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Surreal · 07-04-2009, 05:52 PM

OK... giving up and joining the 21st century, mostly because the idea of moving 700+ volumes makes my back hurt.

I've been digitizing my library and now I need a reader since I don't want to lug my laptop everywhere.

Anyone own a Kindle? Or do you have another favorite device? I want something that has a similar size-footprint to a paperback, serious battery life (rechargable), page at a time screen and the usual.. change display size, etc.

Cattrina Careless · 07-04-2009, 06:33 PM

I cant help with your original question, dont use the things, but I'd love to know how you went about digitizing your library?

Lucifer Baphomet · 07-04-2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cattrina Careless

I cant help with your original question, dont use the things, but I'd love to know how you went about digitizing your library?

Remember the laser thingy in Tron?

She has one of those

Redhead · 07-04-2009, 06:38 PM

Forget the dedicated book reader, I use my PDA and love it.

Go to Fictionwise eBooks: Free eBooks, eBooks for Palm, PocketPC, PC, & Mac and get an account.

ETA: from this site they have versions that will work on your PDA, your Smart Phone or you PC. Totally Win/Win.

Surreal · 07-04-2009, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redhead

Forget the dedicated book reader, I use my PDA and love it.

Go to Fictionwise eBooks: Free eBooks, eBooks for Palm, PocketPC, PC, & Mac and get an account.

ETA: from this site they have versions that will work on your PDA, your Smart Phone or you PC. Totally Win/Win.

What kind of PDA do you have though... I have some pretty specific wants on size, battery life, etc.

Redhead · 07-04-2009, 06:40 PM

I have a Palm T/X and love it.

Surreal · 07-04-2009, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cattrina Careless

I cant help with your original question, dont use the things, but I'd love to know how you went about digitizing your library?

First I'm digging out every eBook already available for free on the web... torrents, etc. The remainder I will scan and use a program to convert image to text. I'm having pretty good luck so far.

Redhead · 07-04-2009, 06:43 PM

To expand:

The battery lasts a long time (I can go for well over a week without charging) and I prefer the Palm software over the Windows PDA stuff, but that's just me.

I can read for hours without any problems.

**Mourna Biziou** · 07-04-2009, 06:45 PM

My sister has a kindle, which I have borowwed a few times. The screen is nice and big and really easy on the eyes. The way the screen is made is a mystery to me... it looks like paper! I can't remember specifically about battery life, but I carried it around a few days at a time before just recharging it out of habit.

It was enough to make me contemplate buying one, but the price tag gives me pause.

Redhead · 07-04-2009, 06:50 PM

The Kindle and the Sony e-book (I forget it's name) are both good. I've gone to Borders and looked at the display unit for the Sony version and it really was nice. BUT, for the price you could buy a really nice PDA which will not only work as an E-book, but will also work as a PDA.

Don't brush that off lightly, a good PDA has lots and lots of nice features. For me personally, it's worth reading books on a small screen in exchange for the other uses that a PDA provides.

If all you want the unit for is simply reading books, then get a Kindle. You can't beat it in the e-reader only category.

Surreal · 07-04-2009, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mourna Biziou

My sister has a kindle, which I have borowwed a few times. The screen is nice and big and really easy on the eyes. The way the screen is made is a mystery to me... it looks like paper! I can't remember specifically about battery life, but I carried it around a few days at a time before just recharging it out of habit.

It was enough to make me contemplate buying one, but the price tag gives me pause.

They use eInk technology which is relatively new, but delivers the same viewing quality as printed paper - a big deal for me since I read voraciously.

Surreal · 07-04-2009, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redhead

The Kindle and the Sony e-book (I forget it's name) are both good. I've gone to Borders and looked at the display unit for the Sony version and it really was nice. BUT, for the price you could buy a really nice PDA which will not only work as an E-book, but will also work as a PDA.

Don't brush that off lightly, a good PDA has lots and lots of nice features. For me personally, it's worth reading books on a small screen in exchange for the other uses that a PDA provides.

If all you want the unit for is simply reading books, then get a Kindle. You can't beat it in the e-reader only category.

I have no use for a PDA I'm afraid.

The Kindle may fail on the supported files. I need pdf, rtf and lit files supported. I'm still hunting about to get my answers - I'm not going to buy a reader that only supports its own file formats or purchases - that's a given.

Joshua Nightshade · 07-04-2009, 08:41 PM

The latest Kindle does pdf. I would suspect rtf works fine, I don't know what lit is though.

Kindle would be the only thing I can really suggest just because there isn't really anything else. But if you're bringing in your own documents you don't need the market system as much as others.

Sonja Aeghin · 07-04-2009, 08:46 PM

I recently acquired some e-books in lit format, I know there's a PDA utility for them, I just can't think of the name right now. The rest of my books are in rtf of pdf, and I transferred them to my notebook and open them in OpenOffice.

Surreal · 07-04-2009, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joshua Nightshade

The latest Kindle does pdf. I would suspect rtf works fine, I don't know what lit is though.

Kindle would be the only thing I can really suggest just because there isn't really anything else. But if you're bringing in your own documents you don't need the market system as much as others.

The other front runners are the Sony Reader and BeBook. The main objection I have with the Kindle right now is that they appear to be exclusively sold thru Amazon and I like to stroke before I buy.

**eku Zhong** · 07-04-2009, 11:13 PM

i love books too... and they take up a huge amount of space in our already small place...

i wish someone around here would rent out various readers so i could take them home and test them in my favourite reading positions..

the reason i havent read many ebooks so far is that i would have to read them sitting up at my desk instead of in bed or curled into my favorite overstuffed armchair....

Surreal · 07-05-2009, 03:04 AM

I'm making progress. I'm down to under 100 books that still need to be found in digital format or converted. Oddly, it's the mysteries that I'm having a bitch of a time with.

I'm also experiencing the joys of torrents... i.e physics-defying porn and my virus checker popping up with "xxx file has been quarantined" - meh

The frustrating thing is that a couple of authors don't appear to be available in digital form at all. If anyone has Wilhelmina Baird's cyberpunk books: Crashcourse, Clipjoint, Psykosis and Chaos Come Again as an eBook, or knows where to get it, I will be your love slave for at least 5 minutes.

Tyche Shepherd · 07-05-2009, 05:35 AM

Surreal, someone has just asked a very similar question on Slashdot Slashdot Ask Slashdot Story | Good PDF Reader Device With Internet Browsing?

You may find some alternative devices there.

Samantha Fuller · 07-05-2009, 09:13 AM

I use the Palm TX to. it has very good battery life and a screen that is nice to look at. I just looked at a Kindle and while the screen looks nice when you change the page it blinks out for a second i found that very irritating.

Samantha Fuller · 07-05-2009, 09:32 AM

Although i haven't tried those formats i'm pretty sure they are supported but i'm not sure how well. The palm is a lot smaller than an dedicated reader i get about 6-8 lines of text per screen in sideways oreintation which is readable but just barely.

**Cristiano** · 07-05-2009, 09:39 AM

I really like the Stanza reader on the iPhone/iPod Touch. The only downside is the battery life, though it is decent on the iPod Touch, and the browsing experience is unmatched on other devices. The Kindle is very nice, but a bit too proprietary. Another option also would be a netbook - the Eee PC I just bought has 9.5 hours of battery life, and a 10" screen.

Joshua Nightshade · 07-05-2009, 09:41 AM

Compared to the iPod Touch? o_0

**Cristiano** · 07-05-2009, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joshua Nightshade

Compared to the iPod Touch? o_0

What?

Joshua Nightshade · 07-05-2009, 09:49 AM

The Kindle is too proprietary compared to Apple?

I also can't agree that trying to read a book on that screen is anything but BDSM on the eyes. I've used Stanza as well as the Kindle software reader and both of them made me want to kill myself.

Galen McGinnis · 07-05-2009, 09:57 AM

iRex has some interesting readers iRex Technologies

07-04-2009, 06:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
Cattrina Careless Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 448 My Mood: SLShopper Ads: 4 Business: Catt's Creations	I cant help with your original question, dont use the things, but I'd love to know how you went about digitizing your library? __________________ Catts Creations Blog SLX

07-04-2009, 06:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
Redhead La Vie Boheme It's all relative Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Salem Oregon Posts: 3,941 My Mood: SL Join Date: January 2005	Forget the dedicated book reader, I use my PDA and love it. Go to Fictionwise eBooks: Free eBooks, eBooks for Palm, PocketPC, PC, & Mac and get an account. ETA: from this site they have versions that will work on your PDA, your Smart Phone or you PC. Totally Win/Win. __________________ "Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words" Dorothy Parker. Maddie Blaustein: the very definition of wit.

07-04-2009, 06:45 PM	#9 (permalink)
Mourna Biziou Tincture of Evil SLU Supporter M is for Mourna, who died of ennui. Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 5,006 My Mood: SLShopper Ads: 2	My sister has a kindle, which I have borowwed a few times. The screen is nice and big and really easy on the eyes. The way the screen is made is a mystery to me... it looks like paper! I can't remember specifically about battery life, but I carried it around a few days at a time before just recharging it out of habit. It was enough to make me contemplate buying one, but the price tag gives me pause. __________________ Mah Flickah

07-04-2009, 06:50 PM	#10 (permalink)
Redhead La Vie Boheme It's all relative Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Salem Oregon Posts: 3,941 My Mood: SL Join Date: January 2005	The Kindle and the Sony e-book (I forget it's name) are both good. I've gone to Borders and looked at the display unit for the Sony version and it really was nice. BUT, for the price you could buy a really nice PDA which will not only work as an E-book, but will also work as a PDA. Don't brush that off lightly, a good PDA has lots and lots of nice features. For me personally, it's worth reading books on a small screen in exchange for the other uses that a PDA provides. If all you want the unit for is simply reading books, then get a Kindle. You can't beat it in the e-reader only category. Last edited by Redhead; 07-04-2009 at 06:52 PM. Reason: Oh wait...no I didn't

07-04-2009, 11:13 PM	#16 (permalink)
eku Zhong Rotisserie/Compulsive SLU Supporter caffienating Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: 田舎 Posts: 1,761 My Mood: Bistro Stars Champion! SLShopper Ads: 10 SL Join Date: 9/29/2007 Business: Apocalips Japan	i love books too... and they take up a huge amount of space in our already small place... i wish someone around here would rent out various readers so i could take them home and test them in my favourite reading positions.. the reason i havent read many ebooks so far is that i would have to read them sitting up at my desk instead of in bed or curled into my favorite overstuffed armchair.... __________________

07-04-2009, 06:40 PM	#6 (permalink)
Redhead La Vie Boheme It's all relative Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Salem Oregon Posts: 3,941 My Mood: SL Join Date: January 2005	I have a Palm T/X and love it.

07-04-2009, 06:43 PM	#8 (permalink)
Redhead La Vie Boheme It's all relative Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Salem Oregon Posts: 3,941 My Mood: SL Join Date: January 2005	To expand: The battery lasts a long time (I can go for well over a week without charging) and I prefer the Palm software over the Windows PDA stuff, but that's just me. I can read for hours without any problems.

07-04-2009, 08:41 PM	#13 (permalink)
Joshua Nightshade Account Closed Unedited Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 33,567 My Mood:	The latest Kindle does pdf. I would suspect rtf works fine, I don't know what lit is though. Kindle would be the only thing I can really suggest just because there isn't really anything else. But if you're bringing in your own documents you don't need the market system as much as others.

07-04-2009, 08:46 PM	#14 (permalink)
Sonja Aeghin The Griefing Wall so much for status Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sweet Home ______ Posts: 922 My Mood: Popup Killer Champion! SL Join Date: 2/8/2008 Business: Ugly Schtick Privacy/Griefing Walls! Blog Entries: 2	I recently acquired some e-books in lit format, I know there's a PDA utility for them, I just can't think of the name right now. The rest of my books are in rtf of pdf, and I transferred them to my notebook and open them in OpenOffice.

07-05-2009, 03:04 AM	#17 (permalink)
Surreal Mental Health Hazard Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 8,753 My Mood: SLShopper Ads: 6 Blog Entries: 49	I'm making progress. I'm down to under 100 books that still need to be found in digital format or converted. Oddly, it's the mysteries that I'm having a bitch of a time with. I'm also experiencing the joys of torrents... i.e physics-defying porn and my virus checker popping up with "xxx file has been quarantined" - meh The frustrating thing is that a couple of authors don't appear to be available in digital form at all. If anyone has Wilhelmina Baird's cyberpunk books: Crashcourse, Clipjoint, Psykosis and Chaos Come Again as an eBook, or knows where to get it, I will be your love slave for at least 5 minutes.

07-05-2009, 05:35 AM	#18 (permalink)
Tyche Shepherd Fortuna vitrea est enjoying the victor's spoils Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: UK Posts: 5,399 My Mood: SL Join Date: 26th April 2007 Awards: 1	Surreal, someone has just asked a very similar question on Slashdot Slashdot Ask Slashdot Story \| Good PDF Reader Device With Internet Browsing? You may find some alternative devices there. __________________ Vanguard of the LolCatz Revolution This Post was financed by The National LolCatz Archives Clancy Sullivan :Yeah. YEAH! The sultry seamstress of mirth is definitely in charge now. Certified 7.8 on the Official Non-Arbitrary Trout Algorithmic Slut scale A public copy of my Second Life Main Grid Survey Database can be found at http://www.gridsurvey.com - Now with added Second Life Incidents !!

07-05-2009, 09:13 AM	#19 (permalink)
Samantha Fuller Senior Member Mostly quiet Lurker Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 337 My Mood:	I use the Palm TX to. it has very good battery life and a screen that is nice to look at. I just looked at a Kindle and while the screen looks nice when you change the page it blinks out for a second i found that very irritating.

07-05-2009, 09:32 AM	#20 (permalink)
Samantha Fuller Senior Member Mostly quiet Lurker Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 337 My Mood:	Although i haven't tried those formats i'm pretty sure they are supported but i'm not sure how well. The palm is a lot smaller than an dedicated reader i get about 6-8 lines of text per screen in sideways oreintation which is readable but just barely.

07-05-2009, 09:41 AM	#22 (permalink)
Joshua Nightshade Account Closed Unedited Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 33,567 My Mood:	Compared to the iPod Touch? o_0

07-05-2009, 09:49 AM	#24 (permalink)
Joshua Nightshade Account Closed Unedited Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 33,567 My Mood:	The Kindle is too proprietary compared to Apple? I also can't agree that trying to read a book on that screen is anything but BDSM on the eyes. I've used Stanza as well as the Kindle software reader and both of them made me want to kill myself.

07-05-2009, 09:57 AM	#25 (permalink)
Galen McGinnis Making His List Stoopdefied Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Federal Relocation Program Posts: 297 My Mood: SL Join Date: 9/22/2007	iRex has some interesting readers iRex Technologies __________________ Ok now I ain't so dirty any more. What do you mean showering is an Adult activity. Oh hell did I rez in Braunworth again?

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