Comments on: Kindle for PC now downloadable: Share your impressions http://www.teleread.com/uncategorized/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:05:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Brian Hollar http://www.teleread.com/uncategorized/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/comment-page-1/#comment-1148820 Brian Hollar Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:31:05 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/11/10/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/#comment-1148820 Here are some of my initial impressions: http://thinkingonthemargin.blogspot.com/2009/11/amazon-releases-kindle-for-pc.html Here are some of my initial impressions: http://thinkingonthemargin.blogspot.com/2009/11/amazon-releases-kindle-for-pc.html

]]> By: pond http://www.teleread.com/uncategorized/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/comment-page-1/#comment-1148807 pond Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:59:59 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/11/10/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/#comment-1148807 I argue that readers in the short term (rather than us geeks who think long term) should be happy that Amazon does not support epub. Think about it: for the present, Amazon is willing to subsidize their ebooks in order to build the population of prisoners within their walled garden. So readers get cheaper ebooks than paperbound editions, and Sony and other competitors are forced into offering similar low prices. Cheaper books; and if all you want to do is read the latest romance, SF, mystery, or bestseller *one time* and then forget it, a cheap ebook fits the bill, even if it is DRM'd and you won't be able to read it in 5 or 10 years due to obsolescence and harsh copyright laws. But if Amazon went along with Adobe's DRM for the epub, and if all the publishers united on this one format, and this one vendor of DRM, and ebooks take off, then Amazon actually loses, in a large way. All Amazon could do is cut their margins on the epub editions publishers provided them; down to a penny, maybe. But publishers could hold the line on their ebook wholesale prices. The publishers would be sitting on the throne in this model, they could sell their own books first from their website, before Amazon or B&N or Sony even got a crack at them. The ebook universe would split up into CE device makers of commodity hardware, smartphone apps, and the publishers. (And Adobe, the big, big winner under this scenario.) Thinking of it this way actually makes me wonder if maybe the Tower of eBabel isn't the best solution. Maybe we should be supporting more oddball proprietary formats. Sony, you seem to like inventing your own, how about it? ;-) I argue that readers in the short term (rather than us geeks who think long term) should be happy that Amazon does not support epub. Think about it: for the present, Amazon is willing to subsidize their ebooks in order to build the population of prisoners within their walled garden. So readers get cheaper ebooks than paperbound editions, and Sony and other competitors are forced into offering similar low prices. Cheaper books; and if all you want to do is read the latest romance, SF, mystery, or bestseller *one time* and then forget it, a cheap ebook fits the bill, even if it is DRM’d and you won’t be able to read it in 5 or 10 years due to obsolescence and harsh copyright laws.

But if Amazon went along with Adobe’s DRM for the epub, and if all the publishers united on this one format, and this one vendor of DRM, and ebooks take off, then Amazon actually loses, in a large way. All Amazon could do is cut their margins on the epub editions publishers provided them; down to a penny, maybe. But publishers could hold the line on their ebook wholesale prices. The publishers would be sitting on the throne in this model, they could sell their own books first from their website, before Amazon or B&N or Sony even got a crack at them.

The ebook universe would split up into CE device makers of commodity hardware, smartphone apps, and the publishers. (And Adobe, the big, big winner under this scenario.)

Thinking of it this way actually makes me wonder if maybe the Tower of eBabel isn’t the best solution. Maybe we should be supporting more oddball proprietary formats. Sony, you seem to like inventing your own, how about it?

;-)

]]> By: John Hagewood http://www.teleread.com/uncategorized/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/comment-page-1/#comment-1148806 John Hagewood Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:54:45 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/11/10/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/#comment-1148806 Just downloaded, installed, and called up my latest read in about 1 minute. It's nice (and way overdue). One thing that is bothering me: why is the full justification so lame on the Kindle2 itself (for AZW format, it's great on TPZ) and yet it's PERFECT on the Kindle for iPhone and Kindle for PC? It's kind of making me want a netbook :-) Just downloaded, installed, and called up my latest read in about 1 minute. It’s nice (and way overdue).

One thing that is bothering me: why is the full justification so lame on the Kindle2 itself (for AZW format, it’s great on TPZ) and yet it’s PERFECT on the Kindle for iPhone and Kindle for PC?

It’s kind of making me want a netbook :-)

]]> By: Shelley http://www.teleread.com/uncategorized/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/comment-page-1/#comment-1148796 Shelley Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:12:02 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/11/10/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/#comment-1148796 I also wish Amazon would support ePub. This addition doesn't help me access books from my Library on my Kindle. However, this is a good start. Before the release of this software, if you bought books for your Kindle and the Kindle broke, and you didn't have an iPhone, you were out of luck. Now, you can access your books on your PC, and eventually, a Mac. You can access your notes, highlights, and bookmarks, but you can't create new notes or hightlights, only bookmarks. That's a little disappointing, but not a deal breaker. I haven't tried the application on a PC that's not connected to the internet, to see what happens if it can't sync. I'm assuming your Home books are good, you just can't access your archive. You an change the font, and yes! Color! My own book on the Kindle, Painting the Web (from O'Reilly, if I may be so bold as to plug), now shows images in color. In the case of this book, the Kindle for PC is an improvement. This does add a new challenge when publishing for the Kindle: should you use graphics fine-tuned for grayscale? Or just publish in color? All in all, this was a good move on Amazon's part. I'm sorry that folks want more (and more and more), but I'm going to take the step and say well done, Amazon. I also wish Amazon would support ePub. This addition doesn’t help me access books from my Library on my Kindle.

However, this is a good start. Before the release of this software, if you bought books for your Kindle and the Kindle broke, and you didn’t have an iPhone, you were out of luck. Now, you can access your books on your PC, and eventually, a Mac.

You can access your notes, highlights, and bookmarks, but you can’t create new notes or hightlights, only bookmarks. That’s a little disappointing, but not a deal breaker.

I haven’t tried the application on a PC that’s not connected to the internet, to see what happens if it can’t sync. I’m assuming your Home books are good, you just can’t access your archive.

You an change the font, and yes! Color! My own book on the Kindle, Painting the Web (from O’Reilly, if I may be so bold as to plug), now shows images in color. In the case of this book, the Kindle for PC is an improvement.

This does add a new challenge when publishing for the Kindle: should you use graphics fine-tuned for grayscale? Or just publish in color?

All in all, this was a good move on Amazon’s part. I’m sorry that folks want more (and more and more), but I’m going to take the step and say well done, Amazon.

]]> By: David Rothman http://www.teleread.com/uncategorized/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/comment-page-1/#comment-1148793 David Rothman Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:54:14 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/11/10/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/#comment-1148793 CW for newbies or old-timers? I think Amazon went for the newbies--one reason why it didn't care about an open, flexible app. Let's hope Jeff and friends will quickly address the deficiencies and add ePub. Thanks, David CW for newbies or old-timers? I think Amazon went for the newbies–one reason why it didn’t care about an open, flexible app. Let’s hope Jeff and friends will quickly address the deficiencies and add ePub.

Thanks,
David

]]> By: Kuyper http://www.teleread.com/uncategorized/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/comment-page-1/#comment-1148792 Kuyper Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:19:51 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/2009/11/10/kindle-for-pc-now-downloadable-share-your-impressions/#comment-1148792 Crapware. Crapware.

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