These are legitimate concerns regarding the Kindle, yet I must admit, I've still not found any eReaders that are better ergonomically than the Kindle DXG. It has a 9.7" display with Pearl e-Ink, which handles PDFs well and is gentle on the eyes... unlike my netbook, whose tiny, high-intensity LCD screen has my retinas bubbling after an hour or so. (A netbook is also far too unwieldy to read in any of the unorthodox positions we like to settle into when reading, be that in bed, on a beanbag, or half-on half-off a couch. Let's not forget that the act of reading is also spatial!)
Nevertheless, agreed that the Kindle has some real issues on the software and privacy front. Buyers beware. Incidentally, those same issues can also be fixed by an intrepid user, but that leads off into a grey area of what is "appropriate" to do with the technology you've paid for...
All the best,
Ben
On Sun, 6 Nov 2011 11:34:21 +0100, Margaret Gouin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>On 6 November 2011 06:17, David Mattichak <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Hi all;
>>
>> Amazon is the worst place to get e-books of any sort because of the deal
>> that they have going with kindle. I am not a big fan of the kindle, I see
>> it as a kind of toy really. The sony reader is good but limited. Smart
>> devices are good by the PC or laptop is the best. I suppose that tablets
>> would be good too but I haven't really looked at them much.
>>
>
>
> The Amazon Kindle kerfuffle is here:
>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html
>
>Lawsuits resulted, as I understand; not only did Amazon arbitrarily delete
>the books, but its action also deleted all the notes people had made on
>those books. Some of those people were students and academics, and they
>were upset. A note about Kindle: not only does Amazon know exactly what you
>have on your device, and not only can Amazon arbitrarily alter that, it
>also knows where you are. Avoid them. They aren't just toys, they're
>invasive toys.
>
>I have a Bebook One. It handles 23 formats including Microsoft .doc and
>.ppt, .jpg (black and white) and music (mp3). Also .html, I can download
>articles and web pages directly to the Bebook and read while travelling or
>whatever. I wouldn't be without mine, but still find that for serious
>studying, I need hard copy. For the best electronic reading, Dave is right,
>a computer works better than any of the alternatives--an inexpensive
>netbook is a lightweight and flexible reading platform. At least that's
>what I've worked out for my own reading.
>
>Pitch--google 'remove DRM from ebook' and see how many hits you get. Once
>the DRM is off the file, it can be shared as widely as you wish. Of course
>you would only do this to lend your books to friends...
>
>Margaret
>
>--
>Margaret Gouin
>http://independent.academia.edu/ad3b
>Author, Tibetan Rituals of Death : Buddhist funerary
>practices<http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415566360/>
>
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