Microsoft Home E-Reader will be launch on the first week of November

[Jason]

Accordind to Ricavision website homepage:sideshow product will be launch on the first week of November.
link:http://www.ricavision.com/
:http://www.ricavision.com/ricavision...e/ereader.html

[JSWolf]

I hope it flops big time. I don't want a device that needs to have Vista. This thing is an abomination and deserves to die a stillborn life.

[HarryT]

That's very interesting indeed. Might even be just what I need to get a Vista PC!

[Madam Broshkina]

I hope it flops big time. I don't want a device that needs to have Vista. This thing is an abomination and deserves to die a stillborn life.

Wow an editor of MobileRead hopes that a new device fails just because he does not like Vista. Seems kind of strange for me for a site that promotes electronic reading.

[rlauzon]

Originally Posted by Madam Broshkina

Wow an editor of MobileRead hopes that a new device fails just because he does not like Vista. Seems kind of strange for me for a site that promotes electronic reading.

You've made the invalid assumption that the Microsoft Home E-Reader has something to do with reading books.

All Microsoft business strategies are geared toward maintaining and extending their abusive monopoly.

If you add the fact that Vista is a horrible failure (even the Microsoft Cheerleaders are saying that you should use XP), JSWolf doesn't need to hope. The project is already doomed to fail.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Madam Broshkina

Wow an editor of MobileRead hopes that a new device fails just because he does not like Vista. Seems kind of strange for me for a site that promotes electronic reading.

From some of what I've read about Vista, it's DRM restrictions and "security" features only tend to harm the innocent. Plus the amount of hassle I've seen for people to get software to run is crazy. Book Designer is a prime example. I really think Microsoft dropped the ball big time on Vista. Now to have some company come out with an expensive gadget like an eink device and make it rely on Vista for functionality is asking for trouble. Will DRM get in the way of this device and cause it to have problems? And it doesn't say what sort of content this thing will handle.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

From some of what I've read about Vista, it's DRM restrictions and "security" features only tend to harm the innocent.

Its restrictions on HD video, yes, I completely agree with you there.

Plus the amount of hassle I've seen for people to get software to run is crazy. Book Designer is a prime example. I really think Microsoft dropped the ball big time on Vista.

But I don't agree with you about that. When software doesn't run properly on Vista, it's because the programmers ignored the "rules". Follow documented ways of doing things, and it all works just fine. The version of my astronomy software I wrote for Windows 95 works perfectly on Vista, for example, because I did it "right". BD does not do things the right way (eg it writes to its application directory, something which has never been permissible to do). Blame the developers of the misbehaving apps, not Vista.

Now to have some company come out with an expensive gadget like an eink device and make it rely on Vista for functionality is asking for trouble. Will DRM get in the way of this device and cause it to have problems? And it doesn't say what sort of content this thing will handle.

"Sideshow" is one of the "coolest" features of Vista. I'm absolutely delighted to see device come out which use it.

[JSWolf]

Again, Windows only. That's going to piss off everyone on OS X and Linux for sure.

[ischeriad]

It doesn't piss me off, I'm just not interested.

[jbenny]

The specs in the article are a bit light, but it seems to me that this is just another incarnation of a previously failed MS device. I forget what it's called, but it was an LCD tablet that wirelessly connected to your home PC, running WinXP.

In both cases, these devices can only show you what is being served up by your PC. You can't take the device elsewhere and read a book on it (or do anything else). Just as with the previous product, this is a stupid idea and will fail. A few people will find it useful to them, but the vast majority will not, especially considering the cost of the hardware.

The only reason MS does a product like this is to try to increase the adoption of its operating system and related software. They don't ever do hardware that is genuinely useful without their other software. Yes, I know they are a software company. However, they are big enough to actually turn out useful hardware designs that aren't crippled and extremely proprietary. They just chose not to. (My opinion, of course).

[Madam Broshkina]

Originally Posted by rlauzon

You've made the invalid assumption that the Microsoft Home E-Reader has something to do with reading books.

All Microsoft business strategies are geared toward maintaining and extending their abusive monopoly.

If you add the fact that Vista is a horrible failure (even the Microsoft Cheerleaders are saying that you should use XP), JSWolf doesn't need to hope. The project is already doomed to fail.

My assumption was not invalid, it was based on information I gained on doing research on the device.

From the companies brochure:

http://www.ricavision.com/brochure_p...me_ereader.pdf

"As small and lightweight as a single book, the Ricavision Home E-Reader allows users to download and take along newspapers, books, and documents, or upload them to share with family, friends, or co-workers."

The more I read about this product the more interested I am in it.

[Madam Broshkina]

Originally Posted by jbenny

T A few people will find it useful to them, but the vast majority will not, especially considering the cost of the hardware.

Could you tell please tell me what the costs of the hardware is?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jbenny

The specs in the article are a bit light, but it seems to me that this is just another incarnation of a previously failed MS device. I forget what it's called, but it was an LCD tablet that wirelessly connected to your home PC, running WinXP.

In both cases, these devices can only show you what is being served up by your PC. You can't take the device elsewhere and read a book on it (or do anything else). Just as with the previous product, this is a stupid idea and will fail. A few people will find it useful to them, but the vast majority will not, especially considering the cost of the hardware.

No, that's not how "Sideshow" works. The PC will exchange content with the device, but the information will be stored independently on the device. The PC will only be required to transfer data, rather like "synching" a PDA.

[JSWolf]

I don't think Slideshow is a bad idea. as long as there is also a USB port to get content over when you don't have Slideshow access. If I had this reader and was using my computer, I'd be on XP and no Slideshow. So unless they gave me a way to get content over to this device independent of Slideshow, it would be totally useless to me.

[HarryT]

Perhaps there will be another way - we'll have to wait and see. I'm sure the idea of wireless content download is attractive to some people - iRex push it as a selling point for the iLiad, for example.