Delle Jacobs's Blog, page 5

Seriously? PopEye Muscles?

You know I've taken an interest in the new Kindle Fire. Okay, okay, so I love it. But I recognize it's not the perfect device for everyone. I'm taking an interest, in fact, to the opposition as well. And you know there has to be some. Some people hate everything Amazon. Some hate everything not iPad or Apple. Heck, there are even some people still living who hate e-books and are still predicting their imminent demise.

Anyway, I came across a Kindle Fire review the other day  http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/06/tech/gaming-gadgets/kindle-fire-panned-nielsen/index.html?iref=allsearch .I would have just read and dismissed it but by the time I finished reading, I was shaking with laughter. Read this:

"The Fire is a heavy object. It's unpleasant to hold for extended periods of time. Unless you have forearm muscles like Popeye, you can't comfortably sit and read an engaging novel all evening." 

Popeye, huh? Seriously? All I have to do is read a few hours a day and I'll get muscles in my arms? My PT will love that. Okay, let's drag out the old postal scale and do comparisons. It's not all that accurate but it ought to be close enough. this isn't even government work.

Kindle 3Gen, bare                           9 oz.
Kindle 3Gen w/neoprene sleeve    14 oz.
Kindle 3Gen w/lighted leather case 19 oz.
Kindle Fire, bare                           15 oz
Kindle Fire w/padded nylon case   20 oz
Kindle Fire w/ hardshell case         19 oz.
Apple iPad, bare (info from Apple's tech specs)  1.33 pounds (21.3 oz)

So Fire is not quite double the weight of 3Gen. About what I'd guessed. But almost all users I know both read and carry their e-readers and tablets in some kind of case or sleeve. My Fire in a nylon case is 1 oz. heavier than my hubby's 3Gen in its fancy leather case. And it's lighter than the iPad, bare (duh! the iPad is bigger!) Now, this guy is trying to tell this asthmatic over-the-hill flabby-muscled gal that the Fire is too heavy for him? That's after I read three books in two days? C'mon! Where are the muscles you promised??? My PT wants muscles!

"The lack of physical buttons for turning the page also impedes on the reading experience for fiction. On the older Kindles, it's easy to keep a finger on the button when all you use it for is to turn the page. In contrast, tapping an area of the screen disrupts reading enjoyment, is slightly error-prone, and leaves smudges on the screen. The Fire screen also has more glare than the traditional Kindle."

Lack of buttons?  Isn't that the point of touch screens? Honestly, I didn't think I'd like a touch screen, and fingerprints? Yuck. But I started getting finger cramp with the old 3gen. And for me the light tap on the screen, or eve a dramatic, flashy swipe of the finger across the screen is just plain easier. Fingerprints? Not any worse than my laptop screen, and better than my phone.

Glare? Sorry, guy. I'm the world's best arbiter of glary screens. If you had my eye problems, you'd understand- I'm missing major parts of my eyes. One of them is almost bionic. I've returned laptops to the store in less than a day because the glare bothered me so much. This is not a glary screen. Think it's too bright? Dim it. It's very adjustable. Even better, use the sepia screen color. It's not depressing like gray is. It's soothing.

The big thing is, they're looking for iPads at Fire cost. No, guys. Not gonna happen! Fire is not an iPad. REPEAT AFTER ME: FIRE IS NOT AN iPAD. You want an iPad? Suck it up and plunk down the big bucks because there is no substitute. But if one just wants to read books, why would he buy an iPad? (For that matter, if one wants to write books on the fly, the iPad is probably also not the best choice. Even jazzed up with a keyboard. But that's not its central purpose.)

What they just can't get is that not everybody wants an iPad. Fire is built to be an e-book reader. It's for media consumption. Videos, magazines, music (needs decent headphones), etc. The 3.9 -4 million buyers in November and December are buying it for media consumption, not its computer abilities.

What most of us are buying when we choose a reading/playing device is access to content. I'm not particularly interested in the content and stuff that attracts many people to iPads. And iPad, while perfect for what some people want, is too big to make a good reader to me, but too small to be the computer I want. Or more accurately, not built to be the computer I want. I could write books on one, but I can write more and faster on my little 3 pound MSI Wind. I can do digital art with Photoshop on it. I probably could on iPad, but ya know, sometimes learning a different way can be a pain. What's interesting to me is that suddenly I'm finding a whole lot of people looking at things the way I do, and I thought I was in a really tiny minority. Who would've thought, five years ago, that instead of books vanishing because people had become so jaded with video, millions of readers would re-discover the unique experience of reading a book?

But even though Fire should not be put in the same class as iPad, it looks like it's created problems for Apple. Word is, Apple is going to lower the price of iPad2 because it's lost so much market share to Kindle Fire. In less than a month, Fire has grabbed 13.9% of the tablet market, when it really shouldn't even be in that category, quickly passing second-place Samsung Galaxy, which at its best had 6.9%.  http://www.isuppli.com/Display-Materials-and-Systems/News/Pages/Red-Hot-Kindle-Fire-Blazes-its-Way-to-Second-Place-in-Media-Tablet-Market.aspx?cnn=yes

As far as those Popeye muscles go, well, I carried a large messenger bag with both mini Wind and Kindle, plus all those carry-on things from Portland through San Francisco to Maui in October. Didn't think a thing about it. Muscles? Nope, I just squeezed my arms again, just in case. Don't think it's gonna happen.

My, How the World Has Changed...

In all fairness, I have to say this article by Dan Reisinger was published in April, 2008, almost four years ago. The Kindle he's talking about was one I found not quite satisfactory enough, and I decided to wait a little longer. It was two more years before I finally bought my first Kindle, the granddaughter, you might say, of the original.


"Although some people see a reason to buy a device just to read a book, I don't. Some have said that Amazon's Kindle is the savior of the e-book market. I don't believe it. Others say that e-book readers will kill the book publishing industry and bring it into the 21st century. I think that's rubbish. The fact of the matter is e-book readers will never have commercial relevance."


Here, go read it for yourself. 
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-9911511-17.html

Four Kindle Addicts Compare Devices and Accessories

It's a family thing with us. If we're readers, we read ebooks. And that means, for at least some of us, we own Kindles or have Kindle software on our computers. So it really wasn't a big deal when four of us sat down after Thanksgiving to compare our Kindles and accessories.

Andy (right) is holding his brand new Kindle Fire. Pam (center), Jeff (left) and I (taking photo) all have Kindle 3rd Generation. But we have all chosen different cases and accessories.

This was a day before my new Kindle Fire arrived, and what you see in front is my old Kindle. I had a hard time being patient, especially after seeing Andy's, which was his birthday present. (See previous post.)

Jeff has that classy leather cover in orange with an extendable light. http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Lighted-Leather-Cover-Keyboard/dp/B003DZ165W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1323212758&sr=1-1 When he bought his cover, it was a lot more expensive than it is now- about $70, and he chose orange because he figured not many other people would choose that so it might make his Kindle a little less vulnerable to being stolen. Also he tends to mislay things and orange is hard to miss, especially in a household where the only other orange things are his shirts.

What he likes about Kindle 3: The e-ink screen is easy to read, and the pull-out light is handy if he's in a darker environment. He can read it outside, regardless of how bright the day is. And he likes the long battery life. Kindle books are so easy to download, he's starting to complain about impulse buying.

What he doesn't like: He loves science fiction, and his favorite authors are either expensive or not available in ebook format, but that has nothing to do with e-readers and accessories. The pull-out light can be annoying, with an odd glare on the screen. I wouldn't be surprised to see him up-grading to the Fire. But then again, he might not.

In this photo you can see he's reading with the Kindle propped on a small, lightweight plastic stand. He found holding the Kindle a little awkward so he found this little stand for something like $7. He even uses it in bed by propping it on his nightstand. He reads several books a week. The week we went to Hawaii in October, he actually ran out of Kindle books even though he'd stocked up well before leaving. We had trouble getting his Kindle to download new books so were forced to go to a real bookstore for a change.

Pam bought a silicone sleeve by Marware because the Kindle seemed vulnerable to being dropped.
http://www.amazon.com/Marware-SportGrip-Fitted-Silicone-Keyboard/dp/B0046A8YB2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1323215904&sr=1-1
 It's easier to handle, she says, and she has a bright pink sleeve with a clear window, by M-Edge, so it can be read without removing from the sleeve.
http://www.amazon.com/M-Edge-Leisure-Kindle-Jacket-Keyboard/dp/B0045EOWMY/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1323216209&sr=1-3

What Pam likes: She can't see any point in buying the Fire. Gray e-ink is easier on her eyes, and she likes the long battery life of the Kindle 3. She gets lots of cheap or free books, and she has no qualms at all about asking her favorite authors to get their books available in e-book format. She still reads lots of paper books, too, and often re-reads her favorite authors. Then there are audio books, to which she listens on her daily commute. She gets them mostly from her local library. So far she hasn't tried the Kindle audio feature, but says she might.

What she doesn't like: High book prices.

At this point, Andy hadn't yet bought a cover. He's thrilled with the Fire, which is actually his first e-reading device beyond his computer.

What he likes: At first he didn't like how easily the screen changes its orientation from portrait to landscape, but then he found the lock. He and I both though we would want the anti-glare screen protector. But the reviews aren't good, and we just aren't seeing any glare worth worrying about. He likes the sharp, bright screen and the ability to change screen text display to white lettering on black for night in-the-car reading.

The case he bought a few days later, by Inland, is lightweight and semi-rigid, with a zipper and an inner mesh pocket. He bought it at Fry's Electronics. He likes the extra protectiveness of the hard shell..
http://inlandproduct.com/prohttabletcasefitsmost7tablets02252.aspx
The mesh inner pocket would hold a USB cord, but not the charging cord one that comes with the Kindle.

What he doesn't like: He wishes he could have a longer battery life like the e-ink screen devices.The case doesn't have a strap, loop or lanyard and he had to add one of his own. He also thinks the pocket is too loose and prone to "fall-out".

That purple-encased e-reader in front, with no person attached to it, is mine, and I will be passing it on to a friend for Christmas. I just can't see letting a perfectly good e-book reader go to waste when it could enrich someone's life.

What I like: You know what I love about the new Fire. What I love about Kindle 3, though? It was the first e-book reader I could actually tolerate. My really crazy vision problems kept me from enjoying the older darker, dull-colored screens, but Kindle 3 was bright enough. And it was very lightweight and easy to hold. The long battery life means it will run for several days without re-charging. I did have to re-charge once while in Hawaii, and that charge lasted until long after I was back home. And I think I liked the old Kindle method of grouping books in lists, better than I do the flip-through color covers on "shelves". But the new more visual system is definitely growing on me.

As for the case: I didn't want the weight of a leather case, and I wanted one that could zip, thinking maybe it would offer better protection. This one was made by Tucano for the 7" Galaxy Tablet, bought at Fry's Electronics. It's sort of like this: http://www.tucano.com/IT/featured/radice?lang=eng&___store= 
It's a perfect fit, and is nicely padded but lightweight (also fits the Fire, which is essentially the same size). The outer pocket makes a great place for the cord when traveling. The case, possibly by adding some cushioned bulk without much weight, is actually more comfortable to hold than just the reader alone. So for now, I'm keeping this case for my new Fire.

What I don't like: The e-ink screen is not soothing to me. It's my eyes, I guess, and also something about the way I respond emotionally to color. Gray depresses me. The Fire is much more pleasurable for me to read. I had to find a separate light, and never did find one that was really satisfactory. I ended up with a Mighty Bright that folds. It does stay in place better than others, but none of them do a really good job. The Fire sure doesn't need a light!

Oh, the knitted lace tablecloth? Why yes, thank you, I did knit it myself.

Kindle Fire Lights My Fire

Frankie Blue-Eyes checks out the Kindle Fire
Okay, so I wasn't the first person to get my Kindle Fire, even though I was surely one of the very first to order it. Impatient though I was, especially when the one I ordered for my son on Nov. 1 arrived several days before the one I ordered for myself on Sept. 28, I'm okay with the fact that it finally got here the day after Thanksgiving. I tracked its progress across the country, through Phoenix, then Los Angeles, where it took a long nap, then right past me on the freeway which runs only 2 miles from my house, all the way north to Kent, Washington, where it again got a nice, long rest before heading south again, reaching my "local" post office in time to spend a lonely Thanksgiving there. But my post person is pretty super. Even though it was after 5:00 p.m. when the truck came by my house, she made sure I got it before she quit for the day. Two weeks after it had been shipped.

Never mind all that. I'm now perfectly happy. It's pretty much what I expected- few surprises and minimal drawbacks. But they might be significant to other people so I'm not going to pull any punches when I tell you about it.

The first thing I noticed is that it's quite attractive- although it looks pretty much like all the other tablet type devices available now. The back is sort of rubberized- probably a silicone backing, that helps to make it feel more secure in my hands than other tablet type devices I've held. It probably helps to keep the ceramic glass face from breaking if dropped, but I'm going to do my best not to test that. At 7 inches, it's smaller than the 10 inch iPad, so it's lighter and more comfortable to hold. But it appears to be about 50-75% heavier than my old Kindle 3rd Generation.

The display has the shiny black border we've come to expect, and the display itself is sharp and clear, but also has some anti-reflective properties. I was worried about the possible glare, since I find the reflections from the glossy screens very annoying. I can still see some reflection from the black border, but not enough from the display itself to be noticed. At a resolution and size of 1024x600 @169pixels per inch, pictures are sharp enough for me, despite my vision problems. I have no trouble reading even when it's set at the smallest font. Brightness is fully adjustable, and the display can be set in any of three combinations: the usual black font against white background, as well as white font on black (great for night reading in a car), and my favorite, a classy brown font on sepia background. The display can rotate when the reader is rotated. I find it convenient to lock it when I'm reading because it shifts very easily. I've heard some people say they can't read on a backlit screen for long periods of time, so they believe they can't use the Fire. I'd be surprised, since everyone I know who has said that hasn't given the Fire a chance, but maybe it's so. I have severe visual distortion problems, and I find the gray-on-gray straining, but I do very well with the cheery color screen. I do dim it slightly, and I find the sepia background soothing.

Some e-readers I've tried recently almost require a stylus, pressed rather hard, to send commands, and I would not buy those devices for that reason (as well as blurry display which is extremely annoying). The Fire responds to a light touch. You have to spend a little time finding all the settings and learning to manipulate the bookshelves, but it's not hard. All my books from my older Kindle loaded quickly with no problem. And I'm sure it's no surprise to you that buying a book is a simple one click. Amazon would never give up that feature!

The battery does last a full ten hours. Not much compared to the e-ink devices, I know.That's with wi-fi turned off. You should do that anyway, for any of the Kindles. I wish it lasted longer, but until color e-ink screens become practical, that's going to continue to be a problem with backlit color readers. I understand the new color Nook battery life is slightly better, but that won't really matter until it becomes perhaps 50% better.

I don't really like the transformer type charging cord, which is probably minimal in size, but it's still clunky compared to the cord for the e-ink Kindle. No USB cable is provided. The old Kindle cord is convertible to a USB cord, a very neat arrangement. I bought a retractable  USB-to-micro-USB cord because I will need to import my manuscripts to the Fire. Incidentally, I also picked up a very small AC/DC charger that works in either a car or airplane, and it will work for the Fire as well as netbook, camera, phone, etc.

I wish it had a SD card slot. I don't think the memory capacity is good enough to not have any way to supplement it. There's the Cloud, of course, but I'm mildly opposed to having Amazon store all my personal documents there. I admit, it will probably not become a problem for me, since I bought a reader for reading pleasure, and I have my mini-laptop for actual work when I'm away from home. But I can see how a lot of people won't be happy with this.

So overall, I totally love my Kindle Fire. I can easily forgive its shortcomings simply because I know most of them are limited by existing technology. It's sort of like, way back when I was a kid, black and white photos were "good enough"-- until color became practical and inexpensive enough to actually use. And I remember when black & white TV was "good enough" because color wasn't all that good, and cost too much anyway. But nobody clung to b&w TV, once it became reasonably affordable. E-ink is "good enough", sure. But now that I have a great color option, why would I want dull gray?

The first book I read with my Fire was GABBY, about Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. I was completely absorbed in it and read till I conked out from exhaustion, then picked it up the next morning to finish. That's something I haven't been able to do for years. I have to say, the Kindle Fire made reading an entire book much more pleasurable, with no eye strain or headaches. I'm resolved now to not read or buy paper books again except for those reference books that can't adapt well to ereaders. And that will continue to be a problem for me because color pictures haver to be limited in size to the screen size. So maybe someday screens will unfold to expand to the size of full page spreads.

Coming Next: Four EBook Addicts Compare their Devices, Cases, Etc.

Anne McCaffrey- In Memory

I took this from my son's web comic, "Too Much Information": Anne McCaffrey passed away this week. She gave us so much. Like Little Ace above, we ride the backs of the White Dragon whenever we read her "Dragonriders of Pern" series, and tasted rich imagination and the triumphs of right and courage. It's impossible to find enough words to describe her impact on us, the readers and the writers-- unless we read every word of all her stories.

OVER THE HILL IN MAUI PART 2

THE BIG BOYS COME  IN AT NIGHT


The first thing we do in a trip is to check out local sources of information. That's where you can often find something you never thought of, or get a better price. Time share condos almost always have someone who does a presentation, and we went. Usually we don't because this is where they try to persuade you to buy into more time shares. In Orlando we did, because they gave us $150 which we happily used on the kids for goodies. Here, we learned about the Van trip to Hana, and we knew that was a much better deal than driving ourselves, because that's one windey-ass road. And after I'm home I'll give you a more detailed account of that trip, which was truly wonderful. I'm still mad about that battery on my brand new camera, because that trip should have been photographed the entire distance.

There's also insider information. The presenter told us all beaches on Maui close one our after sunset because
"The Big Boys come in at night". A shiver went up my spine. I knew instantly what she meant, and if you don't, just imagine what swims in the ocean and has a fin that sticks up out of the water. Most of the sharks in Hawaii are harmless to man, and I could easily see that at the aquarium tanks where small sharks swam through all the other fish and even a diver who was working in the pool. But there are also the  Tiger Sharks, in particular. I don't think even the professional divers go into the ocean at night.

I also was thinking of the other kind of "Big Boys", the sharks of the human kind. We're pretty good at avoiding them, but more and more, they are finding new ways to fleece tourists even in low traffic areas. We're learning we can enjoy those high traffic areas and just walk away from the sharks. Maybe I'll blog later on that subject, but not now.

Yesterday was perhaps one of our most favorite days. We just dinked around. A drive down to South Maui is short, intriguing. That's where the really rich Maui property owners live, and where some fantastic up-scale condo rentals are. I can see why. It's away from the really heavy tourist areas, and an excellent place to make a secluded retreat.

The beaches were not heavily populated because the surf was pretty high, and winds very gusty- about 20-30 miles per hour. Sand really stings when it hits your face at that speed. Wherever you are on the Islands, if there's a wind it's very nice. Because it's been mostly from the south, it's brought the vog (volcanic gases) up from the Big Island's volcano, Kilauea, over a hundred miles away. That worried me since I have lung problems, but I seem to have done all right.  Staying in an air-conditioned car is good in that case. But it's really not bad, not even enough to catch an odor in the air.

The aquarium is definitely worth a trip. Sure it's expensive, but really quite reasonable considering costs of maintaining the facility. Cheaper than Sea World, but then they don't have jumping dolphins or Orcas or any kind of show.

And the beach? Well maybe today. We haven't even planned anything yet. Maybe if I wrap a pareo around my body, no one will notice how odd my swin suit is...

OVER THE HILL IN MAUI PART 1

PART 1: THE SWIMSUIT STILL FITS IF I LEAVE ONE BOOB OUT

N Maui Beach (I'll get you the name later)Funny thing how I've always thought of Maui as a place where only the young people came. I don't know why- perhaps I'd heard descriptions from other people who love the Valley Isle. From those impressions I have always pictured it as the Party Isle.  We've been to all the other major islands, though, so Maui had things that were on our Bucket List. Well, no, you know me, I'm not one to let a little age difference intimidate me. Just makes me wish I could still do some of those things I used to do. So we went to Maui.
Imagine my surprise then, when I saw more people with wrinkles and bags than taut physiques. More gray hair than blonde, and any woman who wanted to, wearing a Maui sundress. 

sunset over the harbor from the condoSecond impression: those aren't just the tourists. Maui-ites have no intention of hiding from the sun once they're over the hill. They're in paradise, and age has nothing to do with it.
clouds at 8,000 ftWe've actually been here several days. By the time I get in, my back aches like fire and my ankles have swelled like logs. And here we are, constantly meeting Young Things who would have put my hiking abilities to shame back when I was their current age. 
tiny flowers at 9,000 ft on HaleakalaYesterday in our drive to the top of Haleakala- up the steepest highway in the world, we came up to a hiker pick-up area, and there stood a young couple not looking too hopeful. We never pick up hitch-hikers. We did anyway. What a joy they were! Manchesterians transplanted to California, eagerly hiking the very trail I had dreamed of doing fifteen years ago. We took them up to the trailhead just short of the crest, and they began their trek across the crater.

Today we took a helicopter over the crater and down on the rainy side, two other couples, both young, one from California, one from France. We all had a wonderful, exciting adventure. I've never done a helicopter ride before but even I knew the supposed scary sudden altitude drops were actually pretty wimpy. Don't care. It was thrilling.
one of hundreds of waterfalls in windward sideI'm getting brave in this Wild Over-the-Hill world called Maui. Still haven't stuck a toe in the water yet, though. Still wondering what I'm going to do with the other boob. And I finally got the pictures posted! Some of them anyway!

OVER THE HILL IN MAUI PART 1 Coming tonight

We're now in Maui and I'll start with the first post in a short series tonight after we get back to the condo. I'll be taking my camera and binocs as we get our bearings on the island. We've been all over Hawaii but this is the first time to Maui other than stop-overs. On today's agenda- the Maui Farmers and Crafts market, the beaches, etc.

NEW ADDITIONS to Mercy Corps Sale

VISIT MY MERCY CORPS DONATION PAGE AND READ ABOUT HOW YOU...

VISIT MY MERCY CORPS DONATION PAGE AND READ ABOUT HOW YOU CAN GET A BOOK COVER FOR ONLY $25.

So you probably think I'm not doing anything. Not so. In fact, working on books and covers has kept me pretty darn busy, and then there have been some personal things come up that have been a bit-- well, let's just say, emotionally and physically demanding.

But I did have time for another  whimsical cover design (hey, a person needs to have a little fun now and then). It doesn't belong to any book. But when I re-dressed her in yellow instead of white, I remembered the WISPS OF SUMMER design I did in August. What a great series this would make, based on seasons. It sounds sort of like a Victorian women's fiction, don't you think? Maybe Rumors of Autumn, and Remembrance of Winter. From that, I got a new idea:

Does anyone want these, maybe with your own title and author name? I'll make you a deal: $25 per cover but not to me. Paid as a donation to Mercy Corps, which is ranked as one of the best world-wide charitable organizations operating in the US. Over 90% of the funds donated make it to the people who need the help. And their programs are aimed not only at emergency relief but at helping people become self-sufficient.

Then one more step: a new promotion for Mercy Corps, using my inventory of experimental and speculative cover designs. So If you need a good deal on a cover, check out the ones I'm posting on my MERCY CORPS PAGE.