the kindle
Offline this is an exchange i had with paisely over an "i support jesus" thread. when he mentioned the kindle, i couldn't help going off on a rant, so i decided to post it here:
iwbiek wrote:Paisley wrote:Correction! You are not materialists according to the definition provided by the Wikipedia article on "materialism."
yeah, well, judging from my heavy reading of books on the subject, i feel confident in saying that at least marx would be satisfied with my materialist credentials, which is good enough for me. wikipedia can shove it up its cybernetic ass.
then again, in this postmodern world, it seems like there's just no place for an old partisan like me, whose hands still touch paper more than the molded plastic of a keyboard....
Does this mean that you will not be purchasing the Kindle anytime soon?
goddamn right, but not just for medievalist reasons. with the way technology and media are being integrated and consolidated these days--television and internet and telephone merged together in the fiberoptic cable, cell phone and handheld computer and mp3 player and electronic planner combined into one portable device, etc.--the kindle will soon go the way of the palm pilot: a neat expensive gadget that was just too specialized to keep from becoming obsolete almost from day one.
my mother has one (she's a very thrifty person but she's never been able to resist a gadget), and i wasn't impressed. number one, in my opinion it isn't as easy on the eyes as the printed page, and two, it's not as convenient and easy to hold as most books. i'm the kind of person who enjoys holding the book in one hand with my little finger in the crease of the book to prop it up. this isn't possible with the kindle.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
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I read books more and more in ebook format because bookstores are slowly closing down for good everywhere I go.
I don't use a kindle though.
Theism is why we can't have nice things.
Well, I could see the use of something like this. However, as with the palm pilot, this has potential to go nowhere if the price doesn't come way the fuck down. That and I like to read while I fall asleep, so I am afraid that I will roll over on an expensive item in my sleep.
The powers that be have been talking about flexible e-paper for a few years now and that has yet to materialize. When I can get one that can take some abuse for south of $150, I will consider it.
Also, they need to sell them in real stores. This whole idea that you can only buy the things online where you cannot hold them and examine them is a total turn off for me. On the other hand, if I could go into Staples and check it out for myself, that might help me to move in that direction. However, the fact that I simply cannot tells me that they probably have something that they feel the need to hide behind.
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They have them in several bookstores I've been to on display/for sale.
Which seems a bit ironic to me, because they are basically advertising for a competitor..unless they are all under the same corporate umbrella.
Theism is why we can't have nice things.
Ah, I have never run into that. What chains have you seen them at? Just curious because, as I say, they still do not quite meet my needs. However, with the new oled technology, there is a possibility that they may become less fragile, if not less expensive.
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really? where are you from? because the main places where i shop for books in eastern kentucky, central tennessee, and southern florida have all had the same bookstores for years with new ones constantly opening. in lexington, ky, joseph beth booksellers has been around for two decades at least, and i have yet to ever see a barnes and noble, borders, or books-a-million shut down. in the last 5 years or so, half price books seems to be popping up everywhere.
granted i've sometimes seen shitty shopping mall and strip mall bookstores like waldenbooks, b. dalton, and media play shut down, and deservedly so, since their prices, selection, and service all suck ass.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
i dont know about the kindle but id like to get my hands on one of barnes and nobles nooks
i think itd be a very convenient piece of hardware, i love books and it would allow me to carry a whole boat load of them and buy new ones at a few touches of the screen, i dont really care that all it would do is hold books, thats good enough for me, though i do think you can have newspapers DLed daily and such
would be amazing for college i would think, just DL all your textbooks onto the device, much cheaper and dont gotta lug around 85 pounds of textbooks