Basqueman
02-08-2008, 10:48 PM
Hello Community,
I was on the the Metrolink Train in Southern California going home after a long day at work. I sat down across from a well dressed gentleman. At first glance I could tell that he was a gadget kind of guy. He had a BlackBerry as well as an iPod clipped to his belt with the white ear buds snaking up t his ears. What caught my attention was the contraption he was staring at that was sitting on his lap. It looked like a miniature Etch-A-Sketch (yes..I've just aged myself). At this point, he looked up and noticed me gazing at the thing and then politely removed his ear buds and looked at me with full anticipation of a coming question. I got the impression that he'd done this before.
He gave me a demonstration of the Sony Reader. He patiently showed me what it does, it's features and talked about the kind of books he likes to read. He told me about the "Gutenberg Project" and how he found and downloaded all the state of the union speeches from a couple of dozen past Presidents. He told be about the Amazon Kindle. He was really passionate about the thing and what it could do.
I was fascinated. Being a gadget guy myself as well as an avid reader I ended up doing several hours of research on the Internet when I got home. I researched and read about the Sony. I researched the Amazon Kindle and read many of the posted user reviews on the website. I watched the videos. I found MobileRead.com which in turn pointed me to Fictionwise.com, Gutenberg project.com...etc etc. I've learned about ConvertLIT & Libprs500 because I was curious to know what range of content would be available, I learned about MOBI files, LRT files, DRM's. I was hooked and I didn't even purchase the thing yet.
I went back and forth between the Sony and the Kindle...but it came right down to aesthetics. The Sony was sleek and beautiful. The Kindle was downright ugly and I wasn't going to wait 6 wks and pay $400 for something that looked so bad. That out weighed its wireless capability. The Sony is due to arrive on Saturday, February 9 and I'm ready and can't wait to enter this digital book world.
Thanks for your patience with reading this rather long winded intro.
I was on the the Metrolink Train in Southern California going home after a long day at work. I sat down across from a well dressed gentleman. At first glance I could tell that he was a gadget kind of guy. He had a BlackBerry as well as an iPod clipped to his belt with the white ear buds snaking up t his ears. What caught my attention was the contraption he was staring at that was sitting on his lap. It looked like a miniature Etch-A-Sketch (yes..I've just aged myself). At this point, he looked up and noticed me gazing at the thing and then politely removed his ear buds and looked at me with full anticipation of a coming question. I got the impression that he'd done this before.
He gave me a demonstration of the Sony Reader. He patiently showed me what it does, it's features and talked about the kind of books he likes to read. He told me about the "Gutenberg Project" and how he found and downloaded all the state of the union speeches from a couple of dozen past Presidents. He told be about the Amazon Kindle. He was really passionate about the thing and what it could do.
I was fascinated. Being a gadget guy myself as well as an avid reader I ended up doing several hours of research on the Internet when I got home. I researched and read about the Sony. I researched the Amazon Kindle and read many of the posted user reviews on the website. I watched the videos. I found MobileRead.com which in turn pointed me to Fictionwise.com, Gutenberg project.com...etc etc. I've learned about ConvertLIT & Libprs500 because I was curious to know what range of content would be available, I learned about MOBI files, LRT files, DRM's. I was hooked and I didn't even purchase the thing yet.
I went back and forth between the Sony and the Kindle...but it came right down to aesthetics. The Sony was sleek and beautiful. The Kindle was downright ugly and I wasn't going to wait 6 wks and pay $400 for something that looked so bad. That out weighed its wireless capability. The Sony is due to arrive on Saturday, February 9 and I'm ready and can't wait to enter this digital book world.
Thanks for your patience with reading this rather long winded intro.