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Burn your books! [eReaders] are here!

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Posts

  • sockssocks Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    I did some looking through this and a previous eReader thread and I just want to clarify. My wife bought two books for her Kindle last night through Amazon for 99 cents. She then realized that they were available for free through Project Gutenberg. I checked that site out this morning and they do have Kindle versions (no images) available. Do I need Calibre to add them to her Kindle or is that just the easiest way.

    I have not used Calibre yet, but I assume its an easy download and installation.

    socks on
  • wonderpugwonderpug Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Calibre is dead simple to use.

    wonderpug on
  • Big DookieBig Dookie Smells great! Houston, TXRegistered User regular
    edited July 2011
    The only issue with Calibre (at least as of the last time I used it) was that you have to physically tether your eReader to your computer for it to transfer the files. If they could figure out how to a wireless sync, it'd be the bee's knees.

    Well, even without that it still is anyway. Once you have it connected, it's as simple (or more simple) than syncing with iTunes. Love Calibre.

    Big Dookie on
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  • Pipe DreamerPipe Dreamer Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Regardless, you don't need Calibre to put Project Gutenberg files into your Kindle. Just connect your Kindle to your computer and copy the files over to the Documents folder on the Kindle with your file manager.

    Pipe Dreamer on
  • sockssocks Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Thanks for the replies. I'll probably download Calibre to check it out, but it's good to know it's not needed.

    socks on
  • wonderpugwonderpug Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Isn't there a way to electronically send books to your Kindle by sending them to your Kindle email address? I never tried the feature so I don't recall how it works. I thought you only got charged if the format had to get converted.

    wonderpug on
  • Big DookieBig Dookie Smells great! Houston, TXRegistered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Not sure how that works exactly. I know you can send PDFs that way, but I'm not sure about books.

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  • DarmakDarmak RAGE vympyvvhyc vyctyvyRegistered User regular
    edited July 2011
    I wouldn't know about any of that, I always connect my Kindle via USB and drop everything into the documents folder.

    Darmak on
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  • AlegisAlegis Impeckable Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Alegis on
  • AlegisAlegis Impeckable Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    wonderpug wrote: »
    Isn't there a way to electronically send books to your Kindle by sending them to your Kindle email address? I never tried the feature so I don't recall how it works. I thought you only got charged if the format had to get converted.

    you have 2 email addresses (check your amazon account, kindle options)

    kindlename[@]kindle.com
    and
    kindlename[@]free.kindle.com <--


    that's the one you want. anything you send will be transferred, there might be a size limit. the difference is that shit sent to @free.kindle.com will only sync via wifi, whereas @kindle.com will use the 'whispersync 3g' and that's the one that gets charged.

    To be safe, put the max charge limit to 0 or 0.01 in kindle options.
    It doesn't convert, it sends pdfs as straight pdfs.

    I use it all the time as I'm too lazy to put the cable in and it works great with instapaper to send web articles straight to your kindle.

    Alegis on
  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2011
    wonderpug wrote: »
    Isn't there a way to electronically send books to your Kindle by sending them to your Kindle email address? I never tried the feature so I don't recall how it works. I thought you only got charged if the format had to get converted.

    Not exactly. You have two email addresses, and they're both used for conversion. The free one e-mails the converted file back to you, and you load it onto the Kindle via your computer. The for-cost one delivers it directly to your Kindle via the whisper synch. Not sure if they still charge for wi-fi delivery though.

    Bionic Monkey on
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  • CyvrosCyvros Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Alegis wrote: »
    From memory, it's got some crazy high res on it compared to other e-readers. (fake edit: It's an LG-made screen showing at 1024 x 768 instead of 800 x 600.) The page turning buttons are supposed to be easy to use, too, but they don't really look easy to get to.

    Demo-y video

    Cyvros on
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Alegis wrote: »

    Every time a new e-reader comes out that isn't big I die a little inside. I just want my giant eReader. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!

    Also I don't know why anyone would ever buy that Google thing. I mean, $140 for a "worse than a Kindle" thing? What's the point?

    edit: I guess higher resolution is neat? From what I've seen of eReader screens the resolution has been fine thus far though. Maybe if you read comic books this is nice. Or perhaps it makes reading small text (like a zoomed out PDF) easier?

    TychoCelchuuu on
  • Junior YankJunior Yank Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    When Amazon releases ebooks does anybody know what time they do that? Are we talking 12:01 AM or at some more reasonable, sane time?

    From what I can see, Amazon.com still has "A Dance With Dragons" as a preorder, while I DLed it on my nookColor at around 12:19. Odd time to put it out, but I guess that it took a bit for it to propagate from the publisher to the store.

    What am I doing here? I should be reading for the next few hours!

    Junior Yank on
  • SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Alegis wrote: »

    Every time a new e-reader comes out that isn't big I die a little inside. I just want my giant eReader. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!

    Also I don't know why anyone would ever buy that Google thing. I mean, $140 for a "worse than a Kindle" thing? What's the point?

    edit: I guess higher resolution is neat? From what I've seen of eReader screens the resolution has been fine thus far though. Maybe if you read comic books this is nice. Or perhaps it makes reading small text (like a zoomed out PDF) easier?
    Exactly.

    Spoit on
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  • jackaljackal Fuck Yes. That is an orderly anal warehouse. Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    It looks like it would be worlds better for anything with diagrams. If they made a DX sized reader it would probably be the first ereader that would work well for textbooks.

    It isn't a great sign that a piece of it fell off while the guy was looking at it.

    edit: and damn it is ugly even for something made by google.

    jackal on
  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    edited July 2011
    jackal wrote: »
    It looks like it would be worlds better for anything with diagrams. If they made a DX sized reader it would probably be the first ereader that would work well for textbooks.

    It isn't a great sign that a piece of it fell off while the guy was looking at it.

    edit: and damn it is ugly even for something made by google.

    I'm trying to figure out why they went with that white/brass look. Am I the only one who thought it would have been super fucking obvious to use a wood grain look instead of white?

    Brass and wood e-reader anyone?



    And yeah, I'd love to have an e-reader that was capable of handling comics and textbooks. It's getting to the point where I'm seriously considering saying fuck it and ordering a Samsung Galaxy Tablet.

    TOGSolid on
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  • Mojo_JojoMojo_Jojo We are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourse Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    For papers and textbooks you pretty much need an A4 ereader. And while one does exist, it costs the earth. No idea why people aren't going for the academic market there, it's wide open.

    For comics, you need a colour screen. Which means using a tablet and your eyes falling out, dealing with monochrome or waiting for decent colour eInk.

    Mojo_Jojo on
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  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Yeah, the price of an A4 reader is just retarded. For that sort of money you might as well just get a damned tablet. Something that, the more I think about it, the more I'm liking the idea.

    I suspect I'll have a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 in my hands fairly soon.

    TOGSolid on
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  • Burden of ProofBurden of Proof You three boys picked a beautiful hill to die on. Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    people exaggerate how bad reading on an tablet is
    it's especially weird coming from who have no problem reading message forums all day :P

    anyway I got the lighted cover for the kindle in the mail today, so now I don't have to worry about cleaning the damn thing so often
    only downside is that the thing barely fits in my pocket now

    Burden of Proof on
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    So I just found this program called k2pdfopt which stands for Kindle to PDF Optimizer or something and it's fairly neat. You drag PDF files into it and it spits out a PDF that is (usually) formatted for a Kindle. I just dragged 130 academic PDFs into it (and waited a while) and now I have a bunch of articles that, while sometimes not exactly perfect (footnotes tend to screw it up), are looking pretty good. Plus it was all automated.

    Soo.... now I might buy a Kobo? Or even a Kindle? Or maybe I'll just do what I've been doing for like, 2 years, and keep waiting and trying to will an A4 size reader into existence.

    TychoCelchuuu on
  • warder808warder808 Registered User regular
    Silly question time. If you have a big library of books, is there a cheap or free way to get them on to an ereader?

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  • Centipede DamascusCentipede Damascus Registered User regular
    Option 1: Get an ereader that can read PDFs, then scan every page of the books you own to PDFs.

    Option 2: Use a book scanning service (like this one), which can actually get pretty expensive.

  • wonderpugwonderpug Registered User regular
    warder808 wrote:
    Silly question time. If you have a big library of books, is there a cheap or free way to get them on to an ereader?

    You mean a library of physical paper books? The ebook industry doesn't care about what paper books you have. If they happen to be freely available on Project Gutenberg or something then you can download it for your e-reader, otherwise you have to repurchase them.

  • Mr_RoseMr_Rose 83 Blue Ridge Protects the Holy Registered User regular
    Actual paper books? No, not really. Not unless your collection includes a lot of books that are out of copyright, like Frankenstein or On the Origin of Species.
    Presently, no-one is doing a "dead-tree edition amnesty" wherein you can swap your p-book for an e-book and such a thing is not on the horizon either, sadly.

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  • warder808warder808 Registered User regular
    Thanks for the quick answers. Just have a handful of books that I reread often, and have bought hardcover and paperback versions of. Wondered if I got an ereader, if I'd have to buy them again.

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  • Centipede DamascusCentipede Damascus Registered User regular
    I don't know what those other guys are talking about, it's not that hard to scan your own books into PDFs, and it's completely legal.

  • JHunzJHunz Registered User regular
    people exaggerate how bad reading on an tablet is
    it's especially weird coming from who have no problem reading message forums all day :P

    anyway I got the lighted cover for the kindle in the mail today, so now I don't have to worry about cleaning the damn thing so often
    only downside is that the thing barely fits in my pocket now
    People don't exaggerate about how bad it is, it just varies dramatically from person to person. I personally can read books on a screen all day (although I get a bit of eyestrain after a while) but my wife can only handle about half an hour.
    I don't know what those other guys are talking about, it's not that hard to scan your own books into PDFs, and it's completely legal.
    Not that hard? You have to
    1) Own a decent scanner that is also pretty fast, because even for a short book you're going to be running like 100 scans.
    2) Have a lot of time on your hands to sit around running scans
    3) Be willing to break the spines on all your paper books, because you get terrible scans of the middle section if you're treating your books right during the process.
    At a rough estimate I have about 232000 pages I'd need to scan (29 shelves of books that aren't comic books x an average of about 400 pages x 20+ books a shelf) to get my entire collection into electronic format. Generously assuming 10 seconds per scan, that would be 13.4 solid days of work. And at the end of all that, you're left with PDFs, which are the absolute worst ebook format for anything that doesn't have a bunch of images in it.

    bunny.gif Gamertag: JHunz. R.I.P. Mygamercard.net bunny.gif
  • Centipede DamascusCentipede Damascus Registered User regular
    It's still something you can do, you don't have to repurchase books you own.

  • SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    people exaggerate how bad reading on an tablet is
    it's especially weird coming from who have no problem reading message forums all day :P
    I don't know about anyone else, but my problem is with the ergonomics of the flick or tap page turn, as opposed to physical buttons. But then again, I don't really get the whole capacitive screen thing anyway

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  • Mojo_JojoMojo_Jojo We are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourse Registered User regular
    My problem is that dense text on a screen causes actual pain after about fifteen minutes.

    It's the reason everybody prints out documents of over a page to read them. Hence why a reasonably priced a4 eReader would really be revolutionary.

    Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
  • AlegisAlegis Impeckable Registered User regular
    So I just found this program called k2pdfopt which stands for Kindle to PDF Optimizer or something and it's fairly neat. You drag PDF files into it and it spits out a PDF that is (usually) formatted for a Kindle. I just dragged 130 academic PDFs into it (and waited a while) and now I have a bunch of articles that, while sometimes not exactly perfect (footnotes tend to screw it up), are looking pretty good. Plus it was all automated.

    interesting. love how it easily combines several papers at once.

  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    Gizmodo wrote:
    You Can Rent Textbooks on Your Kindle for Cheap Now


    Casey Chan —Buying textbooks in college are annoying! They're expensive, heavy, and instantly useless after finals. Amazon is trying to change the game with Kindle Textbook Rentals, it's a service that lets students rent Kindle textbooks to save tons of money.

    Students can customize their textbook rental period (anywhere from 30 to 360 days) and from the looks of it, a semester-long rental is significantly cheaper than buying the book (I got a ~$50 rental on a $110 book). Amazon says it'll have "tens of thousands of textbooks" available for renting, all of which will use Kindle features like Whispersync, highlights, notes and the ability to use it on any Kindle app (iPhone, Android, etc.).

    As much as this seems like the future of college textbooks, I'm not sure the regular Kindle is exactly the best tool for studying (can you imagine thumbing back and forth on that thing?). Good thing it works with the Kindle DX too. [Kindle Textbook Rental via TechCrunch]

    Long story short, text book rentals are now a thing, anywhere from 1 month, to 1 year. Cheaper than buying the book, but I'm not sure it's still cheaper after selling back the book (except when they won't buy it back anymore). I'm glad this is an option, but it wouldn't really be conducive to my study-style.

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  • Librarian's ghostLibrarian's ghost Librarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSpork Registered User regular
    Sure. Right when I don't ever need to buy a textbook anymore.

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  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    I've always thought that actual textbooks aren't a very good fit for the Kindle because you can't quickly flip through a couple hundred pages looking for that one thing you vaguely remember, although I suppose you can search for specific words, right? So maybe the disadvantages come with their own set of advantages.

  • Skoal CatSkoal Cat Registered User regular
    The search function makes this very valuable, depending on the text of course.

  • Shazkar ShadowstormShazkar Shadowstorm Registered User regular
    i think my kindle's screen is broken again from being banged around in my bag... it was in a sleeve, but that didn't save it. i wonder if they'll replace it like last time. let's hope.

    but, the more important thing here is: i need a more sturdy case of sorts to keep my kindle in when not using it

    can anyone recommend me one?

    a soft sleeve ain't gonna work it seems

    poo
  • marty_0001marty_0001 I am a file and you put documents in meRegistered User regular
    Alright I am probably going to buy a kindle.

    How long are they supposed to last? I can see the ebooks are cheaper than paper ones, but if I have to get a new kindle or battery every couple of years does that negate the savings?

    Pricing aside it would be awesome to be able to read while eating my cereal in the morning, not having to hold a book open.

  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    marty_0001 wrote:
    Alright I am probably going to buy a kindle.

    How long are they supposed to last? I can see the ebooks are cheaper than paper ones, but if I have to get a new kindle or battery every couple of years does that negate the savings?

    Pricing aside it would be awesome to be able to read while eating my cereal in the morning, not having to hold a book open.

    Well, mine is about two years old, and while I've been having some battery issues, it's still running fine. The battery isn't technically user replaceable, but if you don't mind cracking it open, you can get replacements anyway for $20-25.

    My wife's Kindle 1 is still going strong as well.

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  • 3lwap03lwap0 Registered User regular
    edited July 2011
    Gentlemen,

    So I got a Nook Color as a birthday/xmas gift. I ended up getting one of the Dresden Files books and trying it out - it locked up and crashed my Nook. Not exactly a great first impression. However, since then, it's worked fine. It's a nice e-reader, that tries its best to dabble in being a tablet. The book/library apps are pretty solid, but I found the web browsing really kinda clunky. The apps for it aren't bad, if basic. You have your usual apps, like Angry birds, Gmail, etc., but nothing even close to what most tablets have.

    Really though, it's starting to grow on me a lot.

    And that was before I hacked it with the nook2android last night. I ended up getting one of their pre-loaded SD cards, popped it in, and now it's pretty much a full on tablet/slate. Netflix runs on it really great, but Hulu and HBOGo, not so much. I guess it's to be expected given it's a homebrew Android development, but outside of those points, web browsing is really fast, and there are tons of really cool apps, way more than the basic Nook. And the sweet thing about the SD card method is you can still boot to your Nook OS if you want, so you don't have to trade off between the two if you don't want too. So far, two thumbs up for the nook2android.

    Edit: It's also kind of perverse, but I have the kindle app loaded on my Nook/Android. It feels strange, but really, kinda fun. Works well on the nook too, heh.

    3lwap0 on
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