Forum Home
PC World Chat
Thread ID: 122353	2011-12-16 22:53:00	iBooks and Kindle?	Cato (6936)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1249047	2011-12-17 21:56:00	@ Cicero - as Cato says. Basically there is a massive number of books available free from places like the Gutenberg ebook collection. Mostly they are books that are now out of copyright. For example, you can get all of Dickens' writings free. Secondly, some book sellers create an ebook and then sell that for a wide range of prices, even where they are out of copyright - I could have downloaded each of Dickens' works singly from Gutenberg, but I chose to get a downloaded collection of all Dickens' writings (not just his novels) from a commercial source for a very modest price. The reason was that they are in a better format than Gutenberg's and they are all organised. Thirdly, as Cato says, anything popular is available from places like Amazon, Whitcoulls, Barnes and Noble, Borders, that Australian crowd that I cannot remember the name for at the moment. You just need to make sure you are downloading it in a format that your reader can access. I now have Calibre set up so that I can access and read most formats, by including the right plugins. Many books have DRM, which you can deal to by registering your reader with Adobe. There are other ways of doing that which cannot be discussed here, but my reference to Apprentice Alf in an earlier post may help you there. There are many books that have not been converted to an ebook format. There is a series of books by Ken Duxbury for example, that are almost unobtainable in hard copy, and the few second hand copies sell for ridiculous prices. Sadly I have not been able to find them in ebook format. Finally, libraries are starting to make it possible to borrow ebooks. As you might expect, the Waimakariri library is trailing behind the pack as usual, but they are promising to make this service available. It looks as though Kindle devices will not be compatible with what most if not all libraries are offering.	John H (8)
1249048	2011-12-17 22:04:00	Did you from whence you downloaded these books? I haven't, yet. I discovered during my years at uni that I am incapable of reading ebooks and pdfs on a desktop or laptop... But this is, among other things, what got me thinking: tiny.cc vs tiny.cc	Cato (6936)
1249049	2011-12-17 23:53:00	A small point but if you are getting an iPad there is no need to convert with calibre, just install the kindle app and register it on your amazon account and any book you have purchased already will be available for download within the app. I have a kindle reader and a galaxy S - I use the phone or the PC to buy books as it's easier with a keyboard and a colour screen but I do all my reading on the kindle. I can read on my phone and it syncs with where I'm up to on my kindle and vice versa so it's the same as kobo in that respect. And yes there are differences to regional availability with amazons content, it seems most books are available here but the movie / TV / music content is a different story. I personally don't find a colour LCD any harder on my eyes for reading than the E-ink, but it is definately harder on the battery. It took 3 whole books to flatten the battery on my kindle as opposed to just 2-3 hours on the phone.	dugimodo (138)
1249050	2011-12-18 01:52:00	What a bizarre concept - "borrowing" an ebook...!!! Although I haven't found any region restrictions yet for Kindle ebooks via Amazon, I would be surprised if there were none. However this was a major decision factor for me moving from eReader.com, where I had bought a couple of hundred books in the .PDB format over the last 10 years or so, for use with my Palm devices, to Kindle (that and the fact that the eReader-supplied app was slightly incompatible with my current devices)...	johcar (6283)
1249051	2011-12-18 02:54:00	If you are interested in old books about NZ, try www.nzetc.org There is an amazing collection of free ebooks there (1000) covering things from the Sure to Rise Cookbook, through Banks' Endeavour Journals, to almost everything to do with Capt Cook (including Beaglehole), famous novels by Mulgan, Hyde et al, Castaways of Disappointment Island, Kimble Bent's Journal, etc etc. Both volumes of White Wings are there, for those who are interested in the immigrant ships. So that is an advantage of ebooks - lots of 'out of print' texts are freely available.	John H (8)
1249052	2011-12-19 04:43:00	Is there any reason I shouldn't buy my oldboy a Kindle? He reads a lot of books, and the delivery system needs to be as straight forward as possible, I don't think the cost of titles would bother him.	Metla (12)
1249053	2011-12-19 05:08:00	Is there any reason I shouldn't buy my oldboy a Kindle? He reads a lot of books, and the delivery system needs to be as straight forward as possible, I don't think the cost of titles would bother him. If it helps, we have just ordered our second Kindle after using the first one for about 3 months. My partner decided she needed one as well since we both wanted to read books on it at the same time.	user (1404)
1249054	2011-12-19 05:20:00	Is there any reason I shouldn't buy my oldboy a Kindle? He reads a lot of books, and the delivery system needs to be as straight forward as possible, I don't think the cost of titles would bother him. Delivery of purchases is seamless (wifi or 3G). Make your selection from the Amazon shop - via your browser or via the Kindle interface - and a minute or so later the book is on the Kindle. Even my wife wouldn't have any trouble with that!!!! (nervously looks over shoulder)	johcar (6283)
1249055	2011-12-19 05:21:00	Sounds good, Think I'll take him in for a look at one. I went in myself the other day but the DSE salesman was annoying me so I left before getting enough of a play to make a judgement.	Metla (12)
1249056	2011-12-19 05:26:00	Don't buy the DSE model. If you are wanting to get a Kindle, buy it on-line from Amazon. or get a Sony Reader. I have both, and the best of both worlds :)	Zippity (58)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8