The Blogfather

Very Interesting! I have been known to read a few books in my time, however I am the kind of person who cant look at a screen to long! Using a pc on a regular basis makes me alittle dizzy but you added there is no glare! This sounds great as i travel from the Vinyard on a regular basis and always have around 3 books on me.

I'm with you, Walter, I LOVE my Kindle! And yes, you can read it on the beach, I've done so. I'm traveling now, and for the space and weight of one paperback, I can have 300,000+ books, newspapers, magazines & blogs at my disposal. Can't beat it. The wannabes who want to Klobber Kindle with new products will have some distance to go. I did hear that Kindle 3, which is supposed to be larger to handle newspapers and textbooks better, wasn't so good, got panned in a review but I haven't actually talked to anyone who owned one. I also agree it's a bummer I can't pass my books around to my friends when I finish reading it on my Kindle. But regardless, it is an awesome piece of technology and although I'll still buy paper for certain things, I LOVE my Kindle! I haven't yet met a Kindle owner who didn't love it!

CCToday:

End users end up stuck in the same Digital Rights Management (DRM) morass that they were stuck with until this past year with the iTunes Store -- content they can't use unless they have a Kindle or Kindle software on their device. Amazon ends up becoming the gatekeeper for all of this.

It reminds me of something my old history prof said: Fascism is the best kind of government to live with, as long as you're on the side of fascists.

Amazon also offer the larger tablet called the Amazon DX:
http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-DX-Amazons-Wireless-Generation/dp/B0015TCML0
It's the size of a magazine page as opposed to a paperback page, and is designed essentially for magazines and newspapers.
The Kindle is designed for books which seldom have either photos or color, and a full color version is being readied according to insiders.
Used Kindles are available for as low as $199 on both Amazon and eBay.

@Peter Cohen
Yr correct, Apple didn't announce it, but a lot of savvy industry observers think it's real, viz. this truncated Barron's item:
FOLLOWING REPORTS IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES last week that Apple is preparing a multimedia computer in the shape of a tablet with a 10-inch screen, computer-industry executives are waiting with bated breath for what may be a final design from Apple in the next six weeks, say analysts.

One veteran analyst who has seen first-hand a prototype slate-style computer from Apple (ticker: AAPL) says the device could be announced in September for release in November.

Whatever the exact dates, the computer industry is so anxious to see what Apple introduces that it has held off on competing designs until Apple ...

Peter, do the math - Amazon sells books you pay $12-$30 for at $3 - $9.95, and there are thousands offered free.
The Blogfather saed the cost of his Kindle the first year, and now the price is $60 less.
No one will ever match Amazon's inventory which has grown from over 200,000 more titles in the last year alone.

I've been on the fence about the Kindle for a while now -- I just can't get past the price. I certainly recognize the benefits -- the convenience of having thousands of books in a single device; the "WhisperSync" wireless networking technology, the thin iPod-style lines of the Kindle2. But $300 is a lot of second-hand paperbacks, which is what I spend most of my time reading.

I'm hoping that Plastic Logic's device, which is what Barnes & Noble will use for their e-book store, will lower the bar. But we'll see. B&N is making a big deal out of how its e-book store includes Google e-books, which helps boost its catalog tremendously. And that's great, if public domain literature interests you.

Sony's also readying a couple of nice new e-book readers in small and large formats for $200 and $300 respectively, which will give the Kindle some competition, as well. Sony's e-book reader design is fantastic, and the company has a decent relationship with Borders.

Problem as I see it is the lack of uniform standards for these things.

"Walter, how does it read on the beach?"

Here's the thing to remember about the Kindle: The display uses a fundamentally different technology than a cell phone or laptop. The "e-paper" display of the Kindle reflects light just like regular paper does.

By comparison, a cell phone or laptop computer uses a backlight to illuminate the screen, which means that the image gets washed out or illegible in bright environments.

"And, Apple sez it's coming up with one in the fall that delivers video as well."

Apple certainly has done no such thing. There have been wide reports that Apple is readying some sort of tablet device, but Apple itself has said nothing.

The rumors of what this device does and how much it will cost are quite literally all over the map. So much so that there's no legitimate way to distinguish truth from fiction. Better to simply discount it all together until more firm information is available.

To that end, Apple customarily does not comment on rumors, and it typically doesn't pre-announce products before they're ready to ship.

In the category of "you ain't seen nothin' yet", Plastic Logic is coming out in 2010 with a color-compatible competitive product that, from what I've read to date, leaves Kindle in the dust in terms of tactility and hands-on user experience.
And, Apple sez it's coming up with one in the fall that delivers video as well.
Save your pennies, Walter.

I'm on my second Kindle. The battery of the first one failed, and Amazon replaced it, no questions asked. I love this little device, even though the design (esp. the first generation) is clunky.

Lately I've taken to loading my Kindle books onto my iPod Touch, which is easier to carry around. One of the nice features is that the Kindle and iPod will synchronize with each other, so if I quit reading on the former and resume on the latter, I don't have to search for my place in the book. It takes me right to it.

i have only 2 issues with kindle: i can't see how far to the end of a chapter when i am reading at bedtime, and i can't lend an outstanding book to a friend after reading. oh, and photos and illustrations are poor quality. when i finished 'three cups of tea', for instance, i still had to check the book out of the library to see all the maps...

but i LOVE LOVE LOVE it, especially when traveling, or when i am reading 'one-handed'.

Kindle karma Walter

I have used Kindles ever since they came out. Most of my periodicals come on Kindle now and virtually all of my books.

Wally is right. Amazon.com's customer service for Kindle is absolutely outstanding. When I upgrade to Kindle 2 I gave my original Kindle to a colleague. Amazon got on the phone with us and walked us through the transfer to my new Kindle and the de-registration of the old one. Then they took my colleague through the registration of the old one to his account.

The battery life on Kindle 2 is far superior to that of the first Kindle. The multi-function toggle mouse is a big improvement over the thumbwheel on the old one.

I find that keeping my Kindle in its cover helps to minimize the risk of damage.

How refreshing it is to hear about a company with such great customer service!

I'm still on the fence about the Kindle... search for "Kindle" on the tech-savvy blog boingboing.net for some other commentary (not mine).

bipr, thanks for asking - I meant to add that to the story.
The Kindle is NOT back-lit like a computer.
The new technology is called "e-ink" and like the printed page, the brighter the light the better for reading.
But unlike the printed page, in dim light you can increase the typeface to read long past when you could with a book.
The device uses no battery power after each page is turned, and unlike a book, the pages won't flutter on the beach in the wind.
I do most my reading with it outdoors now.

Walter, how does it read on the beach? I can't even read my cell phone messages in the bright sun. Any problems with stray grains of sand blowing in/on the mechanism?

Walter,

Was that your Kindle? I'm sorry, I thought someone had just thrown their newspaper away.

Happy 50th Walter @ pat , neither one of you has changed. Thx for the groovy article. a LOVE story .

Congratulations, Walter and Pat, and thanks for sharing your terrific story.

Congratulations to Patricia and Walter. What a great story you share. All the best in the years to come.
Karen and David Rojay

Everything changed for me, too, in 1959: I was born :-). But I'm nowhere as cool as you guys!

Walter (and Pat):
Congrats on your anniversary. Remember that 50 is just getting started in turtle years!

Sue and I celebrate our anniversary two days later. Not our 50th, but just as sweet.

Congratulations on your 50th. In August, 1959, I was at the opposite end of the spectrum getting ready to be discharged from the Navy at Treasure Island, CA. Closest I ever came to pot was breathing heavy as I walked past the coffee shops in Sauselito.

Oh wow, man! Congratulations!

Walter and Pat:

Congratulations!!
Many more.

Love, Paul

Nice writing Wally.

Pat, you're as beautiful now as you were then!

Patty is slammin' like Iron Shiek

Great to hear the story! Congratulations, Walter & Patricia!

Congrats to Wally & Pat on their 50th!

Betty & Dick Neitz

having to read all of these philistine complaints. If you hate the summer season with crowded grocery stores, leave. If you don't have patience for older folks, Cape Cod is not for you, leave.

Being deleted on this site while attempting 'free' speech.

I've always found that during the course of a day on the water, the best show is always on the boat ramp.

How about a launching ramp rant? Like last year on a summer weekend when an SUV with 2 kayaks on top parked right on the ramp while the boats were unloaded, then spent about 20 minutes arranging gear while blocking the ramp. Hello!! You can pick those things up and carry them around, unlike the guy waiting in line with a 20-footer that weighs about 2 tons!

1. Not signaling your turn or lane change.
2. Forgetting to turn off your turn signal once you've completed the turn (what Jerry Seinfeld called "the eventual left").
3. Intersections that don't have street signs for both the road you're on and the cross street.
4. Big SUVs that aren't required for any off-road driving more challenging than the parking lot at the mall.

Seems we get most steamed up about ve-hic-u-lar behaviors.

1. People who stop in the middle of the rotary. If you not sure where it is you are going, then go around until you do.
2. People riding bikes at night with dark clothes and no reflective material on them.
3. People who drive two car lenghts in between the next car...making traffic even longer.

I like to call Blueheads 'Q-Tips.' My peeve is girlfriends with sharp pointy elbows due to that incident in '76. I am however still friends with Ms.Pointy-Elbows.

People who constantly bitch about everyone else.

Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride.

speaking of route 134- many,many pet peeves of mine also happen on that road. most notably how congested and jammed both intersections with lights by Patriot Square and the road to the dump often get. My peeve is the idiots who just HAVE to pull into the middle of the intersection even when there is a jam and no room for them to do it because they don't want to get caught by the red light. stupid. why can't they just do the honorable/intelligent thing by acknowledging the traffic jam, stop at the line and just wait it out until the light changes for them again? let the jam lighten up- too hard? Wouldn't it be worse to be the douche bag blocking everyone than having to sit through a light?? am I crazy? God help if emergency vehicles need to come through when those intersections get like that. I avoid Rte. 134 on weekends and in the summer, only going if I have no choice.