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drizek
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 6:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

richk449 wrote:
I think the best solution is to buy an ereader just for reading (eInk), and eventually buy a tablet for other stuff. Trying to find one device to do both (and being cheap) means I can't find anything I am happy with.


I'll let you know how the Touch/Fire go.

The basic model Kindle is just $79 now. That is totally within impulse buy territory. I think the Kindle Touch at $100 is a better value (or the BnN Simple Touch if you aren't invested in Kindle books).

As for being cheap, the high resale value of Apple products is very attractive. Think of it as paying $200 a year to rent the top of the line tablet, and something like $100 for the second year. And if you sell before the end of the year, before a new product comes out, it is even better than that.

Hell, 1st Generation iPads are going for $350 on eBay even now (they were $300 immediately after the iPad 2 was released). That's incredible really. I mean, it's a $150 loss over 18 months. Cheaper than a Netflix subscription.

And used iPad 2s are going for $440. I almost can't believe it. One seller has sold 130 brand new ones for $520 each. That's above retail. I really don't understand it. Apple users are morons. :lol:
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

richk449 wrote:
drizek wrote:
richk449 wrote:
A Fiery Peace in a Cold War


Did you finish AK?

Eventually.

Reading every word of that book is a character-building exercise. I don't think you finished it. I think you got two-thirds of the way through and skipped to the end. I think drizek lacks character even more, and will simply abandon it.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is this an attempt at reverse psychology?
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BoneKracker wrote:
Reading every word of that book is a character-building exercise. I don't think you finished it. I think you got two-thirds of the way through and skipped to the end.

Think what you want. You probably think that because you did it.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

drizek wrote:
Is this an attempt at reverse psychology?

That is too generous of an explanation. It is probably just the first assholeish thing that popped into his head.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

drizek wrote:
I'll let you know how the Touch/Fire go.

The basic model Kindle is just $79 now. That is totally within impulse buy territory. I think the Kindle Touch at $100 is a better value (or the BnN Simple Touch if you aren't invested in Kindle books).

Yea, let me know how you like the Touch specifically. I can't see myself buying a Fire.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 4:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

drizek wrote:
Click the red button: [link omitted]

I would strongly advise you to read in the Kindle app instead though. Google's Books app is subpar, assuming you want to use features like note taking and annotation. Google Books is only really useful if you want to read a scanned copy of the book rather than text.

That's the opposite of what I want. I want text not scanned pages. I hoped I could import one of those ebook formats from Gutenberg into Google Books but that looks like an impossibility. I'll try the Kindle app.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 4:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well you can just click a button to convert it to text rather than scanned pages. The problem is that you can't highlight in the google books app.

Amazon basically has the entire Gutenberg library available for the Kindle.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Brothers-Karamazov-ebook/dp/product-description/B004UJL43O/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=133140011&s=digital-text
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

richk449 wrote:
And ...

Well it turns out I'm reading the expanded version with all the homoerotic bits removed. So there's that. Basically it's good except for one completely ridiculous chapter exhaustively detailing some of Grey's hobbies. I guess it wasn't enough to say "Dorian likes jewels." Instead I had to read about dozens of famous jewels worn by historical kings and the like. I skipped large sections of that chapter. My favorite scene so far was a dinner party with Lord Henry. Really snappy dialogue.

Maybe my next Wilde book will be Salome. I'll listen to Strauss' opera concurrently.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Fire is cracked already :lol:

CyanogenMod on this thing would make it a keeper I think.

http://www.xda-developers.com/android/kindle-fire-cracked-wide-open-let-the-development-begin/
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 4:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

richk449 wrote:
BoneKracker wrote:
Reading every word of that book is a character-building exercise. I don't think you finished it. I think you got two-thirds of the way through and skipped to the end.

Think what you want. You probably think that because you did it.

I read every single word, slowly and deliberately enough to actually enjoy the prose. I thought about it though, several times. :lol:
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 4:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

drizek wrote:
Well you can just click a button to convert it to text rather than scanned pages. The problem is that you can't highlight in the google books app.

I did not know that. Outstanding. You're the man, drizek.

Quote:
Amazon basically has the entire Gutenberg library available for the Kindle.

Sounds good.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dmitchell wrote:
richk449 wrote:
And ...

Well it turns out I'm reading the expanded version with all the homoerotic bits removed..


So it's the Eunuch edition?
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dmitchell wrote:
completely ridiculous chapter exhaustively detailing some of Grey's hobbies. I guess it wasn't enough to say "Dorian likes jewels." Instead I had to read about dozens of famous jewels worn by historical kings and the like. I skipped large sections of that chapter.


I stopped reading at that chapter, actually. I liked the book up until that point, but then it got really tedious. I don't know if I mentioned it, but I preferred Earnest.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 9:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So... got my Kindles.

My mom has thoroughly commandeered the Fire, but from what little use I managed to get out of it, it seemed pretty nice. BUild quality was great, it definitely felt really solid. The display is nice. The user interface feels exactly like what you expect, a skinned android running on $200 hardware. It feels like an appliance, it's a bit clunky, but it looks pretty and it works. If you just want to read books on it and play the occasional game of angry birds, I don't think you can really go wrong.

For book reading I think it is superior to the iPad.

The Kindle Touch has been pleasant so far, haven't used it too much yet though.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The display on the Kindle Touch is incomparably superior to the one on the Kindle 2.

I'm actually thinking of contacting Amazon and asking if my Kindle 2 is defective.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

drizek wrote:
The display on the Kindle Touch is incomparably superior to the one on the Kindle 2.

I'm actually thinking of contacting Amazon and asking if my Kindle 2 is defective.

Ask for an RMA number, then instead of sending the Kindle, just shit in the box and mail it.
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BoneKracker wrote:
Ask for an RMA number, then instead of sending the Kindle, just shit in the box and mail it.


...

richk449 wrote:
It is probably just the first assholeish thing that popped into his head.

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PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

:lol: no, uncool, actually

Actually, he first thing had masturbation in it, but I rejected it out of respect for richk449's homoautoerotophobic sensibilities.
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 4:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BoneKracker wrote:
Actually, he first thing had masturbation in it, but I rejected it out of respect for richk449's homoautoerotophobic sensibilities.

Thanks for being so civilized. Nothing classes up a post like a reference to shitting in a box.
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 5:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OUCH

:lol:
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 6:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

richk449 wrote:
BoneKracker wrote:
Actually, he first thing had masturbation in it, but I rejected it out of respect for richk449's homoautoerotophobic sensibilities.

Thanks for being so civilized. Nothing classes up a post like a reference to shitting in a box.

You want to make yourself feel good by "classing up" your posts, feel free to do so. Maybe it helps your self-image or something.

Meanwhile, you will please excuse me while I make myself feel good by occasionally blurting out the first asinine thing that pops into my mind. You ought to try it some time; it's good for the soul.

Besides, it was a valid suggestion. It would be an effective way to protest the quality of the display (provided he stuck a little note in it with a toothpick or something, saying, "The display on my foo really sucks. I was going to send it back, but here... take this instead."
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 7:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I read more of Anna Karenina today than I read in the past week. I think the Kindle Touch is the best book reading experience out there right now. It is not without its issues, but there is nothing better available ATM (except the nearly-identical BnN Simple Touch). Whereas with my Kindle 2 I would often reach for an ipad(if I could lay down) or smartphone (if I was sitting), I think the Touch offers the best reading experience in all conditions other than complete darkness, in which case I would read first on my Galaxy S, then my iPad, then iPhone, then Kindle Fire.

The Kindle Fire has a significantly higher minimum brightness than the iPad does, so it actually isn't that good for reading in a completely dark room. I already think the iPad is too bright at night, so while I haven't actually tried the Fire yet, I seriously doubt that I would find it usable.

Also, going to start reading The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, which I got free from the Kindle lending library. Reviews say it is a quick read, and I think it is the kind of romance-free anecdote I need to help me with AK.
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 11:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BoneKracker wrote:
Besides, it was a valid suggestion.
Admittedly it has been a while since I've read through some of the regs, but my inclination is that doing so is illegal. Not sure if that disqualifies it as "valid."
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

pjp wrote:
BoneKracker wrote:
Besides, it was a valid suggestion.
Admittedly it has been a while since I've read through some of the regs, but my inclination is that doing so is illegal. Not sure if that disqualifies it as "valid."

Well, it goes without saying that you do it in such a way that you don't get caught. :roll:
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