July 4, 2008
Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device
- Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper.
- Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
- Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
- Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
- More than 130,000 books available, including more than 98 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.
- New York Times® Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise.
- Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.
- Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
- Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
- More than 300 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN’s Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post—all updated wirelessly throughout the day.
- Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
- Holds over 200 titles.
- Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.
- Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.
- No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—we take care of the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read.
- Includes free wireless access to the planet’s most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.
- Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.
- Included in the box: Kindle wireless reader, Book cover, Power adapter, USB 2.0 cable
Posted in Uncategorized, gadgets 
No Comments »
July 4, 2008
Now that I’m going to the gym, I do get a bit bored on that bike for 20 minutes. So I’ve been thinking about an MP3 Player. Well, oh my god, I just did some research on the internet. I don’t see any use for just music. There is music at the gym. I wanted maybe something that would play podcasts. Well they say MP3s play podcasts except that the very word podcast comes from the Apple Ipod. So do I need an Ipod?
Then looking further and ignoring costs, they now have MP3 players which can store photos, videos, audio and just about anything else you might want. Are MP3 players now competing against mobiles. Why would you need both, especially if you have a G3 mobile.
They are so enticing though, and I haven’t even looked at blackberries yet. Still don’t know how they differ. Is the world going mad?
I think I’ll end up going to my local store and buying an old ipod so I can download podcasts I want to hear.
If I got something that showed me TV as well as everything else and which was a mobile as well, I’d never have to leave my bed. Now I know why kids are getting obese. I thought it was just computer games and those Nintendo things. But no, my son just bought an Xbox something and he is 24.
I feel overwhelmed with choice. Too much choice can be very stressful. I hate this form of capitalism.
Terry Lane ( my guru on cameras and gadgets) has reviewed both SanDisk Sansa View 16 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)
and Sony 8GB Digital Music Player - Pink (NWZA728PNK)
Terry Lane, Green Guide, The Age, Thursday, July 3, 2008
These MP3 Players are much more sophisticated than I was contemplating for myself, but if you want more than just music have a look at these links.
Posted in gadgets, personal, podcasting No Comments »
July 2, 2008
Let’s face it. Most of us do not make money on the internet. Maybe a bit of pocket money. So why do we blog and design websites and learn photoshop, paintshop pro, css, java, xhtml? In my case, it’s an intellectual exercise for my retirement years. I love learning about computers and web design. However, I have never done a course in computers or IT. There are big gaps in my knowledge and sometimes you discover a really simple function that everyone else has learned years ago.
Not working in the IT industry has its drawbacks too. You can’t keep up, despite all the reading one might do of the daily papers and the IT blogs around.
Well, I found out about utorrent and bittorrent last month. My son had had bittorrent on my computer for years and I never knew what it was. I’d ask and get a rather vague response. Aren’t they little buggers?
So I had a look. I didn’t want music though. I wanted software. I tried it out I must admit, but the time it took to download was too long and wasted pretty well all of my broadband allocation for the month. I can’t afford unlimited broadband. So much for that idea. Maybe I should go for DSL. One of the results was that I didn’t want to write too many posts here.
Last month too my monitor expired. My so called new computer was now becoming obsolete. I bought a new one and this month my mouse died too. It was impossible to use. So I got another one and at least they don’t cost as much as the monitors do. My digital camera too is completely obsolete. Why did I get the first ones that came out at astronomical prices? Now you can buy mobile phones which have a higher pixel count than the camera I have.
I was needing some ink too for the printer. Guess what? For this printer which had one of the first photo printing capabilities and which cost a lot, the ink is becoming more and more difficult to source.
I feel left behind. I feel obsolete. I feel annoyed. No longer can I afford such things as Ipods, mobiles, Xboxes, laptops. And now I need an ipod. I see them all the time at my local gym, which I joined last month. At least I’m getting a bit fitter while my blogging has suffered.
And you don’t know how to plan for the future either. Especially during this economic depression. I dare not look at my superannuation account. But one can’t plan for the future technologically either. I hear vague mutterings about the desktop computer being a thing of the past. Is everyone designing for mobiles alone and blackberries (or whatever they are)
Perhaps it’s time to go on ebay and sell all my heirlooms so I can get that plasma TV. But even then, my generation doesn’t really have them. I use my mobile as an alarm clock and for emergencies. We really don’t want or need plasma TVs. We will have to go digital TV shortly however. God, I hope the local nursing home has computers. I couldn’t go back to cards and knitting now.
Hopefully, now that my mouse works I’ll have some more tutorials soon. It was impossible to use photoshop with such a dud mouse.
Computers, gadgets, cameras, printers? How capitalists make millions building in obsolescence.
Posted in blogging, computers, personal 1 Comment »
June 19, 2008
Drop box is in beta format still and you need to apply to use it.
Here’s what it does.
Super fast
We’re obsessed with performance every step of the way.
Effortless sync
Changes to your files are instantly synced across your computers.
Works like you do
No complicated interface to learn.
It’s seamlessly integrated into your desktop.
Always accessible
All of your stuff is available via the web, so you can get it no matter where you are.
Share the love
Invite friends and family to a shared folder for easy collaboration around files.
Don’t worry about it
Make a mistake?
You can undelete files or restore old versions in a snap.
Posted in computers, social networking 2 Comments »
June 16, 2008
Look, I don’t know whether I’d join this new one. It is called weblin. Avatars talking to avatars? How virtual do you want to go?
Here is what weblin offers:
Meet your friends and new people on every website!
Weblin makes you and others on the Web visible as small avatars. There are others on the same page you are on right now. Weblin opens a new and exciting world on every web site.
Get to know people with the same interests.
Do you want to enter this world? Get your personal weblin now!
Perhaps those millions on Second Life would like this sort of thing. For me it is a bit of a concern. People can disguise themselves very well with an avatar. Who would we be talking to. We just wouldn’t know.
Posted in social networking, software 2 Comments »
content rss
Recent Comments