Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by Mintz on Monday July 27, 2009 @11:16AM
(#725983)
I bought a Kindle for my technologically-inept mom, and she loves it. Things like the font, screen color, etc. don't bother her, because she focuses on the bigger picture: thousands of books on a portable device that's supported by the world's largest internet book retailer. That is, she says, the next logical step for books to take.
Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by dlevine on Monday July 27, 2009 @10:51AM
(#725925)
I think that for the Kindle to become something more than a high-end toy, Amazon is going to have to drop the price to about $99. Then they would sell millions.
Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by sjs382 on Monday July 27, 2009 @07:03PM
(#726972)
No you don't.
Yes, I do. I need a 1/2" frame around the edge of the machine but beyond that, I just want screen real estate. Take a look at the Sony PRS-700BC. That would be the ideal machine if it worked with the Amazon book store (ignoring the 1984-ocalypse)
Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by andreyf on Tuesday July 28, 2009 @06:14AM
(#727681)
Well, it's certainly just a personal preference, but I tried both, and liked the Kindle more - I like having my thumb firmly on the bottom part of the device when reading, with Sony's reader I felt constantly afraid of touching the screen.
Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by Oompa on Monday July 27, 2009 @11:09AM
(#725972)
And add more textbooks. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if they were cheaper and I could get all my textbooks on it for rather cheap (I'm not going to pay another $170 for a textbook just so I can have it on the kindle).
Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by btdxtrt on Monday July 27, 2009 @11:17AM
(#725986)
And when your school requires a textbook that is only available on kindle so you can't buy a used copy or borrow one from the library, or share a friend's - then how much do you think they can/will charge for textbooks ?
I'm betting on some very large 'incentive' payments to schools to try this, along with some seminars in Hawaii to explain to college presidents how wonderful this will be.
Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by andreyf on Monday July 27, 2009 @01:47PM
(#726289)
"Saddled with DRM", how exactly? It gives publishers a right to their content as defined by copyright law, and lets you put on un-DRM-ed PDF's and text files in any way you see fit.
Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by andreyf on Monday July 27, 2009 @05:38PM
(#726810)
It doesn't seem like it, but from what I understand in the wikipedia article you linked, while the first-sale doctrine says copyright law doesn't apply to resale of copyright, it doesn't guarantee it your reselling as a right. But I don't know much about it at all, please correct me if I'm wrong.
Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by RyanMcGreal on Tuesday July 28, 2009 @09:06AM
(#727815)
"Saddled with DRM", how exactly?
Amazon reserves the right to delete files from your device if it decides they violate Amazon's terms of service. That in itself is enough DRM to keep me away.
Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by onreact-com on Monday July 27, 2009 @11:39AM
(#726022)
The Kindle or any other reader should be free. They should earn the money by selling books.
I still cringe at the thought of paying money for a device that solely allows me to read. It's like building a device that allows me to breathe and sell it as the next big thing.
We already can read books without a "gadget" so forcing us to buy an expensive one in order to do the same thing we've always done for free sees bizarre at the core.
Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by gjm11 on Monday July 27, 2009 @12:09PM
(#726089)
You can buy (and some people do buy) a device that solely allows you to breathe. For instance, a snorkel. Of course, it's more accurate to say that it's a device that allows you to breathe underwater; likewise, it's more accurate to say that a Kindle is a device that allows you to read without carrying around so many heavy books. Similarly, some people pay for cutlery and crockery to allow them to eat (more pleasantly), or telephones to allow them to talk (even when the person they're talking to isn't nearby), even though eating and talking aren't much less fundamental than breathing.
Re:Kindle and the Future of Reading
by neilc on Monday July 27, 2009 @01:30PM
(#726270)
I still cringe at the thought of paying money for a device that solely allows me to read.
I don't see how that's any different than paying for a device that solely allows you to listen to music.
It's like building a device that allows me to breathe and sell it as the next big thing.
That's silly; you can read without a Kindle, of course. The Kindle just offers an arguably better content delivery system, and I don't think it's at all unreasonable to expect people to pay for that.
No you don't. You want a large surface to hold the device, to move it from hand to hand, and to not touch/smudge the screen.
Yes, I do. I need a 1/2" frame around the edge of the machine but beyond that, I just want screen real estate. Take a look at the Sony PRS-700BC. That would be the ideal machine if it worked with the Amazon book store (ignoring the 1984-ocalypse)
I'm betting on some very large 'incentive' payments to schools to try this, along with some seminars in Hawaii to explain to college presidents how wonderful this will be.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=726389
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine
Amazon reserves the right to delete files from your device if it decides they violate Amazon's terms of service. That in itself is enough DRM to keep me away.
I still cringe at the thought of paying money for a device that solely allows me to read. It's like building a device that allows me to breathe and sell it as the next big thing.
We already can read books without a "gadget" so forcing us to buy an expensive one in order to do the same thing we've always done for free sees bizarre at the core.
I don't see how that's any different than paying for a device that solely allows you to listen to music.
It's like building a device that allows me to breathe and sell it as the next big thing.
That's silly; you can read without a Kindle, of course. The Kindle just offers an arguably better content delivery system, and I don't think it's at all unreasonable to expect people to pay for that.
Ugh, what terrible writing.