Subscribe to RSS feed8 Reasons Why the iPad Won't Kill the Kindle
Jan 28, 2010 09:58
Here are eight simple reasons why the iPad will
never kill the
Kindle
.
In fact, the iPad poses no threat whatsoever
to the
Kindle.
1) e-ink vs. backlit LCD: Reading for many hours at a stretch is a pleasure on an e-ink screen, and a pain on backlit LCD screens.
2) Battery life: The charge on a Kindle
can be measured in weeks. For the iPad, it’s
less than half a day.
3) Weight and size: The Kindle
is about as heavy a device as you’d want to
hold, one-handed, while reading for any length
of time, and is the size of a paperback —
perfect for such reading. The iPad, on the
other hand, is huge, unwieldly, and weighs a
pound and a half.
4) Selection: I didn’t see a bunch of general fiction, romance, pop fiction, pop science, scifi, fantasy, NYT bestseller, or young adult publishers on the list of publishing partners Apple produced. People are going to want to be able to read a wide variety of books. By partnering with each individual publisher, Apple’s put themselves into the same role as Amazon. Except Amazon already had those relationships in place, having spent years selling every type of printed book conceivable. Sure, Apple did it with the music industry. But it took YEARS for the iTunes Store to cover a sufficient variety of music from various sources that most people could find something they liked on it. How long are you willing to wait for Apple to get around to deciding that the particular books you like to read are worthy of inclusion?
5) Price: Amazon’s e-books are routinely the lowest-priced on the market. What we know of Apple’s e-book pricing puts it well above Amazon’s on average, and indicates that the e-books may well be priced above what you’d pay for a physical paperback book. $15 for something I can walk into a bookstore (or instantly buy on a Kindle)
and get for $9.99 or less? No thanks!
6) lock-in: People argue lock-in is a detriment to the Kindle,
when in fact one may load any number of books
from non-amazon sources…you just can’t do it
over the free(!) 3G provided with the
Kindle;
you have to do it via USB. On the other hand,
there’s zero indication that anything like
that is possible with the iPad’s iBooks
reader. In fact, the iPad doesn’t even have
USB. You’re locked in solid to Apple’s ebook
store, in all likelihood.
7) 3G wireless. Free for life with the Kindle.
An extra $130 plus $30 monthly with the iPad.
8) The “special-purpose vs. general-purpose device” argument. Funny how, back when MP3 players were Apple’s killer app, special-purpose devices were MUCH better than general-purpose devices. Yet now, with people desperately scrambling to justify something that most people just don’t want or need, the mantra has reversed, and general-purpose tablets are supposed to be oh so much better than an elegant, efficient special-purpose e-reader like the Kindle.
Folks, if you’re considering an iPad as an e-reader, do yourselves a favor: Drive down to your local Barnes and Noble, and demo their Nook e-reader. It’s got exactly the same e-ink screen as a Kindle.
Flip through a few books on it. Hold it in
your hands. Imagine reading for hours from
that screen. Then, drive home, pull up a word
processor, expand the window to fullscreen,
load a long document, and imagine reading THAT
for several hours. I’m certain your own eyes
will make the decision for you.
.
In fact, the iPad poses no threat whatsoever
to the
Kindle.
1) e-ink vs. backlit LCD: Reading for many hours at a stretch is a pleasure on an e-ink screen, and a pain on backlit LCD screens.
2) Battery life: The charge on a Kindle
can be measured in weeks. For the iPad, it’s
less than half a day.
3) Weight and size: The Kindle
is about as heavy a device as you’d want to
hold, one-handed, while reading for any length
of time, and is the size of a paperback —
perfect for such reading. The iPad, on the
other hand, is huge, unwieldly, and weighs a
pound and a half.
4) Selection: I didn’t see a bunch of general fiction, romance, pop fiction, pop science, scifi, fantasy, NYT bestseller, or young adult publishers on the list of publishing partners Apple produced. People are going to want to be able to read a wide variety of books. By partnering with each individual publisher, Apple’s put themselves into the same role as Amazon. Except Amazon already had those relationships in place, having spent years selling every type of printed book conceivable. Sure, Apple did it with the music industry. But it took YEARS for the iTunes Store to cover a sufficient variety of music from various sources that most people could find something they liked on it. How long are you willing to wait for Apple to get around to deciding that the particular books you like to read are worthy of inclusion?
5) Price: Amazon’s e-books are routinely the lowest-priced on the market. What we know of Apple’s e-book pricing puts it well above Amazon’s on average, and indicates that the e-books may well be priced above what you’d pay for a physical paperback book. $15 for something I can walk into a bookstore (or instantly buy on a Kindle
)
and get for $9.99 or less? No thanks!
6) lock-in: People argue lock-in is a detriment to the Kindle
,
when in fact one may load any number of books
from non-amazon sources…you just can’t do it
over the free(!) 3G provided with the
Kindle;
you have to do it via USB. On the other hand,
there’s zero indication that anything like
that is possible with the iPad’s iBooks
reader. In fact, the iPad doesn’t even have
USB. You’re locked in solid to Apple’s ebook
store, in all likelihood.
7) 3G wireless. Free for life with the Kindle
.
An extra $130 plus $30 monthly with the iPad.
8) The “special-purpose vs. general-purpose device” argument. Funny how, back when MP3 players were Apple’s killer app, special-purpose devices were MUCH better than general-purpose devices. Yet now, with people desperately scrambling to justify something that most people just don’t want or need, the mantra has reversed, and general-purpose tablets are supposed to be oh so much better than an elegant, efficient special-purpose e-reader like the Kindle
.
Folks, if you’re considering an iPad as an e-reader, do yourselves a favor: Drive down to your local Barnes and Noble, and demo their Nook e-reader. It’s got exactly the same e-ink screen as a Kindle
.
Flip through a few books on it. Hold it in
your hands. Imagine reading for hours from
that screen. Then, drive home, pull up a word
processor, expand the window to fullscreen,
load a long document, and imagine reading THAT
for several hours. I’m certain your own eyes
will make the decision for you.
|
Secure public surfing with OS X
Oct 13, 2007 08:19
Tabletop wooden walker
Oct 12, 2007 08:15
Here's a short YouTube
clip of
an incredible handmade, wooden
walking
robot based
on a mechanism designed by artist Theo Jansen,
who who built a very
similar walker, but his was the size of a
cow!. More
about Theo Jansen and his
work.
Guide to Pratchett's Discworld Books
Oct 11, 2007 08:08
I've wanted something
like this for a while now, even though I own and
have read most of Terry Pratchett's
Discworld novels. It's been said that
Pratchett's books are more valuable without a
signature, given how often he manages to go on tour
and do book-signings. However, whether you've got a
signed or unsigned copy, you may be wondering about
the major threads and themes that run throughout
his books, and in which order they should be read.
With 33 out now, it can get a little confusing.
These folks have put together a very nice visual guide to solve those problems.
These folks have put together a very nice visual guide to solve those problems.
How to flush your toilet with LEGOs
Oct 10, 2007 08:06
The BattleBricks
website has a great little page on
The
RoboFlush, an automatic toilet flusher someone
built using the LEGO MindStorms NXT
kit.
Oppo 970HD: HD Upconversion via component cables
Oct 09, 2007 08:01
Got an
Oppo 970HD? Annoyed that it'll only
upconvert DVDs to HD over the HDMI port, when
you've still got a perfectly good component-only HD
display? Annoyed that the HDCP crippleware won't
let you use your non-HDCP-compatible,
DVI-port-having LCD display with the unit?
Well, there's no need to be annoyed any more. Just grab the ISO from this AVSForum thread, and burn a CD-R (this is important, because it won't work with a DVD-R) from it. Pop the burned disc into your 970HD, and follow these instructions.
The ISO contains a patched version of the newest 970HD firmware, which patches out the restrictions on upconversion, and disables HDCP.
Alternately, follow the instructions on this site, and apply the patch to the firmware yourself.
Well, there's no need to be annoyed any more. Just grab the ISO from this AVSForum thread, and burn a CD-R (this is important, because it won't work with a DVD-R) from it. Pop the burned disc into your 970HD, and follow these instructions.
The ISO contains a patched version of the newest 970HD firmware, which patches out the restrictions on upconversion, and disables HDCP.
Alternately, follow the instructions on this site, and apply the patch to the firmware yourself.
Automatic JTAG pinout discovery
Oct 08, 2007 07:58
One of the hardest things about hardware hacking is
tackling something with a
JTAGinterface
on it. Often, you're reduced to laborious guesswork
when trying to figure out just what's going on with
the device's
JTAG
port.
Guess no more! http://www.c3a.de/wiki/index.php/JTAG_Finder">There's now an open-source hardware/software project and wiki set up to automate JTAG pinout discovery. JTAG hackers, rejoice!
Guess no more! http://www.c3a.de/wiki/index.php/JTAG_Finder">There's now an open-source hardware/software project and wiki set up to automate JTAG pinout discovery. JTAG hackers, rejoice!
If you're a sysadmin, look away now!
Oct 07, 2007 07:55
Seriously. If you've
ever been responsible for a wiring closet,
networking rack, or server farm,
this
isn't something you want to dwell on
unless you're no
longer in that line of work. It'll just give you
nightmares.
Ham And Cheese Revisited: The Croque Monsieur
Oct 05, 2007 19:49
While hard at work one
day a few weeks ago, a co-worker mentioned his love
of theCroque Monsieur, and how very much the
sandwich he'd just had wasn't one. I'd never heard
of it before, so like any good nerd,
I
went and looked it up. It does indeed look tantalizing.
I wanted one so much, in fact, that evening I tried to make one using turkey and shredded mexican cheese. I don't think it'd pass muster in Paris, but it still hit the spot. Yum!
I wanted one so much, in fact, that evening I tried to make one using turkey and shredded mexican cheese. I don't think it'd pass muster in Paris, but it still hit the spot. Yum!
OS X XRay
Oct 05, 2007 07:44
Some of you may have
heard of DTrace,
the rather nifty microscope-like
diagnostic/debugging tool from Sun
that lets you examine
almost every aspect of the operating system's
functioning in real-time. It's extremely useful for
everyone from developers to sysadmins.
Well, there have been various efforts to port DTrace to other platforms. Apple's got their own effort waiting in the wings as part of the new XCode developer package to ship with Leopard: XRay. XRay is a combination of DTrace and an extremely nice, polished GUI for it. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on Leopard, and this just makes me want it more.
To get some idea of the extreme flexibility of DTrace, have a look at this DTrace script, designed to diagnose timing issues with application/OS DNS queries. Keen!
Well, there have been various efforts to port DTrace to other platforms. Apple's got their own effort waiting in the wings as part of the new XCode developer package to ship with Leopard: XRay. XRay is a combination of DTrace and an extremely nice, polished GUI for it. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on Leopard, and this just makes me want it more.
To get some idea of the extreme flexibility of DTrace, have a look at this DTrace script, designed to diagnose timing issues with application/OS DNS queries. Keen!
How to gather intel during a job interview
Oct 03, 2007 07:33
We've all been there:
After days of prep, you're in the hot seat, meeting
person after person in what are seemingly endless
rounds of interviews, trying to secure that shiny
new job you've had your eye on. You spend the day
answering all sorts of questions, helping the
interviewers learn more about you.
What many people fail to realize is that the interview process is the perfect time to learn a great deal about your potential new employer, bosses, and co-workers. Rands has a great series of articles on the job acquisition process, and in this article, they describe how to find and use what they call "the button", the weak spot in your interviewer's armor through which you can extract extremely useful information about the person and the company. Worth a read!
What many people fail to realize is that the interview process is the perfect time to learn a great deal about your potential new employer, bosses, and co-workers. Rands has a great series of articles on the job acquisition process, and in this article, they describe how to find and use what they call "the button", the weak spot in your interviewer's armor through which you can extract extremely useful information about the person and the company. Worth a read!
Software versioning
Oct 02, 2007 07:31
Ever wonder what all
those numbers next to your favorite piece of
software's name mean? This
Wikipedia article on software
versioning
explains exactly what
each number means, and what it means to you when
you see one of them change.
Not everyone follows the standards described here, but most people who writesoftware with some sort of versioning system use one of the schemes they detail.
Not everyone follows the standards described here, but most people who writesoftware with some sort of versioning system use one of the schemes they detail.
Ethduino: An Ethernet-enabled Arduino board
Oct 01, 2007 07:28
The folks over
at TRAC
have been working on a
project to add
Ethernet to an Arduino board. I really like the Arduino
platform, and these folks have put up a detailed,
step-by-step worklog on their efforts, so you can
follow along and make one yourself it you wish.
Key bindings for Team Fortress 2
Sep 30, 2007 19:40
Some of the more avid
gamers in the audience may be aware that Valve has
been pre-selling The Orange Box, a
collection of 5 outstanding videogames for the
price of one. It includes Half-Life 2,
Half-Life 2: Episode 1, the upcoming Half-Life 2:
Episode 2, the much anticipated Portal, and perhaps
of greatest interest to some, Team Fortress 2,
which has been 9 years in the making.
It's a hotly-anticipated title for the first-person shooter set, and you can buy direct access to it via Valve's Steam Network.
If you do, you get to play in the Team Fortress 2 beta until the game's release on October 10. If you're like me, you hate mouse-based menu systems for changing weapons. I've been playing in the beta for a few weeks now, and there's a great post describing how to bind certain keys to various actions in TF2, including switching weapons.
It's a hotly-anticipated title for the first-person shooter set, and you can buy direct access to it via Valve's Steam Network.
If you do, you get to play in the Team Fortress 2 beta until the game's release on October 10. If you're like me, you hate mouse-based menu systems for changing weapons. I've been playing in the beta for a few weeks now, and there's a great post describing how to bind certain keys to various actions in TF2, including switching weapons.
Pro Tip: Label Your Wall Warts
Sep 10, 2007 12:12
Remember the good old
days, when every device had a built-in transformer,
and power cords were firmly and permanently
attached to the device in question? If you don't,
ask your parents.
Those days are long gone. Today, devices that still have in-unit transformers had detachable power cords, with several different types of connectors. Some non-grounded cords have rounded rectangular connectors with key grooves on one or both sides, and sometimes one end is squared off. Thankfully, most grounded cords have settled on the standard PC-type power supply connector.
Wall warts, however, do not. The semi-ubiquitous power supply for devices that do not have inbuilt transformers seem to be everywhere, and more often than not, they do not bear any sort of mark or label that associates them with the product they power. Most of the time, they are generic devices from a third party, purchased in bulk by the people who sell you your goodies. They usually specify the input and output voltage and wattage. If you're lucky, there will be a diagram or description specifying how the plug is wired for positive and ground.
The same holds true of power "bricks", those power supplies that do not have the electrical prongs directly attached to the transformer housing, but instead have a brick-shaped block of transformer housing with the cord to the device coming out of one end, and typically a detachable generic power cord coming out the other.
If you're anything like me, you probably have a box of these things, and no idea what goes with what. Every time you plug in a device, you dig through your collection of wall warts and power bricks, hoping to rediscover the right one for the device. You can eliminate the guessing by buying a cheap label maker and printing labels to stick to the wall warts and power bricks, that explicitly state what device they're for. That way, the next time you move, or just put something away for a while, you'll know that you can put it back into service with confidence, and without wasting half a day trying to guess which power supply goes with what device (and hopefully without frying something in the process, which is a real danger when the connectors can fit more than one device!)
Those days are long gone. Today, devices that still have in-unit transformers had detachable power cords, with several different types of connectors. Some non-grounded cords have rounded rectangular connectors with key grooves on one or both sides, and sometimes one end is squared off. Thankfully, most grounded cords have settled on the standard PC-type power supply connector.
Wall warts, however, do not. The semi-ubiquitous power supply for devices that do not have inbuilt transformers seem to be everywhere, and more often than not, they do not bear any sort of mark or label that associates them with the product they power. Most of the time, they are generic devices from a third party, purchased in bulk by the people who sell you your goodies. They usually specify the input and output voltage and wattage. If you're lucky, there will be a diagram or description specifying how the plug is wired for positive and ground.
The same holds true of power "bricks", those power supplies that do not have the electrical prongs directly attached to the transformer housing, but instead have a brick-shaped block of transformer housing with the cord to the device coming out of one end, and typically a detachable generic power cord coming out the other.
If you're anything like me, you probably have a box of these things, and no idea what goes with what. Every time you plug in a device, you dig through your collection of wall warts and power bricks, hoping to rediscover the right one for the device. You can eliminate the guessing by buying a cheap label maker and printing labels to stick to the wall warts and power bricks, that explicitly state what device they're for. That way, the next time you move, or just put something away for a while, you'll know that you can put it back into service with confidence, and without wasting half a day trying to guess which power supply goes with what device (and hopefully without frying something in the process, which is a real danger when the connectors can fit more than one device!)
Daily Bag Voyeurism
Sep 08, 2007 10:05
The folks over
at LifeHacker
have been running a
series exploring the contents of readers' daily
bags. It's fascinating, and very worthwhile to look
through, to see what items others use to get
through the day. I took notes while reading through
them all, and came across several items I really
should carry with me, but don't. Here's
Part One,Part
Two,
and
Part Three.
Click on a photo, and you'll get a larger version
with a detailed inventory and explanation of the
contents.
If you're really into this sort of thing, there's a web forum just for you! The Everyday Carry Forums.
If you're really into this sort of thing, there's a web forum just for you! The Everyday Carry Forums.
My favorite pen
Sep 08, 2007 09:47
Folks who use
Moleskine notebooks (e.g., everyone over at
The
Moleskinerie) rave about the quality of the
Pilot G2 pens. Myself, I prefer the
G2 Minis.
The pen is a joy to write with, the ink flows smoothly and evenly, plus it's water- and chemical-resistant, which makes it fairly tamper-proof (very important when writing checks, as check-washing is a common tactic used by forgers). The Minis cost as little as a normal replacement cartridge for the full-sized G2, so I just buy a bunch and keep them everywhere. They're small enough to toss into a bag or a pocket comfortably.
The pen is a joy to write with, the ink flows smoothly and evenly, plus it's water- and chemical-resistant, which makes it fairly tamper-proof (very important when writing checks, as check-washing is a common tactic used by forgers). The Minis cost as little as a normal replacement cartridge for the full-sized G2, so I just buy a bunch and keep them everywhere. They're small enough to toss into a bag or a pocket comfortably.
Apple //e Supercomputer
Sep 07, 2007 20:43
I may have mentioned
at some previous point that I own a tricked-out
Apple //e. I really love it, and am proud of my
collection of original boxed software for it.
However, I've got nothing on this guy: he built
a a
parallel computer from a cluster of Apple //e
motherboards.
Puzzle Wallpaper
Sep 07, 2007 20:41
Word Search Wallpaper. Not for your computer, for your
house. When you absolutely, positively, aren't
quite ready to cover your dwelling in psychopathic
ramblings, conspiracy theories, and
obsessively-repeated phrases. But you're working up
to it.
PS3 Compatibility Database
Sep 07, 2007 20:32
Sony has put together
a
nicely-organized PS3 compatibility
database,
so all you PS3 owners can check to see whether or
not your old PS1 and PS2 titles will work with your
60GB, Emotion Engine-equipped model, or the newer
(or European) model without the Emotion Engine
hardware.
It's a shame they took out the EE hardware, whose purpose was to deal with the backwards compatibility, but at least Sony's owning up to and detailing any problems you may have with your library of games.
It's a shame they took out the EE hardware, whose purpose was to deal with the backwards compatibility, but at least Sony's owning up to and detailing any problems you may have with your library of games.