Re: Another reason I don't like the 'cloud' idea

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Wook <mr.wook () gmail com>
Date: April 17, 2009 3:09:19 AM EDT
To: Rodney Van Meter <rdv () sfc wide ad jp>, dave () farber net, rforno () infowarrior org
Subject: Re: [IP] Another reason I don't like the 'cloud' idea

It's some concern, but in fact is pretty trivial to get non-Amazon  
content on (and off) your Kindle.
Recently, Steven Windwalkers Kindle Newsletter has had pointers for  
trivial loading of other
sources of ebooks using the wireless system (the more cumbersome USB  
route is also available).  I've
also been directly mailing documents (.txt, .html) to my kindle since  
I got it (but clearly, this requires
Amazon support).  This is one of the troubling thing about the Kindle  
2 having no SD support
(which I use VERY heavily, eating up about .5GB -- which is a great  
deal of text -- on my SD card).

I wish I could say it stacks up as well as books in the long term, but  
neither I nor anyone
else have any long term Kindle experience.  I can say this: Since I've  
gotten my Kindle,
I'm reading 2~3 hours a day more (esp. for enjoyment) than before I  
got my kindle (~14 months
ago).  I've lost any number of books over the years to apartment  
damage, storage damage, moves,
friends, and the bottom line is, since I moved in with Molly (and  
eventually married her), I just
don't have as much space for Books as I'd like/need.  Also, having the  
choice between several
hundred books, Newsweek, Slashdot, Technology Review, and Hackzine,  
whenever I get off my
motorcycle, is a tremendous convenience.

I haven't had to use the 'cloud' (Amazon) as my backing store (yet),  
although my friend Deb
finds it to be a tremendous convenience (and hasn't gone the SD route  
as a result).  I've also
downloaded the iPod Touch Kindle Applet, although I haven't really  
relied on it yet.  Molly has also
found some great kindle 'opportunities' when acquiring out-of-print  
material for work.

Perhaps the greatest problem with the kindle I've had is it's  
excessive convenience.  Recently,
Tor and other publishers have made some of their books available free  
for a limited time.  In
each case, I've found at least one author (and sometimes two or three)  
who sucked my in for a
whole series of books.  During my annual xmas/vgas trip, I spent every  
morning in the
Starbucks at Planet Hollywood plowing through one book after the next  
of an author I was
introduced to with Tors 8 free book offer of the week before.  And  
since it takes less time
to download a book than it does to get an Iced Tea refilled, I spent  
about $50 at Starbucks over
4 days reading, sipping, and having a croissant...

For me, it works very well, it's monstrously convenient, and I'm  
getting a ton of use out of it.
And if Amazon were to go up in smoke tomorrow, I'd lose roughly the  
same investment I would if my
storage locker flooded, with a comparable recreation cost.  Whereas if  
my kindle ate it
in traffic, I'd have access to all my stuff from my iPod, until I got  
a new kindle (which at $360
roughly pays for itself in ~150 book purchases, based on current  
discounting).

I am planning on getting a second Kindle (not the Kindle 2 tho), when  
the 8.5x11 comes out
(probably not this year).

    Love,
           Wook



On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 1:29 PM, Rodney Van Meter <rdv () sfc wide ad jp>  
wrote:


Begin forwarded message:

From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: April 16, 2009 11:53:05 PM JST
To: "ip" <ip () v2 listbox com>
Subject: [IP] Another reason I don't like the 'cloud' idea
Reply-To: dave () farber net



Begin forwarded message:

From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org>
Date: April 16, 2009 10:01:59 AM EDT
To: Infowarrior List <infowarrior () attrition org>
Cc: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Another reason I don't like the 'cloud' idea


Stuff like this makes me glad I'm an old-fashioned person who likes  
physical books (geek that I am).  If the bookstore closes down,  
cancels my charge account, or whatever, I still have the books and the  
knowledge within.  They don't come raid my library and deny my use of  
the books.   Call me old fashioned, but I like positive control over  
my stuff.  --rf


If you lose your Amazon account, your Kindle loses functionality
Posted by Cory Doctorow, April 15, 2009 10:36 PM | permalink

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/04/15/if-you-lose-your-ama.html

Ian bought a Kindle and some Kindle ebooks from Amazon. He also bought  
some real-world stuff from them, some of which he returned. Amazon  
decided that he'd returned too many things, so they suspended his  
Amazon account, which meant that he could no longer buy any Kindle  
books, and any Kindle subscriptions he's paid for stop working.

After some phone calls, Amazon granted him a one-time exception and  
lit his account up again.

Leaving aside losing your subscriptions, this would not be such a big  
deal if the Kindle had graceful ways of putting competitors' ebooks on  
your device. What's your experience getting non-Kindle books onto the  
Kindle?



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