NewsWeek drops print.
Already, though so far primarily from "independent" publishers, many books are only available as ebooks. Now magazines are going the same way. I don't think the future is far away where if you can't or won't use a tablet/ereader or computer screen, your choice of reading material will be severely restricted, and eventually ridiculously small.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Cheap subs
"If you're gonna hang out with mechanics, those are the ones to do it with." - Chandler Bing, Friends, about Popular Mechanics.I just took out a new Zinio subscription. Popular Mechanics, 24 issues (guess it's two years): fifteen pounds sterling! Man, that's a price I can live with. Viva la digital.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Orée wooden keyboard
I may not get Orée wooden keyboard, because I'm addicted to "clicky" keyboards with alpen switches (like Matias), but otherwise I might have. (I already have a wooden iPhone case.) This is a real nice piece for a boss office or a writer's office.
(It comes in Mac and Windows versions.)
This is the walnut version, they also have a lighter maple version. I always liked darker wood though.
Hmm, maybe I'll get one just for the iPad in my living room. It should look good on my heavy walnut table.
(It comes in Mac and Windows versions.)
This is the walnut version, they also have a lighter maple version. I always liked darker wood though.
Hmm, maybe I'll get one just for the iPad in my living room. It should look good on my heavy walnut table.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Send to Kindle
There is a Send-To-Kindle extension for Safari and Chrome.
(For me, the bookmarklet does not work, but once the extension is installed and Safari is restarted the "K" icon in the toolbar works nicely.)
(For me, the bookmarklet does not work, but once the extension is installed and Safari is restarted the "K" icon in the toolbar works nicely.)
Friday, October 12, 2012
Paperwhite and Amz lending library coming to UK
The Kindle Paperwhite and the Amazon lending library (free with Prime membership) are coming to UK this month. Huzzah.
(The device is also coming to France and Germany. It's less clear about the library.)
(The device is also coming to France and Germany. It's less clear about the library.)
Txtr Beagle, a €10 ereader?
Txtr Beagle aims to corner low-end e-reader market for $13, article.
The device seems quite interesting. Exceptionally small, most of the body is only 5mm thick, and it runs for a year on three AAA batteries. The ten Euro price is based on subsidising.
But what I want to know is, what will it cost, and can one even get it, without phone carrier contract? I don't need another phone contract, thanks, but I might be interested in a €30 ereader.
It's amazing how a simple B/W ereader can not only get you a handsome mate, but then also be more compelling than said handsome mate!
The device seems quite interesting. Exceptionally small, most of the body is only 5mm thick, and it runs for a year on three AAA batteries. The ten Euro price is based on subsidising.
But what I want to know is, what will it cost, and can one even get it, without phone carrier contract? I don't need another phone contract, thanks, but I might be interested in a €30 ereader.
It's amazing how a simple B/W ereader can not only get you a handsome mate, but then also be more compelling than said handsome mate!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Early Paperwhite report
I've just had my Kindle Paperwhite for a few hours, so briefly:
No, the screen is not perfect. Compared to the iPad three's, it's less sharp and less even.
But I do think it's the best non-backlit screen we've had yet. (And it's hardly fair to compare it directly with the best screen broadly available.)
And more importantly for me, since as you know I never liked the dark e-ink screens, early evidence seems to point to that with the front light, this is a device I can use for longer stretches of time than I can backlit screens.
I am still curious as to why exactly it should be like that, but it's true, there's still something about backlit screens which makes it just a bit more of an effort to look at them.
For quick reading (like typical on the web) and many other things, they are just great. But... I was just listening to Iain M. Banks' new book on audio, and I decided to read along on the Paperwhite. I stopped the audio to take it a slightly puzzling sentence... and then several pages later I discovered I had forgotten the audio book and just been reading on the KPW. Somehow I had the feeling it wouldn't have happened with the iPad, there is just this small, odd strain...
It'll be interesting to see how this affects my book-reading, because while I always read a lot, in recent years a lot of it has either been articles, or audiobooks, or, well, unfinished books.
Update:
TTL says:
Simply put: reflected light excites the brain in a different way than direct light. Reflected light provides 3D information of the object/scene, while direct light provides merely a 2D image.
Watching direct light is tiring because, for one thing, the brain can not detect the distance of the object (text). Also, the image of the page becomes a kind of a "hole" in the scene. It doesn't reflect light from the environment, so it can not be integrated with the scene.
-
No, the screen is not perfect. Compared to the iPad three's, it's less sharp and less even.
But I do think it's the best non-backlit screen we've had yet. (And it's hardly fair to compare it directly with the best screen broadly available.)
And more importantly for me, since as you know I never liked the dark e-ink screens, early evidence seems to point to that with the front light, this is a device I can use for longer stretches of time than I can backlit screens.
I am still curious as to why exactly it should be like that, but it's true, there's still something about backlit screens which makes it just a bit more of an effort to look at them.
For quick reading (like typical on the web) and many other things, they are just great. But... I was just listening to Iain M. Banks' new book on audio, and I decided to read along on the Paperwhite. I stopped the audio to take it a slightly puzzling sentence... and then several pages later I discovered I had forgotten the audio book and just been reading on the KPW. Somehow I had the feeling it wouldn't have happened with the iPad, there is just this small, odd strain...
It'll be interesting to see how this affects my book-reading, because while I always read a lot, in recent years a lot of it has either been articles, or audiobooks, or, well, unfinished books.
Update:
TTL says:
Simply put: reflected light excites the brain in a different way than direct light. Reflected light provides 3D information of the object/scene, while direct light provides merely a 2D image.
Watching direct light is tiring because, for one thing, the brain can not detect the distance of the object (text). Also, the image of the page becomes a kind of a "hole" in the scene. It doesn't reflect light from the environment, so it can not be integrated with the scene.
-
An Open Letter to Fiction Writers
An Open Letter to Fiction Writers, article.
Let's be frank: we're not the healthiest-minded bunch. If we were we'd spend our days doing something more pleasant than writing fiction. But lately we seem to have taken a turn for the worse. We look out at the shifting landscape of publishing - e-books rising, big publishers quaking - and obsessively ask, both publicly and privately, Is the novel dead? Is it all Fifty Shades of Twilight from here on out? Are we going the way of the poets, soon to be read by only each other?
-
Let's be frank: we're not the healthiest-minded bunch. If we were we'd spend our days doing something more pleasant than writing fiction. But lately we seem to have taken a turn for the worse. We look out at the shifting landscape of publishing - e-books rising, big publishers quaking - and obsessively ask, both publicly and privately, Is the novel dead? Is it all Fifty Shades of Twilight from here on out? Are we going the way of the poets, soon to be read by only each other?
-
Friday, October 5, 2012
My Paperwhite...
Oh durnit, I could have had my Kindle Paperwhite today. But it's just sitting on a shelf in Manchester, "available upon receipt of payment", according the DHL's site. (Import tax.)Why didn't they just turn up with the parcel and a credit card reader?
That's what UPS does. Or at least they take cash, for reasonable amounts.
I didn't even get any notice about this. I thought courier services were all about speed and efficiency.
Update:
I got it today, early Monday morning.
It was the usual guy, and he told me that the thing about leaving it a day to soak when they need to collect a fee, is Just Something They Do Now, he didn't know why.
He also didn't know why they stopped just sending out a bill after delivery, but probably they had too much work collecting, I'd guess.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
New Study Suggests E-ink is NOT Better for Your Eyes Than LCDs
New Study Suggests E-ink is NOT Better for Your Eyes Than LCDs, article.
The results of the study didn’t show a significant difference in reading on the two types of screens, and in fact that the effect of reading on the two display types is very similar in terms of both subjective and objective measures.
Older studies did tend to show a difference, with screen reading being worse. So the article speculates that the new results may be due to the iPad's very high screen resolution, which fortunately is rapidly becoming the new norm on tablets.
I dunno. I was never sure I could tell the difference. And it never seemed logical to me that it should make a difference whether the light reaching your eyes was backlit or reflected. Light is light. When people say "it's like having a flashlight in your eyes", they are not really talking about the source of the light, they are talking about contrast. If you're outside on a bright day, there's nothing uncomfortable about looking at a flashlight. So part of the problem may be that many people have the contrast between the screen and the room being too high.
The results of the study didn’t show a significant difference in reading on the two types of screens, and in fact that the effect of reading on the two display types is very similar in terms of both subjective and objective measures.
Older studies did tend to show a difference, with screen reading being worse. So the article speculates that the new results may be due to the iPad's very high screen resolution, which fortunately is rapidly becoming the new norm on tablets.
I dunno. I was never sure I could tell the difference. And it never seemed logical to me that it should make a difference whether the light reaching your eyes was backlit or reflected. Light is light. When people say "it's like having a flashlight in your eyes", they are not really talking about the source of the light, they are talking about contrast. If you're outside on a bright day, there's nothing uncomfortable about looking at a flashlight. So part of the problem may be that many people have the contrast between the screen and the room being too high.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Fresh reviews of Kindle Paperwhite
And here is Wired's KP review.
Sun-Times KP review.
Gizmodo KP review.
Engadget KP review.
The Verge KP review.
The Kindle Paperwhite is the successor to a long line of innovative and daring products that seek to move book reading into the new century — and it's a terrific product. I was truly delighted while using the device, and for a moment at least, actually envisioned a future where something like the Paperwhite was the only way that I read books. That was a weird moment.
I felt that way after I'd been using the iPad for a couple of months. Which surprised me, I had just hoped ereading could become "as good as" paper, not better.
You'd think that something like paperbooks, something that's been one of the most important things in my life since I was seven, would be slow to let go of, but it just slipped to the side like a hotdog wrapper out of a car window. (Which I don't do, thank you very much!) Here was the same in a better form.
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