Amazon Kindle (ebook thingy)

my kindle is a lol kindle 3 btw

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.

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

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?

there's a thought!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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)

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.

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.

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

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.

Waterstones are currently selling the Amazon Kindle (ebook thingy) for £49.

http://www.whsmith.co.uk/dept/kobo-ereaders-kobo-mini/list?page=1&results=60

just saying... 8)

http://www.johnlewis.com/nook-simple-touch-glowlight-ereader/p231759497

nook simple touch with glowlight £49

nearly went for a nook a couple of months ago but i read that it doesn't do well with PDFs or some other file formats?

i didn't like the nook simple touch i got (same as glowlight minus the glowlight bit) when they were going for £29 some months ago, seemed big and clunky compared to the kobo mini (mini is tiny though, postcard size)

and both those would struggle with pdfs, i guess, just because of the 600x800 resolution and the e-ink. (i have some cbrs and the screen's just too small. you can zoom in and move around but the refresh rate makes it painful).

what's the resolution on the kindle? (oh, 800x600. screen an inch bigger than mini though)

The Paperwhite has higher resolution...

and are £60 more than the one onimo mentioned... (at waterstones, £10 cheaper at amazon)

seem to have lost my kindle at the same time i lost my scarf, phone charger and debit card. can't quite decide whether to do sthng about this.

have an ebook that I was gifted --- started reading it on my 2nd gen ipad, but was getting headaches from the reflection etc. Mr Veg loaded it onto his Kindle for me to loan

...pretty sure this is the end of me being a holdout. I kinda love it! So easy to cart around and battery life is ridic and my eyes don't freak out trying to adjust to it, doesn't feel at all like reading off a screen

am v impressed, hello vg welcome to 2005 lol

i was hating the idea of these things for years and now I want one. I give up.

resistance is futile etc

Welcome welcome

i'm getting one for christmas, i also never wanted one but now i really do for all the vg reasons.

I think i shall invent a case for them that rustles and smells of old pages would that sooth yis do yis think

yes please!

in my head I'm like, 'well if I had one of my own I'd still probably alternate with actual book-books because you know books are still great' but....lol

Striking me as a legit idea that tbh, you could sell addon bottles of book spray

it cld be like an ultrasonic humidifier that gently puffs out scented mist from a little port on the rim...

yeah or some kind of sensor that sprays a little puff of eau de old book when you open yr kindle cover

great minds lol xpost

i don't hold a sacred attitude towards paper books, i'm forever trying to get rid of them, they are a big plague at my small house, i just was convinced the ipad would get the job done but my poor eyes can't take it any more.

xp still alternate! (im still workin through books from years ago tbh)

I read so much quicker on the kindle its ridiculous

I got one, have read a few books on it, to be honest I don't find it worth the bother and mostly stick to paperbacks. It is very good for checking out library e-books for my kid when he wants them NOW instead of next time we go to the library, but he too mostly likes paperbacks.

the main reason I'm testing mr veg's kindle is because I am taking a flight to Aus in Feb, and I thought I might kindle on the plane

last time I flew I bought Stephen King's 11/22/63 in hardcover to read on the plane ...at the same time that mr veg bought his kindle for the plane trip. I was giving him so much side-eye by the end of our first leg, whyyyyyyyy did I buy this stupid heavy book damn u stephen king what was I thinking etc

> well if I had one of my own I'd still probably alternate with actual book-books

this is valid. most of my e-reading is classics from gutenberg, most of my, er, p-reading is new, modern(ish) books (or re-reads of things i already had). it's a good balance.

i still don't think i'd buy a new book electronically. ebooks aren't even cheaper in most cases. (those 99p mcbains were tempting though)

the main reason I'm testing mr veg's kindle is because I am taking a flight to Aus in Feb, and I thought I might kindle on the plane

I bought a kindle for my trip and it rules super-hard. I've read idk 60-odd books I wouldn't have been able to carry around the world, and using "send to Kindle" on long articles on the web is also tear-bringingly wonderful

my dream of owning an e-reader is entirely about being able to tote round multi-volume old histories on pdf wherever

YES the plane is where the kindle really shines (and 11/22/63 is actually one of the few books I've managed to finish on it!)

mr veg got into a v amusing argument with the flight attendant when she asked him to turn it off and he said 'it is off' and she was like 'well you're still reading it' etc and he's enjoying himself immensely and she's getting kinda shirtly and I was low-whispering to him 'dude this is not the time to be pedantic fyi'

FAA due to raise all restrictions on use (including during take-off) imminently - the rest of the world are waiting for the USA to say it's OK then fall in line immediately. (Most allow it already but are in principle awaiting on the FAA saying it's fine.)

my trick with my kindle on flights is to put it away when the attendants are sweeping the aisles checking for seatbelts, etc; then when you hear "flight attendants please be seated for takeoff" bring it back out. my the time they get back up it will be all clear anyway.

alternative: i've never gotten hassled about keeping my kindle out when i fly first class.

As someone who knows about this stuff, the difference between "off" and reading on a Kindle is only that it puts up an all-white screen (and turns off the radios, if the device wasn't already in Airplane mode). Everything else is exactly the same.

I like my friend's e-ink Kindle b/c it's really easy on the eyes like paper. Are the non-e-ink Kindles as readable? I'm wondering whether I should just skip a Kindle and get an iPad for e-books.

i get headaches trying to read on ipad for any great length of time