I guess I should also mention that I read maybe one novel a year. I read alot of short stories on the phone, and do so for anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour. With a good phone with a good screen, this is entirely possible. Like, say, the iPhone 4. :) HTC Incredible and the new Samsung Android phone have similar positive qualities for reading (LED/AMOLED screens with high resolution).
As to this "you can't read outside with a <insert device here>" I keep wondering how I am able to read stuff inside/outside/in airports/on planes/in cabs... apparently it was impossible the entire time. I must be remarkable. :) Seems there is this huge group of people who specifically read under direct sunlight for long periods of times. No wonder skin cancer is on the rise. Rafael Troncoso wrote: > 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] >> >> > > > -- Kyle Gonzales [email protected] GPG Key #0x566B435B Read My Tech Blog: http://techiebloggiethingie.blogspot.com/
