Friday Funny: Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect

...walk into a bar and order three beers each.

Name that book...

Give up? Are you close?

The picture is a hint at today's topic.

With the near conclusion of my eBooks: Right or Wrong series, this just felt like something to go with.

So, we'll start off with the first one...

Nice and dry, but as I was really taking off with the software for eReading, I was suddenly overcome with a sense of deja vu.

Read below to better understand...

And that my friends, explains my oh so subtle smile. My 7th Language Arts teacher would be most proud of me. I still have the book I ordered that year.

A special thanks to Douglas Adams, for showing me that being nerdy and not fitting in was okay.

eBooks: Right or Wrong, Part III

So the recommendation has arrived...

But a brief word before I actually state it.

I've been reading various blogs, reviews, and up and coming tech stuff and it's overwhelming. At the recent CES, eReaders were basically the big thing and there were so many. It's kinda the hot novel tech item of the season and is still rising.

One blogger mentioned using a tablet for all it's features. This really caught my interest, as isn't that what the iPad is going towards, just sans the actual keyboard (which you have to pay extra to get?!!).

I wanted an eReader that was color (for my comics), played pretty much as many media forms as possible (text, literature, pictures, video, and music), and preferred touch screen. Damn, I wanted an iPad!

Or did I? My employer recently obtained new laptops for all the professionals and as such, were getting rid of the old laptops, Gateway M275's. Not exactly a bad ass machine, but for what I was looking for...

It has a stylus-operated touch screen, fold & swivel screen that converts it into a tablet, WiFi built in, and does...well...everything I wanted. It beat buying a watered down netbook. It beat a singular purposed eReader. The only shortfall? Battery. Sure, Steve Jobs mentioned that I'll eventually get to a power outlet to plug in, but 2.25 hours of batter life (that's without WiFi) is pretty slim, especially when your on vay-cay and not near a free outlet. Of course, not only did the Gateway beat the netbook and eReader in performance, but also in price. I dropped half a Franklin ($50 in layman's term) and even picked one up for my dear brother.

I've been reading the last few days, breaking in my library and building up my arms to read with a 5.5 lbs. book. Sure it's heavy, but I'm pretty sure my "tablet reader" will whip up on any netbook or eReader out there.

At least for now. I'll have gotten my money's worth in two years, then I can bug the wifey for a new toy...er, tool.

Shazam!

eBooks: Right or Wrong, Part II

So, our discussion continues.

As you can tell by the the various iPad articles and statements, it has been received by a most varied audience. Love it or hate it, it's quite interesting and will nonetheless cause the market to slightly shift (maybe more, too early to tell) to include tablets, such as this pictured Joojoo.

But what about eBooks? Perhaps one of the most interesting comments I read was from Steve Jobs, saying:

[responds to query about issue of battery life] You know there isn't...You end up plugging it in, you end up docking it, or whatever your going to do with it. It's not a big deal; ten hours is a long time. You're not going to read for ten hours.

Now, in his defense, this was right after the presentation, and I'm sure that the interviewer got the CEO of Apple johnny on the spot with his questions. It wasn't an attack but a careful probe. But it's not like Steve Jobs needs my help.

While most interesting, none of this helps the quandary of whether or not eBooks have place. So let's do this quick.

eBooks do have a place. As of right now, 2010, it honestly goes to a privileged bunch. You know who I'm talking about. The six-figure income family with disposable income; the poseurs with disposable income; or the wanna-be de rigueur, who will put themselves in debt just to look the part. Sure, there are exceptions to rules and this is no exception; snazzy collegians, die-hard readers, and solvent retirees (or near) may quite well partake in the early adoptions of these eBooks.

Price and battery life are the primary issues; secondary to that is the formats that the device will encode/decipher. The iPad goes for $499 USD for the base model (16 GB with WiFi) while the addition of 3G hardware adds $150 USD; the price goes up for additional storage. The Amazon Kindle goes for $259 USD, and the Sony Reader starts at $199 USD and goes up from there.

My friend said that while these are nice, they will never replace a good old fashioned book. I happen to agree with him. Something that has worked for over a millennium obviously works, and does so well.

So, now that leaves us with the recommendation.

That's for next time.

Shazam!

eBooks: Right or Wrong, Part I

As civilization progresses, so does the tools that man uses.

See history for the evolution of tools, transportation, apparel, and communication.

For all this, the humble book hasn't really changed much in the last few millennia, aside from printing techniques and being bound. Of late, digital readers have begun to take off.

I going to assume that you know what a digital reader is (if you don't read here), so we'll move forward from there. Digital texts aren't anything new, nor is reading via PC or laptop (currently my method of reading digital texts). eReaders are fancy simple purposed devices that make the task of reading said etexts/ebooks that much easier. eReaders typically have an LCD screen (better on battery life, offers ease of reading comparable to actual paper) and buttons to navigate, but this is rapidly changing to offer greater versatility.

In what could be consider it's first real year, the Kindle sold over 1.1 million units (party due to Oprah's magic touch). This same trend leads up to a predicted 12 million units in 2011. This should be compared to the rising trends of laptops finally exceeding desktop sales in 2008. Portability or versatility, take your pick; either way, people want their digital media ready to rock and roll quickly.

So now that the stage is set, will the Kindle and Sony Reader become a hot commodity among readers and college students alike? Will the iPad fill that niche between singular purposed luxury devices and watered down laptops?

Go ahead; post that comment.

FOLLOW UP (29 Jan 2010): Doing a bit of roving around on the net, I came across this article from the CES show a while back. Basically this ol' boy is stoked about his Barnes & Noble Nook, but goes through and lists some really functional e-Readers as well, many of which aren't mentioned here (as of yet...). Worth a quick read for sho!

Shazam!

Not just Kris's fav book...

So I downloaded Airframe in ebook format to read at leisure on my PSP. The book is as good as I can remember it.

So what are we talking about here? Wasn't I going to discuss another football movie? Change of schedule...don't sweat it.

I really like Crichton. Really. I just don't like how he ended his books the first half of his career.

SPOILER: Crichton, in my humble opinion, likes to build and build and build, then drop you off with the ending. At least he used. Take Andromeda Strain. Read the first couple of chapters. The build up, the gradual increase of suspense and detail to intricacies, is what makes Crichton so appealing to me: details. That cliff that Wile E. Coyote drops off chasing the Road Runner is what happens towards the end of Andromeda Strain. Before your panties get twisted, know this: I still like Crichton, just not his endings. END SPOILER.

I'm rereading this novel, just because. I've gotten into ebooks lately (any of my Facebook friends might realize this) and love the convenience of it. I don't have much free time during the day and my PSP allows for any time reading convenience.

As this is my fourth or fifth reading, I've come across a few similarities in this and a few of Crichton's other novels. It's almost formulaic how their are certain characters, roles, that are fleshed out exactly and fit to serve a specific role. Doesn't take away from the story, but read a few of his novels four or five times and let me know if you come across the same thing.

Down and dirty, this novel is good stuff. Set in the mid 1990's, it tracks the effects of a seemingly innocuous decision gone bad. Really bad. Crichton sets up the scene nicely and the story really flows. One interesting feature of this novel is the seeming lack of techie terms. It's there, but perhaps not as stark and overcoming as say Timeline or Disclosure. Mayge I'm such a tech nerd that I get it automatically. Whichever, it's a great read; driving pace and leave you guessing who is who and how the outcome will be reached.

Best of all? The Coyote won't be waiting for you at the bottom of the cliff.

Shazam!