Santy Claus tucked a Sony Reader in mah stockin' (along wif raspberry dark chocolates)
Fer them of y'all who is also techno-challenged, this gadget is a mini screen that displays a book page, an' wif' a swipe of yore finger it "turns" the page. This thang can hold about 350 digitized "E-books" but it weighs jes' about 10 ounces an' is about the size of a paperback, only thinner.
Books an' newspapers can be grabbed off a library account (like an ITunes account) fer a download fee, or ya can graze at the free E-book pastures like
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
or
http://manybooks.net/
I has wanted one fer years..well, two years, since readin' here about how easy it was to travel/ work wif'out totin' a tote of books AND luggage. Sure, I knowed ya can git Ebooks on yore computer, but thas' bulky, an ya can git the books in PDA format fer smartphones--but I'se too ole fer that itty bitty page bidness.
But it wuz still early evolution days fer E-Readers so I passed until the right features wuz featured.
Thar's a lot of jazzy features now.
Some Euro schools even load textbooks on these readers so kids ain't bent over wif a backpack what weighs 107.3 pounds. It has an on board dictionary fer us illiterates, so all one need do is tap the word an' the definition comes up. Handy. TO make it even more indispensible fer a bibliophile I can make notes or highlifght text an the Reader saves mah margin notes, an iffin' I has need of it, it can search the whole dern book fer a word or phrase. It stores PDF files or audio or even picture files that ya might want on hand too. Want more books? No problem--it has SD slots. Need I mention how handy this contraption will be fer all manner of research?
SO what is the "not to Reader" I mention in this post's title?
Ah.... does y'all recall hearin' how Amazon's entry in the Reader bidness-- the Kindle--can be wiped clean of whatever Amazon wishes to wipe from it WIF'OUT yore say-so or even yore knowledge?
Yep. Seems folks who bought Orwell's 1984 awoke one mornin' to find the novel had vanished in the night, phiff! gone. Zapped, vaporized, MIA. Yeah, it would be THAT title too. Heh. Too rich.
Anyhoo, it seemed that Amazon sucked the story out of folk's machines cause of the wee matter of ownership--the Orwellians (the family of Orwell) had not given permission to Amazon to use the book, much less sell it. Rather than face ruinous copyright infringement fines, Amazon simply wiped the book off the face of every Kindle that had downloaded it.
Well, Y'ain't gotta tell that to me twic't. I declined to wait fer the NEW IMPROVED 3 G Sony Reader due out late spring complete wif' WiFi capability, or the Daily Edition version. The idea is the ease of book ownership--wif WiFi a body can sit in an airport after learnin' they's snowed in, an heck, fer 9.95 jes download the newest breathless bodice ripper or vampira chronicle straight to yore Reader. Or, iffin' youse a literary sort, jes' go online wif yore Reader to any number of libraries fer a digitized loan of Turgnev. Convenient huh?
Uh..no. No no NO. Nyet. N E V E R.
I is paranoid. I doan want no eye in the sky wipin' out mah library or "seeing" what is on mah reader. Or seein' the notes or highlights on the margins of mah reader pages. I mean, dang it! Iffin' even the margins of yore book ain't personal, what is?
Does any of y'all use these Readers? What kind? Why?
What techno toys and whizgadgets did any of y'all find under the tree? Wish't ya'd found under the tree?
*
**Footnote: Mah physical books ain't goin' Nowhere, an in fact, I'se still consumin' mah share of trees each year.
Wait--this post bored ya'? Heh...I coulda posted this Painfully Honest and Epic Moblie Home commercial
14 comments:
Well Aunty,
I'se glad to learn Santa filled yore stocking to the brim. Bout them media readers.... it is definitely very Big Brother...and yep that does include your margin notes and such.
It should be a fine tool for doing research while warming a sling chair in the terminal ... but I'd put my notes somewheres else. Think I have read the eyesight of the 50+ somethings is declining at a more rapid rate than previous generations due to all the screen time. It is looking into a light for hours at a time ain't it?
I reckon if you use this as a tool you will enjoy it aplenty. But Aunty, ain't nothing ever gonna be on that screen what's as good as your old Santa book on the previous post.
Bout that commercial. It actually was pretty smart fer the target audience they was trying to relate to. I reckon you don't straddle a Harley nor wear a lot of leather, have tattoos and piercings with a bandana tied round to soak up the sweats or blow smoke out of your nose do ya?
PS) got some interesting French at the Pond
wow. i love the cullman liquidator. i loved that bit about his wifes boyfriend hitting him with a fence post. damn i hate when that happens. grrrrrrerhahahah you know i was thinking about taking up smoking...it makes a lady look, oh, i dont know, ironic maybe? something a bit more than merely detached and bored. it works great in alabama.
but wait this blog is about the reader! fun gift i guess if you like to read. im wondering if the kind of books aunty would read are available for download. im thinking ....not too often.
at least i didnt get an iron this year. grrrrrrherhahahaha.
mountaineering boots. for the apocalypse an' all.
happy new year aunty
My first thought is oh no, another screen to peer at. My second thought is Euro school kids must be much more responsible than US kids, since only 50% of my class would know where their reader was three days after it was issued.
My third thought was derailed by the mention of bodice ripping ... and I can't remember what it was now.
for the first time ever, Amazon announced e-books out sold real books this Holiday season. I somehow think you'll balance it out perfectly; buy only the books you want "them" to see and keep the good stuff in print form.
Mr.Boxer gave me some crazy "hands free" headphones (not that freaky blue tooth thing) and I don't have the heart to tell him it's just tooooo much for me. He said "you are such a luddite" when he saw my face. Bwahahahahahah.
I'll take the boots K9 is talking about and a good shovel.
Fishy!
Yep--I think that commercial wuz VERY cleveah, an' Mr Cullman AL is hee hawin' all the way to the bank!
Did ya see the one about the Cuban gynecologist who now sells cars? Thar's a whole series of these hilarious commercials.
K9 Pup!
I think a cigarette would add a certain somethin' to yore BR image. Gitanes oughta do it--win ya a boy friend or two or ten to keep ole Mr. K9 on his toes.
As fer books I likes bein on a download list--oh ya bet!! Thar's some great places fer grabbin' odd books. But now boots...thas' a WHOLE other order of gift. Uh-huh.
FC!!
Merry Merry Christmas to ya!!
I hear ya on the one more screen thang...an I ain't thinkin' this reader will take the place ofd REAL readin', thas' a book propped on yore tummy while ya sag in the hammock. But fer readin' work an research, I'se hopin' it saves me from haulin' a wagonload ever'whar.
Bodice rippers...heh. Somehow I reckon you doan read 'em, jes' take the starrin' role in PFHQ version.
Boxer-babe!!
Fer shure ain't gonna let "them" see what's on mah Reader cause I will git them books from the freebie sites, download to mah computer, then to the Reader--then erase the book on the computer--ha! I did NOT git the WiFi enabled Reader fer jes' this reason. Ain't I weird?
hands free headphone? fer yore cell phone? No blue tooth? I doan even know what that can be. Not the thang all them 40 somethin's wear in the bank?
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I know, late as usual. Still, I am trying to get around and leave the wish to a few of my favorites.
Oh, I do not use an e-reader yet. I have a smartphone, but see it as a useless trinket I am about to discard or replace with a better one. I would like an e-reader, but like you, am not happy with the options (on any of them), though you received one of my top two choices (of what does exist, and sometimes it's top, sometimes it's second, depending on my mood).
I enjoy your notions, quite often, and share them. But feel for you for them, it's tough being cynical and a bit too private with a twist of grumpy. Ha! (uhrm, that was a compliment)
I have mixed feelings about these. On the one hand, I think it would make a marvelous gift to S.B., who travels a lot and who is always buying books in airports, etc. because he reads so fast. Also, last time we moved? We moved THIRTY boxes of books – mostly books I've accumulated over the years, everything from paper backs to dozens of treasured first editions to vintage out of print art and photography books. Hardly a month goes by that S.B. doesn't eye the three floor-to-ceiling shelves in our living room, and mumble, "Can't we get RID of all this and get down to one small shelf?"
A reader would certainly allow us to free up all that wall space :o)
On the other hand, outside of the obvious eye-in-the-sky spy concerns, I much prefer the physical heft of a book. I like the way they look and smell. I like the cover art. I'm a material girl. They're part of the fabric of my life. Getting rid of them makes me feel slightly dizzy and sad.
Hey Doom!
Sugar, whar ya been...missed ya around heah.
I won't be findin' many books fer my new toy at the carefully managed digital emporium...but I can also find classics in E book format--and some interesting info in PDFs.
Moi, Cherie!
Heh...youse overrun wif books too? SB is a fella I gits--lots of books and lots of travel.
An I hear ya, I do, on the matter of materiality. Yep, I prefers a book wif real presence. This toy is no substitute fer books I love in the flesh.
At least youse safe from somethin' as heinous as digital stilettos
1) Love the Mobile Home Commercial although I've seen it before.
2) I believe that my store of knowledge is so immense that further reading, electronic or print, would be superflous.
3) My ONLY Christmas gift was a subscription to the WSJ which I didn't want and won't use due to item Two (2) above.
4) Methinks K9 should take up smoking but DEFINATELY NOT gheytanes. Would be MUCH more fitting if she carried around Tops Rolling Papers and Loose Tobacco and rolled her own. Perhaps grew her own, as well. THAT would be cool. Measure out. Tamp down. Roll up. Lick to seal. Light (zippo or blue-tip match). Make it a process.
Like Moi, I have mixed feelings about these things.
I don't want one personally because (and I was just discussing with a girl here at work this morning) ... to me, the experience of reading is all about slouching in the comfy chair, feet hanging over one side, comfy socks and blankie ... just the right reading lamp behind my head ... trying to nudge myself into just the right position to hold the book for the best light ... falling asleep into a snoozy nap and trying to find the right page again when you wake up .... it is all that goes along with reading that I enjoy as much as a good book.
Having said all that, I can absolutely see how it would benefit students or college kids in being able to download texts. I assume it gives you the ability to highlight in yellow?? lol
Oh! And this is not to mention how much I love my stockpile of old books that I can page through, sniffing the bindings of really old books, careful of yellowing pages and delicate bindings. Descriptions of fonts used for easier reading. Wonderful illustrations that leap off a page. Books are the total experience for me.
Anyway, I'm not in school so don't have that need of an e-reader. I did notice that stock in the bookstores seemed down this year. There might come a time when I'm ready for one, until then I will be savoring the real thing.
I have an Iphone and I can download books to it and read them. Even though the page size is very small, it is quite readable to these 54 year old eyes and you can change the background to black with white writing it it helps. One thing I really like about it is - I can read in bed and it isn't so bulky and uncomfortable to hold. I fall asleep a lot faster, which I guess is good. I can read in the dark because the Iphone provides it's own light - so if the Christmas tree is lit, or candles are lit for mood, the mood can continue AND I can still read my book. I give it a thumbs up.
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