Kindle

Nov 22, 2011
1,296
Ericson 26-2 San Pedro, CA
I guess I am a "geezer", but I want something I can hold and pass on once I'm gone. I don't want to rent for my life, only.

If you "purchase" anything on the cloud, it's fine for you. BUT, once you pass on, zip, nada, nothing remains.

Greg
Why would that be? My wife and I share the same Amazon account and we have access to all of the same books across all of our devices. If I were to croak she could still read all of my stuff--if she wanted to.
 
Jan 22, 2008
551
NorSea 27 Az., Doing the To-Do list
Why would that be? My wife and I share the same Amazon account and we have access to all of the same books across all of our devices. If I were to croak she could still read all of my stuff--if she wanted to.
How about the kids? We have over 1000 vinyl albums, once worthless, now, not so much. ;)

Greg
 
Nov 22, 2011
1,296
Ericson 26-2 San Pedro, CA
I don't think I have seen a comment about the size and weight of the reader. Understand that when reading a book you are going to want to hold the unit in one hand for rather long periods of time and if it is too large for your hand or too heavy it might not be what you want. Kindle readers are usually smaller and lighter than tablets.
The Kindle is easily held in one hand for long periods. It's no more difficult than holding a printed book--and easier to hold than some books.

On another note: I find that using a Kindle is superior to a printed book if you are interested simply in reading the book straight through. Where it is not so great is if you want to flip around the book. It's possible to do this but cumbersome.

Also, know that for books that exist in both print and Kindle versions, not all Kindle implementations of the book embed page numbers that match the print edition. This is a problem for me when I am doing academic work and need to cite a specific page number to the standard print edition. Newer books by major publishers tend not to suffer from this problem as much, but older books converted to Kindle format often do.

On the plus side, though, it is possible to search a Kindle book electronically, which is something you can't do with a printed book (apart from scanning it and then running OCR on it).

For me, I use the Kindle for stuff I want to just read through for fun, where I'm not going to be flipping back and forth through the book or needing to cite a reference to the book in a footnote. There's a ton of free stuff on Amazon's site, and also books that are very inexpensive compared to the print editions. So, for example, I downloaded Don Quixote (free), Tacitus (cheap), etc. This is the stuff I just read while laying in bed before dozing off, and it's really nice to be able to read with the room lights off and then just close the Kindle when I'm ready to zonk out.
 
Nov 22, 2011
1,296
Ericson 26-2 San Pedro, CA
How about the kids? We have over 1000 vinyl albums, once worthless, now, not so much. ;)

Greg
None of the stuff I read on my Kindle would interest my kids in the slightest! (See my other post on this.) By having it in the cloud it is just less junk for them to toss on my demise.
 
Jan 22, 2008
551
NorSea 27 Az., Doing the To-Do list
None of the stuff I read on my Kindle would interest my kids in the slightest! (See my other post on this.) By having it in the cloud it is just less junk for them to toss on my demise.
I forgot to mention one of the things that took me by surprise, and really soured me on the cloud stuff.

If you remember, some time back Amazon.com sold an ebook and then found out they did not have the right to sell. That same day, the ebook magically went away on ALL Kindles devices. :eek:

They did say, "sorry" and refunded the $$, BUT!!!!!! AND, IF they can do that with that book, what else can be done?

Also, Jill and I cruise for extended times, it's VERY hard to do a book exchange with an ebook unless you have the NON-DRM file. Like I said, we carry about 1500 non-drm ePub books on a CD with us, for exchanging. :D

Greg
 
Oct 2, 2008
3,811
Pearson/ 530 Strafford, NH
Also, Jill and I cruise for extended times, it's VERY hard to do a book exchange with an ebook unless you have the NON-DRM file. Like I said, we carry about 1500 non-drm ePub books on a CD with us, for exchanging. :D

Greg
So how do you transfer from CD to the reader, using a USB connection? How did you get the original books to load the CD? Wouldn't it be nice if SBO had an exchange for e-books so we could share a few?

We saw an 6 year old Kindle today and our friend uses Amazon and the local library. Currently she has about 150 loaded. At two books a week I would think that would be enough. She also said she uses a bookmark so her husband could read along at a different pace. The other thing with Amazon was that she shares with her son and daughter-in-law in England.

Like Ron said last week, I'm finding more stuff I know nothing about.

All U Get
 
Jan 22, 2008
551
NorSea 27 Az., Doing the To-Do list
So how do you transfer from CD to the reader, using a USB connection? How did you get the original books to load the CD? Wouldn't it be nice if SBO had an exchange for e-books so we could share a few?

We saw an 6 year old Kindle today and our friend uses Amazon and the local library. Currently she has about 150 loaded. At two books a week I would think that would be enough. She also said she uses a bookmark so her husband could read along at a different pace. The other thing with Amazon was that she shares with her son and daughter-in-law in England.

Like Ron said last week, I'm finding more stuff I know nothing about.

All U Get
All,

Back in the late 80's I found a CD for sale for about $12 (I think it was from Walnut Creek) that had 1500 ASC II books on it. ALL sorted by author. I bought it and have saved it ever since. A couple of years ago I ran across a program called, "Calibre". It's free, and designed to help out with all ebooks. Not only can it talk to the readers over a cable like USB, but it will also convert one format to another. You can see it at;
http://calibre-ebook.com/

I used Calibre to convert the ASC II docks to the ePub format. I then use it to load what books I want on my Nook or on Jill's Sony. I also put a copy of the books on an external hard drive so I can pass them on to any one who would like them as we cruise. normally I only have 5 or 10 books on the erader so they are fast & easy to access. I expect if the newer ereader has WiFi you might be able to transfer the books that way, but I am not sure. :confused:

SBO could set up a library, but it would be just as easy to hop on over to one of the already set-up ones like Project Gutenberg ( http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page ) or ManyBooks ( http://manybooks.net// ). There are a few more that we have used over time, but these are good ones.

If ya see us out & about, dink on over and we would be happy to share. ;)

Greg
 
Jan 26, 2008
50
Hunter 31- Deale
Hi all,

Seems like the Quilting group has been advising my wife on the benefits of reading from an electronic pad. Do any sailors use a Kindle (Apple)or Nook (the other guys)? I saw a Nook in Barnes and Noble and it appears that you could add GPS and other Apps like Active Captain. Maybe I could salvage some little corner of the memory for nautical purposes.

(The Quilting group is that group of friends that talk about visiting the world but can't get out of their rockers to get their next glass of wine. I guess paperback books are a lot of trouble to deal with. Order on line, pay on line, drink some wine.)

I did a search and see mostly Kindle posts, does it compare better than the Nook? Any input would help.

All U Get
Kindle Paper White - best in sunlight, excellent battery life, and you can import word files as a book. I have all my boat checklists on my Paper White. iPad works great as a poor man's plotter. I like Charts & Tides with Active Captain. I use a plug in module for the GPS on the iPad.
 
Oct 14, 2005
2,191
1983 Hunter H34 North East, MD
Two more cents worth...

I've had a Kindel Paperwhite for well over a year now. Battery life is the best of all my electronic toys. A wall plug-in USB charger once a week to ten days overnight works well, even with fairly steady use.

It is strictly an E-Book reader, with no other applications available, nor does it have sound capability for audiobooks. As been said, it is NOT a tablet!!!The image though is very sharp, type size and backlighting adjustable, and pictures in grayscales viewable.

I usually have close to two dozen books loaded on it at any time, in many genre's, to vary my reading interests. I use it strictly for book reading material (I spend a lot of time in doctor's offices due to my wife's health issues--two year old Time mags are no longer of interest...).

My book selections come from our area's local library systems. They use the Overdrive e-book management system for their e-book licensing arrangements. It's not the easiest to search through, but workable. Some titles have multiple copies, others only one. You can put a "Hold" in on a title that is "out in circulation" and be notified when a copy is available. It will show you availability status, and sort selections in a number of formats.

My particular readings lean toward the late Tom Clancy, WEB Griffin, James Patterson (a very prolific author) as well as current biographical and topical publishings.

Book "borrowing" is done through Amazon. Using Overdrive, a copy is downloaded onto my laptop through Amazon. Using this methodology one doesn't need to have a WiFi connection (or put up with the ads) to obtain reading material. Amazon retains a list of what's been borrowed and returned. The initial borrowing period is usually for two weeks. That can be extended at least once.

I then use Calibre to manage the library I have. Using a USB cable, it downloads the book onto the Kindle while keeping a "copy" on its file shelf (it also charges the Kindle while doing so). Books can be moved on and off at will. Conversions are possible, but some are protected by a process labeled "DRE"--a copyright protection format.

There are many titles out there that are way beyond their copyright dates and considered "Classics" ("Tale of Two Cities", etc.). Then there are many "free" titles, many would be considered "Romance" novels. Many others are of the self-published E-Published variety--short pieces, some of which are even interesting. Of course, Amazon would be more than happy for you to purchase all your readings, but by borrowing from the library systems, you don't have to.

I do recommend a case of some sort as well as using a screen protector sheet on the window. A capacitance pen is useful for highlighting, word searchs, tapping on the virtual keyboard, and flipping pages.
 
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Gunni

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Mar 16, 2010
5,937
Beneteau 411 Oceanis Annapolis
just sitting here wondering if somebody makes a bluetooth sd card reader if so that may solve your dilemma
Apple sells an accessory kit that includes a USB adaptor and a SD card adaptor that plug into the power cord port of the iPad
 
Oct 2, 2008
3,811
Pearson/ 530 Strafford, NH
Well after checking all the reviews we bought a Kindle Paperwhite 3G and My wife downloaded forty free books so far. It came with a USB cord for charging from a lap top and to transfer any files. The favorite recipe book was a quick drag and drop. Doing a library card today so we can loan books from the local library. Thanks for all the help.

All U Get