On 01/13/2016 08:41 PM, Don Y wrote:
Ah, OK. We don't have any magazine subscriptions. She just recently
commented on yet another attempt to get her to RE-subscribe to a magazine
she had years ago: "I saved the old issues and all they do is
recycle the same articles..."

I found that a long time ago except for the magazines covering a moving
target. It's rather like the school system; they start a beginning
class, work them through to more complex matters, and then restart the
cycle in a year or two.

I'm down to 'Circuit Cellar', 'Motorcycle Consumer News', and 'Guns &
Ammo'. I don't even remember subscribing to the last one. I certainly
haven't paid for it in years but it keeps coming like some of the trade
magazines.

On 01/14/2016 12:09 AM, Don Y wrote:
On 1/13/2016 8:19 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/13/2016 04:11 PM, Don Y wrote:
Is the "library" *off* the device? And *not* requiring a connection
to some cloud service? (

Yes, the files are stored locally. I only enable the wireless
connection when
I'm getting a new book from Amazon.

So, what happens when the device is "full"?

I haven't gotten there yet after five years or so but you just start
deleting title from the device.

On 01/13/2016 11:25 PM, Don Y wrote:
How do you find a specific title? Or, are there only a small number of
titles on the device at any given time (e.g., dozens instead of thousands)?

That's the problem that I hope has been resolved with the new devices. I
haven't found a good way to organize either by topic or a simple
read/unread. There are a series of small dots that indicate how much
you've read but they require carefukl attention to differentiate.

Yeah, I don't deal well with audio books. I don't "digest" material as
well when it is read to me. And, I think random access is more tedious;
if I want to skip back a paragraph (or whatever) to doublecheck how
something mentioned there fits with something I'm reading *here*, it's
easier to just glance up and hunt for the information visually.

I particularly dislike the current trend to consider webinars
'documentation'. It's the lazy way out and my mind tends to wander when
people ramble on.

On 1/14/2016 8:22 AM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/14/2016 06:22 AM, Don Y wrote:
I'm not sure if the titles she reads are strictly on the NYT best seller
list
but they are most definitely "new issues". We can't, for example, get a
title issued in the past 12 months through interlibrary loan (if our
library
doesn't have the title). So, you're pretty much stuck waiting for them
to buy some copies -- and *hoping* they do!

I know the feeling... This library buys quite a few new books but they,
properly I suppose, cater to the taste of the clientele. Several times I've
went looking for more classic titles that I know they had only to find they
were sold off to make room for more vampires.

Our library disposes of a LOT of titles! And, it appears to be a somewhat
arbitrary choice. E.g., I'm friendly with the head librarian at one
of the branches. One day, while chatting with her as she "checked in"
titles, I saw her separating the books into two piles.

I questioned her as to why the distinction: "Oh, those haven't seen
much recent readership so they'll go in the discards pile..."

WTF? But, someone just read it! Else you wouldn't be checking it
back in! And, there's lots of empty space on the shelves (in this
branch).

Yet, they want another bond issue to buy MORE books, etc.

New titles are cheaper in ebooks than paper. Amazon did a good job of price
busting; the publishers were not happy.

What I particularly enjoy is the number of obscure books that are available in
electronic format.

Some models are 3G. The 'special offers' are very non-intrusive.
Basically you
get a varying selection of ads when the device is turned off, not some
popup
every time you turn the page.

(sigh)

"This toilet paper brought to you by..."

The ads are mostly for book titles. iirc the 'special offers' model was $30 or
so cheaper and I'm not bothered by something that goes away when I turn the
device on. epaper is like an etch-a-sketch -- the display doesn't go off with
the power.

I'm not keen on yet another agency/entity tracking my "interests".
The local library opted NOT to comply with the request to track
borrowing patterns (though you know something can surreptitiously be
doing that). Recently, the outsourced their handling of the catalog,
reservations, etc. to a canadian firm. No mention of any privacy
guarantees.

So, I responded by severely reducing my patronage. And, voting AGAINST
the recent bond issue (which failed by a 3:2 margin). I guess other folks
are unhappy with their policies as well!

Then, the document and state are stored in the cloud?

Yes. If you delete a book from the device it still remains 'archived' in the
cloud and can be retrieved. I should do some deleting. One weakness I've found
with the model I have is the lack of an effective way to organize the titles.
Basically, the last accessed is first on the list.

frown I keep all my "software" (movies, music, books, etc.) on a set
of distributed mirrored volumes. This lets me impose any sort of structure
to it that seems appropriate.

E.g., I can sort music based on artist, books based on genre, etc.
"Where" a title resides (in the filesystem hierarchy) tells me
what *I* want to know about it. (It's easier to manipulate
a filesystem structure than it is to manipulate *tags* inside
individual files).

I'm not keen on relying on something else to "store" *my* stuff.
And, having to maintain a connection to that other entity just
to access *my* stuff! Nothing to stop them from charging an "access
fee" or "maintenance fee", etc.

On 1/14/2016 8:27 AM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/13/2016 08:41 PM, Don Y wrote:
Ah, OK. We don't have any magazine subscriptions. She just recently
commented on yet another attempt to get her to RE-subscribe to a magazine
she had years ago: "I saved the old issues and all they do is
recycle the same articles..."

I found that a long time ago except for the magazines covering a moving target.

In her case, she's interested primarily in art and various media.
Ain't much "new" happening, there! "Look! We've discovered
a NEW COLOR!!! Eeeewww! Metallic Chartreuse!!!"

It's rather like the school system; they start a beginning class, work them
through to more complex matters, and then restart the cycle in a year or two.

Exactly. The articles may get rewritten (different authors?) but the
material is largely the same. That's not to say that the new rewrite
might be better or more easily understood...

I'm down to 'Circuit Cellar', 'Motorcycle Consumer News', and 'Guns & Ammo'. I
don't even remember subscribing to the last one. I certainly haven't paid for
it in years but it keeps coming like some of the trade magazines.

"Circuit Cellar" became a manual for how to ASSEMBLE things many years ago.
It's the nature of the beast; you can't really write much where you
expect your readers to have lots of resources at their disposal!
"Using your scanning electron microscope, locate the gate region
of the FET controlling the output stage. Now, engage the laser
to vaporize the connection from this to the output pin. Then..."
Heck, I suspect many of its readers can't use a soldering iron -- esp
on SMT devices!

Most magazines have to pander to too wide of an audience. So, they waste
a lot of time covering "basics". Then, don't have enough space left to
really address the "meat and potatoes".

I spend most of my reading in journals -- where the authors can make
some reasonably safe assumptions as to the minimum technical abilities
of its readers and jump right into the "interesting parts". This
cuts down on a lot of preliminary fluff which makes it easier to
spend time thinking about the *substance*.

E.g., SWMBO's magazines might spend (waste?) time telling you how to
*hold* a pencil! (you hold a pencil differently when drawing than
when writing) Why can't they assume a reader has this minimum level
of proficiency? Instead of wasting space on it?

On 1/14/2016 10:35 AM, Don Y wrote:

SNIP

I'm not keen on yet another agency/entity tracking my "interests".

SNIP

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304870304577490950051438304
Your E-Book Is Reading You

http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/10/06/adobe-spying-users-collecting-data-ebook-libraries

There are ways to avoid the spying.

Susan
--

On 1/14/2016 11:50 AM, Susan Bugher wrote:
On 1/14/2016 10:35 AM, Don Y wrote:

SNIP

I'm not keen on yet another agency/entity tracking my "interests".

SNIP

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304870304577490950051438304

Your E-Book Is Reading You

http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/10/06/adobe-spying-users-collecting-data-ebook-libraries


There are ways to avoid the spying.

https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/...removal-tools/


Susan
--

On 1/14/2016 8:33 AM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/13/2016 11:25 PM, Don Y wrote:
How do you find a specific title? Or, are there only a small number of
titles on the device at any given time (e.g., dozens instead of thousands)?

That's the problem that I hope has been resolved with the new devices. I
haven't found a good way to organize either by topic or a simple read/unread.
There are a series of small dots that indicate how much you've read but they
require carefukl attention to differentiate.

Ideally, a set of tags associated with each file. But, *applying* and
*examining* them then becomes difficult -- you need to have a tool
designed expressly for that purpose.

SWMBO takes a LOT of photographs. The camera records lots of detail -- most
of which is unimportant to the (amateur) photographer! (exposure, etc).

Periodically, she downloads the photos from her camera onto her
computer. Then, tries to sort through them based on content.

One of the tools she uses builds a database of user-defined tags
(keywords) that you manually associate with the photos. So, she
can create tags: rocks, water, mammals, birds, atmosphere, etc.
Then, if she's got a photo of some BIRDS chasing a COYOTE
alongside a ROCKy RIVERbed at SUNSET, she can choose to apply
ALL of those tags to that picture. Later, if she's looking for
examples of "sunsets", she can search for photos tagged with
"atmosphere" and find this photo -- along with umpteen gazillion
others.

Great -- in theory. In practice, its almost impossible to use!

First, *you* have to come up with an appropriate set of keywords to
cover *your* interests (makes sense; how would *I* know what is of
interest to YOU?!). Then, you have to go through the tedium of
applying them individually to the pictures (yeah, you can select multiple
photos but, chances are, each photo will have a different SET of tags;
so, select all that qualify as "sunsets" and ADD the "atmosphere"
tag to those; then, deselect them and select all those with birds
and add the bird tag to those; etc. And, later, when you realize
your categories are too *broad* (e.g., originally you may have
lumped "mammals" "reptiles" and "birds" into a single "wildlife"
category and you later realize that these should have been spllit
out into finer detail -- do you now go back through all the
"mammal"-tagged objects and retag them with this new set??)

Or, you may realize there was a category that you hadn't initially
considered and ALL of your existing photos need to be reexamined
to determine if the category applies (if you *don't* do this,
then the category has very limited practical value as it will
be incomplete).

I had this problem when I originally lumped all my "programming languages"
texts into a single directory -- which quickly became overly cluttered!
"Hmmm.... maybe I should break things down by language?"

Yeah, I don't deal well with audio books. I don't "digest" material as
well when it is read to me. And, I think random access is more tedious;
if I want to skip back a paragraph (or whatever) to doublecheck how
something mentioned there fits with something I'm reading *here*, it's
easier to just glance up and hunt for the information visually.

I particularly dislike the current trend to consider webinars 'documentation'.
It's the lazy way out and my mind tends to wander when people ramble on.

That's one of the reasons I don't watch youtube videos. They are all
terribly amateurish.

*Organize* your thoughts before you present something. Then, *plan*
how you will present it. And, afterwards, edit the result to best
implement this vision! (would *you* want to watch what you've just
created??)

There are lots of instructional DVD's covering art topics. One
particularly good illustrator has a large series of "lectures/demos"
he's prepared on different aspects of drawing human anatomy.
But, the "productions" are terrible! They were apparently recorded
sessions in classes he taught -- so there's lots of background
noise (chairs being dragged across the floor, people coughing,
crickets chirping, etc.). The microphone appears to have just been
placed "somewhere convenient" -- instead of somewhere APPROPRIATE!

Camera angles are lousy -- you end up seeing *him* instead of
the *work* he is preparing.

And, there's a fair bit of an investment (money and time to view!)
in order to benefit from this... mess!

The same is true of many painting videos.

Given the sort of desktop audio/video editing capabilities
available to damn near ANYONE, its silly that you can't shoot
with multiple microphones and cameras and then mix the results
appropriately in post. I.e., make a *professional* presentation
instead of a cheap "hack".

On 1/14/2016 1:13 AM, Don Y wrote:

SNIP

Current Nook offerings at B&N:
http://nook.barnesandnoble.com/u/nook/379003208.
"NOOK GlowLight Plus™" is NOT on the list. of Overdrive supported apps.

I think that's what my friend had. ePaper display. Very small. Wireless
network connection (and little else). I'm pretty sure SWMBO would
NOT like that reading experience.

I may just put something on one of the tablet PC's for her and let her
*try* to read/use it...

I started out ereading on a PC - that required figuring out a bunch of
stuff. Later on, the first Nook was also the first Android device I ever
used and it took some days (and a lot of cussing) to get used to the
Android interface. .IMO the more pieces you can break this exercize into
the better.

re page count - a page number usually stays the same for several
"epages".- you can vary the size of the print in all the ereaders I've
tried = the number of "epages" per page number varies.

Susan
--

On 1/14/2016 9:50 AM, Susan Bugher wrote:
On 1/14/2016 10:35 AM, Don Y wrote:

SNIP

I'm not keen on yet another agency/entity tracking my "interests".

SNIP

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304870304577490950051438304
Your E-Book Is Reading You

http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/10/06/adobe-spying-users-collecting-data-ebook-libraries

There are ways to avoid the spying.

You can never avoid the fact that you downloaded the book.
Nor can you control what any *app* reports back to "Mother".

One advantage of print libraries is you can take a book off a shelf,
walk to a comfortable chair in a corner and *read* it -- without
any record of this activity (including your *visit*!)

We're extremely wary of letting technology into our home *if*
it has a way of talking to the outside world -- by any means
(i.e., no Windows 10, here!).

If I want to listen to a song 300 times, it's none of your
business. I may *love* it. Or, may simply be out of the room
and the player is on endless "repeat".

Big Data can't tell anything from that one event. But, if they
can compile results from, say, 100M people and correlate that
with some *other* observations, they can draw some pretty
astute conclusions -- without understanding *why* there is a
correlation!

[Insert story of teen's dad outraged that Target was sending his
daughter coupons for discounts on baby products: "Maybe you
should ask your DAUGHTER if there's something she's not
telling you before you get irate!" : ]

In the 21st century, *people* will be the products that are marketed
to *vendors*. Expect your TV to tattle on your viewing preferences,
which commercials you sit through/channel surf/take bathroom breaks.
Expect your refrigerator to notice what you're eating -- and what
times of day!

[*I* can tell you when you pee/crap/shower/sleep/eat/recreate/etc]

On 1/14/2016 9:49 AM, Don Y wrote:
On 1/14/2016 6:59 AM, Frank wrote:

I would avoid trying to download a free copy of somebody's swiped copy
of a
book normally for sale. Too much potential for a malicious virus.

Books shouldn't (implicitly) contain executables. So, the only potential
for an "infection" would be a buggy reader implementation. In much
the same way that *photos* don't (implicitly) contain code and any
exploits are the result of poor "viewer" implementations.

Contrast this with PDF's -- which *do* contain "code" (albeit postscript
and/or adobe script).

The "swiped copy" issue should be one of morality/legality. Would you
want someone stealing *your* work?

Nobody will say, I stole this. They just say, here's a free-be. In the
beginning I googled for "free ebooks" and could see where they wanted to
take me and said, no thanks.

BTW, working in industry, I did have some steal my stuff. They took
documents I created and replaced my name with theirs. I was annoyed but
the company was paying me.

On 1/14/2016 2:09 AM, Don Y wrote:
On 1/13/2016 8:19 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/13/2016 04:11 PM, Don Y wrote:
Is the "library" *off* the device? And *not* requiring a connection
to some cloud service? (

Yes, the files are stored locally. I only enable the wireless
connection when
I'm getting a new book from Amazon.

So, what happens when the device is "full"?

You archive them to the B&N or Amazon Library. Can always dl them again
if you want them. Once you buy them they are yours forever but you do
not have to keep them on your device..

On 1/14/2016 11:44 AM, Frank wrote:
On 1/14/2016 9:49 AM, Don Y wrote:
On 1/14/2016 6:59 AM, Frank wrote:

I would avoid trying to download a free copy of somebody's swiped copy
of a
book normally for sale. Too much potential for a malicious virus.

Books shouldn't (implicitly) contain executables. So, the only potential
for an "infection" would be a buggy reader implementation. In much
the same way that *photos* don't (implicitly) contain code and any
exploits are the result of poor "viewer" implementations.

Contrast this with PDF's -- which *do* contain "code" (albeit postscript
and/or adobe script).

The "swiped copy" issue should be one of morality/legality. Would you
want someone stealing *your* work?

Nobody will say, I stole this. They just say, here's a free-be. In the
beginning I googled for "free ebooks" and could see where they wanted to take
me and said, no thanks.

BTW, working in industry, I did have some steal my stuff. They took documents
I created and replaced my name with theirs. I was annoyed but the company was
paying me.

SWMBO used to prepare elaborate financial reports for a hospital, here.
Folks would pass them off as their own. She quickly learned to put
her name on the documents and distribute them to many people (so lots
of "witnesses") and in paper form, only ("white-out"?)

Writing software makes my "product" very easy -- and likely -- to "steal".
Folks don't even bother replacing "my" name with theirs. They just deprive me
of the revenues associated with the sale.

In the late 70's, (arcade) video games were at their hayday. The market
craved new material. Good games were big moneymakers for the "operators"
(the guys who collect the quarters out of the cashboxes).

Many vendors in the orient would literally copy the hardware and
software in a game, make some token changes to the software
so it wasn't an EXPLICIT copy (something along the lines of
"Rac Man" instead of "Pac Man") and then push it out into the market
at a cutrate price. Possible because they had spent *weeks* on
the effort instead of the *years* the original had required!

We ended up developing elaborate schemes of *detecting* counterfeiting
(can't prevent it). Seize a cargo container full of counterfeit product
and the folks who ponied up the cash for them get annoyed, real quick!

On 1/14/2016 11:34 AM, Susan Bugher wrote:
On 1/14/2016 1:13 AM, Don Y wrote:
Current Nook offerings at B&N:
http://nook.barnesandnoble.com/u/nook/379003208.
"NOOK GlowLight Plus™" is NOT on the list. of Overdrive supported apps.

I think that's what my friend had. ePaper display. Very small. Wireless
network connection (and little else). I'm pretty sure SWMBO would
NOT like that reading experience.

I may just put something on one of the tablet PC's for her and let her
*try* to read/use it...

I started out ereading on a PC - that required figuring out a bunch of stuff.

The "figuring out" isn't an issue for SWMBO -- she has a 24/7/365 "technical
support" department "on call"... : :

She just doesn't want to read at her PC. Typically, while seated on the
couch or sitting up in bed. One of my tablet PC's would satisfy the
portability argument but she's not keen on the size *nor* the
technology ("Why can't they just send me a BOOK??!"). She's at a point
where she will either adapt or abandon the library as a source of
reading materials.

I don't mind accessing my technical documents *at* a computer because
I am typically referencing them while *working* on the computer. So,
will want to have a document(s) open on one display(s) while working on
something on another display (I have 7 monitors at my workstation).

I would *not* want to read a novel in this environment. I prefer
to do my leisure reading "in the reading room (with the ornate, white
PORCELAIN chair)", lying on the floor, sitting in the car (waiting
for someone) or in a waiting room (doctor/dentist/hospital/etc).

Later on, the first Nook was also the first Android device I ever used and it
took some days (and a lot of cussing) to get used to the Android interface.
.IMO the more pieces you can break this exercize into the better.

I guess I don't understand the "interface" issue. Once a document is
available, all you really (typically) need to do is flip pages,
forwards or back. (?)

re page count - a page number usually stays the same for several "epages".- you
can vary the size of the print in all the ereaders I've tried = the number of
"epages" per page number varies.

So, are "18,000 pages" the equivalent of 18,000 PRINT pages?? Roughly
36 books (assume 500pp/book)?

On 01/14/2016 03:33 PM, Don Y wrote:

I don't mind accessing my technical documents *at* a computer because
I am typically referencing them while *working* on the computer. So,
will want to have a document(s) open on one display(s) while working on
something on another display (I have 7 monitors at my workstation).

I would *not* want to read a novel in this environment. I prefer
to do my leisure reading "in the reading room (with the ornate, white
PORCELAIN chair)", lying on the floor, sitting in the car (waiting
for someone) or in a waiting room (doctor/dentist/hospital/etc).

Later on, the first Nook was also the first Android device I ever used
and it
took some days (and a lot of cussing) to get used to the Android
interface.
.IMO the more pieces you can break this exercize into the better.

I guess I don't understand the "interface" issue. Once a document is
available, all you really (typically) need to do is flip pages,
forwards or back. (?)

re page count - a page number usually stays the same for several
"epages".- you
can vary the size of the print in all the ereaders I've tried = the
number of
"epages" per page number varies.

So, are "18,000 pages" the equivalent of 18,000 PRINT pages?? Roughly
36 books (assume 500pp/book)?

One problem I've found -- and it may depend on the particular eBook
format and the device on which it's being read -- is the absence of page
numbers. I used an eBook version of a textbook for a class I was
auditing, and when somebody referred to a page number of the "dead-tree
version," I had to ask for a phrase for which I could search to find the
passage under discussion.

Perce

On 1/14/2016 1:52 PM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:

So, are "18,000 pages" the equivalent of 18,000 PRINT pages?? Roughly
36 books (assume 500pp/book)?

One problem I've found -- and it may depend on the particular eBook format and
the device on which it's being read -- is the absence of page numbers. I used
an eBook version of a textbook for a class I was auditing, and when somebody
referred to a page number of the "dead-tree version," I had to ask for a phrase
for which I could search to find the passage under discussion.

Hmmm... I've never considered that! Most of the documents that I'm
converting *from* some ebook format (*to* PDF's) would have
already lost/forfeit any notion of the original page numbers.

I think most ebook formats are like HTML in the sense that they
concentrate on *content*, not *form*.

Maybe I'll try converting a PDF (with VISIBLE page numbers) into
a MOBI/EPUB/etc. and then back again to gauge how things "move"
in the process.

On 1/14/2016 3:33 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 1/14/2016 11:34 AM, Susan Bugher wrote:

Later on, the first Nook was also the first Android device I ever used
and it
took some days (and a lot of cussing) to get used to the Android
interface.
.IMO the more pieces you can break this exercize into the better.

I guess I don't understand the "interface" issue. Once a document is
available, all you really (typically) need to do is flip pages,
forwards or back. (?)

"Once a document is available" is NOT the first step in the process and
I don't have a resident guru.

re page count - a page number usually stays the same for several
"epages".- you
can vary the size of the print in all the ereaders I've tried = the
number of
"epages" per page number varies.

So, are "18,000 pages" the equivalent of 18,000 PRINT pages?? Roughly
36 books (assume 500pp/book)?

dunno if they usually renumber ebook pages or not (and a lot of books
have more that one print edition) but here's a comparison of pages for
one book.

You mentioned in an earlier post:
"For example, a recent read (for me) was _Snow Crash_ -- just under 500pp
in an ~8x10" format."

I have an epub file of that book - from the cover illustration & other
info in the epub file I'm guessing it's based on the "Bantam Spectra
trade paperback reissue / September 2003".

lessee. . . rats - didn't find that paperback version online but. ..
https://books.google.com/books/about/Snow_Crash.html?id=RMd3GpIFxcUC
shows
"Bibliographic information"
"Length 480 pages"

Looking at the epub file (on one of my Nooks) it says 463 pages which is
not a lot different from 480 or your ~ 500 page count.

Susan--

On 2016-01-14 8:07 AM, Don Y wrote:
On 1/13/2016 8:14 PM, Idlehands wrote:
On 2016-01-13 7:52 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 1/13/2016 5:56 PM, Susan Bugher wrote:
First things first. . .

https://www.overdrive.com/
The OverDrive app is one of the top-rated eBook apps available for iOS,
Android, Chromebook, Mac OS, Windows, and Windows Phone.

I suggest you go to YOUR library's site and see what they have to say
about HOW
you can read the type(s) of ebooks they offer.

Virtually all devices are supported -- along with PC/Mac "computers".
As she is NOT interested in reading on a computer (otherwise, any of the
desktops, laptops, tablets or other "appliances" that we have would be
acceptable options), this means getting a *device* that she can use to
fill the role that a print *book* would have filled.

Kobo Aura H2O, waterproof, dustproof 6.8" backlit screen. I have read
18,000
pages last quarter alone. Coming up to it's first anniversay of when I
purchased it it and love it.

How do ebook pages compare to print pages? E.g., can you provide a count
for some (popular) title that I could contrast with a print version?
And, does page count vary based on (chosen) font size?

For example, a recent read (for me) was _Snow Crash_ -- just under 500pp
in an ~8x10" format.


No idea, it's just a stat provided by my Kobo, I just read, I don't
worry about the comparisons.

This is my answer to replacing my paperback library since I have read
them all
to tatters

I've kept about 4 xerox boxes of paperbacks -- those that I reread the
most often or that have some other sentimental attachment. Or, that
are hard to find in other forms or lose much of their appeal in non-paper
forms (e.g., _Letters from the Earth_ --
http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/twain/letearth.htm). Or, have quirky
little illustrations that complement the
"read".

A E van Vogt is my favorite science fiction author (I suspect I have every
title that he's written -- even reissues under different titles!). When
I encounter one of his titles at a used bookstore (increasingly rare),
I simply buy it, reread it and donate it (if I've already got a better
copy in storage). This allows me to reread without having to "wear"
titles out.

(Having said that, some titles simply don't hold up to use; e.g., _The
Yum Yum Book_ was printed on very "stiff" paper so the pages *break* off!)

(Buy the case for it as well).



--

On 2016-01-14 6:18 PM, Idlehands wrote:
On 2016-01-14 8:07 AM, Don Y wrote:
On 1/13/2016 8:14 PM, Idlehands wrote:
On 2016-01-13 7:52 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 1/13/2016 5:56 PM, Susan Bugher wrote:
First things first. . .

https://www.overdrive.com/
The OverDrive app is one of the top-rated eBook apps available for
iOS,
Android, Chromebook, Mac OS, Windows, and Windows Phone.

I suggest you go to YOUR library's site and see what they have to say
about HOW
you can read the type(s) of ebooks they offer.

Virtually all devices are supported -- along with PC/Mac "computers".
As she is NOT interested in reading on a computer (otherwise, any of
the
desktops, laptops, tablets or other "appliances" that we have would be
acceptable options), this means getting a *device* that she can use to
fill the role that a print *book* would have filled.

Kobo Aura H2O, waterproof, dustproof 6.8" backlit screen. I have read
18,000
pages last quarter alone. Coming up to it's first anniversay of when I
purchased it it and love it.

How do ebook pages compare to print pages? E.g., can you provide a count
for some (popular) title that I could contrast with a print version?
And, does page count vary based on (chosen) font size?

For example, a recent read (for me) was _Snow Crash_ -- just under 500pp
in an ~8x10" format.


No idea, it's just a stat provided by my Kobo, I just read, I don't
worry about the comparisons.


As well it was more of a demo that it has been a very dependable device.


--
When Stephen Hawking was asked his IQ he said:

"I have no idea. People who boast about their I.Q. are losers."

On 01/14/2016 08:07 AM, Don Y wrote:

How do ebook pages compare to print pages? E.g., can you provide a count
for some (popular) title that I could contrast with a print version?
And, does page count vary based on (chosen) font size?

Yes, if you choose a larger or smaller font the page is reflowed. There
is a percentage given but not a page count.

This is really apples and codfish since I don't have a book as small as
the Kindle screen, but a Per Wahloo detective story in a English
paperback has about 300 words on a full page. The paperback is 8x5 with
a fairly dense text format. A Asa Larsson mystery (in German) on the
Kindle has about 160 but the Kindle screen is 5x3.5. An English novel
with a little more dialog to break up the page was 150.

I'm not sure it's a meaningful metric. The percentage is equivalent to
looking at a paper book and gauging how far along you are. I believe the
newer models try to predict how long it will take you to finish based on
your reading rate.

On 01/14/2016 08:35 AM, Don Y wrote:
Our library disposes of a LOT of titles! And, it appears to be a somewhat
arbitrary choice. E.g., I'm friendly with the head librarian at one
of the branches. One day, while chatting with her as she "checked in"
titles, I saw her separating the books into two piles.

I volunteered at the library in Dover, NH and one of the tasks was
pruning the stock. There were two or three references books. One was
'Books in Print' and being included in BIP was good. I can't remember
the titles of the other two references but one was essentially 'Books
Every Library Should Have' and the other was similar. Being in those
guaranteed the book was retained. Miss all three and it was a goner.

I thought the BIP criterion was counter intuitive. The out of print
books are those that should be preserved. I scored a complete set of
John Burroughs, a late 19th century naturalist from NY. They hadn't been
checked out in some time and weren't in any of the references.


I questioned her as to why the distinction: "Oh, those haven't seen
much recent readership so they'll go in the discards pile..."

WTF? But, someone just read it! Else you wouldn't be checking it
back in! And, there's lots of empty space on the shelves (in this
branch).

The MPL doesn't have much shelf space. Part of the reason is devoting a
good deal of floor space to audiovisual materials. Again, that's what is
popular along with books with unicorns on the cover. Celine, Hamsun,
Hemingway, hit the road.


I'm not keen on yet another agency/entity tracking my "interests".
The local library opted NOT to comply with the request to track
borrowing patterns (though you know something can surreptitiously be
doing that). Recently, the outsourced their handling of the catalog,
reservations, etc. to a canadian firm. No mention of any privacy
guarantees.

The library supposedly only has records of holds and that you have a
particular book checked out. Bring it back and the record is gone. Or so
they say. I sometimes miss the cards in the pockets where they'd put
your name. Not secure at all but at least I could see at a glance if I'd
read a book. I tend to run through authors I enjoy and can't always
remember the titles I've read. Worse, sometimes I can get 50 pages into
the text before I get the deja vu feeling.

On 01/14/2016 11:41 AM, Don Y wrote:
One advantage of print libraries is you can take a book off a shelf,
walk to a comfortable chair in a corner and *read* it -- without
any record of this activity (including your *visit*!)

At this point in my life it doesn't make too much difference. I've got
the 'I Read Banned Books' button in front of me on the desk. The library
was handing them out during Banned Books Month one year.

On 01/14/2016 08:49 AM, Don Y wrote:
"Circuit Cellar" became a manual for how to ASSEMBLE things many years ago.
It's the nature of the beast; you can't really write much where you
expect your readers to have lots of resources at their disposal!
"Using your scanning electron microscope, locate the gate region
of the FET controlling the output stage. Now, engage the laser
to vaporize the connection from this to the output pin. Then..."
Heck, I suspect many of its readers can't use a soldering iron -- esp
on SMT devices!

It's a nostalgia thing for me. Back in the days of Byte Ciarcia's column
was my favorite. I don't know how well I would do with SMT. You have to
see it to solder it. I was happier back when processors had 40 pins on a
..100 grid that I could wire wrap on the kitchen table. Or even whip up a
circuit board that wasn't 10 layers with more vias than Rome.

On 01/14/2016 11:31 AM, Don Y wrote:
Then, if she's got a photo of some BIRDS chasing a COYOTE
alongside a ROCKy RIVERbed at SUNSET, she can choose to apply
ALL of those tags to that picture. Later, if she's looking for
examples of "sunsets", she can search for photos tagged with
"atmosphere" and find this photo -- along with umpteen gazillion
others.

Great -- in theory. In practice, its almost impossible to use!

I've never had a lot of interest in photography but when the digital
cameras came out I started carrying one. I've got a great collection of
mountain tops, waterfalls, canyons, alpine lakes, and so forth. I can
identify about 20% of the locations. Geotagging would be nice but I'm
too much of a Luddite.

On 01/14/2016 11:44 AM, Frank wrote:
Nobody will say, I stole this. They just say, here's a free-be. In the
beginning I googled for "free ebooks" and could see where they wanted to
take me and said, no thanks.


http://ereadernewstoday.com/

This is legitimate. You can sign up to get a daily email of free or 99
cent ebooks. Some are first time authors, others are better established
authors that Amazon has discounted for whatever reason. Many are worth
exactly what you paid for them but I've hit several authors that I
enjoy. Often the author will have several follow-on books that may be
$2.99 or $3.99, with the first one free.

That's one thing I enjoy about eBooks. In a way it can be like a vanity
press. On the other hand a fledgling author can get his work out,
develop a following and hone his craft rather than waiting to win the
publishing house lottery while filling his mailbox with rejection slips.

On 1/14/2016 8:46 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/14/2016 08:35 AM, Don Y wrote:
Our library disposes of a LOT of titles! And, it appears to be a somewhat
arbitrary choice. E.g., I'm friendly with the head librarian at one
of the branches. One day, while chatting with her as she "checked in"
titles, I saw her separating the books into two piles.

I volunteered at the library in Dover, NH and one of the tasks was pruning the
stock. There were two or three references books. One was 'Books in Print' and
being included in BIP was good. I can't remember the titles of the other two
references but one was essentially 'Books Every Library Should Have' and the
other was similar. Being in those guaranteed the book was retained. Miss all
three and it was a goner.

It's nowhere near as "consistent"/predictable, here. It's as if
the staff have an incentive to get rid of titles -- generate "need"!

I thought the BIP criterion was counter intuitive. The out of print books are
those that should be preserved. I scored a complete set of John Burroughs, a
late 19th century naturalist from NY. They hadn't been checked out in some time
and weren't in any of the references.

SWMBO's art book library was largely acquired from discards. Many of the
titles are currently selling for high prices on Amazon, ABE, etc.
(lots of "color plates" make them expensive to produce)

I questioned her as to why the distinction: "Oh, those haven't seen
much recent readership so they'll go in the discards pile..."

WTF? But, someone just read it! Else you wouldn't be checking it
back in! And, there's lots of empty space on the shelves (in this
branch).

The MPL doesn't have much shelf space. Part of the reason is devoting a good
deal of floor space to audiovisual materials. Again, that's what is popular
along with books with unicorns on the cover. Celine, Hamsun, Hemingway, hit the
road.

Branch libraries tend to be ~10,000 sq ft. Some closer to 5, others around
20. But, the trend seems to be "lots of open space" (instead of lots
of closely packed stacks).

Things like DVD's and CD's are treated much like books -- but not too much
"on the shelves". E.g., the branch at which I pick up my reserves probably
has 2 or 3% of the stacks devoted to audio/video media. Lots of "behind
the scenes" space for "processing". Plus, conference rooms that are
available for public use. Plus a large (~2000 sq ft) "function room"
that can be reserved for certain functions. And, a slew of PC's
(probably 30?).

Any "technical" material is limited to Windows XXX (whatever is current)
how-to's. I suspect even math and science books are pretty lame/generic.

OTOH, the University is nearby and, aside from the hassles of PARKING,
accessible (though to checkout books you need to buy a $35/annual
card -- as a "non student")

I'm not keen on yet another agency/entity tracking my "interests".
The local library opted NOT to comply with the request to track
borrowing patterns (though you know something can surreptitiously be
doing that). Recently, the outsourced their handling of the catalog,
reservations, etc. to a canadian firm. No mention of any privacy
guarantees.

The library supposedly only has records of holds and that you have a particular
book checked out. Bring it back and the record is gone. Or so they say. I

With a third party performing these functions, there are no guarantees
as to *what* they keep. Nor what criteria apply to its disclosure.

sometimes miss the cards in the pockets where they'd put your name. Not secure
at all but at least I could see at a glance if I'd read a book. I tend to run

As can anyone else who takes the book! :

through authors I enjoy and can't always remember the titles I've read. Worse,
sometimes I can get 50 pages into the text before I get the deja vu feeling.

My favorite author is A E van Vogt. Many of his stories are surprisingly
similar. Others are "reissues" under different names, etc. So, I may be
considerably invested in a story with a nagging feeling that I've read
it before -- and, it can go either way: it could be a story I've read
under a different title; *or*, can be a different story with similar
characters, setting, etc.

But, as long as I "enjoy the ride", who cares?

On 1/14/2016 8:58 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/14/2016 11:31 AM, Don Y wrote:
Then, if she's got a photo of some BIRDS chasing a COYOTE
alongside a ROCKy RIVERbed at SUNSET, she can choose to apply
ALL of those tags to that picture. Later, if she's looking for
examples of "sunsets", she can search for photos tagged with
"atmosphere" and find this photo -- along with umpteen gazillion
others.

Great -- in theory. In practice, its almost impossible to use!

I've never had a lot of interest in photography but when the digital cameras
came out I started carrying one.

I use a digital camera to save typing. Easier for me to snap a photo,
shrink it to emailable size and send it as an attachment to a message
than it would be to try to describe a lot of things. E.g., to illustrate
how far from the house the water flowing *off* the roof falls as it
SHOOTS past the edge of the roof. A numerical measurement wouldn't
be anywhere near as impressive as seeing a sheet of water defying gravity
as it moves *sideways* instead of *down*!

A friend once observed that I only take pictures of *things*, not *people*.
My reply, "Of course! I *know* what these PEOPLE look like! And, if I
were to describe them to you, I surely wouldn't fixate on their *appearance*
but, rather, their relationship(s) to me, etc. How would I photograph
*that*?"

When I undertake a car repair, I find the camera a great expedient
to track which bolts came off of which mechanism, etc. Or, recording how
cables were dressed.

Likewise when I repair someone's laptop (as each one seems to be
different and filled with assorted bits of varying dimensions, etc.)

I've got a great collection of mountain tops,
waterfalls, canyons, alpine lakes, and so forth. I can identify about 20% of
the locations. Geotagging would be nice but I'm too much of a Luddite.

She's usually not interested in where/when a photo was taken.
Rather, she's captured the "texture" of water running over a
submerged rock. Or, a cloud pattern. Or, sky color. Or, what
some particular creature looks like. I.e., something that she
can use as a "model" for a drawing/painting without having to
be *there*, again.

On 1/14/2016 8:54 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/14/2016 08:49 AM, Don Y wrote:
"Circuit Cellar" became a manual for how to ASSEMBLE things many years ago.
It's the nature of the beast; you can't really write much where you
expect your readers to have lots of resources at their disposal!
"Using your scanning electron microscope, locate the gate region
of the FET controlling the output stage. Now, engage the laser
to vaporize the connection from this to the output pin. Then..."
Heck, I suspect many of its readers can't use a soldering iron -- esp
on SMT devices!

It's a nostalgia thing for me. Back in the days of Byte Ciarcia's column was my
favorite. I don't know how well I would do with SMT. You have to see it to
solder it.

Well, sort of. I have a steromicroscope that I use to place components
(I think 7x to 30X) and a Leister hot air iron for one-offs and repairs.
But, I now prefer to come up with designs that I can use to solve multiple
projects (differential stuffing options) -- mainly to make it affordable
for me to have the boards produced (cost of QTY 4 is essentially the
same as QTY 10... which is almost the same as QTY 100!).

E.g., each time I finish a "proof of concept" prototype for some component
of my automation system, I make a note of what hardware resources were
required. Then, dismantle the prototype, using its parts to build the NEXT
prototype. When done with all of the designs (there are, conceptually,
22 designs involved), I'll see how much I can combine into "universal"
designs so I can reduce the number of different designs AND increase the
quantities (discounts!) to make my life easier (and control the overall
cost better).

I was happier back when processors had 40 pins on a ..100 grid that

I still keep a collection of "legacy" components -- to repair old designs
as well as throw together "one-offs" (where performance is not an issue but
ease of prototyping would be.

I could wire wrap on the kitchen table.

I've got my Gardner Denver WW gun. Plus a slit-and-strip bit (insert
kynar wire and it cuts it to length as well as stripping insulation
*as* it wraps).

Or even whip up a circuit board that
wasn't 10 layers with more vias than Rome.

You'd be amused by the design for my "network speaker". Several TINY
boards in a sandwich -- so the total volume/shape resembles a duplex
receptacle (so I can cram it into a 1 gang Jbox!). No doubt, someone
with deeper pockets (and HUGE volumes!) could make it cheaper and possibly
*half* the size (but no smaller!). But, I'm not in the retail market so
why waste my re$ource$ just to prove I can do it??!

Time to pull the biscotti out of the oven...

On 01/14/2016 10:24 PM, Don Y wrote:
Branch libraries tend to be ~10,000 sq ft. Some closer to 5, others around
20. But, the trend seems to be "lots of open space" (instead of lots
of closely packed stacks).

The only branch library I've dealt with was at Ajo. It's a branch of the
Tucson library even though the mothership is 110 miles away. There was a
librarian, Lily Salazar, who had very long arms. There wasn't much I
asked for that she couldn't produce through ILL, even if it had to
trickle in from Texas on pony Express. She died, all too young, and it
hasn't been the same since.

On 01/14/2016 10:45 PM, Don Y wrote:
I've got my Gardner Denver WW gun. Plus a slit-and-strip bit (insert
kynar wire and it cuts it to length as well as stripping insulation
*as* it wraps).

I've got a slit and strip stashed away. That certainly was a nice feature.

On 1/14/2016 5:08 PM, Susan Bugher wrote:
On 1/14/2016 3:33 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 1/14/2016 11:34 AM, Susan Bugher wrote:

Later on, the first Nook was also the first Android device I ever used
and it
took some days (and a lot of cussing) to get used to the Android
interface.
.IMO the more pieces you can break this exercize into the better.

I guess I don't understand the "interface" issue. Once a document is
available, all you really (typically) need to do is flip pages,
forwards or back. (?)

"Once a document is available" is NOT the first step in the process and I don't
have a resident guru.

grin One of the essential criteria *if* you want to have a "snappy comeback"
for the times she grumbles about all the bits of technology around the house!
("Yeah, but *you* never have computer problems like all your friends!")

re page count - a page number usually stays the same for several
"epages".- you
can vary the size of the print in all the ereaders I've tried = the
number of
"epages" per page number varies.

So, are "18,000 pages" the equivalent of 18,000 PRINT pages?? Roughly
36 books (assume 500pp/book)?

dunno if they usually renumber ebook pages or not (and a lot of books have more
that one print edition) but here's a comparison of pages for one book.

You mentioned in an earlier post:
"For example, a recent read (for me) was _Snow Crash_ -- just under 500pp
in an ~8x10" format."

I have an epub file of that book - from the cover illustration & other info in
the epub file I'm guessing it's based on the "Bantam Spectra trade paperback
reissue / September 2003".

lessee. . . rats - didn't find that paperback version online but. ..
https://books.google.com/books/about/Snow_Crash.html?id=RMd3GpIFxcUC
shows
"Bibliographic information"
"Length 480 pages"

Looking at the epub file (on one of my Nooks) it says 463 pages which is not a
lot different from 480 or your ~ 500 page count.

So, *that* page count seems to correlate. Still uncertain as to the meaning
of IdleHands' count (not that it matters).

Time for the second bake - before they get too hard!

On 01/14/2016 10:33 PM, Don Y wrote:
When I undertake a car repair, I find the camera a great expedient
to track which bolts came off of which mechanism, etc. Or, recording how
cables were dressed.

That does beat a crude sketch on the back of whatever I had laying around.

She's usually not interested in where/when a photo was taken.
Rather, she's captured the "texture" of water running over a
submerged rock. Or, a cloud pattern. Or, sky color. Or, what
some particular creature looks like. I.e., something that she
can use as a "model" for a drawing/painting without having to
be *there*, again.

I don't do art so it's more about remembering the day. If I can remember
where it was. Some I certainly can like Muir Rock at Kings Canyon or the
goats I met on the trail at Mt. Aneas. Other times I've seen too many
waterfalls and mountain vistas unless they're really memorable ones.

On 1/14/2016 11:04 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/14/2016 10:24 PM, Don Y wrote:
Branch libraries tend to be ~10,000 sq ft. Some closer to 5, others around
20. But, the trend seems to be "lots of open space" (instead of lots
of closely packed stacks).

The only branch library I've dealt with was at Ajo. It's a branch of the Tucson
library even though the mothership is 110 miles away.

Yeah, it's a suburb of Los Angeles...

There was a librarian,
Lily Salazar, who had very long arms. There wasn't much I asked for that she
couldn't produce through ILL, even if it had to trickle in from Texas on pony
Express. She died, all too young, and it hasn't been the same since.

From what I've gathered, the trick is to make sure it can be located
via WorldCat. Then, hope they have ILL privileges with one (or more)
of the institutions holding copies.

I've been told an ILL is ~$70. Not sure if those are direct *fees*
that the library absorbs (payable to the lender?) *or* if that's
what some bean-counter figured the cost of staff+resources divided
by number of ILLs worked out to... In either case, I figure this is
a resource that my tax dollars fund, so why not exploit it?

Presently looking for two documents that aren't present in WorldCat.
Had to track down author -- in Sweden. Now, spending a LOT of time
trying to prune my request down to the barest essentials -- but no
smaller (paraphrasing AEinstein). Author is ~70-ish and articles
are ~40 years old. So, this is going to be a real stretch! Don't
want to ask too much and get NOTHING ("too much effort to answer");
but, also don't want to omit some key question that I might never
get a SECOND chance to ask!

On 1/14/2016 11:06 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/14/2016 10:45 PM, Don Y wrote:
I've got my Gardner Denver WW gun. Plus a slit-and-strip bit (insert
kynar wire and it cuts it to length as well as stripping insulation
*as* it wraps).

I've got a slit and strip stashed away. That certainly was a nice feature.

My gun was a graduation gift from a buddy I worked with.
So, despite rarely (never?) needing it, I keep it tucked away.

I also have a delightful pair of needlenose that have been
machined inthe jaws to *perfectly* strip #30AWG kynar.
Even better than NoNiks!

Always terrified that, someday, I would forget they are a precision
tool and use them to tighten a nut or something :

On 1/14/2016 11:12 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/14/2016 10:33 PM, Don Y wrote:
When I undertake a car repair, I find the camera a great expedient
to track which bolts came off of which mechanism, etc. Or, recording how
cables were dressed.

That does beat a crude sketch on the back of whatever I had laying around.

A neighbor gave me the idea of using a digital camera to document
things. I'd never been much of a camera buff. But, once he
brought the idea up and made me realize I never had to "develop"
any film (i.e., ENDLESS PHOTOS!), it was like getting slapped in the head
with a brick: d'uh!

She's usually not interested in where/when a photo was taken.
Rather, she's captured the "texture" of water running over a
submerged rock. Or, a cloud pattern. Or, sky color. Or, what
some particular creature looks like. I.e., something that she
can use as a "model" for a drawing/painting without having to
be *there*, again.

I don't do art so it's more about remembering the day. If I can remember where
it was. Some I certainly can like Muir Rock at Kings Canyon or the goats I met
on the trail at Mt. Aneas. Other times I've seen too many waterfalls and
mountain vistas unless they're really memorable ones.

I don't rely on photos to preserve "(personally) important things".
I figure if they are important, I'll remember them. If not, then
I won't!

E.g., I can distinctly remember watching a sea turtle lay eggs
on the beach when I was ~5. Damn thing felt as big as *me*!
How could I possibly forget a thing like that?

OTOH, I doubt I could remember 1/4 of the names of the kids
in any of my grade school classes! shrug Haven't seen
any of them in 30+ years so why would their names "stick"?

OToOH, I can remember the date of birth of my best friend from college
and that's just as ancient!

Second bake is done. Yippee! Now I can get back to work...

On 1/14/2016 8:31 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/14/2016 08:07 AM, Don Y wrote:

How do ebook pages compare to print pages? E.g., can you provide a count
for some (popular) title that I could contrast with a print version?
And, does page count vary based on (chosen) font size?

Yes, if you choose a larger or smaller font the page is reflowed. There is a
percentage given but not a page count.

This is really apples and codfish since I don't have a book as small as the

Isn't it about the size of a "pocketbook"?

Kindle screen, but a Per Wahloo detective story in a English paperback has
about 300 words on a full page. The paperback is 8x5 with a fairly dense text
format. A Asa Larsson mystery (in German) on the Kindle has about 160 but the
Kindle screen is 5x3.5.

Wow! Are you sure about that size? Hell, that's barely larger than an
INDEX CARD!

An English novel with a little more dialog to break up
the page was 150.

I'm not sure it's a meaningful metric. The percentage is equivalent to looking
at a paper book and gauging how far along you are. I believe the newer models
try to predict how long it will take you to finish based on your reading rate.

For me, the issue would be how often you were "flipping" pages.
The typical 1.5 - 2" thick paperbacks that seem to be the norm,
nowadays, take me about 1.5 - 2 minutes to read a verso and recto page
before having to "flip". An ereader would halve that time just because
it only shows recto pages.

But, if the pages are considerably smaller (due to screen size of
lack of display resolution at "typical" typeface sizes), then
it could be even faster!

On 01/15/2016 04:58 AM, Don Y wrote:
Wow! Are you sure about that size? Hell, that's barely larger than an
INDEX CARD!

That's what is affectionately known as a 6" screen. 4 7/8 high is a more
accurate measurement. The Paperwhite is 300 ppi for 1440 x 1080, while
the keyboard is 167 ppi for 600 x 800. I haven't seen a Paperwhite in
the flesh so I don't know how much the higher resolution buys you.

The SONY Digital Paper DPT-S1 is A4 size with 1600 x 1200 resolution.
It's also around $800 and I don't know if it does anything other than
pdf's.

On 1/15/2016 8:15 AM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/15/2016 04:58 AM, Don Y wrote:
Wow! Are you sure about that size? Hell, that's barely larger than an
INDEX CARD!

That's what is affectionately known as a 6" screen. 4 7/8 high is a more
accurate measurement.

Sheesh! I think I have 10-15 year old PDAs with screens bigger than that!

The Paperwhite is 300 ppi for 1440 x 1080, while the
keyboard is 167 ppi for 600 x 800. I haven't seen a Paperwhite in the flesh so
I don't know how much the higher resolution buys you.

The SONY Digital Paper DPT-S1 is A4 size with 1600 x 1200 resolution. It's also
around $800 and I don't know if it does anything other than pdf's.

I suspect that is probably overkill. IIRC, my tablet PC's are 1024x768 (?)
at 12" (just as large as the "active" portion of most sheets of paper)
and I rarely have to zoom to see additional detail.

As it's a PC, it's not limited to ereader functionality -- nor a specific
set of ebook formats (having a single function device, nowadays, seems
pretty crippling). E.g., I presently have one in it's "dock" connected
to four external USB drives serving their contents to my "NAS-RAID"
over SMB shares. A BT keyboard and BT mouse let me use it as a
computer when not acting as a file service.

Take it out of the dock and it's back to being my ebook reader.

(Unfortunately, I only have *one* dock so other tablet sits in a small
carrying case)

On 1/15/2016 10:15 AM, rbowman wrote:
On 01/15/2016 04:58 AM, Don Y wrote:

Wow! Are you sure about that size? Hell, that's barely larger than an
INDEX CARD!

That's what is affectionately known as a 6" screen. 4 7/8 high is a more
accurate measurement. The Paperwhite is 300 ppi for 1440 x 1080, while
the keyboard is 167 ppi for 600 x 800. I haven't seen a Paperwhite in
the flesh so I don't know how much the higher resolution buys you.

The SONY Digital Paper DPT-S1 is A4 size with 1600 x 1200 resolution.
It's also around $800 and I don't know if it does anything other than
pdf's.

Nope - PDF only. Thanks for mentioning the Sony. You inspired me to do
a bit of browsing - found a nice web site that lists supported formats
for e ink ereaders (but not for color ereaders).

http://www.the-ebook-reader.com/
http://www.the-ebook-reader.com/ebook-reader-comparison.html
http://www.the-ebook-reader.com/large-ebook-readers.html

Lots of other info too - reviews, recommendations. . .

Susan
--

On 1/15/2016 10:47 AM, Susan Bugher wrote:
On 1/15/2016 10:15 AM, rbowman wrote:

The SONY Digital Paper DPT-S1 is A4 size with 1600 x 1200 resolution.
It's also around $800 and I don't know if it does anything other than
pdf's.

Nope - PDF only. Thanks for mentioning the Sony. You inspired me to do a bit
of browsing - found a nice web site that lists supported formats for e ink
ereaders (but not for color ereaders).

http://www.the-ebook-reader.com/
http://www.the-ebook-reader.com/ebook-reader-comparison.html
http://www.the-ebook-reader.com/large-ebook-readers.html

Lots of other info too - reviews, recommendations. . .

Thanks, Susan, I'll chase down the links and see if it helps me
sort out the "mess". I suspect SWMBO won't be happy with *any*
of these options ("Why can't I just have a BOOK??!")