ebook readers

[Ed Anger]

Also, the best freebie program I've found for converting books is Calibre:

http://calibre-ebook.com/

[Josquius]

I'm really not getting where the cost is on these. They're really basic stuff, just text readers that struggle with graphics. Is it the uber battery life or the e-paper which bumps up the price?

[derspiess]

I'm really not getting where the cost is on these. They're really basic stuff, just text readers that struggle with graphics. Is it the uber battery life or the e-paper which bumps up the price?

The e-ink is a good part of the reason, though that is sure to become less of a factor as more of these are cranked out.  Lack of competition has also been a factor, but that seems to be changing as well.

We had been stuck at the early part of the curve, but I think the Kindle finally started making e-books less of a novelty (even thought it didn't initially do much to help prices come down).  Give it a few months & these things will be much cheaper, with more variety.

[Ed Anger]

They are down to 150 smackers with the oldest, the fictionwise one, is at 89.

The jetbook lite with AA batteries instead of the rechargeable battery, was 119 this holiday.

[Ed Anger]

Just discovered the major flaw with the Jetbook:

USB 1.1. Egads, talk about slow transfers. 

[Ed Anger]

And after a month of use, the thrill is gone. 

[Josquius]

Blimey:
http://consumerist.com/2009/07/amazon-deletes-your-books-has-always-been-at-war-with-eastasia.html

[Alatriste]

Blimey:
http://consumerist.com/2009/07/amazon-deletes-your-books-has-always-been-at-war-with-eastasia.html

You really hadn't heard about this? Hereby your nerd license is suspended. Please turn in your glasses and your pocket protector...

In other news, I agree with this man

"Already purchased ebooks residing on consumers’ Kindles should have been left alone. Amazon should have simply removed the ebooks from its bookstore. And the proper thing to do would have been to give current customers of the aforementioned books the option to voluntarily sell it back to Amazon. Of course, Amazon should have sweetened the deal with an extra dose of credit. And that wouldn’t have been strange. Or scary."

The deletion is scary enough, the arrogance is scarier... but the amount of ignorance displayed (George Orwell, no less... do Amazon staff actually read?) is even worse.

[Ed Anger]

Using the jetbook again, I noticed the LED is always BLINKING. Which is apparently normal. 

I felt like Shatner during Airplane II.

get them to blink in sequence!

[Ed Anger]

For those waiting for the readers to drop to 99 bucks or lower, Walgreens.com has a reader for 99 bucks.

[grumbler]

In other news, I agree with this man

"Already purchased ebooks residing on consumers' Kindles should have been left alone. Amazon should have simply removed the ebooks from its bookstore. And the proper thing to do would have been to give current customers of the aforementioned books the option to voluntarily sell it back to Amazon. Of course, Amazon should have sweetened the deal with an extra dose of credit. And that wouldn't have been strange. Or scary."

The deletion is scary enough, the arrogance is scarier... but the amount of ignorance displayed (George Orwell, no less... do Amazon staff actually read?) is even worse.

  What evidence do you have that this is "arrogance" and not simply the step the law requires them to take if they discover they have been selling fraudulently obtained property?

The ignorance being displayed in this case is, I would argue, being exhibited by those who assume that Amazon was somehow acting dishonestly or arbitrarily in this case.  It may be that Amazon didn't have to "retrieve" the illegal copies, but to assume that they didn't is unwarranted and

[derspiess]

For those waiting for the readers to drop to 99 bucks or lower, Walgreens.com has a reader for 99 bucks.

Lol is it made by: Coby?

[Ed Anger]

For those waiting for the readers to drop to 99 bucks or lower, Walgreens.com has a reader for 99 bucks.

Lol is it made by: Coby?

Delstar. http://delstar.net/

[Alatriste]

In other news, I agree with this man

"Already purchased ebooks residing on consumers’ Kindles should have been left alone. Amazon should have simply removed the ebooks from its bookstore. And the proper thing to do would have been to give current customers of the aforementioned books the option to voluntarily sell it back to Amazon. Of course, Amazon should have sweetened the deal with an extra dose of credit. And that wouldn’t have been strange. Or scary."

The deletion is scary enough, the arrogance is scarier... but the amount of ignorance displayed (George Orwell, no less... do Amazon staff actually read?) is even worse.

  What evidence do you have that this is "arrogance" and not simply the step the law requires them to take if they discover they have been selling fraudulently obtained property?

The ignorance being displayed in this case is, I would argue, being exhibited by those who assume that Amazon was somehow acting dishonestly or arbitrarily in this case.  It may be that Amazon didn't have to "retrieve" the illegal copies, but to assume that they didn't is unwarranted and

Man, trolling after 40 days? Is this some Old Testament thing? 

All I'm going to say is this. And I mean it.

1. If you are claiming the law required Amazon to erase those books without prior warning, it's you who must present at least a tiny pretense of evidence. Instead of that you are requiring me to provide evidence that the law didn't force Amazon to act in that way, and that is odd even by your standards...

Until such evidence is presented, I will consider the absence or prior warning by Amazon as arrogant and using their power to delete files on Orwell books of all things, incredibly ignorant. What did they expect, cheering and applauding?

2. Amazon can access your Kindle, check what you have stored on it, and keep complete control over the device you bought. They can delete files in your Kindle, not only the books they sold you, but also things like the notes you took. Tinfoil? Hah!

3. I didn't say anything about Amazon behaving 'dishonestly or arbitrarily'. I said what happened was scary, and that the arrogance and ignorance displayed by Amazon was worse. Not the same things... One can be at the same time honest, lawful, scary, arrogant and ignorant. Paladins, for example. 

[HisMajestyBOB]

I got a Kindle when I went back to the States a few weeks ago. I've been using it here in Korea, and it's pretty cool. It's very useful to buy books for $6.00 online, instead of 18,000 won in the book stores.

And I've backed up my e-books, even the Amazon ones, by zipping them to my hard drive. Take that Alatriste's Vast Amazon Conspiracy!