The Vent and Rant Thread

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I'm annoyed I can't pre-order the new Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition from the Dutch Amazon website. It doesn't even mention a release date. According to the German Amazon it's going to be released on the 10th and you can pre-order. I'm now tempted to pre-order it in Germany, but I'm afraid it will take longer to arrive than when I order it from the Dutch website (the new, regular Paperwhite was available for pre-order one or two days before its release).

FWIW:

I received mine two (2) days and it's nice, but...it's just a Paperwhite. There's nothing magical or whatever about it. The balance of the device is different than the Oasis or the earlier Voyage or the earlier PPWs, due to the taller screen--the weight-shift is slightly different. In hindsight, I actually prefer the versions with a bit of edging, where you could click/depress to change the page; now there's no alternative but an on-screen swipe. (Make sure you get a protector for the screen!).

I'm not saying "don't get it." I'm just saying--I have to buy all these things, for my biz. And I read on Kindles all the time. I *still* wish I could replace my dead Voyage, beyond all others. FWIW.

Oh, the wireless charging? That IS cool. Given my inability with the USB charging plugs (and OMG, do I have a mare's nest of them, all different, different sizes, different configs, etc.) THAT is worth having, I confess.

Hitch

[Deskisamess]

We bought some brushes many years ago when the grandkids used those straw/sippy cups. Hubby uses large water bottles with built in straws when he goes to the gym, and for long trips. He can't tip his head easily up due to neck surgeries.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by Hitch

FWIW:

I received mine two (2) days and it's nice, but...it's just a Paperwhite. There's nothing magical or whatever about it. The balance of the device is different than the Oasis or the earlier Voyage or the earlier PPWs, due to the taller screen--the weight-shift is slightly different. In hindsight, I actually prefer the versions with a bit of edging, where you could click/depress to change the page; now there's no alternative but an on-screen swipe. (Make sure you get a protector for the screen!).

I'm not saying "don't get it." I'm just saying--I have to buy all these things, for my biz. And I read on Kindles all the time. I *still* wish I could replace my dead Voyage, beyond all others. FWIW.

Oh, the wireless charging? That IS cool. Given my inability with the USB charging plugs (and OMG, do I have a mare's nest of them, all different, different sizes, different configs, etc.) THAT is worth having, I confess.

Hitch

I'm not interested in the wireless charging. I got a stand for my tablet, phone, Kindle, etc and the Kindle only needs the be charged every couple of weeks.

I am interested in the warmer light and the automatic brightness adjusting. I had that on my last Kobo (battery died) and loved it. I missed it when I went back to my Paperwhite.

I also think I'll enjoy the bigger screen.

My mother's Kindle is on it's last legs, so she's getting my old one. She's looking forward to the flush screen; no more crumb catcher. And I'm getting €50 to put towards my new Kindle. I can get the cork case for that money.

I do agree the Voyage was great. Mine developed some big pinpricks, which were very distracting when reading.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I'm not interested in the wireless charging. I got a stand for my tablet, phone, Kindle, etc and the Kindle only needs the be charged every couple of weeks.

I am interested in the warmer light and the automatic brightness adjusting. I had that on my last Kobo (battery died) and loved it. I missed it when I went back to my Paperwhite.

I also think I'll enjoy the bigger screen.

My mother's Kindle is on it's last legs, so she's getting my old one. She's looking forward to the flush screen; no more crumb catcher. And I'm getting €50 to put towards my new Kindle. I can get the cork case for that money.

I do agree the Voyage was great. Mine developed some big pinpricks, which were very distracting when reading.

Well around my place, with the bajillionty devices we have (for my biz, you understand?), we have so many blankety-blank-blank-blank USB and charging cables, wireless is soooooooooooooooooooooo attractive to me.

Y'know, I have seriously considered buying a 2nd-hand Voyage. They're cheap enough and I Lurved mine.

H

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Well around my place, with the bajillionty devices we have (for my biz, you understand?), we have so many blankety-blank-blank-blank USB and charging cables, wireless is soooooooooooooooooooooo attractive to me.

Y'know, I have seriously considered buying a 2nd-hand Voyage. They're cheap enough and I Lurved mine.

H

A couple of months ago I switched to magnetic charging cables (The Last Cable). I do have a couple of things where this won't work for various reasons, so I do have an USB C and a micro USB cable in my charging set up in my bedroom. It works really well, but I mostly charge my electronics in my bedroom, though I do have a magnetic cable in the living room and in the store in case I need it.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

A couple of months ago I switched to magnetic charging cables (The Last Cable). I do have a couple of things where this won't work for various reasons, so I do have an USB C and a micro USB cable in my charging set up in my bedroom. It works really well, but I mostly charge my electronics in my bedroom, though I do have a magnetic cable in the living room and in the store in case I need it.

Oooooooooh, there's an idea....

Hitch

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Well around my place, with the bajillionty devices we have (for my biz, you understand?), we have so many blankety-blank-blank-blank USB and charging cables, wireless is soooooooooooooooooooooo attractive to me.

Y'know, I have seriously considered buying a 2nd-hand Voyage. They're cheap enough and I Lurved mine.

H

Watch out, with Voyages. My mom’s and now mine have just died of swollen batteries. I tried to take my battery out to replace it, but it was glued too hard. I didn’t want to pull/bend/torque a bulging battery. Given that only one generation of Voyage was made, they’re all of a similar age and might start having problems.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Watch out, with Voyages. My mom’s and now mine have just died of swollen batteries. I tried to take my battery out to replace it, but it was glued too hard. I didn’t want to pull/bend/torque a bulging battery. Given that only one generation of Voyage was made, they’re all of a similar age and might start having problems.

Thanks for that info! Good to know. Yeah, they're all 7th-gen Kindles.

H

[issybird]

Oh, how I hate “creative” nonfiction!

It infuriates me when I start a supposed work of history to find that settings, characterizations and even dialogue, god help me, have been made up. That’s not history and by definition it’s not nonfiction. I don’t know what it is, exactly, but I don’t like it. Presumably there’s a market for this pablum and that’s fine, but I wish they’d label it so I’d give it a pass. For me, I’d rather just read a good historical novel, and really, I think that can be the best way to develop a familiarity with a subject when you know nothing about it. But I’m starting to feel like Charlie Brown and the football, as I get taken in so often.

I’m running into it a lot lately, most recently with a book about the molasses flood in Boston in 1918. I’m interested in the topic, but I’m not sure I can continue as the irritation level is so high. People stamping their feet in the cold, kissing their new babies, chatting with their spouses; why make up this crap? Where’s Joe Friday where we need him? And it’s not even as if it’s good stylistically. Obviously some can write history, some can write novels, and some can’t write either - so they write this drivel.

[ApK]

Issy, I think that might be worthy of a thread of its own.
Any work of history that's not just a reprint of source material is a "creative" interpretation by that particular historian or archeologist or what have you, and even the source materials don't necessarily guarantee accuracy or honesty on the part of the original recorder.
So does there need to be a broader labeling spectrum from "reprint of source material" through "historical fiction" with "creative history" somewhere in the middle? Is it a matter of peer review and consensus?
Even if there is no cited newspaper account of things like someone "stamping their feet in the cold," does that not seem likely for Boston in January, and help set a scene for a reader to relate to the event?

[4691mls]

I agree this topic is worthy of its own thread.

I haven't read the type of book Issy described but the idea doesn't appeal to me. I'd rather read either historical fiction or straight up history.

[CRussel]

Would be an interesting thread. And we could discuss specific examples.

[Rumpelteazer]

I hate it when I get an email that something I've ordered is send and then it takes days for the tracking to change from "data received" to that the shipping company has received it.

I pre-ordered something that was going to be released on November 22. Last Thursday (4th) I got and email telling me my order had shipped. But it hasn't. I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually ships nearer the official date.

I've noticed that this is happening more and more. And it's really annoying.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I hate it when I get an email that something I've ordered is send and then it takes days for the tracking to change from "data received" to that the shipping company has received it.

I pre-ordered something that was going to be released on November 22. Last Thursday (4th) I got and email telling me my order had shipped. But it hasn't. I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually ships nearer the official date.

I've noticed that this is happening more and more. And it's really annoying.

Yeah, and the sad thing is, that's merely a matter of properly setting expectations and using appropriate language in the communication.
If those emails said "Your order has entered our shipping process" or something similar, the point usually being "it's too late to cancel now" (as it does with some companies I deal with), rather than "Your order has shipped," then they'd get points for good communication, rather than losing points for telling you it's shipped when it hasn't.


ApK

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I hate it when I get an email that something I've ordered is send and then it takes days for the tracking to change from "data received" to that the shipping company has received it.

I pre-ordered something that was going to be released on November 22. Last Thursday (4th) I got and email telling me my order had shipped. But it hasn't. I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually ships nearer the official date.

I've noticed that this is happening more and more. And it's really annoying.

What I find even funnier is when I receive a package and then receive the email telling me it has been shipped (often with the tracking number) a couple of days later.