Amazon Kindle (ebook thingy)

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I guess you're talking self-published e-books? are those really luring people away from Dalkey Archive books?

President Keyes, Sunday, 25 August 2013 18:29 (ten years ago) link

James, please link to your webpage on this topic.

The O RLY of Everything (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 26 August 2013 01:03 (ten years ago) link

Sounds more like a problem with Amazon's search engine than anything else

elan, Monday, 26 August 2013 01:05 (ten years ago) link

James you're posting those things because they are delightful right?

i too went to college (silby), Monday, 26 August 2013 01:18 (ten years ago) link

I mean come on that Ulysses cover is sublime beyond human imagining

i too went to college (silby), Monday, 26 August 2013 01:19 (ten years ago) link

I just turned this thread into an e-book you can buy for $400

President Keyes, Monday, 26 August 2013 01:19 (ten years ago) link

ledge, have you pushed the button yet? kobo have new models on the way in a couple of weeks.

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/08/kobo-has-three-tablets-and-an-e-reader-for-your-plastic-pile/

(which might be a better purchase, might mean that the perfectly good old ereaders are discounted)

(4GB of storage in the new ones = 4 lifetimes worth of reading...)

koogs, Wednesday, 28 August 2013 10:14 (ten years ago) link

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

click here to start exploding (ledge), Wednesday, 28 August 2013 10:17 (ten years ago) link

pushed the button last night.

click here to start exploding (ledge), Wednesday, 28 August 2013 10:17 (ten years ago) link

beats breast, gnashes teeth, ponders options.

click here to start exploding (ledge), Wednesday, 28 August 2013 10:46 (ten years ago) link

oh, the one thing i would recommend is updating the software asap - the mini was dreadful out of the box, unresponsive and ugly. software update made the world of difference. chances are the glo software includes most of those changes, being newer, but if you have problems...

koogs, Wednesday, 28 August 2013 10:54 (ten years ago) link

also, put a bit of black insulating tape over the logo on the front. 8)

koogs, Wednesday, 28 August 2013 10:58 (ten years ago) link

main diff w/ new version seems to be double the memory, possibly double battery life, and '6" High-res Pearl E Ink ClarityScreen with low-flash waveform' vs. '6" XGA Pearl E Ink touchscreen'

click here to start exploding (ledge), Wednesday, 28 August 2013 12:15 (ten years ago) link

kobo minis down to £30 in store on saturday, i noticed, with other discounted prices for other models which i can't remember (website says touch is £40, others look usual price). ditto nook simples (although no stock in local foyles. and the kobos are better imo)

koogs, Monday, 9 September 2013 17:46 (ten years ago) link

Has anyone been loaning books to other people? Seems like you can only do it once per book.

I Am the Cosimo Code (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 9 September 2013 18:21 (ten years ago) link

But looks like you can do it for lots of books now.

I Am the Cosimo Code (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 9 September 2013 18:31 (ten years ago) link

right, was going to a while back, but it wasn't available for the book i wanted to do it with, so i just herk HERM-ed it off the web and donated it to them that way. seemed... difficult iirc?

Fizzles, Monday, 9 September 2013 18:36 (ten years ago) link

Please to explain herk HERM-ed. I've been trying to decode it for a while.

ornamental cabbage (James Morrison), Tuesday, 10 September 2013 00:22 (ten years ago) link

Ha, me too but didn't want to ask.

I Am the Cosimo Code (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 10 September 2013 00:31 (ten years ago) link

i think those are just throat-clearing sounds

congratulations (n/a), Tuesday, 10 September 2013 00:35 (ten years ago) link

Thought it might have something to do with Kool Herc but couldn't make it work.

I Am the Cosimo Code (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 10 September 2013 00:59 (ten years ago) link

sorry, Christ - internal code not translating: yes, herk HERM = throat-clearing. just entering object permanence stage of development brb.

Fizzles, Tuesday, 10 September 2013 07:23 (ten years ago) link

ha, right--thanks. I was googling herk and HERM and getting all sorts of things but nothing I could make sense of. thought it must have been some sort of cunning pirate site or torrent protocol.

ornamental cabbage (James Morrison), Tuesday, 10 September 2013 23:58 (ten years ago) link

People are making fun of the return of the Kindle DX, but I'm wondering if it might make a great pdf reader? I don't like reading pdfs on my laptop, and I have a Kindle but it's too small and the note-taking function is hopeless. Wondering if the new one might have made a better job of the note-taking. Might look into a second hand one if so.

ljubljana, Sunday, 22 September 2013 22:00 (ten years ago) link

I had an old DX and it was great for PDFs

los blue jeans, Monday, 23 September 2013 01:09 (ten years ago) link

I have nook HD and it is really great for PDF, esp things like illustrated textbooks etc

i believe we can c.h.u.d. all night (Jon Lewis), Monday, 23 September 2013 01:22 (ten years ago) link

Would love to go for the Nook, Kindle Fire, iPad Mini etc. because of their other features, but I'm really after an e-ink screen for the pdfs.

ljubljana, Monday, 23 September 2013 02:17 (ten years ago) link

will encourage you to wait for the iPad mini to get bumped up to a retina display, quite possibly in the next couple months, for PDF-reading nirvana.

i too went to college (silby), Monday, 23 September 2013 04:41 (ten years ago) link

Ah, yeah. I haven't really got any experience of reading a retina display. Will go hang out at an Apple store when the mini comes out...

ljubljana, Monday, 23 September 2013 11:17 (ten years ago) link

it's like normal seeing, but without your eyes being sliced up with razor blades

obi wankin' obi (Autumn Almanac), Monday, 23 September 2013 11:26 (ten years ago) link

rofl

i too went to college (silby), Monday, 23 September 2013 21:44 (ten years ago) link

i am currently considering my options vis a vis course notes and material

i have a laptop, heavy and noisy, that's right out.

i have pens and paper, not cool but a decent backup.

i have a kindle which is good to read on but this thread leaves me to believe would not be a very good pdf reader/study tool

and i have a generic android tablet with pdf reader and notes, which is a pig to type on.

good people of this thread, would you agree that a mix of tablet backed up by pens and paper for note taking is the way to go here?

if this is in another thread, pls redirect.

hey racists can be joyless too yknow (darraghmac), Tuesday, 1 October 2013 14:29 (ten years ago) link

my kindle is a lol kindle 3 btw

hey racists can be joyless too yknow (darraghmac), Tuesday, 1 October 2013 14:30 (ten years ago) link

kindles are incredible for reading things in a linear fashion, point a to b, such as a novel.

for stuff like travel guides, manuals, etc, they're almost worthless. it's really hard to jump around from point to point or "flip through" a book.

socki (s1ocki), Tuesday, 1 October 2013 14:31 (ten years ago) link

yeah that's exactly why i've discounted it- specialised to perfection but not what i need for college

hey racists can be joyless too yknow (darraghmac), Tuesday, 1 October 2013 14:44 (ten years ago) link

Tablet + pen and paper would make sense (I like pen and paper best for notes really), but could you get a light bluetooth (or similar) keyboard that can pair with the generic tablet, make it a better typing device?

woof, Tuesday, 1 October 2013 14:44 (ten years ago) link

there's a thought!

hey racists can be joyless too yknow (darraghmac), Tuesday, 1 October 2013 14:52 (ten years ago) link

research suggests i can get a case/stand with a built-in keyboard for about 15 quid is this too good to be true y/n

hey racists can be joyless too yknow (darraghmac), Tuesday, 1 October 2013 16:02 (ten years ago) link

It sort of depends why you're taking notes. I use pen and paper, but my purpose in taking notes is that it helps me focus my attention on the lecture -- I never LOOK at the notes afterwards, because the act of taking them causes me to remember what was said. If that's you, pen and paper is great.

If on the other hand you actually need to reference or search the notes, you should be typing on whatever device you're comfortable typing quickly on. For me, that's a laptop and only a laptop, but I know people who do it with a tablet + keyboard/case. Actually, full-sized bluetooth keyboard + tablet suggested by woof sounds like a great idea, though I've never tried that.

I also know people who write on the tablet screen with a stylus. This is good if there are lots of diagrams or other non-text material you want to include. But you'll have to try it yourself -- for me, any sustained "handwriting" with a stylus on a touchscreen is immensely uncomfortable.

Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 1 October 2013 16:09 (ten years ago) link

Good point, i think writing notes actually takes my attention away from the topic tb, but i like to take notes around the material provided by the lecturer.

hey racists can be joyless too yknow (darraghmac), Tuesday, 1 October 2013 17:36 (ten years ago) link

i couldn't take notes without having an actual keyboard of some kind - the classic kindle one is crap and fuck a touchscreen. i'd say get a blackberry, or a little usb keyboard for an android tablet or ipad.

NI, Tuesday, 1 October 2013 19:25 (ten years ago) link

could you get a light bluetooth (or similar) keyboard that can pair with the generic tablet, make it a better typing device?

― woof, Wednesday, 2 October 2013 00:44 (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i do that with my ipad at work, and it works incredibly well.

darragh, in all honesty you might be better off writing on paper, scanning your notes into something like evernote, and reviewing them on your android tablet. if a solution feels like it might be too clunky to work, it probably is.

obi wankin' obi (Autumn Almanac), Tuesday, 1 October 2013 21:59 (ten years ago) link

there's three difft classes this semester, the maths one is gonna be p obviously simpler to have pen and pad to work out the probs with, the programming element i might or might not bring the laptop in for anyway (cos of 1/2 practical element)

it's only the last one that really revolves around 'notes' so idk

i am typing on tablet atm and it is ...... not bad at all

anyroad, all notes are supplied via pdf, and for all the actual note-taking i'll be doing i think the combined tablet-for-reading and good old A4 pad for my own muddled thoughts will prob be fine.

but it was an interesting discussion and i very much enjoyed it

hey racists can be joyless too yknow (darraghmac), Tuesday, 1 October 2013 22:44 (ten years ago) link

one month passes...

ok, question. how do kids get along with ereaders?

(i have a spare nook simple touch and was going to fill it full of public domain kids' books and pass it on but i am worried that said kids are just gonna want, say, the new Horrible Histories instead.

said kids are 7 and 8 with reading ages well beyond this)

koogs, Friday, 22 November 2013 09:49 (ten years ago) link

I think kids who read well and often tend to want ALL THE BOOKS so you can't go wrong with an ereader full of them.

grown-arsed man (onimo), Friday, 22 November 2013 14:18 (ten years ago) link

Just out of curiosity, what if any mileage are people getting out of the Matchbook program? I've been buying stuff from them for over a decade, easily hundreds of books, and so far all it's offered me are eleven titles, including a Mediterranean Diet cookbook I bought for my mom.

CAROUSEL! CAROUSEL! (Telephone thing), Friday, 22 November 2013 16:20 (ten years ago) link

3 titles, all since 2011, which is just about when I mostly stopped buying physical books from Amazon.

Kiarostami bag (milo z), Friday, 22 November 2013 16:23 (ten years ago) link

The number of titles in the program is tiny, like a few tens of thousands, many of which are Kindle Direct Publishing titles anyway. They seem to have launched it with the bare minimum of titles on board to make it not look like a total joke.

i too went to college (silby), Friday, 22 November 2013 22:09 (ten years ago) link


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