Keep your eye on the Green Apple Books blog for a continued video series pitting paper books against the Kindle. Hilarity promises to ensue more than it has ever ensued before. [Thx to Judy for the link.]
read more »There are a few things I’ve used with my Sony Readers that I’ve found supremely useful, and it occurred to me that this list might be of some use to other folks, too. So, behold, a List! With Illustrations!
Software: Calibre. I can’t praise it enough. I have a Mac, a PC, and Hubby’s PC, and Calibre loaded on all of them. By keeping my eBooks on an accessible external drive, I can access and load books from any location, regardless of operating system, and oh, how I love it. If I get another pet, it’s going to be named Calibre Excelsior.
Did I just hear the sound of every animal rescue person near me hiding their animals and moving away from me?! Come on now - I’m awesome! Two of my cats are named after the original Iron Chef!
Skins: If you’ve got a Sony 505, you can skin that baby, and turn it all sorts of funky colors. I love the look of the burled wood one. You can also put stickers all over the included cover (OMG KINDLE II: MATZOH EDITION, DID YOU HEAR THAT?! AN INCLUDED COVER?! *swoon*) and make it funky fresh that… read more »
When I presented at Digital Book, one of my fellow panelists was Michael Santangelo, the Electronic Resources Specialist at the Brooklyn Public Library. In his slides, he featured a picture of their digital kiosks, which allow library patrons to check requests, reserve books, and manage most of the features of their library account.
I think similar kiosks should be installed in bookstores so that people who want to buy ebooks can do so - in the store. This would be where the million dollars come in! Any sexy venture capitalists out there want to take me to lunch?
I’m a dedicated ebook reader, and I absolutely prefer reading digital books. But I shop for books in the bookstore all the time. I visit the Borders on Park and 59th frequently, looking at the new releases, flipping through the pages, and seeing what catches my eye. Sometimes, I write down titles and look for them online, and other times I take a picture of the book to remind me to look it up later.
I talk to the fabulously knowledgeable people who work in bookstores, too. Some of the most avid romance fans I know are the bookstore… read more »
Barnes and Noble announces digital bookstore and Plastic Logic partnership.My opinion, for what it’s worth:
Big fat whoop.
The store isn’t all that, there’s still YET ANOTHER form of book and DRM to deal with, there’s no transparency as to whether ebook readers are buying a license of limited download (aka a “book rental”) or if they own the title themselves.
I can’t say that I’m excited about the BN digital bookstore, either, since it comes with 500,000 public domain titles. I could link to it from Smart Bitches and proclaim myself a giant digital bookstore using that logic. I’m not the only one whose response to the BN digital bookstore is, “Meh:” analysts weren’t that excited either. (Thanks to The Real Sarah W for the link).
While I’m ranting, let me offer my Chinese fortune cookie assessment of the following sentence from the AP article: “The company also says that as part of its digital effort, it will be the exclusive content provider for the new Plastic Logic eReader device.”
Crack your cookie and listen up: NOTHING GOOD comes of the words “exclusive content provider.” Not in an economy that is all about predatory bargain… read more »
First, Brandyllyn received her Sony 505 for the Smart Bitches Test Drive, and was so moved with the joy, she got all comic on our asses. Not Comic Sans, thank the baby Cthulu.
1J-505.JPG (click for popup of larger size).
Brandyllyn is also keeping a blog wherein she writes a bit about the Sony Test Drive and will be adding more comics (YES!).
Second, and I laughed my behind off at this photo essay: Tami has the same reaction I did to the “quick start guide,” but her joy is palpable.
I created an email loop for the Test Drivers to talk to one another, and the experiences they’ve had as they have worked on their Sonys are very revealing about why there’s a big difference between the Kindle and the Sony.
read more »Thanks to the fine people at Sony and the very savvy folks at Harlequin, I’m announcing a very cool and unique opportunity. For those of you who have expressed an interest in the Sony Reader 505 and the Sony Reader 700, but were wary of the pricetag, it’s Test Drive Time.
Sony has given me 30 refurbished models - twenty 505’s and ten 700’s - for the Smart Bitches Sony Reader Test Drive. I’ll select 30 Test Drivers, and those folks will have 60 days to use and experiment with their Sony Reader.
But wait, there’s more! We interrupt the awesomeness for a special message from Harlequin: Harlequin invites you to try out our eBooks along with the Sony Reader. To get you started, we’re giving a you an exclusive gift of $25 off Harlequin titles. We’d love for you to enjoy some of the series and authors that you already read and perhaps try out some new series or authors – on us. We’d love to hear your feedback on some of the eBooks… read more »
The collective WTF? on Twitter in response to the debut of the KindleDX was hi-larious, and I’m cranky enough to admit I’m enjoying seeing Amazon make a big boo boo that echoes their earlier fail-some boo boo.
Don Linn writes, “Product page: 9.7” diagonal e-ink screen reads like real paper; boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images (Boasts?)”
Sarah Weinman points out, “Not getting over the $489 price tag. In a recession. Two months after Kindle 2 unveiled. Like reissuing bare-bones DVD w/ one or 2 extras.”
ljndawson: “$489 Kindle with 16 shades of grey and no discounts on subscriptions if you’re in the paper’s area = lead balloon.”
Ooh! And there’s already a hastag for it: get ready…wait for it… #dud
My response to Kindle-Venti: “Keep it coming, Amazon. I’m enjoying this a lot. I can has moar fail please? kthxbye”
read more »
After more than 6 months using Kindle I: Triangle Man, I had the chance to try the Sony 505 and the Sony 700 almost at the same time. Both devices arrived within days of one another and I wasn’t sure which to test-drive first. Full disclosure: the fine, marvelous folks at Sony USA sent me devices to test out, and to them I say, “YOU ARE AWESOME.” MWAH and big honking glasses of wine to Sony. Surely they intend to lure me to the dark side.
Or from the dark side. Or over to a bar with awesome creatures dancing, more likely.
I decided to test drive the Sony 700 because I knew Kindle II: Matzoh Edition would be arriving soon.
Side note: Kindle II: Matzoh Edition is so named because it is about the same size, shape, weight, and substance as a piece of matzoh. Matzoh, if you’re not familiar with it, is a big honking cracker that we of the tribe eat during Passover. It’s also known as the “bread of oppression,” and since Amazon is a bit of a monolith, the Kindle does link… read more »
Bottom line: the device itself is a marked improvement over Kindle I. Does it beat Sony 505 or Sony 700? That remains to be seen. Obviously there are a ton of reviews out there, but as someone who is currently playing with two Sonys and two Kindles (kinky), let me share my impressions.
First, the big fail:
Remember One of These Things is Not Like the Other? Yeah. Play along with me at home:
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