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1996 - read text files from PG on my Macintosh Performa 6116CD. It saved me a reasonable amount of cash in my college lit classes, made it easier to quote sources for coursework and gave me useful skills for when I needed to research primary and secondary sources.
1998 I was converting PG public domain.txt to Newton MessagePad format. I worked for a publisher at that time, and then I ran a bookstore, so I was still heavily in to paper books, but appreciated reading hard-to-find classics on the Newton, even if it was a clunky chunk of plastic and glass.
2001 - bought Palm IIIxe, and downloading a free eBook from Peanut Press was one of the first things I did. PP became Peanut Reader, then Palm Reader, then eReader.com, then Fictionwise. I went through that whole transition with them. I owned Palm OS devices by just about every manufacturer who licensed the OS, but I read the most on the Sony Clié models, as they had the best screens and that jog wheel was ergonomically awesome for reading. I converted and read .pdb formats (using iSiloX, AvantGo and I swear there was another converter program), plus the occasional purchase from MobiPocket.
Circa 2009 - my Palm Treo breathed its last, and I bought a used original iPhone. All of my Palm book files made the journey via Stanza and eReader apps. But this transition was short-lived.
April 2010 - the agency publisher collusion decimated eReader/Fictionwise and all the other stores that had supported PDAs. So I left the BPH behind and worked on my TBR, the MobileRead library and borrowing eBooks from libraries. I spent about 2 years trying out various eInk devices, but never stuck long with any as either the device or store was lacking, and I was still boycotting agency.
2012 - nearly all my early Peanut Press purchases made the transition when B&N shut down eReader/Fictionwise, so I've come full circle.
I still miss the sophistication of library organization in the old Palm apps. All of that functionality was left behind. I still can't understand what happened to that programming - the eInk and touchscreen smartphone device makers all started from scratch, rather than looking at the successes in previous technology. I'm sure patents played a role, but since all those old companies eventually got gobbled up by Amazon and B&N, that's no excuse.
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