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Author Topic: Does anyone have a kindle?
Strider
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I've been thinking of getting one recently. To be honest, I'm relatively indifferent to the ebook concept(though maybe I'll end up loving it), but what I'm really interested in is the wikipedia access and the ability to read .pdfs and other text files.

I do a very significant amount of wiki reading, as well as lots of articles and essays, and my eyes end up getting really bothered. I'm excited at the prospect of being able to read all these things in a comfortable setting.

So I'm curious about other people's experiences with the Kindle. I've been seeing new Kindle 2s selling on craigslist for roughly $180, which is just low enough that I'm considering it. I don't think I'd pay the full $260.

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Raventhief
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Yes, I have a Kindle 2. It's working well for me so far, but the whole Tor books thing is possibly a bummer. I must say, I don't use it to access wikis. I'm an e-booker. I imagine that navigating is a bit of a chore (since it is when book shopping). But if you know exactly what you're looking for it's easy to type it in.
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Noemon
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I was intrigued by the same thing, Strider. Randall Munroe get's it right with this strip. That said, it's not quite enough to get me to buy it, in part because I'd be concerned about amazon deciding to yank the free cellular web access (and also in part because I don't like the idea of amazon being able to decide that I don't get the book I paid for for one reason or another and just yanking it off my device).
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Sean Monahan
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I have a Kindle 2. Web access in sub-optimal. The browser is rudimentary (it's even listed under the menu title "Experimental"), formatting is awkward, and navigation is clunky. That said, I do like being able to access Wikipedia from anywhere at anytime (that does make it feel somewhat like a Hitchhikers Guide).

PDFs generally come across looking pretty good, although, unlike with the ebooks, I don't think you can resize the text, so if the PDF has small text, you're stuck reading small text. Also, graphics are greyscale, and not resizable.

I have not tried text files yet.

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lem
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I don't have a Kindle. I just got a Nook. I am really liking it. I have totally fallen love with calibre, which manages my ebooks and downloads various magazines and strips.

It is really nice because it will convert PDFs to ePub or whatever format your reader prefers. I chose Nook in the set up, but Kindle is an option.

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Belle
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I love my nook as well. I've been able to change font size in a pdf...but there are sometimes formatting issues when I take some of my pdf files of journal articles and other stuff for school and put it on there.

I've downloaded several ebooks using the wireless connectivity and it goes smoothly and downloads a book really quickly.

This weekend I'm going to load some music. I've already put the drawing of the doors of Durin as my screensaver. [Big Grin]

lem I'll have to check out calibre - thanks for the tip!

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Strider
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thanks for the advice guys!

The nook certainly sounds nice, but it has no internet browsing, correct? Wikipedia is a big sell for me.

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rivka
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I'm a fan of Calibre as well.
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lem
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I am disappointed in B&N website ebook list. I can't buy Wizard of Earthsea or The Phantom Tollbooth. Grrrr. I can't even get Ender's Game. I am also looking for good tech books on either Linux, Group Policy, Scripting, SQL (including MySQL and Express) and Active Directory.

Does anyone know of a different eBook site that sells books in PDB or ePub format? I don't want them in PDF format.

Thanks!

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Strider
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i just realized only the Kindle DX allows native pdf reading. the standard kindle 2 requires you to email pdfs to your kindle email address and it converts them to the kindle format(for 15 cents a pdf). Otherwise it only accepts .txts when dragging files onto it. I can convert most other documents to .txt, but i'm not sure how easy that will be with pdfs. I'll have to check out this calibre and see what it can do.
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Sean Monahan
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This is not true. I have dragged and dropped PDFs into my Kindle 2, and they work fine. Do you have the latest update to the Kindle 2?

ETA: This from the v2.3 info page:

"Built-in PDF reader: Your Kindle can now display PDF documents without losing the formatting of the original file. Send PDF documents directly to your Kindle (via your @Kindle address) or drag and drop PDF files from your computer to your Kindle (when connected via USB)."

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Itsame
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I enjoy my kindle immensely, and should note that I read at least one article a day in native PDF format on it. There have been no problems with it whatsoever--and I have dropped it a number of times. [Blushing]
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Strider
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hmmm...okay, can you guys clear something up for me?

This page discusses transferring files to the kindle.

If you scroll down to the "Files Kindle Recognizes" section, under documents, .pdfs are not listed. But then below that a few paragraphs it talks about the built in PDF reader. That seems confusing to me.

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Sean Monahan
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It's possible that they just didn't update the supported files list. The 2.3 patch is when PDFs became supported, and that patch is only a couple months old.
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Strider
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hmmm, alright, I'll buy that. And if that's right I think i'll buy the Kindle as well!
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Strider
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Hey! I got one! Ended up paying $170 for a brand new, still wrapped Kindle 2.

No books on it yet, but I did load it up with essays I've been meaning to read.

Also I was surprised to find out that the internet access is a general free internet access. For some reasons I thought they only gave you access to wikipedia. I don't visit a lot of sites that would display alright on the Kinde(especially given my iphone makes browsing on the kindle pretty useless), but still neat to have.

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Omega M.
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I have a set of four Kindles, myself. [Wink]

(Sorry. But that is what comes to my mind whenever someone mentions the Kindle.)

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