07-14-2008, 12:20 PM | #46 |
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Let's give the iPhone software market to mature. I think we'll eventually see readers on the iPhone that can get access to and download free content from PG or even MR. Given that the SDK can be downloaded and accessed by anyone,maybe an industrious MR reader can do this?
I myself am planning on getting an iPhone (when my T-Mobile contract expires) and can't wait until I can read my classics while waiting in line or anywhere where I don't have access to my Reader. I have the Mobipocket reader for my Windows Smartphone and it's absolutely terrible. |
07-14-2008, 12:25 PM | #47 | |
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07-14-2008, 02:36 PM | #48 | |
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07-14-2008, 02:39 PM | #49 | |
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07-17-2008, 02:16 AM | #50 |
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Anyone who buys a free book for 99 cents is stupid, lazy, and deserves to waste their money. Go to project Gutenberg where you can get free ebooks for ...FREE!
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07-17-2008, 02:29 AM | #51 |
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It can take many hours of work to convert a PG book into a nice readable eBook - I speak from thousands of hours of experience in book conversion. It is not "stupid and lazy" to consider those hours of work to be worth paying 99c for. Indeed, one might consider it "stupid" to spend several hours RATHER than paying 99c. Is your time really worth so little to you?
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07-17-2008, 02:38 AM | #52 | |
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Yes, you can get them free at Project Gutenberg. But can you read them on your dedicated reader or other mobile device? Project Gutenberg supplies books in plain text and (often) HTML. Getting those converted into the appropraite format for your device takes time, skill, and specialized software the vast majority of folks aren't aware of and don't have. And even if you have the software and the skill, doing a good conversion is a non-trivial task. What value do you place on your time? I have the tools and skill to convert PG texts, and do regularly for my device. But I might pay 99 cents for a decent quality conversion for the iPhone (if I had one), because it would be quicker and easier than doing it myself, and I could spend the time doing other things. ______ Dennis |
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07-17-2008, 05:53 AM | #53 |
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07-17-2008, 05:55 AM | #54 |
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I don't know, and I'm not willing to spend 99c to find out .
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07-17-2008, 01:49 PM | #55 |
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I'm game to buy one and take a look - unless somebody beats me to it. I just got the phone last night, and am in the setup/sync process now.
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07-17-2008, 08:18 PM | #56 |
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Comparing Flatland by Edwin Abbot, I see a few superficial differences, but probably not enough to cause me to spend money again, for the $0.99 cent version.
The standalone $0.99 version has a nice red "leather" cover-page, and also has a blank line between paragraphs instead of paragraph indents. I happen to find the "blank line" version easier to read, and I format my books that way (if I have other reason to bother formatting them). Stanza allows only left / right side of page touches to turn the page. The standalone ones allow only top / bottom touches. Personally, I like top/bottom better ... But even with both of those preferences leaning toward the standalone version, I'm not sure there is enough difference to spend money. Any specific questions? Oh, and the standalone book takes you straight back into where you left off reading. Stanza opens into its "index" page, you press "Latest reads" and then select which title, and THEN you reach the spot you left off. 2 extra clicks. Last edited by badgoodDeb; 07-17-2008 at 08:24 PM. |
07-18-2008, 10:55 AM | #57 | |
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07-19-2008, 02:59 PM | #58 | |
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07-19-2008, 03:06 PM | #59 |
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Yes I have thought this through, and yes my device does read plain text, and to my knowledge, there are not many ebooks that don't read plain text. And I would even go further by saying that if someone bought an ebook that did not support plain text then that person wasted their money considering that plain text is such a universal and widely used format.
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07-19-2008, 03:09 PM | #60 | |
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You have an iPhone. You are aware of public domain texts you would like to read, that you can get in an iPod version for 99 cents. You may be aware of Project Gutenberg. You might even have the notion that resources exist like MR where you can get the stuff free. But what will be involved, and how long will it take you to track down the information? If you just want to read a particular book, it's a lot faster and simpler to just pay 99 cents and download the book from the iTunes store. And depending upon what else you may have to do with your time, it will be neither lazy nor stupid to exercise that option. We pay people all the time to do things we technically could do ourselves but would prefer to spend the time required doing other things. This is simply one more instance. ______ Dennis |
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