Just got a Kindle.

Oh, ok. That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. I was totally baffled by what they were going on about, and they were saying it like it should make total sense to me.


Yeah, it confused me too.

I can also see why Amazon wouldn't want to give third parties access to information in people's Manage Your Kindle page.
 
Yeah, it confused me too.

I can also see why Amazon wouldn't want to give third parties access to information in people's Manage Your Kindle page.

Yes. Even though it was valuable and everyone seemed to think it was ok, and even though this might simply be a justification for Amazon's actions, it does make me think that Amazon is looking out for my self-interest, even if it's over-the-top.
 
The promotional CD for the new Mercedes Lackey book (and series) Invasion: Book One of the Secret World Chronicles has been released and is available from the usual sources. This CD has the entire book and is loaded with other books by Lackey, all in multiple formats (epub, lit, html, rich text, mobi, rocket and Sony) and all DRM free.
Thank you so much for that! :)

I've only recently discovered Mercedes Lackey and have been reading her books obsessively, so this was a real treasure trove for me. I had just checked out the dead tree version of 5 of the books included on the CD and I wasn't looking forward to lugging those hardbacks around -- my ereader has me spoiled! :D

I'll have to check out what's on the rest of those CDs when I have some time.
 
Thank you so much for that! :)

I've only recently discovered Mercedes Lackey and have been reading her books obsessively, so this was a real treasure trove for me. I had just checked out the dead tree version of 5 of the books included on the CD and I wasn't looking forward to lugging those hardbacks around -- my ereader has me spoiled! :D

I'll have to check out what's on the rest of those CDs when I have some time.
You can also buy her ebooks from Baen through Webscription. Baen were one of the pioneers of electronic books and, in addition to the CDs, have a Free Library.
 
I just ordered a case from Oberon.

I had been using the standard Amazon (non-lighted) case but started having battery problems--the battery level would start off with a full charge but would start going down (by about a quarter over an hour or two) without any usage, and with the wifi off.

I thought I had a bad battery but after some googling I found that a good number of people reported that it was the non-lighted case that was causing problems!

This sounded like hooey to me, but so many people were reporting it that I decided to take the Kindle out of the case to see if there was any difference... Guess what--no case, no more battery drain.

Apparently the little clips that hold the Kindle in place are making contact with something inside the Kindle and I assume shorting something which is what causes the problem. Amazon seems to be aware of the problem--they've stopped selling the non-lighted case.

Just thought I'd share in case anyone else with one of those cases is having problems--something to try (even if you're skeptical like I was).


Amazon will refund you on that non-lighted case according to what I have read.


As an update to this, last night I finally got around to contacting Amazon about this problem via their support pages.

In just a few hours, I got an email back saying they were refunding my $34.99, plus giving me a $25 promotional certificate (which would cover the price of the lighted case). Have to say I'm very impressed by their quick and helpful response.
 
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In checking it out, and comparing with my Oberon, I don’t see why this wouldn’t work, and work nicely. The Oberon has a “pocket” on either side into which they’ve inserted a cardboard back to give the cover more stability. This pocket would be ideal for either inserting the M-Edge or clipping to, between the cover and the Kindle. The only downside I can see is that you wouldn’t be able to store your M-Edge inside the Oberon, as you can with jacket.

But you're right, it wouldn't hurt to wait to carry your Oberon in, and test out the light to see if it will do what you need.

I just signed up to the mobileread forums today, and found a relevant post.
I have a M-Edge e-Luminator Kindle Booklight for those times when I use a book light and it works really well with my Oberon Kindle 2 and Kindle 3 covers.

So, if I'm in Reading this weekend, and they're in stock, I may get one.
 
You're just using Word to do that?
No, the source was from Word. Kindle uses simple HTML.

Basically, if the source happens to be Word, rip out all of the special formatting that might be there (page numbers, etc). Save as "Web Page (Filtered)” to put into HTML with most of the Word specific stuff removed. Then you need to go in by hand and get it the rest of the way there. There are plenty of web sites that document the format. There's a bit of trial and error to that - try this HTML, load it to the Kindle, see how it looks, make a change, do another upload, etc.

I personally wouldn't start with a Word file if I had a choice, but let's face it - authors are going to use a word processor program, not an HTML editor, to write their masterpiece, so you've got to deal with it. If you started with something else (PDF or whatever) you'd use a different first step to get that into HTML as a start. But you will always be going and editting HTML by hand to make it look good on the Kindle.
 
As an update to this, last night I finally got around to contacting Amazon about this problem via their support pages.

In just a few hours, I got an email back saying they were refunding my $34.99, plus giving me a $25 promotional certificate (which would cover the price of the lighted case). Have to say I'm very impressed by their quick and helpful response.

This makes sense, because the reader isn’t what’s important, and it’s not where Amazon intends to make most of its money. So it’s of the utmost importance that you remain reasonably satisfied with the product, so that you keep using it for most/all your reading needs. Since the market is currently in heavy competition in regards to eReaders, it’s essentially that Amazon not only keep you happy and content and downloading free to $12 ebooks, but that you tell stories like this to friends, families and forum members.

I’m certain much more likely to stick with Kindle as my eReader of choice given the stories of superior customer service that I’ve heard so far.

So, if I'm in Reading this weekend, and they're in stock, I may get one.

Let me know when you get it and what you think. I don’t have one right now, and I don’t typically need one, but I may want one in the future.

No, the source was from Word. Kindle uses simple HTML.

Basically, if the source happens to be Word, rip out all of the special formatting that might be there (page numbers, etc). Save as "Web Page (Filtered)” to put into HTML with most of the Word specific stuff removed. Then you need to go in by hand and get it the rest of the way there. There are plenty of web sites that document the format. There's a bit of trial and error to that - try this HTML, load it to the Kindle, see how it looks, make a change, do another upload, etc.

That’s interesting. I sort of did the same thing when I uploaded my personal versions of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, except that I never took them into HTML. I just used the “convert” method, and a bit of trial and error. So long as it was reasonably simple text with reasonably simple formatting, everything came out just fine.

I found a few simple rules kept my conversion intact. I needed hard returns to separate paragraphs, rather than format the “after” spacing. I needed hard page breaks to separate my chapters. Table of contents is a wash, you’re better off just taking out the page numbers. I understand you can make this interactive, but it was too much hassle for me to work on it. I’m sure this is an HTML thing. Other than that, I could use Word for my foundation rather nicely.
 
This makes sense, because the reader isn’t what’s important, and it’s not where Amazon intends to make most of its money. So it’s of the utmost importance that you remain reasonably satisfied with the product, so that you keep using it for most/all your reading needs. Since the market is currently in heavy competition in regards to eReaders, it’s essentially that Amazon not only keep you happy and content and downloading free to $12 ebooks, but that you tell stories like this to friends, families and forum members.


Yes--I agree. That's why I also think they'll sooner rather than later start giving the Kindle away, to at least some customers.
 
Let me know when you get it and what you think. I don’t have one right now, and I don’t typically need one, but I may want one in the future.

I was in Reading last night (for Skeptics in the Pub), and was there early enough to buy the M-Edge Eluminator. Looks like it would slip into the pocket on the Oberon case; the M-Edge cases have a pocket that is the right size to hold the light in place, but I think it's light enough that it won't slip in the full height pocket of the Oberon (if not, I'm sure I can find some way to keep it in place). I was even able to hold it in position, just holding the Kindle with one hand. As with any light like this, the tricky thing is find a position that lights the whole screen without any glare, but it's possible.

And the other good news is that my Oberon case has shipped! :)
 
I was looking at the kindle for the better half but she wants something 'back lit' to read in bed without the light on/a light attachement.
She has decided that at the moment the knidle is not for her but I have been persuaded and one arrives for me tommorow. :D
 
I am totally uniformed on those devices, which I brushed off as gadgets, but the Internet is a great source for (free!) historical books and sources in pdf format, for which I now have a great interest. Problem is, reading those on the computer is a real pain.

So I dare to ask here, without having done any sort of research, if there is an "eReader" that could fit my needs? No fancy gadget of functionalities required: reading comfort, ergonomy, Mac-compatible, battery life as bullet points? Source documents to likely be PDF or other types of usual text/presentation formats.
 
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I am totally uniformed on those devices, which I brushed off as gadgets, but the Internet is a great source for (free!) historical books and sources in pdf format, for which I now have a great interest. Problem is, reading those on the computer is a real pain.

So I dare to ask here, without having done any sort of research, if there is an "eReader" that could fit my needs? No fancy gadget of functionalities required: reading comfort, ergonomy, Mac-compatible, battery life as bullet points? Source documents to likely be PDF or other types of usual text/presentation formats.


Well, the Kindle would work, though for Letter or A4 PDF files the screen is a bit small, and panning around them is a bit tedious. A friend of mine was considering a Kindle for reading a lot of PDFs, but decided on an iPad instead (the iPad 1 has just dropped in price, due to the launch of the new one ;)).
 
I am totally uniformed on those devices, which I brushed off as gadgets, but the Internet is a great source for (free!) historical books and sources in pdf format, for which I now have a great interest. Problem is, reading those on the computer is a real pain.

So I dare to ask here, without having done any sort of research, if there is an "eReader" that could fit my needs? No fancy gadget of functionalities required: reading comfort, ergonomy, Mac-compatible, battery life as bullet points? Source documents to likely be PDF or other types of usual text/presentation formats.

The Kindle or the Nook would fulfil all your requirements. For a comparison between the different models see the table towards the bottom of this article: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372819,00.asp
 
I got a kindle for reading pdfs on the train. I looked at a Sony and the iriver touchscreen one, That handled pdfs so slowly I honestly thought the thing was broke.

The kindle is quick enough, handles most pdfs aprt from some that may have some odd image formats encapsulated in them and are very rare (only found one it threw up at). I use it mainly for reading published papers, 2 columns of text. If I put it into landscape mode the text size is perfectly adaquate to understand and navigate without zooming. Simple annotation capabilities are very handy, but not the same as writing on printed paper.
 
I am totally uniformed on those devices, which I brushed off as gadgets, but the Internet is a great source for (free!) historical books and sources in pdf format, for which I now have a great interest. Problem is, reading those on the computer is a real pain.

So I dare to ask here, without having done any sort of research, if there is an "eReader" that could fit my needs? No fancy gadget of functionalities required: reading comfort, ergonomy, Mac-compatible, battery life as bullet points? Source documents to likely be PDF or other types of usual text/presentation formats.
You could pick up a cheap Android tablet with a 10" screen for ~US$150 online.
 
Thanks for your answers, I'll take a look at the link.

I'd also recommend looking at the Kindle DX, which is the larger Kindle. My husband got that for reading pdfs on and really loves it (I prefer my more lightweight Kindle 3, but I'm just reading novels).
 
I'm kinda short on the money now, but maybe as a gift... :D
I'm not sure the Nook is sold in France but there are other alternatives.

I think that I will nevertheless try one in a shop to see how they handle pdf.
 

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