esrosedotblog

So I was biking recumbently when a woman I know came up to me and made a proposition.

She suggested that I get a Kindle reader and that if I did I would never turn back.

She was right.

I went and bought one and downloaded a few books from my Amazon account. I was a goner. I have to emphasize that I got the Paper White version which costs more. Because it is. Paper white.

Here is what it does for me. First, I can have a couple of books going at one time and not carry them both or all around. Well, not in physical books but in my Kindle.

Small advantage, I agree, but listen to this one.

The Kindle weighs less than a book. It is the same size no matter what. It remembers where I was and puts me back on that page.

When I am done I just put the book back in my cloud library. In that library there are as many as thirty books some I have read, others I plan to read, some are in progress. A short stories collection for example. I can dip in as I wish. Read one and save the rest for later without carrying both books or worrying about where I was.

I do not want to work too hard to justify or sell the Kindle as a necessity. It is not. But it is a damn fine luxury. Practical.

Oh. And no fuss between hard covers and paper backs. They all cost the same more or less. Over time, older books decline in price. That is one feature that is not a problem in a book store.

OK.

The Kindle led me to think about a more portable computer. And, of course, as an addict to Apple products, I had to be aware of the iPad.

Once I had the Kindle and the Amazon electro-library it was only a small jump to think about getting an iPad which does offer a reading advantage. Two pages, more like a book. Bigger and brighter. And it talks to the Kindle so they know where I have read up to on either one.

Now, the rest of the iPad story. I was baffled by its startup. It is a Mac system after all but I got flummoxed from the start and had to get my MacExpert to come help me.

The problem of the system differences remain somewhat. The iPad immediately reads any changes on my iMac and updates. Web sites, emails, calendar, address book, all that.

What it doesn't do is contain my files that are on the main Mac unless I haven't yet figured that out.

I have tried to mail a video or movie over. I know that the mail doesn't want to send movies or I do not know how to do it.

Nevertheless, I can go to a site and download a film and play it, even save it. It is just not the same setup as the Mac. It is the iPad's own file set. Or something. I don't know the terms.

I may have to get my iExpert back again.

The other reason for the iPad is to cover me for travel.

Yes. I am traveling this year. Beyond the annual San Diego trip.

I will write about this another time. In another post.

Labels: books, computers