the new large screen Kindle ->Define "fix typos in books", -> textbook ripoffs

[Kevin]

and thanks larry. i like the word too

[Sally, la reina]

I love notes written in the margin of library books. Often they were in Pound texts I was reading last year about this time. They're like the old fashioned wikipedia.

[Félix]

At first I thought you were talking about love notes in the margins.

[Sarah]

When I bought used textbooks in college I always tried to find the ones that were the most marked up. I made great use of other people's highlights.

[Kevin]

there are great notes and thoughts written in old bibles too

[Félix]

Kevin "El Liso Grande" wrote: "there are great notes and thoughts written in old bibles too"

But ... oh never mind.

[Sally, la reina]

Supposedly you get more money for a textbook that is marked up, because people are more likely to buy that copy (to cheat? I don't know.)

[Félix]

I always had bad luck selling my used books. It seems they always had a newer edition for the next class, and didn't want my hopelessly outdated one from the previous semester.

[Sarah]

Did you study sciences? Science textbooks are way more expensive, and updated way more frequently. There were always piles of them in the garbage outside buy-back after we had rejected them.

[Kevin]

larry - i love looking at old bibles that are all dog-eared and written up. especially when they give dates and such on messages they heard AND in the front where they do their family tree

[Félix]

Kevin: I get that. Yup. It's neat.

Sarah: some science, but mostly business courses.

[Sarah]

Heh heh heh... Jackie said "hooters."

This semester I found several typos in my Norton Anthology of English literature and also some footnote errors. I kind of think typos and errors like that should be unacceptable in textbooks and especially English textbooks.

[Félix]

Sarah wrote: "Heh heh heh... Jackie said "hooters.""

She did, didn't she.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

Aren't publishers sending books out to the Philippines or someplace cheap like that for the typesetting anymore? Or is that just a rumor?

Oh, Sarah? HOOTERS!

Baby Owl Cam

[Sarah]

Sarah does not like birds. Sarah is not clicking on that link.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

Sarah doesn't like baby owls in hollow trees? Jackie is sad...

[Sarah]

Do baby owls in hollow trees have beaks and claw feet? If so, Sarah does not like them.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

Oh! The baby owls are getting ready to fly out! Two of them are perched on the entrance hole at the top and jostling for space. This might just be a hollow tree cam pretty soon.

But yes, they have beaks and claw feet, Sarah.

[Sally, la reina]

OMGOMGOMGOMG cute cam and I'm trapped in the computer lab and it won't open! DAMNDAMNDAMNDAMN!

[Sarah]

*shudder*

[Sally, la reina]

I can't see anything but the momma owl (?)

[Kevin]

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/141596

no comment

[Sally, la reina]

And in a shocking return to the topic at hand, Kevin steps into the scene.

[Félix]

Kevin steps in what?

[Sally, la reina]

Onto the scene? Into the room? You know... here. Here's Kevin!

[Félix]

Oh. I thought he stepped in something.

[Angie]

... months later...

I am seriously confused where I stand on the Kindle. On one hand I think it's absolutely ridiculous. I would laugh at my friends if they used one. They look so silly, and they're probably at risk of being stolen. What happens then? Do you lose all your books?

Textbooks, however... would be great. It could save students so much money. At the same time, I know that I wouldn't have a Kindle. I wouldn't be able to plunk down all the money for it, even if all the books I needed for class were on it. As it was, I usually waited until I got the syllabus and then bought books as the class went along, because I couldn't afford all the books at once. (The professor switched the order of the books in one class and I had to tell him, Um, sorry sir I don't have that book, and it's going to take a few days to reach me in the mail 'cause they're out of it at the bookstore/library. He was kinda angry and asked me why I hadn't bought all the required books and I simply looked at him and said, "'Cause I couldn't afford all of them. I was buying them several weeks prior to discussion on them and reading them then." I still don't think he believed me.)

[Sally, la reina]

That's the way I do it. I could never afford 400 dollars of books all at once in August. Plus, often in grad courses we don't get to the last few books on the syllabus and by the end of the semester the bookstore won't buy back the paperback they'd sold me for 75 dollars.

[Angie]

I have an entire collection of useless anthologies that I bought for god knows how much but they wanted back for something like $10. I decided just to keep them if that's all I was going to make.

If textbooks for Kindle are cheaper, people won't mind the ability to not sell them back, but somehow I doubt that.

[Usako]

I bought the Kindle DX in order to testdrive it for my Maw-Maw. Had it for over a month and I am in love. I can highlight, mark notes, bookmark and easily go back to that spot with a touch of a key. The thing is very light which makes it great to tote around on a commute. Plus the e-ink technology makes reading similar to an actual book!

And the DX reads to you but I'd rather not use that option. You can put audiobooks on it and listen that way as well (for those without an iPod).

I think I read somewhere that books can be transferred between Kindles. Amazon keeps track of what you've purchased. I think there's a way to back-up your information to a file as well. I think. I've yet to investigate that far.

If my textbooks were on Kindle, I'd get it in a heartbeat. No more toting around those monstrosities! Exception being the subjects I'd like to keep the textbook.

In the future, I imagine there might be a way to sell back or trade off books. Kindles have been on the market for how long? I forget.

Anyhow...I like the Kindle. And I would continue buying real books (b/c I like 'em on bookshelves) and some days I like the feel of paper between my fingers.

Once I loan the Kindle to my father (probably won't), I'll add his opinion.

[[deleted user]]

Thanks for the review Tanja, always good to gather as much information as possible.

[Sandy]

Thanks for the info Tanja. Lately I've been considering getting some kind of portable device. I'm having a crisis of conscience, in past times I'd think buying anything other than a bound book and being able to turn pages would be treason.

However, I travel just enough that lugging several books around just doesn't work for me. I've been looking at the Kindle and the Sony Reader. Too bad there isn't a way to combine features of both! There's a lot of things I like about the Kindle, especially how it can read the book to you. (Too many times I'm hooked into a story, but I've got to hop in the car to go somewhere. . . )

However, I'm really impressed with the fact I can check out ebooks from my library and use them on the Sony Reader. How much happier I would've been if I could've downloaded college textbooks instead of "weight lifting" on a daily basis!

Would love to hear from others that have used these devices.

[[deleted user]]

Welcome to TC Sandy!

[Sally, la reina]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Sandy, if you use the search function on the TC home page and enter "Kindle" you can probably read the thread we had on this topic about 3 months ago that RA started. Since you say you want to know what we think about these devices. We exhausted the topic, and not long ago. So if you're willing to endure some ficus/cheese/dream/poo talk to get there, that's what you should do. Nobody is going to respond to that query here, I'm rather certain.

[Sandy]

Well, sure. . . after I posted here, I found the thread! Never fails! Thanks for he heads-up. . . and the humorous talk in the thread!

[Randy]

So what the hell, the thread has exhausted itself? Why is it still here? Did I read earlier that someone had become orgasmic on a kindle? Even if that were true, and I'm as adventuresome as the next person, I'd rather have a spike though my scull than such a device. I say, put kindling around all kindles and let them burn..."It was a pleasure to burn" and hell, it still is...heh, heh, heh.