eBook Formats and Readers ?'s

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by ConRefit79, Jan 6, 2010.

  1. Lindley

    Lindley Moderator with a Soul Premium Member

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    I'd like to see a bunch of these readers in-person. Any ideas where I should look? Would Staples or someplace like that have them?

    Barring that, a comparative analysis would be useful.
     
  2. Ktrek

    Ktrek Captain Captain

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    I wouldn't worry too much about Amazon dropping MacMillan. How long do you suppose it will take before MacMillan backs down? Do you honestly think in today's market they can afford to throw away millions of dollars in revenue? Amazon has the upper suite here not MacMillan. Yea...you can look at it as a strong arm tactic but it's what we call here in this country "free enterprise" and Amazon has a business model they are trying to pursue and they have their Kindle customer's best interest in mind. $9.99 is a fair market price and I don't blame Amazon for making the decision. MacMillan will be the big loser here if they don't cave in. Amazon customers will just find other products to buy. And if Amazon sticks to their guns it will benefit ebook readers everywhere not just Kindle readers.

    Kevin
     
  3. Ktrek

    Ktrek Captain Captain

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    Most Barnes and Nobles have at least a display nook that can be played with. Border's carries the Sony ereaders as does Best Buy. You can't lay hands on a Kindle unless you know somebody that has one. There are also a lot of other brands but the B&N nook, Sony and Kindle are the most well known and owned. Each have features worth looking at and compare to decide what features are most important to you.

    Kevin
     
  4. Snaploud

    Snaploud Admiral Admiral

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  5. ronny

    ronny Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    You're behind in this. Amazon has already said they are going to "capitulate". I'm not sure what they are waiting for since they already said they are backing down.

    And whether you agree with Amazon or Macmillan, John Scalzi explains why the way Amazon handled the situation has been totally lame.
     
  6. Lindley

    Lindley Moderator with a Soul Premium Member

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    I described my interest in this (fairly ignored) thread:
    http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=113214

    Basically, I'm looking for a fair-sized screen and easy navigation. Unfortunately that's subjective, so I'd want to spend some time playing around with each before making a decision.

    ....Need to find someone who has a Kindle....
     
  7. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    Lindley, I think your thread would best be moved here instead of where it is. I did reply in your thread.
     
  8. tmclough

    tmclough Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Well, I finally have done it. I've ordered my first ebook reader--the Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro. I ordered it earlier this morning.

    After I get used to how to do things on it, and the novelty of it starts to wear off, my first ebook purchase will probably be Terok Nor: Day of the Vipers, which I'm currently trying to read again for the first time (the first time I tried to read it I gave up somewhere in the middle). A major part of the reason for this is that the font size is too small to read comfortably.

    Later, when I'm ready to read them, at least three other print books I own will be purchased as ebooks, for exactly the same reason, if no other: Twist of Faith and Mission Gamma books 1 & 2 (Twilight and This Gray Spirit). I'm hoping my experience reading ebooks is better and faster than reading in print format that I buy more of my currently unread print books as ebooks. The question then will be, what to do with all those unread print books?:confused:
     
  9. Ktrek

    Ktrek Captain Captain

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    I've found that my reading speed has increased dramatically just because of being able to change the font size. I also seem to be able to concentrate and get involved in the books more on the ereader than I do DTB.

    Kevin
     
  10. tmclough

    tmclough Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Now that my ebook reader has arrived and I've had 2+ days to read on it, all I can say is "Wow!"

    When I ordered it, I was only expecting about a 10-20% increase in speed. Instead, it's more like well into the triple-digit percent increase. Yesterday alone, I finished one chapter and read another whole chapter in Terok Nor: Day of the Vipers; and read two whole chapters in Q-in-Law. In print format, it would have taken several days to read one chapter in DotV, and each chapter of QiL would probably have taken about one day by itself.

    Yep, I'm an ebook convert, alright! :)
     
  11. Saul

    Saul Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Rather than starting a new thread I was wondering if Google will be releasing any Star Trek Books onto the net. Since they are planning (if they aren't stopped) to release a lot of books for free on the net.

    Stitch in time, stitch in time, stitch in time!
     
  12. JWolf

    JWolf Commodore Commodore

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    I doubt it.
     
  13. snakespeare

    snakespeare Commander Red Shirt

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    On the other hand, during the unveiling of the iPad, Steve Jobs said that Simon & Schuster books would be available in the iBookstore. I suppose it means the existing ebooks, but one can hope.
     
  14. Kataaran

    Kataaran Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    ^ But if you buy them from the iBookstore you'll only ever be able to read them on an iPhone/Pad/Pod. It'll be just like buying music from iTunes.
     
  15. ATimson

    ATimson Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    You mean that DRM-free music that I can play on any device? :p

    More like buying video from iTunes, probably...
     
  16. Kataaran

    Kataaran Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    OK, I should have said video for the locked-in-ness of it. iTunes audio files still suck though for being in that AAC format. Can't play them in my car without re-encoding them.

    I imagine any ebook sold by Apple will be almost an epub but with some rubbish thrown in so you can't read them on any other device.
     
  17. ATimson

    ATimson Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Oh noes, Apple sells music in a widely-supported format that sounds better at a given bitrate than MP3. The horror, the horror.

    The ePub spec does not specify any specific DRM implementation, just how to apply one. Choosing a different one than Adobe's doesn't make it "not an ePub", any more than using Adobe's makes it "not an ePub".
     
  18. Garm Bel Iblis

    Garm Bel Iblis Commodore

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    What ebook readers DO have backlight? The majority of my reading comes in the dark after the wife falls asleep
     
  19. BrotherBenny

    BrotherBenny Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I would suggest getting the light attachment to an ordinary ebook reader. They're designed not to be backlit so you don't get eyestrain.

    Which reminds me, I've got shitloads of stuff on my ereader to actually read and loads of dtf books too. i need several lifetimes to read everything.
     
  20. ATimson

    ATimson Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    No eInk readers will have a backlight; you're looking for something with an LCD screen, like an iPod Touch.