Anyone tried an e-reader?

[pErvinalia]

Another goodie for the outdated technology drawer.

WTF?!? The netbook is the dodo here, troll.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Yes, Chuck.

[pErvinalia]

Go, Chuck, go!

The funny thing is, you probably think you are giving me shit here. Do a poll, troll, and see who makes the better argument, CES/me or you? When you answer like that, people just laugh at you. No, not with you, at you.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Sorry, Chuck, won't happen again.

[FBM]

So...ANYWAY...

Thanks to Geoff, Ayaan, Mai, etc, for your advice.

Since I already bought the netbook, rather, my gfriend bought it for me , I'm stuck with giving it a go first. Yes, it will have a shorter battery life and no e-ink, but I can use it to show PowerPoint slides and videos to my students. 2G RAM, 250GB hdd, 1.66Ghz, duo-core, 10.1" screen. It only cost about $250, so it's not much different in price from some of the better e-books. After I get Windows loaded on it, I'll give it a test run on the subway, which is pretty much what I wanted it for.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Fanboy fail.

[Coito ergo sum]

Another goodie for the outdated technology drawer.

...like the soon to be outdated netbook....that costs 3-4 times as much....

Single-purpose items have a much higher mortality rate. Got a PDA anywhere in the house?

Isn't the Nook/Kindle/Sony ereader type device on the uptick, and the netbook already has daisies growing over it? Or, at least a foot on a banana peel. Who even buys netbooks now? Tablets do everything netbooks do.

Your whole argument was about how the Nook requires you to buy an extra device. Well, your netbook doesn't solve that problem. Nobody uses a netbook as their laptop or home computer. It's by definition an extra device. All it does is surf the web and hold a few photos. So, you're suggesting we have a home computer or real laptop AND get a netbook if we want to read - only the netbook remotely do what people buy ereaders for: (a) doesn't have the eink screen, (b) is not as small and portable, and not as book-like, (c) can't read as well in bright light, and (d) can't be comfortably used in bed or when lying on the couch.

Your multipurpose device doesn't serve the purpose of an ereader. If it did, you'd have some semblance of a point. As it happens, it doesn't, and therefore you don't.

[Jason]

I likes the convenience (and the freeness!) of Kindle for PC, but I can't see myself buying a mobile device any time soon - too wedded to the Cult of the Book, I'm afraid.

I love the idea of being able to have all books from all eras available online, but at the same time, I would hate to see the total demise of all paper-bound books.
Maybe I'd like to see modern fiction published online, but the "classics" of literature always available on paper? Much like downloads and vinyls in the music world, I guess.

Yes, yes - I am a Luddite, and I am not ashamed.

I've spent literally thousands of hours converting paper books to soft copy. But I still like paper books for myself.

Oh boy.. the classics.. ruined..

"All the world is a stag and all the men and women merely flayers.."

"Now is the vintner of our discoteque.."

"Into the valley of breasts rode the 600."

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I likes the convenience (and the freeness!) of Kindle for PC, but I can't see myself buying a mobile device any time soon - too wedded to the Cult of the Book, I'm afraid.

I love the idea of being able to have all books from all eras available online, but at the same time, I would hate to see the total demise of all paper-bound books.
Maybe I'd like to see modern fiction published online, but the "classics" of literature always available on paper? Much like downloads and vinyls in the music world, I guess.

Yes, yes - I am a Luddite, and I am not ashamed.

I've spent literally thousands of hours converting paper books to soft copy. But I still like paper books for myself.

Oh boy.. the classics.. ruined..

"All the world is a stag and all the men and women merely flayers.."

"Now is the vintner of our discoteque.."

"Into the valley of breasts rode the 600."

http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/

[Coito ergo sum]

I likes the convenience (and the freeness!) of Kindle for PC, but I can't see myself buying a mobile device any time soon - too wedded to the Cult of the Book, I'm afraid.

I love the idea of being able to have all books from all eras available online, but at the same time, I would hate to see the total demise of all paper-bound books.
Maybe I'd like to see modern fiction published online, but the "classics" of literature always available on paper? Much like downloads and vinyls in the music world, I guess.

Yes, yes - I am a Luddite, and I am not ashamed.

I've spent literally thousands of hours converting paper books to soft copy. But I still like paper books for myself.

Oh boy.. the classics.. ruined..

"All the world is a stag and all the men and women merely flayers.."

"Now is the vintner of our discoteque.."

"Into the valley of breasts rode the 600."

Pay 99 cents on the Nook, rather than download the free version, and you are guaranteed good text. And, that's less than the $10 to $20 you'd spend in paper.

I bought a set of 50 classic sci-fi books on the Nook for 99 cents - classics by HG Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Asimov, Heinlen and many others. I saved $13 alone on Hitch's memoir Hitch-22, and I have purchased about 20 books this year at a fraction of their cost. I would otherwise have spent that money on paper volumes, and added to my piles of books. As it happens, it has more than paid for the ereader. I've already disposed of hundreds of books because they're too cumbersome to carry around and move from house to house. Had I had those books in ebook format, I would still have them.

[Jason]

I likes the convenience (and the freeness!) of Kindle for PC, but I can't see myself buying a mobile device any time soon - too wedded to the Cult of the Book, I'm afraid.

I love the idea of being able to have all books from all eras available online, but at the same time, I would hate to see the total demise of all paper-bound books.
Maybe I'd like to see modern fiction published online, but the "classics" of literature always available on paper? Much like downloads and vinyls in the music world, I guess.

Yes, yes - I am a Luddite, and I am not ashamed.

I've spent literally thousands of hours converting paper books to soft copy. But I still like paper books for myself.

Oh boy.. the classics.. ruined..

"All the world is a stag and all the men and women merely flayers.."

"Now is the vintner of our discoteque.."

"Into the valley of breasts rode the 600."

http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/

Oh.. well I see. Shall I call you Herodotus then, or is Larry your name?

Is there anything there about the war crimes of the U.S.? I mean like the fallout of the firebombing of Tokyo that killed 100,000 civilians. Not as eyecatching as Nagasaki or Hiroshima, but still nice and deadly.

[Jason]

Pay 99 cents on the Nook, rather than download the free version, and you are guaranteed good text. And, that's less than the $10 to $20 you'd spend in paper.

I bought a set of 50 classic sci-fi books on the Nook for 99 cents - classics by HG Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Asimov, Heinlen and many others. I saved $13 alone on Hitch's memoir Hitch-22, and I have purchased about 20 books this year at a fraction of their cost. I would otherwise have spent that money on paper volumes, and added to my piles of books. As it happens, it has more than paid for the ereader. I've already disposed of hundreds of books because they're too cumbersome to carry around and move from house to house. Had I had those books in ebook format, I would still have them.

Does it display .pdf files correctly? I have about 10,000+ e-books already and most of them are in pdf format.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Oh.. well I see. Shall I call you Herodotus then, or is Larry your name?

Is there anything there about the war crimes of the U.S.? I mean like the fallout of the firebombing of Tokyo that killed 100,000 civilians. Not as eyecatching as Nagasaki or Hiroshima, but still nice and deadly.

83,000 civilians. Embarrassingly, we didn't score the magic 100,000 number. But we did keep trying.

[Coito ergo sum]

Pay 99 cents on the Nook, rather than download the free version, and you are guaranteed good text. And, that's less than the $10 to $20 you'd spend in paper.

I bought a set of 50 classic sci-fi books on the Nook for 99 cents - classics by HG Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Asimov, Heinlen and many others. I saved $13 alone on Hitch's memoir Hitch-22, and I have purchased about 20 books this year at a fraction of their cost. I would otherwise have spent that money on paper volumes, and added to my piles of books. As it happens, it has more than paid for the ereader. I've already disposed of hundreds of books because they're too cumbersome to carry around and move from house to house. Had I had those books in ebook format, I would still have them.

Does it display .pdf files correctly? I have about 10,000+ e-books already and most of them are in pdf format.

Mine displays them fine. I download in epub and pdf. I've also downloaded non-book documents that I've wanted to read for work, and converted them to .pdf and read them just fine. I find that for simple reading - when I'm not planning on typing anything, just need to read something - the Nook is a breath of fresh air.

[Coito ergo sum]

Oh.. well I see. Shall I call you Herodotus then, or is Larry your name?

Is there anything there about the war crimes of the U.S.? I mean like the fallout of the firebombing of Tokyo that killed 100,000 civilians. Not as eyecatching as Nagasaki or Hiroshima, but still nice and deadly.

83,000 civilians. Embarrassingly, we didn't score the magic 100,000 number. But we did keep trying.

They started it. We finished it. End of story. War crime, shmore crime. Don't bomb us, and we won't fuck you up.