Sony: Will History Repeat?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bob_ninja

Either company may pull out. Why would Sony be any more likely than Amazon? Because Sony is an older company and has a longer history, more chances to pull out? Sure, Amazon can/will repeat the same mistakes of older companies.

Amazon could repeat the same mistakes they themselves made in the ebook market. They have pissed off a lot of people who used Amazon to purchase ebooks in the past.

[radleyp]

The Kindle cannot handle native pdf files, but I can send them to Amazon for conversion into azw files that can be read on the Kindle. All the NYPL offerings have some form of drm protection, so I doubt that they could be manipulated into azw or anything else and hence would not be readable on the Kindle. I'll look into that a little further.

[NatCh]

If that's the only obstacle, there is probably a way. See post #30.

[radleyp]

You may be right, BUT first I have no idea how to do what igorsk is describing and second I think that NYPL adds something to prevent decrypting.

[NatCh]

It's not a decryption, actually (if it were, we wouldn't have anything to do with the specifics here ). It's just telling the file that it's a Kindle file and changing the extension to .azw -- well, that and adding the Kindle's PID to the file before it's downloaded.

I think igorsk had a black box app to handle it.

[radleyp]

Well, I'd like to try it, but I have no idea how to do it. I have the Kindle ID, but after that I'm lost.

[NatCh]

On the site that DMcCunney linked, did you make it down to the entry for Wednesday, December 12, 2007?

[radleyp]

Yes, I did, and I don't know what to do with .py files: Windows cannot open them. What am I missing?

[NatCh]

Ah, I see the problem. They're python script files, I think you have to have python installed to use them -- I'm not sure, I've never used python.

[mlbspike]

Originally Posted by NatCh

The Kindle uses the exact same display hardware as the 505 -- the controller is different, but the display itself is the same.

The 505 claims 8 grey scales, and the Kindle 4. This is due to the controller, then? Although it has less grey scales, is the contrast on the Kindle comparable to the 505, instead of the 500? The contrast seems to be the big plus for the 505 compared to the 500. Pictures may benefit from the extra grey scales, but I don't own the reader for picture viewing.
Mike

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by mlbspike

The 505 claims 8 grey scales, and the Kindle 4. This is due to the controller, then?

Yup.

Originally Posted by mlbspike

Although it has less grey scales, is the contrast on the Kindle comparable to the 505, instead of the 500?

I haven't seen a Kindle "in the flesh," but as I understand it, the controller shouldn't make any difference as far as contrast goes.

Originally Posted by mlbspike

The contrast seems to be the big plus for the 505 compared to the 500. Pictures may benefit from the extra grey scales, but I don't own the reader for picture viewing.

I have seen a 505 and 500 side by side (as have a large number of folks around here by now ), the 505 is significantly brighter and more contrasty than the 500, much more so to the mark one eyeball than the bare numerical measurement of increased reflectivity would suggest by itself.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by radleyp

Yes, I did, and I don't know what to do with .py files: Windows cannot open them. What am I missing?

.py files are script files in the Python language. You can get a free, open source version of Python for Windows from ActiveState: http://activestate.com/store/product...2-7a0c2dea2758

(The Download link takes you to a page that asks for contact details, but those are optional. You can continue and get the Windows installer without providing any information.)
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Dennis

[TheLongshot]

As someone who owns a Clie, an SACD player and a 505, I can understand this. At the same time, I still use the SACD player, I'd be using the Clie if I could find it, and I expect to use the 505 for a while.

To be honest, if Sony dropped support of the Reader tomorrow, I wouldn't be at a loss. We have tons of utilities to convert content to it. The ability to be able to mount it as a drive means I don't need the software. I could care less about Sony's store, since I buy most of my E-books elsewhere. I expect the lifespan of my reader to be pretty long.

While you can make some of the same arguments for the Kindle, some of the features of it, like the Wi-Fi access, is very much dependent on the whims of Amazon. Considering the premiums paid for it, I'm not sure it is worth more than the Sony Reader.

Jason

[jamesdmanley]

i dont need sony. i have a lifetime of free domain material to download for free and the software to convert other formats. if the machine breaks it breaks, but i dont need sony

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by jamesdmanley

i dont need sony. i have a lifetime of free domain material to download for free and the software to convert other formats. if the machine breaks it breaks, but i dont need sony

I concur.

My ebook reader device is a Tapwave Zodiac 2 PDA, running PalmOS 5.27. Tapwave went belly up in July 2005, but the device still works fine, and I have a spare in case. There are thousands of freely available titles I can (and have) converted for reading on it, and I generally get source material in a form I can read directly or convert conveniently. (I like HTML for that reason.)

The Sony Reader will likely continue to function long after Sony abandons it if given proper care, and lots of content will be available.

I need a device that does other things besides display ebooks, so a dedicated ebook reader isn't very interesting to me, but the fact that the manufacturer might abandon it wouldn't be a show stopper if I was interested.
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Dennis