miscellaney

[bedlamsbard]

One of those days when my computer is making me froth at the mouth; I have had to shut it down and reboot it five times today because it's gone unresponsive. I should have just bought a new computer yesterday while we were at Costco. (Yeah, I'm still on the Dell Inspiron 1525, it's functional most of the time, except for today, apparently.) This weekend, I guess. *pets laptop hopefully* Don't die, baby!

My cousin and her kid were here all weekend, which was...trying. K. is about a year and a couple months, and I've never been in sustained proximity to a kid that age. It's really not my thing. (And of course, my parents and cousin are all, "Oh, Katrina, doesn't this make you want to have a baby?" "NO. NO IT DOES NOT." "Ka-chan, you're not going to be one of those only children who doesn't have kids, are you?" "YES. YES I AM. AND THAT'S OKAY." *parents look doubtful*)

Am watching Hornblower, since my local library has the DVDs. BABY JAMIE BAMBER AND IOAN GRUFFUDD OMG. Gruffudd has such an expressive face, it's really amazing. And is occasionally really sexy, I think it's my usual competence + duty kink. (And for some reason I've been getting all hot and bothered about cute dudes, this isn't typical for me. I blame The Avengers, because have you seen those guys? homg. /shallow)

I'm thinking about buying an eReader to take to England, since I obviously can't take my usual collection of books with me. I'm not very keen on eReaders? But it seems like a good idea. Texas has a Nook Color, which she also uses as a tablet, so that's what I'm thinking about. But I don't know a whole lot about eReaders.

Comments

[lady_songsmith]

I have a Kindle Fire, which I very much like. Whether you want the tablet functions or not depends on whether you want basically a library substitute or something to keep you busy on train rides, etc.

I'd be happy to answer questions?

[bedlamsbard]

I'm pretty sure that I'd like the option of the tablet function -- Texas also had her computer go down during the school year (it's catching! okay, hers died way before mine did), and she used it to check the internet, watch TV, etc.; since my laptop basically functions as a desktop and I don't have a smartphone, it'd be nice to have the functionality/travelability/now I'm just making up words. So that's my logic.

I hadn't thought about a Kindle Fire, since the only one I've had personal experience with is the Nook Color. But are there formatting differences or something between different devices? *frown*

[lady_songsmith]

Yeah, there are for the ebooks; all the tablets have their own DRM (digital rights management) format. Which means if you buy a Nook book you can't read it on your Kindle, and vice-versa (uhm, straight out of the box. You can side-load or root and get it on there).

Free ebooks you can put on either, and you can convert non-protected things with calibre (free program) to suit your format or send your documents to the device. (I take along a doc of the notes for whatever fic I'm working on.)

I didn't like the Nook when I was looking at them, but the newest model came out after I'd gotten the Fire, so I don't know about that. It was just a hand-feel thing, I couldn't see myself holding one for a while. The Fire has some real heft - all tablet capable ones are going to be heavier than the book only. The book only ones are REALLY light, as light as a phone or better.

Uhm, let's see... formats. Kindle Fire will take these types of files via USB transfer or other upload methods:
* Documents: AZW, TXT,PDF, MOBI, PRC, DOC, DOCX
* Music: MP3, Non-DRM AAC, MIDI, OGG, WAV
* Images: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP
* Video: MP4, VP8

If you've bought digital media from Amazon before, that should be available to you. Oh, and if you have Prime there are some perks, like some of the videos stream free.

One significant drawback to the Fire as tablet is that its net connection is Wi-Fi only. Now, I think the Nook is also? But I'm not sure. Basically that means that, unlike a phone or an iPad but like your average laptop, you need something else providing the internet signal. So some of the streaming features and cloud storage stuff aren't as useful as they might be, because you might not have internet. OTOH, it also means that you don't need to sign up with a wireless carrier and have monthly bills, like you would with an iPad.

[bedlamsbard]

Thanks!

Hmm, will it read files off a flashdrive? Like, say, could I watch vids that are on a flashdrive or that sort of thing?

[lady_songsmith]

It doesn't have a standard USB (USB A) but rather a USB micro-B (a lot of phone chargers are this size) so you couldn't do a flash directly

[cursor_mundi]

I have a Kindle, and it's great -- wi-fi and free 3G, which I got for free since I didn't want a Fire tablet and was happy with the older model. I have a friend in London with a Kindle (same make and model as mine) and she uses it to check email and whatnot. Less smooth than a regular phone/tablet interface, but serviceable, and you can get a lot of free books from Amazon (there are sites that collect the free ones and provide summaries, etc.). Customer service is solid: mine had a mysterious ailment, I called, we chatted, and within an hour a new one was heading my way. Another friend has a Fire, and it is significantly heavier than the regular models, but it's pretty darn awesome.

Anyway, I like the Kindle, and I got it because I was shopping for an ereader just as Borders went under, so I am wary of Barnes and Noble. I can guarantee that Amazon is not going to crash any time soon. B&N has a lot of perks if you bring your Nook to a store, so while this isn't useful for UK travel, it might be something you'd want to consider for long term use. That said, I have absolutely no complaints with my Kindle and I think it's a better device for international travel because of the link to Amazon.com. You can also read PDFs on the Kindle, the screen's big enough.

[bedlamsbard]

Thanks!

Oh, that's a good point. Where I live in Washington there's not actually a B&N anywhere near me (for, uh, at least a hundred miles), so while it wouldn't be a problem if I was still in New Orleans (she says wistfully), out here and in the UK it probably would be a problem.

[cursor_mundi]

I think, at this point in the technology race, that both Nook and Kindle are just about equal in terms of tech and battery and whatnot. The main thing you should focus on is delivery and other uses, so if there's no B&N for miiiiles around you, you may want to go for the Kindle because Amazon's entire business model is based on the assumption that you'll go online and buy stuff that way ... or chat with customer service via email or phone or something. The only time I wished for a Nook was when my poor Kindle was ill, but the customer service folks were really great and the "things to try before you call" lists are quite solid and detailed.

Here's the other thing to consider: the Fire and Color are the first of a new generation, and you might want to go for cheaper on your first model and wait for the tech to experience its first couple of major steps up in quality. I personally did not want the tablet thing for my first ereader, because I wanted to be able to treat it just like a book (so, dumped in a purse and hauled all over creation, opened and used at random moments).

[bedlamsbard]

I think I'll go play with the display models at Fred Meyer when I have time and see what feels better, but I am reminded that I definitely do want something that comes in color, since I'm on a comics kick again.

[cursor_mundi]

Oh, comics, yes, you don't want a black and white at all then. Keep in mind, though, that B&N will sell you nothing owned by DC Comics and its stable because of a dustup they have had: Amazon solicited and obtained exclusive digital rights from DC, and B&N retaliated by pulling print copies from their stores. If you're mostly into Start Wars, I thiiiink they're under the DC umbrella. I know Marvel offers a direct to buyer digital comic with multiple ereader formats available, but I don't know what DC is doing, so make sure you investigate.

Another alternative: go for a true tablet, like the Asus model. It runs off Honeycomb, an Android OS used in phones. More expensive, but you can easily use multiple ereader formats (so it would be like having a Nook, a Kindle, annnnd an iPad).

[iopgod]

Smartphone might be another reaonable option: Personally I have no problem reading ebooks, emailing, internetting, or even watching videos on the smaller screen. Android powered phones should have ebook-reading apps for the full variety of formats, and the newish ones such as the Galaxy S2 have quite large screens, though older ones probably work just as well for most tasks. Plus they let you "talk" to people on the "telephone", old fashioned as that is! Disadvantages are cost (for new, high spec, large screened phones) and reduced battery life. Possible point to consider: UK mobile works on different band than US: might need a new phone anyway.

[lady_songsmith]

You can usually pick up a chip that will let your phone run on international bands, ask about it when/if you get the phone. I just got a cheap-ass PAYG phone and "topped up" as needed when I was abroad, but one of my friends got the chip for her phone.

[bedlamsbard]

Oh, that's a thought.

Yeah, I have to get a new phone, since my current network doesn't actually go abroad. (Or...something. *hands* Technology! I dunno, we were trying to figure out when I went to England last summer if I could use my phone internationally or not, and it came out that Verizon didn't.)