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Ebooks and the Kindle
Topic Started: Friday Jul 24 2009, 02:35 AM (182 Views)
zevie
Administrator
Behold! Amazon's ebook reading creation, The Kindle.

As Paris would say, that's hot.

Oh wait, maybe it's huuuuuge.

Anyway, regardless, it looks like a pretty cool device, but, um, does anyone out there actually own one? Does anyone read ebooks? Is anyone deadset morally against the ebooks?
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the_sly_wink

I don't own one, but I know someone who does, and the first few times she pulled it out everyone was salivating and stroking it like we were in a weird literary fetish film.

This model was the size of a standard paperback in all dimensions. It could pick up wireless internet, but was limited to buying ebooks or Wikipedia, and you could change the size of the print, but unlike a computer screen, it didn't produce its own back-light. This means you would need a lamp to read it in the dark, though the upside is being able to see it outside in natural light -- eliminating the thing I hate most about computer screens. The display really does seem more like a book page than an electronic; it's hard to explain without seeing it in person.

The only downside to ebooks is that you may be limited in what you're able to find. But more are becoming available each day, and while I love a genuine book, being able to carry around a mini-library in this small device that doesn't hurt your eyes is also appealing.
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rileysmomma

I have a friend who has lost the majority of her eyesight over the past five to ten years. She told me that one of the worst things about it for her is that she was no longer able to read as even the large print books were too small for her to see. She bought a Kindle last year and absolutely loves it. She can adjust the print size to be large enough for her to read without straining and she can take all of her "books" with her in a size smaller than one of the large print books she used to try to read. She loves it. Says it makes her feel a bit like her old self, being able to actually read again.

I've been sorely tempted to get one but it's not very high on my list of priorities right now.
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Mariko

I don't want one. I think that books' covers, page layout, typeface, dimensions and weight, smell (etc.) are part of what makes it a book for me, instead of just text. I've tried reading books on the Gutenberg Project and I just couldn't pay attention. I like being able to handle a book.
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Artemis

I have a friend who loves it. If the newer ones weren't $100s, I'd be tempted. I'd maybe pick one up if it were $200-$300, mostly because ebooks are less than half the cost of traditional ones, so you can buy twice as many, and have them instantly, no matter the time of day. I like instant gratification. :)
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BlindedxxFalcon

I also like being able to handle a real book, but I really want a Kindle, too. Not that I'd ever get one, because I'm broke, but it looks really cool. I would love being able to carry around tons of books in a little electronic thing.
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Mars

I am divided on the Kindle.

On one hand, you could go on vacation with thousands of books and pack something that equals the size of one. You could save storage space in your house too.

On the downside (for me at least) - I love actual books. I love flipping pages and touching them and having the tactile sensation of reading. I like having something real in my hands - print on a screen has a level of impersonality about it that I can't quite explain.

I'm the type of person that would like one only if I could back up my real book library on it. I'd have to have the real books too. It's a huge part of me to have books and I can't see the Kindle replacing it, maybe just augmenting it.
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