I have to say that the Nook is only for reading. Also I have to say that reading technical books on the Nook it could be painful, at least such book have been formatted for 6" screens. I have converted PDF for my Nook where the charts, source code, etc are a mess, but I also have some books properly formatted and the result is pretty good. Now the reading experience in a Nook or I would say any other device with an eInk screen is way better than a device without it. I also love sitting outside and read, thing I believe you cannot do with an iPad, laptop or phone. Kyle, you are not the first person I heard saying: "I read novels on my phone", are you really serious? Have you really read a book on your phone? Anyway, with an iPad you can do a lot more than with a Nook and I don't think they are comparable, but when you sit down to read for a while, the Nook is a much better option IMHO.
On Mon, Oct 18, 2010 at 9:23 AM, Kyle Gonzales <[email protected]> wrote: > You just explained why I bought an iPad. I love that people say that the iPad > is just not for reading. But that makes the assumption that reading involves > only novels or books with minimal non-text elements. My personal experience > is that I like to read newspapers, magazine articles, books with lots of > non-standard text and other items (pictures, charts, lists, etc) and the like > that ebook only readers are inadequate for. In addition, ePub format is > great for text but terrible for anything else that might be put into a book. > When I read Oreilly books I can get PDF and EPUB. EPUB loves eating charts > and lists, while PDF preserves the original layout. And reading the digital > version of Linux Journal on an ebook reader is a non-starter. > > The Nook is much to small for me to consider for anything other than > novels... Which I can read on my phone instead. > > Finally, while the iPad might not be as good in a few categories as the > dedicated ebook readers, the iPad more than makes up for it in the zillions > of things it's does great that the ebook readers can't compete with. I am > interested in seeing if the Samsung Galaxy Tablets can offer a similar range > of functionality as what I have grown to expect from my iPad. > > Sent from my iPad <--- > > On Oct 18, 2010, at 9:09 AM, Tim Holloway <[email protected]> wrote: > >> We did some comparisons. Didn't include the iPad, but the iPad is very >> different from the dedicated book readers. While it's more flexible as >> far as being able to do other things, and it offers a color display, the >> iPad is a bit larger and heavier for long-term reading. It requires more >> frequent power "fixes", it's subject to the usual glare problems when >> you read outdoors (obviously that doesn't apply to computer geeks, who >> shrivel up and die in the sun, unlike the sparkly vampires). And there >> is generally more eyestrain when reading a backlit text. Although not >> all that much these days as far as I'm concerned. >> >> Anyway, I think the current "top 3" dedicated readers at the moment are >> Kindle, Nook, and Sony. Kindle has Oprah's blessing, but I didn't really >> see that much wonderful about having a keyboard on a book reader, and >> that whole "1984" thing put me off. Nook I was kind of ambivalent on, >> and Sony's not been on my Most Favored list since they started handing >> out free rootkits. >> >> More importantly, however, was what the options for content were. I am >> categorically opposed to dissolving property. If I "buy" something, I >> want it to STAY bought. That pretty much meant that at a minumum I >> wanted a file format that could be dissected and recycled when the >> reader hardware was just a distant memory and not just a "Plays for Sure >> [TM]". >> >> Also I wanted to be able to take advantage of the wealth of free books >> out there such as Project Gutenberg and the Baen Books Science Fiction >> resource. >> >> Finally, I wanted the ability to create my own publications, but from >> magazine articles, blogs, and other sources, and from my own writings. >> >> PDFs go a long way in that regard, but a PDF is designed preserve a >> fixed page layout. Some publications I care less about the page layout >> than the content, and while the ebook readers are pretty decent about >> PDFs, I also wanted the ability to port documents to things like my >> phone, where the miniscule screen size makes reading PDFs something I >> prefer to avoid. Better to reflow the text and go light on the graphics >> for that kind of stuff. >> >> Kindle's native format is proprietary. Sony had its drawbacks. The >> second-tier readers were generally not easy to get hold of. However the >> Nook started looking real attractive. >> >> The Nook's native format is PDF, but it also supports epub format pretty >> well. And not only is it fairly easy to create epubs, there's even a >> very nice epub reader plugin for Firefox. >> >> Plus, it's based on Android, which I've developed apps for. And Android >> sits on top of Linux. >> >> SOLD! >> >> OK, it's far from perfect. I'd rather have a true touch screen. That >> tiny little color LCD down at the bottom is really annoying. However, >> apparently touch and non-glare don't come together easily. More >> objectionable is the lack of support for "bookshelves" a/k/a folders, so >> if you have 150 books on 15 subjects, you have to scroll through them >> all, and that's just silly when you consider it's a Linux filesystem >> holding them all. The web browser doesn't support downloads, so to get a >> Gutenberg book you have to go through some contortions. And, perhaps >> most vexing at the geek level, the current model will brick itself if >> you attempt to root it. >> >> Still, it's a good start. >> >> Tim >> >> On Sun, 2010-10-17 at 13:39 -0400, Kyle Gonzales wrote: >>> How about an iPad? :-) eBooks from O'Reilly are sans DRM, and I read then >>> in PDF on my laptop and iPad. >>> >>> -- >>> Kyle Gonzales >>> Sent from my mobile >>> >>> On Oct 15, 2010, at 3:07 PM, "William L. Thomson Jr." >>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> On Fri, 2010-10-15 at 14:19 -0400, Kyle Gonzales wrote: >>>>> William L. Thomson Jr. wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> My bash skills improved the most when involved with Gentoo. Aside from >>>>>> Python, Gentoo's portage relies heavily on BASH. Any Gentoo ebuild is a >>>>>> glorified bash script ;) >>>>> As are the init scripts for just about every Linux distribution out >>>>> there. >>>> >>>> Going one step further, just about everything related to init is done >>>> via scripting. Once the kernel is done booting, and init takes over, it >>>> uses a shell and scripts for all the rest of the magic to take place. >>>> >>>>> If no one else wants to present, I might be able to put together a >>>>> presentation on Bash scripting, >>>> >>>> That would be great, but three in a row? Probably best I or another >>>> steps up, though its really up to the group. Topics at the moment seem >>>> to be an into Bash or C the GNU way :) >>>> >>>>> tho honestly, buying and reading the "Learning the Bash shell" book >>>>> from OReilly would be better for most people. >>>> >>>> Bash is probably a safe topic to buy a book on. I am very skeptical of >>>> buying books. Having spent tons of money on them over the years. Having >>>> shelves full of books covering out dated technologies. With the book not >>>> having any value even to paper shredding companies.... >>>> >>>> That said there is a ton of stuff covering bash on-line just the same. >>>> Much easier to copy and paste code from online examples, than to re-type >>>> from a book. Unless it comes with media, which isn't as common as it >>>> used to be. Another thing I have a useless pile off, outdated cd's that >>>> came with the now outdated books ;) >>>> >>>> Unless the book can serve as a reference for years to come, and not be >>>> outdated. Or if I really need it for some certification or reason. I try >>>> to not buy books as much as possible. Maybe a Kindle (made of plastic >>>> which comes from oil) some day to save trees :) >>>> >>>> -- >>>> William L. Thomson Jr. >>>> Obsidian-Studios, Inc. >>>> http://www.obsidian-studios.com >>>> >>>> >>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> Archive http://marc.info/?l=jaxlug-list&r=1&w=2 >>>> RSS Feed http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml >>>> Unsubscribe [email protected] >>>> >>> >>> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> Archive http://marc.info/?l=jaxlug-list&r=1&w=2 >>> RSS Feed http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml >>> Unsubscribe [email protected] >>> >> > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Archive http://marc.info/?l=jaxlug-list&r=1&w=2 > RSS Feed http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml > Unsubscribe [email protected] > > -- Love is not a fight, but it is always worth fighting for. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive http://marc.info/?l=jaxlug-list&r=1&w=2 RSS Feed http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml Unsubscribe [email protected]
