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Hi Guys,
So in the market to grab some books.
I was looking at Routing TCP/IP Vol I + II.
A friend mentioned that I should rather get a kindle, his version was easy reading etc but reading off a computer screen is not my thing.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I still prefer paper because -
I can read while floating in the pool;
I can easily look at 2 pages at once;
I can loan the book to a friend;
Leave it in the sand a beach without it being damaged or stolen;
.
.
.
Hardcovers (or soft) for me....................you can write in the margins and spill beer on them.
That always put me off .pdf files because I couldn't edit them with my notes using the free reader software. :(
Hmm, exactly what I thought.
But the books are so freaking expensive its crazy.
I was under the impression that the Kindle allowed one to make marginal notes though it isn't as easy with that tiny keyboard.
I love books especially hard covers.
I own and use a Kindle for recreational reading, I'm not going to be making marginal notes in Sherlock Holmes, plus the classics are free. My 2600 subscription is only is $11.88 per year, instead of $6.99 per issue. Trade books or text books, I want the "real thing."
My problem is with the publishing industry, an electronic issue of a book has zero manufacturing cost so the price of an electronic issue should be significantly lower than a hard cover but it isn't. Then again the publishing industry is screwed up anyway. I have 2 college students and I attend classes as well, textbook publishers are raping US students. I can shop overseas markets and buy the same textbook for less than half, including the shipping back to the US. If you're shopping for textbooks check out http://www.bigwords.com
The publishers must pay royalties even on electronic versions of a book. In addition they do have manufacturing, distribution, administration and marketing costs so there is a marginal cost for every e-book. Manufacturing costs for e-books include the rights to publish, the cost of conversion from print to electronic format, etc. That cost must be amortized over the anticipated number of unit sales. Distribution costs include the costs of maintaining servers, networking connections, etc. Those costs are not insignificant. An OC3 cost approaches $40k per month.
I prefer the old fashioned hardcover/softcover method. :D + my 5yr old son loves to go "Treasure Hunting" at the local charity shop/s for interesting books.
Even though these kindle devices can make reading more convenient/practical if you will, nothing beats opening a hardcover that's been sitting on the shelf for ages, and breathing in that awesome book smell.
The main advantage of an electronic solution to my mind is its portability. You can store or carry one hell of a lot of reading material without the bulk and weight.
I don't see portability as being much of an advantage for textbooks, although I do recall managing a project some years ago to put repair/maintenance manuals on engineers' laptops.
:)
Our high school (among others) has switched to Kindle for 100% of the text books and required reading materials. They are saving lots of money over purchasing hard cover books. Each student is assigned a pre-loaded Kindle that matches their curriculum. They can also purchase insurance to cover lost or damaged Kindles. Gone are the days of students walking to school with a 25 pound backpack. All they carry now is a notebook, Kindle and a few papers and pens.
Instead of getting locked into one platform via a Kindle I would highly suggest looking to an Android based tablet because then you can get access to the Kindle store, Nook (Barnes and Noble) as well as Google Books. It might be a bit more expensive but having that kind of an option seems too good to pass up to me and kind of makes me regret buying my Nook Color a few months back
Battery life is one reason to stay away from a tablet unless one needs other functions besides book reading capabilities.
I can read books on my Android cell phone, but it is not worth the hassle. It has to be charged twice a day as it is.
On my A500 i get roughly 8+ hrs worth of battery life, longer when it sit's in standyby mode.Quote:
Originally Posted by ua549
My new galaxy tablet get's just under 8hrs worth of battery life inbetween charges also.
i would imagine cell phones would have shorter battery life compared to tablet's...
would be very suprised if people would actually sit and read any ebooks non stop over that 8hr period? without access to any type of charging outlet's.
A middle of the road option would be to go with the Nook since its known to be rootable, giving you full access to the Android OS its built upon so you can install apps. Its not quite as streamlined as jailbreaking apple devices, but if you are willing to do it its probably the cheapest tablet you can get.
Im really looking for something that I can import my PDF's too. Got alot of PDF ebooks so it doesnt have to be the kindle. I was looking at the Sony Ereader but it seems somewhat more expensive??
Gingerbreak is the easiest method to "jailbreak / root" android device's. This then let's you grab 1 of the freely available custom roms available and further customize the device, enabling further power saving features etc. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Syini666
Android is easy to root, a single click. I've changed the kernel and rom dozens of times on my Galaxy S. Now I have good performance with much longer battery life, better modem and a better GPS (it still stinks) than anything AT&T ever offered. Still, the best I've ever gotten is 5 hours on a battery unless I stop using it and let it idle. I carry an extra battery since I'm rarely able to recharge until the end of the day.
AFAIK Jailbreaking Apple devices is merely a workaround the lock that remains whereas an Android device is actually unlocked as if it came unlocked from manufacturing. Software updates won't re-lock the device as they do with Apple devices.
The biggest reason I won't buy an Apple device is because they don't have a replaceable battery.
I'd need 2 or 3 of them to get me through the day.
/rant
Going back to the original subject of this thread.
Though Im oldschool in that I like the feel and smell of paper, I have to say I really like Kindles. I have one DLed to my pc and one on my Droid and am looking into getting the actually unit in the future.
The portability is the best thing and the ease at which you can add new volumes.
You can easily read PDFs on there, as I saw that was a concern of yours.
I also like that it 'flattens' out the screen lighting, making it much easier on the eyes than reading PDFs through AReader.
My number 1 fave thing though is that of the highlight/note/lookup right click feature and that you can see what sections have been highlighted or noted by other readers of the same book, I find that really helpful.
You can always pick up a paper book anytime, but digital information is too convenient and efficient to overlook IMO.
Blessings,
F
Hey there,Quote:
Originally Posted by IcSilk
Thanks for the input ~ you say that you can put PDF's on there, is this normal download a PDF and drop it on, no converting?
Yeah, I didn't convert. But you have to remember that I am talking about Kindle for PC, not the handheld single units (you still may be able to with them but I don't know because Im waiting for the Fire)Quote:
Hey there,
Thanks for the input ~ you say that you can put PDF's on there, is this normal download a PDF and drop it on, no converting?
I believe all I did was set Kindle as the default app for PDF's. They can still be opened with AReader easily enough too, but in Windows its just the extra step of right clicking -> open with etc etc.
I just synced my 'droid kindle and the ex-PDF's that I have actually moved to the library of my PC kindle did not sync to my phone's kindle app. I don't know what that means for them with the actually kindle unit and moving them over or not.
But I know for sure that there is no converting as far as the PC kindle is concerned.
Happy reading, hope I helped you somehow :)
I wasn't sure about it when I first heard about them, but when I used one, and we now have one, I LOVED it. You can listen to net Radio on Wireless, while reading or playing a game, or checking email. It's nice.
I still like REAL books though.
ill be getting one end of the year, too many books too read :).
I recently got HP TouchPad for reading my pdf. I had to do lots of comparison between kindle and other ebook readers and came to conclusion that HP Touchpad will do the job for me with its 9 inch screen. Its quite good in rendering pdf but you cannot search inside the pdf.
I got a Kindle 3G, it is pretty good. Because I can have free 3G internet access anywhere around the world. But in terms of reading using the Kindle, I mainly use it for reading books which don't have syntax, such as source code or commands illustration. It is so hard to read on the Kindle, I also prefer reading technical stuff on my PC, and use the kindle for novels, because I use the function which Kindle read out to me. It make anyone crazy if you have to listen to a programming book.
Also I haven't bought any books from Amazon Kindle store. I normally download a pdf, and covert it to EPUB format. Which is what the Amazon kindle's format is base on. After converting, I plug the kindle to my pc, and move the EPUB files to the kindle. Then voila, it is now even have the kindle reading out to me function.
I love my Kindle because of the convenience and ease of reading. I had a habit of putting books aside because of the size of the print or weight. No longer an issue. I also like that I can carry a variety of books in a device that fits in my bag. No worries about running out of reading or not having what I'm in the mood for.
My biggest dislike is that I can no longer share books with others...but I solved some of the problem by getting my mother a Kindle.
I don't miss paper but I don't like contributing to the demise of the brick and mortar stores because I still love nothing more than browsing a bookstore at lunch. SoI find myself buying more cookbooks and magazines so I feel better.
Originally I thought it was way overpriced...but since I find myself spending less and reading more, I can easiy justify the cost (as long as I can hold off on upgrading for another year ).