e-books and e-readers: post here

[Karma]

HI nwoods,
That you disagree is not the point. The issue is you bothered to read what is probably the most influential book and philosophy in our times. Can't you see this? Not meaning disrespect, I would have a very hard time taking your word over Darwin's. There was much that Darwin admitted he did not understand. For example, the whole concept of genetics was still far in the future. He did not know how evolution happened genetically, only that his observations suggested that it did. And the world of science agrees but there are still mysteries to be solved.

Origin Of The Species is a book that any modern person with a hint of curiosity MUST read and draw conclusions as you did. I have no problem with your opinions (that's all they are). I have a big problem with those who ignore the issue.

Sparky

[haven]

While an e-book lacks the satisfying heft and aroma of a traditional book, it does have advantages. Using the Kindle Touch as an example, here are features I find useful in the e-book reader.
--Chip Haven

ps. Most books in the Britannica "Great Books of the Western World" series, including Darwin's On The Origin of Species, are available free online in PUB or TXT format.


Kindle Touch specs:
---------------------
Pocket size (6.8" x 4.7" x 0.40", 6 inch diagonal screen, fits in large pocket)
Portable (7.5 ounces)
Readable in direct sunlight (e-Ink screen works best in bright light)
Large capacity (3000 typical books, says Amazon)
Long battery life (typically a couple of weeks before recharge is necessary)
Inexpensive ($74 for refurbished WiFi model)
Recharge using 5V USB Micro-B cable, lots of options for in-vehicle charging


capabilities:
---------------------
Choose text size and font
… Kindle Touch has limited range of choices compared to some other e-readers
Ability to bookmark, highlight and annotate (onscreen keyboard)
Read e-books, newspapers, magazines, notes
Listen to MP3, audio books
Text to voice capability
includes Internet browser, can be used for searches and internet email (e.g., GMail) when WiFi is available


sources of materials
---------------------
Amazon offers 1 million books, newspapers, magazines, audio books
Millions more public domain materials via Internet
… some require conversion to Amazon readable formats
Many public libraries make materials available in e-book form
Create and view your own books in PDF format
Need to convert DOC, RTF, HTML files through Kindle Personal Document Service (no charge via WiFi)
… if you often need to read Microsoft Office documents, Barnes and Noble Nook is better choice than Kindle
JPG, GIF, PNG, BMP graphics need to be converted, then they are viewable
Kindle Touch not meant to show movies


Kindle "ecosystem"
---------------------
Kindle apps on many computing platforms
Amazon "internet cloud" storage of purchases and notes
… see your books and notes on almost all platforms (phone, PC, etc)
A copy in the cloud means security against damage or loss of e-book material
"Borrow" books from Kindle library (145,000 titles, mostly best sellers) (Kindle Prime members only)
Share/loan your purchases with another (can only loan once at present)


environmental issues
---------------------
conventional pre-press, printing, distribution, and warehousing take energy and resources, and create waste
e-books are not pollution-free, but much reduced compared to conventional print process


advantages of e-books for travelers
---------------------
take scores of books with you in an insanely small and light format
weeks of battery life, easily recharged in vehicle
create your own books for the trip, e.g., truck repair manual, maps, trip notes
also works to read email when you have WiFi connection

[haven]

Here's are a pair of recent comparisons of the Kindle Touch and Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight
Both say the Nook is a better e-reader, but that the depth of Amazon's support is superior.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/kin...7#.T8Es1L_CM0w
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2012/04...ook-glowlight/

[haven]

The Association of American Publishers surveyed 1,149 publishers to gather sales data for the first quarter of 2012. One factoid from their report is that, for the first time, e-book revenues exceeded revenues from hardcover books. Revenues for softcover books were only 6% higher than e-books.

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat...s-in-q1_b53090

Comparing the results for the first quarter last year, e-book revenues were up 28%. Revenues for hardcover books were flat, and softcover books were down 10%.

If these trends continue, revenue from e-books will overtake revenue from hardcover and softcover combined in a couple of years.

I think e-books are more profitable per unit sales for the publishers, since it takes more money to print, warehouse, and transport physical books than it does to sell e-books online. Publishers also have a significant cost in warehousing and refurbishing stock returned from book sellers.

[haven]

The author reflects on the fate of the personal library in a time when more and more book purchases are in electronic form.

http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2...sonal-library/

The E-reader or computer tablet is an essential tool for modern overlanding. It allows you to take vastly more information on your trip. Printed matter is too heavy and takes too much storage space. Shop manuals and foreign language dictionaries, trip journals by other explorers, the complete works of Neal Stephenson -- Anything on paper that you think you might want while traveling can be digitized and stored in a device that weighs less than a pound.

But that doesn't mean your library at home should be digital. It's so enjoyable to spread out a map on the kitchen table and trace the source of a stream, or figure out when the morning sun will reach a prospective camp site.

[nwoods]

LOL, I guess that is all relative. My wife said ENOUGH! and would not allow any more books in the house, and so she bought me the Kindle. I genuinely prefer reading on the kindle now, but its hard not to pop down to the used book store and contemplate where to hide another few volumes .....

[dwh]

Today was my birthday. My son gave me a Nook Simple Touch (no glowlight) to replace my old worn out Palm T|X.

Looks nifty, but I'll probably hack it into an Android tablet after I play with it a while:

http://lifehacker.com/5889158/turn-a...our-easy-steps


Depending on how that goes, I might just go ahead and grab one with a glowlight as well.


Just loaded up, 'Camp Life in the Woods and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making' by W. Hamilton Gibson. Grabbed it from Project Gutenberg.

[Cody1771]

i got a refurbished Kobo E-reader, the original style with buttons. i love it, i read A LOT and i goto sea so taking large books with me is a pain, my only complaint is battery life, i might get 2 days of hard reading on it befor i need to plug it in.

still as mentioned above i have a pretty good personal library, and fancy owning a dedicated room one day so if there is a book i truely enjoy i will buy the hard cover version, since i still prefer to read this way. and considering most new books are still sold in print before the E-book is available and i have no patience when it comes to getting the newest book i usually end up with the hard cover.

[Todd n Natalie]

I got Natalie a Kobo a while ago. She seems to like it. The only thing that I don't care for is that the screen isn't lighted. So, you still need a lamp or something if you want to read at night... I have no clue how they overlooked this and had I knew about it before I bought it for her, I think I would have chosen another product. But, she seems happy with it and, that's all that matters!

[sixbennetts]

Since the title of the thread is also e-books, how about some favorite links to free e-books about overland travel?