Apple and the Kindle • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple and the Kindle

#81

Post by dfc » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 2:58 AM UTC

timdorr wrote: post #60

dfc wrote: post #12

I cannot highlight/annotate samples. I have a second generation kindle. Is this a new feature of the newer models?

Serious question: Why would you want to highlight or annotate a small sample of a book?

Did you mean to ask why is this a relevant comment? Because aaronsw mentions highlighting samples in the linked story.

Why would you not want to highlight something in a sample? There is no reason why text in the sample would be less useful. A quick example that comes to mind is the foreword/introduction of a book that references a book for higher level treatment of the subject matter or another book for that is better suited for newcomers to a field.

Re: Apple and the Kindle

#82

Post by loglog1234 » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 5:02 AM UTC

rapind wrote: post #76

jgrahamc wrote: post #4

To me the Kindle has two killer features: the screen (because I can read it like paper for hours) and its weight (can hold it for hours like a paperback book). Those two things made it a 'wow' device. The 3G access made it effortless. None of those things seem very clever and have been pretty easily duplicated in the Nook. The software itself (and this applies to Kindle and Nook) is rather ugly and it feels slow to r…

Please leave my Kindle alone. I don't want it to be fancy. I want to read books on it. Cheap, long battery life, and a screen that reads like a book is as clever as I ever want from it. I have no intention of replacing my kindle anytime soon. I don't care if a new version comes out that's 10 times faster... I'm completely content with the one I have. When I want to use an iPad (for something other than reading books)…

i don't want kindle to change a thing except getting cheaper and lighter. Kindle is the most touched device I touch every day.

Re: Apple and the Kindle

#83

Post by sliverstorm » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 6:24 AM UTC

rapind wrote: post #76

jgrahamc wrote: post #4

To me the Kindle has two killer features: the screen (because I can read it like paper for hours) and its weight (can hold it for hours like a paperback book). Those two things made it a 'wow' device. The 3G access made it effortless. None of those things seem very clever and have been pretty easily duplicated in the Nook. The software itself (and this applies to Kindle and Nook) is rather ugly and it feels slow to r…

Please leave my Kindle alone. I don't want it to be fancy. I want to read books on it. Cheap, long battery life, and a screen that reads like a book is as clever as I ever want from it. I have no intention of replacing my kindle anytime soon. I don't care if a new version comes out that's 10 times faster... I'm completely content with the one I have. When I want to use an iPad (for something other than reading books)…

I actually kind of appreciate that it is not really good at anything else. It means it will never be co-opted for some other duty.

Re: Apple and the Kindle

#84

Post by sliverstorm » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 6:30 AM UTC

breck wrote: post #65

manojlds wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I really wonder if Apple will ever come out with an eInk screen. After reading how upset Jobs got over Android ripping off the iPhone, I kind of think that maybe they never will and that they'll just let Amazon have that market. Are you saying that Apple came with iPod because no one had made an Mp3 player before? Apple made iPhone because no one made a phone before?

I guess I don't see how they could improve the Kindle drastically this late in the game. The Kindle should be faster, lighter, and the UI should be a bit easier (but the touchscreen version due out at the end of the month could solve that already). Amazon's already reduced it almost as much as can be. I feel like if Apple came out with an eInk reader it would be tough to be anything but a "me too" product. Perhaps th…

Color eInk isn't being done because it's a technical problem, not a design problem. Everybody knows color eInk would be cool, we don't need Apple to step forward and say "You know what, color eInk would be cool!"

We just need somebody to invent a feasible one, make it and sell it. You'll then see it in Kindles quickly enough.

Re: Apple and the Kindle

#85

Post by sliverstorm » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 6:34 AM UTC

davidw wrote: post #54

I love my Kindle. One of the best tech buys in recent memory. The thing I want to be able to do is share books with my wife as if they were 'real books'. In other words, one of us at a time gets a lock on it, but there's no time limit.

She's your wife. Trade Kindles for the day.

Re: Apple and the Kindle

#86

Post by sjwright » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 7:04 AM UTC

sliverstorm wrote: post #84

breck wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess I don't see how they could improve the Kindle drastically this late in the game. The Kindle should be faster, lighter, and the UI should be a bit easier (but the touchscreen version due out at the end of the month could solve that already). Amazon's already reduced it almost as much as can be. I feel like if Apple came out with an eInk reader it would be tough to be anything but a "me too" product. Perhaps th…

Color eInk isn't being done because it's a technical problem, not a design problem. Everybody knows color eInk would be cool, we don't need Apple to step forward and say "You know what, color eInk would be cool!" We just need somebody to invent a feasible one, make it and sell it. You'll then see it in Kindles quickly enough.

Color eInk isn't being done because nobody is willing to bet the farm on it. Everybody knows color eInk would be cool, and we DO need someone like Apple to step forward and say "You know what, color eInk would be cool! And here's a billion dollars, make it happen!"

Re: Apple and the Kindle

#87

Post by nodata » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 8:21 AM UTC

rapind wrote: post #76

jgrahamc wrote: post #4

To me the Kindle has two killer features: the screen (because I can read it like paper for hours) and its weight (can hold it for hours like a paperback book). Those two things made it a 'wow' device. The 3G access made it effortless. None of those things seem very clever and have been pretty easily duplicated in the Nook. The software itself (and this applies to Kindle and Nook) is rather ugly and it feels slow to r…

Please leave my Kindle alone. I don't want it to be fancy. I want to read books on it. Cheap, long battery life, and a screen that reads like a book is as clever as I ever want from it. I have no intention of replacing my kindle anytime soon. I don't care if a new version comes out that's 10 times faster... I'm completely content with the one I have. When I want to use an iPad (for something other than reading books)…

The first question I always get from people who haven't seen a Kindle before is "can you go on the internet with it?" sigh

"No- it's just for reading books. Nothing else."

The problem is, I realise that it can go on the internet. It's just so damn slow that it makes everything else look way better. Not offering web browsing would stop feature creep.

Re: Apple and the Kindle

#88

Post by davidw » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 8:57 AM UTC

sliverstorm wrote: post #85

davidw wrote: post #54

I love my Kindle. One of the best tech buys in recent memory. The thing I want to be able to do is share books with my wife as if they were 'real books'. In other words, one of us at a time gets a lock on it, but there's no time limit.

She's your wife. Trade Kindles for the day.

It'd get kind of awkward quickly, as I read books at a much faster rate than she does, so I'd always be loaning myself books from my Kindle, while she meanders her way through my books.

All in all, not an ideal solution given what the technology should enable us to do.

Re: Apple and the Kindle

#89

Post by microkernel » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 11:07 AM UTC

I really wonder why no ones mentions typography. In terms of great typesetting the Kindle is somewhere in the 60's. Since at least LaTEX (not talking about Adobe and Apple products) ligatures and other niceties found their way into computers. Any by all means - this is a dedicated reading-machine! I still love my Kindle, mainly for jgrahamc's reasons.

Re: Apple and the Kindle

#90

Post by just_testing » Fri, Nov 04, 2011, 11:11 AM UTC

mikecane wrote: post #31

danso wrote: post #2

"And this is all before I’ve even got to the disastrous incompatibilities between the Kindle device, the Kindle for Mac app, the Kindle for iOS app, the Kindle Online Reader (read.amazon.com), and the kindle.amazon.com social network — all of which are full of gruesome interface annoyances of their own." I just bought a Kindle, and besides my first attempt at buying one resulted in returning it to Best Buy because of…

If you haven't returned the Kindle yet, pay the difference to remove the ads: Amazon Charged me $30 to get the Adverts Off my K4 http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2011/10/05/amazon-charged-...

You can also go to the folder "assets", under "system", delete all contents then chmod 444.

That folder has all the special offers. The Kindle turns the permissions back to the default, but since I don't usually turn on the wifi, I only have to deal with the kindle asking me to go online to see the special offers.