"In spiritual matters there really is no 'Third World.' It's all Third World."
- Dallas Willard
Thursday, February 26, 2009
I know I can google it or something. But I probably won't. I'd kind of rather not know.
"It" is this thing everyone is all of a sudden (it seems in the last five minutes or so) talking about on the internet. A "Kindle".
I honestly don't know what it is. A cell phone of some sort?
To everyone who's panting over it: you've done perfectly fine all these years without a "Kindle". What changed in the last day or two? Is this the next big thing we just can't live without?
I thought there was an economic downturn/Great Depression going on. I keep waiting for that to change our culture in some discernable way.
But then again, I don't even own an iPod, so I'm a good hundred years minutes behind everyone else.
I think I'm just old.
Update: OK, I've been educated on what this is. It's an e-book reader, and, though I don't enjoy reading books electronically (probably because I can't dog-ear the pages) I have to admit this is pretty cool. When I first posted this I thought it was some new cell phone or something. This is better.
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Comments on "Posting Out Of Ignorance":
2. Jared
- 02/26/2009 8:25 pm CST
A Kindle is Amazon's eBook reader.
I'm assuming you've been reading the BHT.
I didn't care a thing about the new Kindle till I found it offers free cellular web browsing (meaning, free, after you buy the device, of course). This appeals to me as someone who benefits from the Internet for work but cannot afford to pay subscription for mobile internet.
Plus it holds books that are cheaper to buy electronically than in print, and that also take up no physical space.
Take it or leave it, I guess. It appeals to me, and partially as a money/space saving purchase.
4. shaun
- 02/26/2009 8:35 pm CST
I have a Sony Reader and I like it alright. It doesn't have the internet but otherwise it's a Kindle. Text looks exactly like it's on a page because there is no backlighting. Project Gutenberg has something like 100,000 ebooks for free and you can subscribe(also free) to a bunch of Newspapers and Magazines. I don't read too much public domain material but when ebooks come down in price, I imagine I'll use it more.
5. Bill
- 02/26/2009 9:01 pm CST
I'm assuming you've been reading the BHT.
Well, I saw it there, but your facebook status is what set me off :-)
6. Jared
- 02/26/2009 9:08 pm CST
Sweet.
Could've emailed to ask, dude! Save the passive aggressive "I keep reading about such and such" rants for strangers. ;-)
Full disclosure:
We didn't have anything but dial-up in our house until 2 years ago. My cell phone is a phone. Doesn't email or get on the web or send pictures.
We didn't have cable until last year (and we're considering tossing it out again).
So I gotta plead innocent on techno-wantonness. :-)
I'm not one of those guys!
7. Bill
- 02/26/2009 9:22 pm CST
I know :-)
Curious, though - are you going to get a Kindle?
To be honest, now that I know it's an ebook reader I'm not so curmudgeonly about it. I thought it was the next iPhone or something. That got me into high-dudgeon (my high-dudgeon is the most entertaining when I'm ranting out of ignorance).
9. Quaid
- 02/26/2009 10:29 pm CST
I think Oprah did a special on it or something, so the hype probably started there . . .
I've seen them advertise it for years on Amazon (where I've bought many a book), but I think there's a new model out (???).
Outside of cheaper books, I don't really know that it's that big of a deal. Although - I was thinking the same thing about purchasing books on Logos (the Bible software). I didn't want to get any because they always sell them at list price - no discounts like you might find online. But then a friend told me that you can search books there, making the software version much more powerful than an index might be.
If the kindle could search through books to find terms and such (as I'm sure it can) then that might be another cool benefit - especially from a research angle.
10. Jared
- 02/26/2009 11:40 pm CST
Yeah, the Kindle can search any the books for terms and phrases. It has a note capability also, and a Qwerty keyboard.
The display is pretty cool too. It is as much like a book page as possible (no backlight, etc.).
My friend has the 1st Kindle. It's cool, but it didn't make me want one.
The upgrades to the Kindle 2 (it's apparently sturdier, more sleek, more user friendly, etc.) and the new free 3G cellular web browsing make it really appealing to me now.
11. jez
- 02/27/2009 5:45 am CST
I found out about the kindle about a week ago, through this cartoon. Having looked it up and read about electronic ink, I think it might be pretty cool -- except that I don't expect that free cellular service (only a few sites such as kindle's store and wikipedia) to be carried at all outside the USA.
Books are still much, much better of course. But on the other hand, vinyl records and open reel tape are better than discs and mp3s, yet here we all are. Eventually it'll get too convenient/cheap to make carrying lots of books around a reasonable alternative.
But I think I'll wait for a much bigger screen and more open formats... I don't want to be locked into amazon or anywhere else.
12. Wickle
- 02/27/2009 6:38 am CST
What I'm scared about is colleges that are apparently moving all of their texts to e-book format.
There is a long tradition of sitting on the dorm floor with a collection of books arrayed in front of you, flipping them back and forth, comparing information, etc.. How does that work with this thing?
I think it's going to be singly responsible for the downfall of western civilization.
... or maybe I'm just old.
13. Bird
- 02/27/2009 7:14 am CST
Barack Obama was wearing one on his hip during the inauguration, that's what started the hype.
But, of course, six months ago Bono passed out free Kindles to all of the needy children in Africa. He let them "charge it" so they didn't have to pay for it, and then he immediately dismissed the debt and announced it on international TV.
I just made all that up.
14. Whitney
- 02/27/2009 7:37 am CST
Take it or leave it, I guess. It appeals to me, and partially as a money/space saving purchase.
I agree... but there is still something to be said for holding an acutal book when you're reading. Maybe it makes me feel more "intellectual" or something. I dunno. That's a stretch!
(ha! as an aside, when I was proofing this comment for posting, I realized I misspelled "intellectual". I guess it takes more than a book to help me out! :) )
PS I don't actually own an ipod either. My cellphone is also just a phone... no keyboard or internet access. However, we do have satellite, and digital DVR. I love my DVR.
Have a great Friday!
15. TheCalvinator
- 02/27/2009 8:22 am CST
Am I the only one whom the Kindle reminds of Star Trek:DS9?
16. Crossbow
- 02/27/2009 10:27 am CST
Of course, most smartphones can now download eBooks from many different places. And they do a lot more than the Kindle. At $350, I don't think the pluses of the Kindle outweigh the minuses of reading an eBook on a smartphone.
BTW - you have to buy a large number of eBooks before you make up what you spent on the Kindle itself. It's only at that point that it starts saving money. And it's still all in black and white.
17. Bob Sacamento
- 02/27/2009 10:31 am CST
Wickle:
"I think it's going to be singly responsible for the downfall of western civilization."
Dang it! That was going to be my line! YOu beat me to the punch.
And that was an excellent point about studying and researching with all your books opened up right in front of you.
And if anyone cares, there is an excellent essay over at The New Atlantis web site about reading on computer screens vs books.
18. Shrode
- 02/27/2009 11:07 am CST
Calvinator,
Not just DS:9. It is Star Trek. Watch any episode where someone uses a "pad" and that's exactly what this is!
It's not the first time that Star Trek has predicted technology. We're all headed towards Star Trek technology eventually. Gene Roddenberry was da man.
19. salguod
- 02/27/2009 11:10 am CST
So 'splain this free 3G browsing thing. I have to believe that free doesn't actually mean, you know, free. It's got to have some limitations, right?
21. Milly
- 02/27/2009 2:07 pm CST
My brother reads several books at a time. I wonder if he could do that with this thing?
My cell phone is just a cell phone I need nothing more.
Never and I mean never dog ear a book!
You don't chew gum in public and you never dog ear a book. Darn kids!
22. The Ancient Mariner
- 02/27/2009 3:24 pm CST
I've never been one for e-books--I use Logos, have ever since I went to work for them (back when it was version 1.6), and I have a huge library, but the fact that I don't like reading off a screen means that I can't study as intensely using Logos as I can with books I have in print. It's rather a pain, but it's just the way I seem to be wired. The thing that's interesting to me about the Kindle is the claim that the screen reads like reading off paper; which has me thinking that I just might try the new one.
And to those comparing the Kindle to Star Trek, Randall Munroe has a better comparison for you.
Leave a Comment:
Is the Kindle the eBook thing? If so, then I hate it.