This is now available on Amazon.

Kindle for PC


Very cool, the ability to sync with my hardware Kindle is an awesome addition to an already awesome product...

[edit] - the above link appears to be broken, but if you go to the homepage for the Kindle Store on amazon you should be able to see the download information. [/edit]

jimbo45 said:

Hi there

It's good that more and more apps are W7 compatable - but much as I like working with computers I don't think that books will ever be a really good application for running on a computer -- just how would you read them in Bed, on the beach or even sitting on the bog.

I'm also not convinced about the same future for Newspapers. - Ever tried the Paris, NY or London Subway in the rush hour -- and you want to read a book using a computer.

I suspect that unlike mobile phones even the new "e-book" display type of hardware won't really be very successful.

Nice idea but really too impracticable for serious readers.

Cheers
jimbo

I agree - there's a lot more to reading a book than just the words. It's the feel of the paper, the heft of the book, the smell of the ink... all contribute to the experience.

{soapbox}
One other practical consideration - books on paper last. Books on electronic media have a limited life. Sound odd? Look up what happened when they digitized a book from Norman times in England a decade or two ago. Now there are no computers that can read the copy, but the original, from the 10th century, is still usable.

Still not convinced? How do you read your ZIP and JAZ drive disks? Your 5 1/4 floppies? Your 3.5 floppies? Your 7 or 9 track tapes?

Sometimes you just gotta kill a tree, or scratch a rock.

http://www.longnow.org/about/

{climbs down off soap box, creaking and muttering}

jimbo45 said:

Hi there

It's good that more and more apps are W7 compatable - but much as I like working with computers I don't think that books will ever be a really good application for running on a computer -- just how would you read them in Bed, on the beach or even sitting on the bog.

I'm also not convinced about the same future for Newspapers. - Ever tried the Paris, NY or London Subway in the rush hour -- and you want to read a book using a computer.

I suspect that unlike mobile phones even the new "e-book" display type of hardware won't really be very successful.

Nice idea but really too impracticable for serious readers.

Cheers
jimbo

I agree. I don't think a laptop/touch PC is the way to go for a reading experience-especially for serious readers.

I think the Kindle should have stopped just there-the Kindle...they invented that device partly because leisure reading on a computer is not fun.

TheSchaft said:

jimbo45 said:

Hi there

It's good that more and more apps are W7 compatable - but much as I like working with computers I don't think that books will ever be a really good application for running on a computer -- just how would you read them in Bed, on the beach or even sitting on the bog.

I'm also not convinced about the same future for Newspapers. - Ever tried the Paris, NY or London Subway in the rush hour -- and you want to read a book using a computer.

I suspect that unlike mobile phones even the new "e-book" display type of hardware won't really be very successful.

Nice idea but really too impracticable for serious readers.

Cheers
jimbo

I agree - there's a lot more to reading a book than just the words. It's the feel of the paper, the heft of the book, the smell of the ink... all contribute to the experience.

{soapbox}
One other practical consideration - books on paper last. Books on electronic media have a limited life. Sound odd? Look up what happened when they digitized a book from Norman times in England a decade or two ago. Now there are no computers that can read the copy, but the original, from the 10th century, is still usable.

Still not convinced? How do you read your ZIP and JAZ drive disks? Your 5 1/4 floppies? Your 3.5 floppies? Your 7 or 9 track tapes?

Sometimes you just gotta kill a tree, or scratch a rock.

About - The Long Now

{climbs down off soap box, creaking and muttering}

That's an interesting point but the idea of having a library of books all in one simple device with fantastic portability that makes me want to shell out the 2 Benjamins. Nice link by the way.