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I want one that will accept lots of sources without any sort of conversions or add-in applications.
Also, one that doesn't have a vested interest beyond selling me the device and making me happy so I eventually am a repeat customer.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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I have a Kindle (only second generation), which is connected to the internet (via wifi) only when I allow it. I can read anything that is loaded on it anywhere. I can create documents and email them to Kindle to get them downloaded onto the reader. I can read other e-books in mobi format quite happily. I also have the Kindle reader on my PC and iPad and can sync any book with those devices if I want. All in all one of the most useful PC type devices I ever bought.
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Kindle, though apparently leading the pack in visibility and customer base, seems to be every more connected with each generation to Amazon.
I really plan on working with the enormous and growing Gutenberg Project offerings.
I've read all-too-much about having to email oneself the data and having to have add-on applications in order to convert and(or) read them even then.
More or less, Amazon is following Apple's model, or so "they" say, locking one ever more exclusively to their environment. At least that's how it seems according to more recent purchasers' complaints
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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That has not been my experience. As I said, mine is one of only the second generation devices, so it does not do much apart from provide a brilliant e-reader. And (AFAIK) most Gutenberg books are available in Kindle format. For less than $100 it is hard to beat. My suggestion would be to try the one of the free Kindle apps[^] and see if that works for what you want.
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The following is amongst the things I find troubling.
Why Amazon is within its rights to remove access to your Kindle books | ZDNet[^]
There are other articles with all sorts of shenanigans inflicted upon users.
What I want is an e-reader that I can use in the daylight. That reads a lot of the formats currently available and both it and it's contents are mine. Maybe I'll have to wait until the eInk screens are available on something with a real O/S .
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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People would much rather read about "big bad Amazon", than some insignificant person who broke the T&C that they promised to abide by. How about checking the number of customers world-wide who have Kindles and never have a problem?
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I was going to suggest a Kobo (Aura in my case), as I don't connect it to the internet - but on checking, it did require an initial connection when setting up. I forget if it required a credit card, but I did in fact treat myself to one paid-for book, so had to supply one in my case. However, if you bought a second-hand one that someone else had set up, you would never need to connect it again. I use it mainly for library books.
That said, the authorisation (via Adobe Digital Editions, no choice in the matter, that's what our local library system uses) has been playing up (to put it mildly) lately, and it appears Kobo can't be bothered to sort it out.
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I've been using an Astak EZ Reader since...2009 or so.
No internet. Paper not-quite-White screen. Battery lasts forever. (Have fun finding a replacement, though. I gave up and just use an outboard battery "charging bank thingie.)
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I've been using a kindle (paperwhite) for years, it is a great device, and only connect to the internet when buying new books.
I'd rather be phishing!
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Kindle Paperwhite.
it doesn't make you jump through any hoops. i've never been asked for a CC. it does integrate with your Amazon account, which is great because you can just buy books when you want to, and not have to screw around typing CC #s from your bed. i turn off wifi to save battery life, and only turn it on when i need to get a new book. does Amazon know which books i read? yes. also, i buy them all through Amazon so they know twice! ZOMG.
Gutenberg stuff is a manual process (connect via USB and drop the files onto the Kindle device).
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I think the best e-readers are Samsung Note Tablets that are a model that is 2 or 3 years old. The new models are just too expensive for a reader. The older models still have AMOLED high resolution screens. They are much easier to read than any current model e-readers. Get them new or refurbished and the price will beat most new models with decent screens.
This is also true of other brands. Just look around.
So many years of programming I have forgotten more languages than I know.
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Tablets, so far as I've seen, aren't very useful out in the bright daylight or in a sunny place.
You're totally right that a table would solve basically all the problems, except the one that is my point of even considering an e-read: something usable in broad daylight.
However, if you know of a table or something similar whose visibility is not wiped out by bright light, I'd be glad to know.
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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What you said about bright daylight is true of LCD tablets. You have never used one with AMOLEDs. I use mine outside all the time. All many cell phones today use them for this reason. Especially the premium ones. They cost more and are only found in the premium tablets. To make prices reasonable is why I go for older models.
So many years of programming I have forgotten more languages than I know.
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Following your suggestion I looked into AMOLED's and came up with the following:
Tablet Displays Under Bright Ambient Lighting Shoot-Out[^]
It's right across the board with these supposedly outdoor/daylight friendly models.
It took until now to reply as yesterday, when I found this, your post was stuck in moderation.
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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How many people here are having theirs via Zoom? 
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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When they had them in an open bar they rented for the afternoon through early evening, I had the glorious pleasure of being assigned as the photographer. We're talking 300-400 shots/hour in a crowded bar full of drunks wanting their photos taken in groups that keep adding people one by one as they see what's going on - ad nauseam. Often people who shunned their image being captured when sober - and one Fat Mother-F***er senior manager even threatening my job if I took his picture and etc. etc. etc. A few years ago I stopped going.
Also, there was no vegetarian friendly food so I went hungry whilst everyone else partied and fed. My alcohol capacity is low so we're looking at a few beers (although did get some damn good beer a few times).
So, this year I won't go to the party they're not having, either. Hopefully the holiday bonu$ is still forthcoming (typically 1 wks pay).
| Ravings en masse^ |
|---|
| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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No parties here, we are just computer monks slaving away in isolation 
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Obligatory xkcd: Christmas Plans 
Does that make Christmas a moveable feast?
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Holy Halloweenerschnitzel!
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AFAIK we're just not having one. The Zoom happy hours they tried in March/April were poorly attended; and that was that.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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nope, small bonus, no party, perfect!
To err is human to really mess up you need a computer
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I see my laptop crashing in the near future. It should take me a couple of hours to find the power button. 
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Guilty.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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a huge waist of space?
“Give a man a program, frustrate him for a day. Teach a man to program, frustrate him for a lifetime.”
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