those periods, but it's annoying.
I read this as that you can keep it on during the flight, only have to turn
it off on take off and landing.
T.
Kurt Busiek
You read it correctly, yes.
You have to turn it off when they tell everyone to turn cell phones and
laptops off, and can then turn it on again about ten minutes into the
flight.
At the other end of the flight, you have to turn it off when they tell
everyone to turn off their laptops and put their tray tables up, and
can turn it on again once you're on th ground and they give the
cell-phone all-clear.
That can be about fifteen-to-twenty minutes on takeoff and a briefer
time on landing that could be used for reading but, well, they want you
to turn off the Kindle even though it's not broadcasting anysignal;
it's like asking people to turn off their digital watch. But the
in-flight magazine generally fills the gaps.
Taemon
> On 2009-10-20 09:36:39 -0700, "Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> said:
>> Kurt Busiek wrote:
>>>>>> "10 reasons to buy a Kindle 2...and 10 reasons not to":
>>>>>> http://tinyurl.com/Kindle10
>>> "7. Flight attendants will tell you to turn it off on take off and
>>> landing." This bit's annoying, yes. I can generally find enough in
>>> the inflight
>>> magazine to fill my time during those periods, but it's annoying.
>> I read this as that you can keep it on during the flight, only have
>> to turn it off on take off and landing.
> You read it correctly, yes.
<snip>
> That can be about fifteen-to-twenty minutes on takeoff and a briefer
> time on landing that could be used for reading but, well, they want
> you to turn off the Kindle even though it's not broadcasting
> anysignal; it's like asking people to turn off their digital watch. But
> the in-flight magazine generally fills the gaps.
Oh, "those" periods. Sorry. I thought you has misunderstood, but I had
misunderstood you :-)
T.
Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy
Digital watches are not known for emitting RF. Pretty much anything
with a screen, especially if it also has a computer CPU, can. It
isn't that they think it does, so much as it hasn't been tested and
proven not to. And even if it were, there's millions of other
devices out there that haven't, and the flight crew doesn't have
time to look for compliance stickers on each and every device. They
would rather annoy you than allow even the remotest avoidable
chance (even an unrealistic one) of interfering with the avionics.
And strictly speaking, if digital watches *had* off switches, they
would probably demand you turn those off, too.
--
Terry Austin
"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more asshole."
-- David Bilek
Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.
Mike Ash
Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taus...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Digital watches are not known for emitting RF. Pretty much anything
> with a screen, especially if it also has a computer CPU, can. It
> isn't that they think it does, so much as it hasn't been tested and
> proven not to. And even if it were, there's millions of other
> devices out there that haven't, and the flight crew doesn't have
> time to look for compliance stickers on each and every device. They
> would rather annoy you than allow even the remotest avoidable
> chance (even an unrealistic one) of interfering with the avionics.
And of course nobody is ever troubled by the massive contradiction of
the idea that a turned-on cell phone could somehow take down the
aircraft, but enforcement of it is purely voluntary.
Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy
news:mike-846614.1...@news.eternal-september.org:
> In article <Xns9CAA6E3DCA7...@69.16.186.50>,
> Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taus...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Digital watches are not known for emitting RF. Pretty much
>> anything with a screen, especially if it also has a computer
>> CPU, can. It isn't that they think it does, so much as it
>> hasn't been tested and proven not to. And even if it were,
>> there's millions of other devices out there that haven't, and
>> the flight crew doesn't have time to look for compliance
>> stickers on each and every device. They would rather annoy you
>> than allow even the remotest avoidable chance (even an
>> unrealistic one) of interfering with the avionics.
>
> And of course nobody is ever troubled by the massive
> contradiction of the idea that a turned-on cell phone could
> somehow take down the aircraft, but enforcement of it is purely
> voluntary.
>
You didn't even read what I wrote, did you?
(There have been tests that demonstrated that certain models of
phone could, possibly even in the real world, affect certain types
of avionics gear, though in both cases the type would be "very,
very old.")
Stanley Moore
"Taemon" <Tae...@zonnet.nl> wrote in message
news:hbkouk$5la$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
I believe you have to keep the WhisperNet (cell phone) part off the whole
time as well but you can read it during flight. Take care
PV
>"4. It feels great. This new version has excellent button placement and
>is thin enough to cut cheese."
>
>This, on the other hand, is a good reason. It works well.
I prefer the kindle 1's button placement myself, and it's the main reason I
haven't upgraded. the new one has too much "frame".
>I haven't. There are plenty enough books available for it to keep me
>supplied, but there are plenty as yet that aren't available, either.
I've bought 3 fiction books on paper since I bought my kindle (which at
this point has about 75 books on it) because I couldn't get a kindle
edition. On the other hand, some of those 75 are books I couldn't easily
get a print edition if I wanted one.
>What does this mean? "Inclement" means it's raining or storming. Was
>it raining by the pool? Were people dunking their books? I wouldn't
>read a Kindle or a regular book outside in the rain; I'd read either
>poolside on a pleasant day.
I don't think I'd use my kindle in the rain, but it is definitely more
resistant to accidental water (such as a spilled drink) than a paperback
is. A slightly wet book is ruined or at least unusable until it's been
dried out again - a slighty wet kindle probably got a free screen cleaning.
>"7. The bookmarking and highlighting systems are vastly improved."
>
>Can't say I care.
Me either. I've never used them - I'm not a draw in the book kind of
person. it's nice to know I *can* if I want without defacing the book,
though.
>"8. The dictionary is now in-line. When you move to a word, its
>definition appears at the bottom of the page."
>
>I like this, though, and have found it useful.
The dictionary is excellent, but it needs more words and more variants of
words.
>"9. You can almost see and understand the illustrations in 16 greyscale
>shades."
>
>Not a good reason.
Illustrations are the best argument against current ebooks. They almost
without exception look like ass. It'll get there.
>"10. It is the future. Sorry, it is. Amazon nailed the ebook and
>they’re going to own the space for the next few years."
>
>Not this, either.
There's something to be said for supporting a technology so it gets better.
Wait and it may never happen. Chicken and egg.
>11. You can download sample chapters for free, and get to read more of
>the book as a test-read than you're likely to read standing around in a
>bookstore sampling a book.
The single best reason to have a kindle. I use the free chapters as
placeholders for anything someone recommends, so I can either read it
later or laugh in their face. That actually happened with Twilight - I got
as far as the name "Bella Swan" and called said person and told them they
were never allowed to recommend a book to me, ever again. Saved me some
cash right there, but then I would have had something to throw at her too.
>12. Project Gutenberg's files are Kindle-compatible.
Perfectly so. You don't have to even rewrap the paragraphs anymore. Great
thing.
>13. Owning a Kindle has allowed me to buy stories I'd otherwise have to
>have bought entire anthologies to get; I've bought two Donald Westlake
>novellas and a mort of Sherwood Smith short stories as individual files
>for cheap.
There needs to be more of that - I can't count how many anthologies and
collections I'd like to "buy track" from.
>14. Free books for the Kindle, including stuff like PERDIDO STRET STATION.
Tor has a nice little set, but it's pretty limited. One of Sea Wasp's books
is on my unread list.
>No, but the ability to do a text search is an advantage one doesn't
>have with paper books. It's harder to search via the "it was somewhere
>about a third of the way through up on the left," true, but it's easier
>to search by, "When did this Harold show up and who is he again? Show
>me all the instances of 'Harold.'"
Yep. Searching is a little pokey because of the low horsepower of the
device, but it's really handy.
>"2. It’s horrible for reference. Don’t buy a Kindle if you just read
>programming manuals."
>
>Not a factor for me.
For a big reference book, I'd agree, but I've used it a couple times to
hold assembly instructions for kits that are in PDF form (solarbotics), and
I liked not having the pages flip over or get glue on them. Small simple
PDFs read fine, if they were set up intelligently.
>"3. The Kindle is flimsy. You’ll go through your day thinking you will
>break your Kindle."
>
>No, I won't. It doesn't feel flimsy to me and I have it in a nice
>protective case.
I use the thick flap the kindle 1 came with, and I don't think it's flimsy
either. Certainly less flimsy than an iPhone, and I treat that pretty
harshly without putting a scratch on it.
>Since I disagree on 1 and 3 and don't care about 2, I don't buy this
>reasoning. Plus, I'm not a student, so it's not a factor for me.
I think it's true that even the big one needs work before it's a perfect
textbook, and the lack of color illustrations will be a problem there
sometimes, but I'd rather carry a kindle than the ox-stunning books I had
to carry around all the time in school.
>"6. No SD slot. While the Kindle can easily hold 1,500 books, what if
>you’re the kind of person who likes to keep everything in its right
>place? Maybe you want to make a book playlist? Maybe you have 1,501
>books?"
>
>So what? If you want 1501 books, store them on outside media, and load
>them back in as needed. The fact that you can't carry around 1501
>books at once is not a hardship; carry the Kindle and a thumb drive, if
>you really need to have that many books available at once.
It was really dumb of them to remove the SD slot. It was a nice way to
dispose of books when you finished them on the road without deleting them -
I pop in my card, move the book to SD, and then pop it out again. The
book is there if I need it, but it's not on the menu anymore.
It's also good, or so I'm told, if you read naughty books and don't want
people to discover them if they play with your kindle.
>"7. Flight attendants will tell you to turn it off on take off and landing."
>
>This bit's annoying, yes. I can generally find enough in the inflight
>magazine to fill my time during those periods, but it's annoying.
Yeah, I get the obligatory copy of Wired so I can laugh at what a sorry
state print tech reporting has gotten to, and then flip on the kindle as
soon as I can.
>The battery lasts so long that it's not really a problem. If you're
>going to be away from home for weeks, bring the cord.
It dies a lot faster if you leave the radio on, but except for page
synching with my iPhone and new purchases made online, I rarely use the
radio anyway. The web browser is a joke, even the 'advanced' one.
>I haven't noticed it being difficult to prop up while reading; it
>weighs less than a hardcover book, so if my brawny thews are up to the
>herculean task of lifting a hardcover book, I expect this won't be a
>problem.
It weights a lot LESS than a hardcover book, and less than many paperbacks.
It's certainly easier to handle on the go than a book is - you turn the
pages with one finger and don't have to hold your place.
>The thing I was most surprised about with the Kindle was how little the
>"there's just something about a book" mattered. I expected it to be a
>huge adjustment, and it just wasn't. And no, I'd much rather have the
I already had this epiphany years ago with my palm III, and that had a much
smaller screen. Add in the amazing built in storefront, and it's at least
as much fun to browse as all but the biggest bookstore. And forget about
stupid airport bookstores. *
--
* PV Something like badgers, something like lizards, and something
like corkscrews.
Kurt Busiek
> Kurt Busiek <ku...@busiek.com> writes:
>> I haven't. There are plenty enough books available for it to keep me
>> supplied, but there are plenty as yet that aren't available, either.
>
> I've bought 3 fiction books on paper since I bought my kindle (which at
> this point has about 75 books on it) because I couldn't get a kindle
> edition.
I've bought more than that by quite a margin -- the NESFA Zelazny
anthologies, SONGS OF THE DYING EARTH (which I suppose will be out for
Kindle when the trade edition comes out next year), a couple of Library
of America titles, the latest Matt Hughes novel and more, and that's
just counting new books. The Kindle editions seem to come largely
(though not exclusively) from the major publishers, while Subterranean
Press, Night Shade Books and other smaller presses haven't opened that
particular revenue stream.
Plus, I'm still waiting for some Kindle books to drop to an acceptable
price -- TREASON'S SHORE by Sherwood Smith is at close to $14, which is
more than I want to pay for an e-book, the local library doesn't have
it, and ILL wants to wait until a book's a year old before circulating
it beyond its local area, I'm told.
But I find plenty to read on the Kindle anyway, and I'm spending less
and reading more, so the fact that there are still printed books I'm
buying doesn't change the fact that the Kindle's been a delight.
[And I just checked, and the library now has TREASON'S SHORE, so I've
got it on hold and DaW lost a sale they could have made if they'd been
willing to charge a standard price. If and when I want to re-read it,
though, it'll be the Kindle version of a paperback price by then, so
it'll be considerably cheaper.]
> On the other hand, some of those 75 are books I couldn't easily
> get a print edition if I wanted one.
That's nice, too.
>> "10. It is the future. Sorry, it is. Amazon nailed the ebook and
>> they're going to own the space for the next few years."
>>
>> Not this, either.
>
> There's something to be said for supporting a technology so it gets better.
> Wait and it may never happen. Chicken and egg.
Sure, but I don't think that's what he meant. "Owns the space" implies
that theyr'e going to be the category leader -- which is probably true
-- but if there aren't other compelling reasons to buy the product,
that it's the category leader doesn't matter. I don't know who "owns
the space" for curling irons, but I don't need one so it's irrelevant.
>> 11. You can download sample chapters for free, and get to read more of
>> the book as a test-read than you're likely to read standing around in a
>> bookstore sampling a book.
>
> The single best reason to have a kindle. I use the free chapters as
> placeholders for anything someone recommends, so I can either read it
> later or laugh in their face.
I don't laugh in people's faces (well, not for book recommendations),
but it's great to be able to check out a decent chunk of a book that
might be interesting. In some cases, I've read the sample and decided
to get the book from the library, or left the sample sitting there on
my Kindle as a reminder to buy it once it's out in paperback and the
Kindle price drops accordingly.
It's funny -- the reason it took me as long as it did to buy a Kindle
was because I couldn't go to some store and pick one up and sample it,
and the great strength of the Kindle is how easy it is to sample things
on it.
>> 13. Owning a Kindle has allowed me to buy stories I'd otherwise have to
>> have bought entire anthologies to get; I've bought two Donald Westlake
>> novellas and a mort of Sherwood Smith short stories as individual files
>> for cheap.
>
> There needs to be more of that - I can't count how many anthologies and
> collections I'd like to "buy track" from.
Yep. I don't have much interest in buying lots of back issues of
magazines and small-press anthologies from England, but if all the
uncollected "Archonate" stories were available as downloadable e-texts,
I'd buy them all in a heartbeat.
>> The battery lasts so long that it's not really a problem. If you're
>> going to be away from home for weeks, bring the cord.
>
> It dies a lot faster if you leave the radio on, but except for page
> synching with my iPhone and new purchases made online, I rarely use the
> radio anyway. The web browser is a joke, even the 'advanced' one.
Yeah. I turn the link on when I need to download something. Leaving
it on will drain the battery fast, but I don't need to leave it on to
do wht I need it for. If I desperately need to search the Web and I
don't have my laptop handy, I've got my iPhone.
Mike Ash
Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taus...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Mike Ash <mi...@mikeash.com> wrote in
> news:mike-846614.1...@news.eternal-september.org:
>
> > In article <Xns9CAA6E3DCA7...@69.16.186.50>,
> > Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taus...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Digital watches are not known for emitting RF. Pretty much
> >> anything with a screen, especially if it also has a computer
> >> CPU, can. It isn't that they think it does, so much as it
> >> hasn't been tested and proven not to. And even if it were,
> >> there's millions of other devices out there that haven't, and
> >> the flight crew doesn't have time to look for compliance
> >> stickers on each and every device. They would rather annoy you
> >> than allow even the remotest avoidable chance (even an
> >> unrealistic one) of interfering with the avionics.
> >
> > And of course nobody is ever troubled by the massive
> > contradiction of the idea that a turned-on cell phone could
> > somehow take down the aircraft, but enforcement of it is purely
> > voluntary.
> >
> You didn't even read what I wrote, did you?
Of course I did.
> (There have been tests that demonstrated that certain models of
> phone could, possibly even in the real world, affect certain types
> of avionics gear, though in both cases the type would be "very,
> very old.")
And yet, nobody will bat an eye if you bring such a phone through
security. They won't let you bring a bottle of water on board because it
might be a bomb, but an electronic device that could crash the plane is
just fine, as long as you promise to be a good boy and not to turn it on.
Either they're not actually dangerous, or you can't allow them on board.
You must pick one if you wish to remain within the realm of logic.
Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy
> In article <Xns9CAA941056...@69.16.186.50>,
> Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taus...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Mike Ash <mi...@mikeash.com> wrote in
>> news:mike-846614.1...@news.eternal-september.org:
>>
>> > In article <Xns9CAA6E3DCA7...@69.16.186.50>,
>> > Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taus...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Digital watches are not known for emitting RF. Pretty much
>> >> anything with a screen, especially if it also has a computer
>> >> CPU, can. It isn't that they think it does, so much as it
>> >> hasn't been tested and proven not to. And even if it were,
>> >> there's millions of other devices out there that haven't,
>> >> and the flight crew doesn't have time to look for compliance
>> >> stickers on each and every device. They would rather annoy
>> >> you than allow even the remotest avoidable chance (even an
>> >> unrealistic one) of interfering with the avionics.
>> >
>> > And of course nobody is ever troubled by the massive
>> > contradiction of the idea that a turned-on cell phone could
>> > somehow take down the aircraft, but enforcement of it is
>> > purely voluntary.
>> >
>> You didn't even read what I wrote, did you?
>
> Of course I did.
Then why didn't you respond to it?
>
>> (There have been tests that demonstrated that certain models of
>> phone could, possibly even in the real world, affect certain
>> types of avionics gear, though in both cases the type would be
>> "very, very old.")
>
> And yet, nobody will bat an eye if you bring such a phone
> through security. They won't let you bring a bottle of water on
> board because it might be a bomb, but an electronic device that
> could crash the plane is just fine, as long as you promise to be
> a good boy and not to turn it on.
I didn't say it made sense. But that's the thinking.
>
> Either they're not actually dangerous, or you can't allow them
> on board. You must pick one if you wish to remain within the
> realm of logic.
>
Or perhaps real life isn't binary, and there are more choices than
your feeble mind can grasp.
Which is to say, you're an idiot.
Mike Ash
Despite how you may treat it, Usenet does not have to follow a pattern
of attack and counter-attack. Sometimes people can just use a post as an
inspiration for a marginally-related followup.
Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy
What you did, basically, was restate what I said, unchanged. And
you are clearly too stupid to realize it.
W. Citoan
> On 2009-10-20 14:37:40 -0700, pv+u...@pobox.com (PV) said:
>
> But I find plenty to read on the Kindle anyway, and I'm spending less
> and reading more, so the fact that there are still printed books I'm
> buying doesn't change the fact that the Kindle's been a delight.
The major use I've found is reading SF short stories from Gutenberg.
They have been releasing a half-dozen stories or more per week. The
copyrights were not renewed for many old genre magazines.
While Sturgeon's Law applies, I find it interesting to read relatively
unknown stories from the early days of the genre.
> > The single best reason to have a kindle. I use the free chapters as
> > placeholders for anything someone recommends, so I can either read
> > it later or laugh in their face.
>
> I don't laugh in people's faces (well, not for book recommendations),
> but it's great to be able to check out a decent chunk of a book that
> might be interesting. In some cases, I've read the sample and
> decided to get the book from the library, or left the sample sitting
> there on my Kindle as a reminder to buy it once it's out in paperback
> and the Kindle price drops accordingly.
Agreed, the sample chapters are nice. They have encouraged me to try
books that I otherwise wouldn't have bothered with.
- W. Citoan
--
Claiming that your operating system is the best in the world because more
people use it is like saying McDonalds makes the best food in the world.
-- Anonymous
Dave Hansen
[...]
>
> I don't laugh in people's faces (well, not for book recommendations),
> but it's great to be able to check out a decent chunk of a book that
> might be interesting. In some cases, I've read the sample and decided
> to get the book from the library, or left the sample sitting there on
> my Kindle as a reminder to buy it once it's out in paperback and the
> Kindle price drops accordingly.
Apropos of nothing but the phrase "decent chunk of a book," I am
reminded of a consultant who was brought in-house to teach a class at
work. He and his partner had written a book[*] about the subject, and
gave each class participant a copy as part of the class. It's not a
thick book (~150 pages), and is decently readable, especially given
the subject matter (Software Process Improvement).
Anyway, he noted with a smile that the publisher had a policy of
posting two sample chapters of each book they sold on the web. His
book has three chapters total: Developing a Plan, Implementing the
Plan, and Checking Progress. There are also some appendeces, but in
essence, over half the book was available free on the web, and the
most important half to boot.
-=Dave
[*]If you're in need of such a thing, it's a pretty decent book.
"Making Process Improvement Work: A Concise Action Guide for Software
Managers and Practitioners" Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0201775778. It looks
like there's only one sample now, but it covers all of Chapter 1 and
about 5 pages of chapter 2.
Miles Bader
> I don't think I'd use my kindle in the rain, but it is definitely more
> resistant to accidental water (such as a spilled drink) than a paperback
> is. A slightly wet book is ruined or at least unusable until it's been
> dried out again
Eh? Water definitely makes a book ugly (the pages get all swollen etc),
but hardly ruined or unusable, especially if it's only "slightly" wet.
I say this as a dedicated fan of reading in the bathtub...
[One _advantage_ of dropping a paperback into the tub is that unless you
get really lucky (bounces off the soap into the wastebasket?), the
resulting warped state is pretty much permanent, so there's no need to
get nervous about dropping it again. You can just buy another "nice"
copy for non-bathing use -- paperbacks tend to be cheap after all,
especially compared to a kindle.
But still, I do try not to drop them in...]
-Miles
--
Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. -- Steven Wright
Walter Bushell
Mike Ash <mi...@mikeash.com> wrote:
>
> And yet, nobody will bat an eye if you bring such a phone through
> security. They won't let you bring a bottle of water on board because it
> might be a bomb, but an electronic device that could crash the plane is
> just fine, as long as you promise to be a good boy and not to turn it on.
>
> Either they're not actually dangerous, or you can't allow them on board.
> You must pick one if you wish to remain within the realm of logic.
Ah, but HomeLand Security is a faith based organization.
--
A computer without Microsoft is like a chocolate cake without mustard.
Jesper Lauridsen
But that assumes Usenet is used to exchange ideas and information. That's
not the Usenet Austin is on.
Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy
news:hbqred$1ic$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
That's not the usenet anyone else is on, either.
--
Terry Austin
Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more asshole. - David
Bilek
Yeah, I had Terry confused with Hannibal Lecter. - Mike Schilling
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
> Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote in
> news:hbqred$1ic$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
>
>> On 2009-10-21, Mike Ash <mi...@mikeash.com> wrote:
>>> In article <Xns9CAB5D126F6...@69.16.186.7>,
>>> Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy <taus...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Then why didn't you respond to it?
>>> Despite how you may treat it, Usenet does not have to follow a
>>> pattern of attack and counter-attack. Sometimes people can just
>>> use a post as an inspiration for a marginally-related followup.
>> But that assumes Usenet is used to exchange ideas and
>> information. That's not the Usenet Austin is on.
>>
> That's not the usenet anyone else is on, either.
>
I believe in that Usenet! I do!
--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Live Journal: http://seawasp.livejournal.com
Michael Stemper
>Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy wrote:
>> Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote in news:hbqred$1ic$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
>>>> Despite how you may treat it, Usenet does not have to follow a
>>>> pattern of attack and counter-attack. Sometimes people can just
>>>> use a post as an inspiration for a marginally-related followup.
>>> But that assumes Usenet is used to exchange ideas and
>>> information. That's not the Usenet Austin is on.
>>>
>> That's not the usenet anyone else is on, either.
>
> I believe in that Usenet! I do!
And, children, if you believe really hard, that poison won't kill it.
--
Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>
2 + 2 = 5, for sufficiently large values of 2
Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy
news:hbrcl4$kru$2...@news.eternal-september.org:
Er, which one?
I believe I'm going to go have lunch.
--
Terry Austin
"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more asshole."
-- David Bilek
Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy
news:hbso22$r6l$3...@news.eternal-september.org:
> In article <hbrcl4$kru$2...@news.eternal-september.org>, "Sea Wasp
> (Ryk E. Spoor)" <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> writes:
>>Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy wrote:
>>> Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote in
>>> news:hbqred$1ic$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
>
>>>>> Despite how you may treat it, Usenet does not have to follow
>>>>> a pattern of attack and counter-attack. Sometimes people can
>>>>> just use a post as an inspiration for a marginally-related
>>>>> followup.
>>>> But that assumes Usenet is used to exchange ideas and
>>>> information. That's not the Usenet Austin is on.
>>>>
>>> That's not the usenet anyone else is on, either.
>>
>> I believe in that Usenet! I do!
>
> And, children, if you believe really hard, that poison won't
> kill it.
>
There is hard scientific evidence that the placebo effect has
gotten stronger in recent years. Coincidentally (heh), during the
same time period, belief in quack medicine, like homeopathy, has
increased as well.
--
Terry Austin
"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more asshole."
-- David Bilek
peachyashiepassion
> "mike muth" <mike...@unverbesserlich.org> wrote in message
> news:fbf8c0dc-1872-45e9...@11g2000yqp.googlegroups.com...
> On Oct 11, 4:14 am, peachyashiepassion <exquisitepe...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>> Stanley Moore wrote:
>>> "William George Ferguson" <wmgfr...@newsguy.com> wrote in message
>>> news:hlcsc5do1ehv1k0bl...@4ax.com...
>>>> On Thu, 8 Oct 2009 15:17:52 +0300, netcat
>>>> <net...@devnull.eridani.eol.ee>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> In article <6821cddd-a198-4b5a-a72e-23e30f032051
>>>>> @l31g2000vbp.googlegroups.com>, willad...@aol.com says...
>>>>>> On Oct 7, 4:09 pm, nos...@nospam.com (Paul Ciszek) wrote:
>>>>>>> Do any of these alternatives offer an operating system that is not
>>>>>>> under remote control? i.e., no files can be deleted from the device
>>>>>>> unless the operator of the device deletes them?
>>>>>> That's the nature of DRM. I simply choose not to read any DRM files
>>>>>> and don't worry about such.
>>>>> I woulda thunk it more the nature of always-online devices that phone
>>>>> home.
>>>>>> FWIW, Amazon just settled a lawsuit and promised not to do that
>>>>>> again.
>>>>> I don't want promises, I want it to be physically impossible for them
>>>>> to
>>>>> paw at the content of my device whenever it suits them. Can the Kindle
>>>>> wireless connection be disabled?
>>>> On the original Kindle, there's a Wireless On/Off switch on the back of
>>>> the
>>>> device (beside the Power On/Off switch). On the Kindle II and the
>>>> Kindle
>>>> DX, there's a menu selection to turn the wireless connection on/off.
>>>> Basically, it's there for power usage conservation, you more than cut
>>>> your
>>>> power usage in half by not having the wireless connection on (from
>>>> personal
>>>> experience with the DX, it takes the battery about two days to run down
>>>> with the wireless connection turned on, and about a week with the
>>>> wireless
>>>> turned off, if you are reading it regularly).
>>>> If you're really paranoid, you could leave the wireless connection
>>>> turned
>>>> off all the time, send any kindle item you buy to your computer, and
>>>> download it to your kindle from your computer with a direct USB
>>>> connection.
>>>> I haven't seen anything yet that says Amazon can remotely activate your
>>>> wireless connection if it is turned off at your end. I don't think you
>>>> could get the level of energy savings that are present if the device
>>>> was
>>>> regularly turning the connection on to phone home (I don't think I
>>>> could
>>>> get four times the battery charge life using it regularly with wireless
>>>> off
>>>> if it were periodically turning the wireless back on to phone home).
>>> Plus, even it Amazon could do it (which I doubt) why would they? <G>
>>> Like
>>> Amazon is that interested in everyone's Kindle stuff. I keep my wireless
>>> off
>>> unless I want to buy something and it works great. I normally use my PC
>>> to
>>> order stuff (the keyboard on the DX is too small to be practical) and
>>> then
>>> turn on the wireless to automatically download the book. Take care
>> Interesting. I find the navigation unwieldy for searching, so I
>> search online and then send a sample to my Kindle for use to purchase.
>> I don't like to purchase on the computer because it makes me go through
>> the checkout for every book. It annoys me
>
> I buy my kindle e-books with one-click. I set that up when I got the
> Kindle 16 months ago and it still works fine. I recently bought
> _Unseen Academicals_ by one-click.
>
> --
> Mike
>
>
> Yeah the one-click is a real nifty idea. Unfortunately it make it very essy
> to spend money very fast <G>. Take care
Which is why I haven't got it on. Too risky!