[nairbv]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So when are you going to actually be able to read 85 books before you have access to your computer again to sort out content? Why is it you need a few gigs work of eBooks at one time to carry around?

Well, I sail for long distances. I pretty much can't use my laptop at sea or it freaks out from being shaken by the motion of the boat... so I have regularly gone long periods of time, more than a month, without using a computer. I read a lot of books when I'm at sea.

But also, I just like the idea of having my book collection in my pocket. I'm not reading 85 books at once, but if I have an electronic book reader, and, SD cards being as cheap as they are, I don't understand why I shouldn't be able to have, for example, the complete works of shakespeare in my pocket to reference whenever I want. I should be able to read a quote or some speech I liked anytime I want. (of course, with current devices, this will probably assuming I know where in the book the speech/quote is).

I expect that out of an ebook reader. I want hundreds if not thousands of books with me at all times.

I'd like to keep math books for reference, poetry books, books I want to read, books I've recently read and might want to talk to someone about or show to someone, anything and everything I find. I don't want to have to think "what are all the books I might want to glance into in the next month," and then hope I've picked through correctly. My reading style isn't a one-after-the-other novel reading kind of thing. I probably have at least a hundred books stuffed in the v-berth of my boat, and it never seems nearly enough.

Have you tried emailing Bookeen again? They do respond. Did you check your spam filters? The ones on the actual website where your mail comes from? It's not Bookeens fault you move too much.

no, I emailed them a while ago and never got a response. It not just that though, it's my impression from other people. I see people complaining on their own blog (partly about unresponsiveness, partly about some update a long time ago that stopped their device from working), and it seems like bookeen was just ignoring their own blog.

Either way though, it looks like they bill on order, and then send months later. That just doesn't even seem... even legal to me. It increases their cashflow and allows them to operate essentially in debt. That's essentially a loan/investment from the customers if they just take your money and deliver way in the future... and if they need that kind of loan from the customer I don't trust them. Who knows, maybe it's just a bad translation on their web site and that's not really how it works. it sounds shady though.

I mean, I admit, they probably wont go belly up, ... but I can invest in companies in the stock market that also "probably" wont go belly up, and I get a dividend. I shouldn't have to practically invest in the company just to buy something from them.

You're right in the case of the iliad or something, that, if I move around a lot it's not their fault... but a company like bookeen that isn't even going to deliver until months after I order, ... I hold that against them. I can order something when I'm going to be in one place for a little while, ... but not when it doesn't even ship for months.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Who said Amazon is shitting on their customers? BooksOnBoard bought eReader and yet they also sell the Gen3 which does not handle eReader at all DRM or not.

I said it. what do booksonboard, ereader, or gen3 have to do with amazon? Amazon owns a good multi-device DRM system (mobipocket), but decided to introduce a new incompatible DRM system... along with a new device (the kindle) that none of their existing customers would be able to use with their old purchased books. In my mind, that amounts to shitting on customers. they could have at least included mobipocket support in the kindle. I don't even own mobipocket books, but the fact that they produced the kindle without mobipocket support makes me want to stop buying pbooks from them.

OK, maybe DRM can be stripped with some hack software and then used on the new device... if you're somewhat tech savy and, depending where you live, willing to break the law. That level of hassle being imposed on customers though, .... I see that as not very nice of amazon. it makes me angry.

It's not like permitting both encryption schemes to run on the kindle would have taken a day more development effort. it's essentially the same format but they deliberately made it incompatible.

Am I completely alone in this? Is there something I'm missing here?

According to what someone found out, the Sony may be being sold in the uK sometime in April (We hope).

well that's exciting. I mean, I don't live in the UK, but I like that it's at least being sold internationally. It makes the sony look a little better in my eyes.

I know with he 505 you can hack it to change the fonts. There is a hack now that will do a temp font change which does work. So you don't have to risk bricking it.

another sony++

Why is the research a waste of time? Do you just want to plop down $300-$450 just to get something you won't like because you didn't do the research?

well, ... time is money. I spent more time than anticipated thinking stressing and posting on this board trying to figure out what to buy. If I'd spent all that time working I probably could have just bought two of these things at random.

Why is it you have such a negative attitude toward all of the available eink devices?

but yeah, I am feeling negative. I'm pretty bummed I don't have one of these things still. maybe it's my own fault I didn't just go ahead and buy one. I was really particularly bummed out about not being able to buy the hanlin though. I had my hopes up I guess, and now I'm just kind of feeling let down.

btw, I see roslindale on your profile thing. I'm from dedham. Hi.