thistlechaser (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thistlechaser) wrote2014-05-23 09:18 pm
thistlechaser) wrote2014-05-23 09:18 pm
Kindle: Day One / RP!
When I returned home from work, my new Kindle was waiting at my door. Same with the previous Kindle: They just left it at the door, in a public walkway, where anyone could have just walked off with it without notice. Luckily no one did.
In the first moments of using it, I was very unhappy: None of my books had cover images and it was slow as hell to use. Turned out the slow part was the cause of and because of the lack of covers, and soon both issues were fixed. (It had to download 100+ covers, and apparently downloading so much made everything slow.)
My first reaction was that it was cool that it was so small.
My second reaction was that it would be a problem that it's so small.
Unfortunately small ereader means a small screen (duh). I like to keep the text big in an effort to go easy on my eyes, but just using the second largest text size (which is smaller than what I use on my iPad), and I get very little text per page. The largest size is bigger than I need -- luckily, as then you get just a tiny bit of text per page. It's just too bad the second largest is too small.
The other issue is that, unfortunately but understandably, the Kindle feels really, really cheap compared to my iPad. However, as one was $700+ and the other about $150, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. The touch screen doesn't work nearly so well (with the iPad, it's like you're moving it with your brain because it's so responsive), plus even when not downloading something, the Kindle is noticeably slow. Not like AOL dial up slow, but things like my computer, phone, and iPad respond instantly to a tap or a command, there's a slight delay on the Kindle. The delay plus the less responsive touch screen makes it frustrating to use.
Another issue is that it's all black and white. I know it's not reasonable, but I wish sellers would list things an item doesn't have -- like I wouldn't have bought that first Kindle if I had known it didn't have a touchscreen. Color only comes into play when looking at the covers/picking a new book, but it's depressing to not have it.
However, this is only my first day using it. I'm going to finish at least my current book on it (probably the next one as well) to give me a chance to get used to it. Maybe I'll stop noticing the issues. (And speaking of not noticing things, the built-in ads only bugged me once today, with that was with lots of use and playing around with it. I'm pretty sure they won't be an issue.)
Positives to it? It's smaller and lighter, though when using it at home, the iPad's size and weight aren't an issue (away from home is a different story). I can't really think of any other positives other than "It's cool" (though a lot less cool than it would be if it had color...).
---
And on RP! Eeeee! I RPed all night and it was wonderful! I haven't RPed so long and with so many people since... I don't know, sometime back in WoW? Usually scenes with lots of people are rough, but mostly the group broke into smaller conversations with new people coming and going through the evening. I love playing a social butterfly character -- it makes it so easy to ICly meet new people and take part in scenes!
RP seems to go on all day and all night, so I think I'm going to be able to go back to playing daily. So happy! :D And oddly for a large group of RPers on a MMO, no one was bad! I think the worst RPer I encountered today was still at "pretty good" level.
---
I'm loving the current book I'm reading, and the Kindle tells me I'll finish it in about three hours of reading (okay, cool feature there!), so in the next day or two I'll post the review for it. If I don't get to it before Monday, have a good long weekend, all! (Unless you're not in America. In that case, have a good normal weekend, all!)
In the first moments of using it, I was very unhappy: None of my books had cover images and it was slow as hell to use. Turned out the slow part was the cause of and because of the lack of covers, and soon both issues were fixed. (It had to download 100+ covers, and apparently downloading so much made everything slow.)
My first reaction was that it was cool that it was so small.
My second reaction was that it would be a problem that it's so small.
Unfortunately small ereader means a small screen (duh). I like to keep the text big in an effort to go easy on my eyes, but just using the second largest text size (which is smaller than what I use on my iPad), and I get very little text per page. The largest size is bigger than I need -- luckily, as then you get just a tiny bit of text per page. It's just too bad the second largest is too small.
The other issue is that, unfortunately but understandably, the Kindle feels really, really cheap compared to my iPad. However, as one was $700+ and the other about $150, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. The touch screen doesn't work nearly so well (with the iPad, it's like you're moving it with your brain because it's so responsive), plus even when not downloading something, the Kindle is noticeably slow. Not like AOL dial up slow, but things like my computer, phone, and iPad respond instantly to a tap or a command, there's a slight delay on the Kindle. The delay plus the less responsive touch screen makes it frustrating to use.
Another issue is that it's all black and white. I know it's not reasonable, but I wish sellers would list things an item doesn't have -- like I wouldn't have bought that first Kindle if I had known it didn't have a touchscreen. Color only comes into play when looking at the covers/picking a new book, but it's depressing to not have it.
However, this is only my first day using it. I'm going to finish at least my current book on it (probably the next one as well) to give me a chance to get used to it. Maybe I'll stop noticing the issues. (And speaking of not noticing things, the built-in ads only bugged me once today, with that was with lots of use and playing around with it. I'm pretty sure they won't be an issue.)
Positives to it? It's smaller and lighter, though when using it at home, the iPad's size and weight aren't an issue (away from home is a different story). I can't really think of any other positives other than "It's cool" (though a lot less cool than it would be if it had color...).
---
And on RP! Eeeee! I RPed all night and it was wonderful! I haven't RPed so long and with so many people since... I don't know, sometime back in WoW? Usually scenes with lots of people are rough, but mostly the group broke into smaller conversations with new people coming and going through the evening. I love playing a social butterfly character -- it makes it so easy to ICly meet new people and take part in scenes!
RP seems to go on all day and all night, so I think I'm going to be able to go back to playing daily. So happy! :D And oddly for a large group of RPers on a MMO, no one was bad! I think the worst RPer I encountered today was still at "pretty good" level.
---
I'm loving the current book I'm reading, and the Kindle tells me I'll finish it in about three hours of reading (okay, cool feature there!), so in the next day or two I'll post the review for it. If I don't get to it before Monday, have a good long weekend, all! (Unless you're not in America. In that case, have a good normal weekend, all!)
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dOxxxicle was briefly contemplating getting a Kindle, but I apparently know him better than he knows himself and persuaded him to check it out in person before buying.
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Checking it out in person would make a whole lot of difference. All the issues I've spotted now? I would have seen them all ahead of time and it likely would have stopped me from buying it. You are a wise spouse! :D
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It seems to me, at least, that instead of sinking into the reading experience, the reader spends all of her time trying to get things positioned correctly, the right size, trying to do that frackin' swipe thang, etc. etc. etc. No concentration here. The "page" was way too small -- one would be trying to "turn" the page every paragraphy at least. Also holding it felt all wrong and clumsy and uncomfortable.
It would be so nice to have an electronic device that had a decent display and easy operation to have a few books on for travel and so on, but e-readers aren't it. From, granted only my own experience, I can't figure out why people are so in love with their e-readers.
Plus they're entirely useless for research materials, maps, and all the rest. And most of my reading by about 99.9% is histories and related materials.
Love, C.
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I never could figure out what a tablet was really good for in the first place, other than a sort of dedicated entertainment center? They're too small to do real work on.
As my budget determines most things, I can't have something as expensive as an iPad for reading fiction only!
Love, C.
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I think even a big phone will always be smaller than an ereader (or at least the two Kindles I have), and my ipad is about... 5? 6? times the size of the Kindle, so it's really a big difference in size.
And that makes sense! When I originally got the iPad, I had intended to do a whole lot more with it than read.
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With the non-touchscreen page turn, the first couple of days I found it annoying to have to turn the page more often than I would in a paperback, because of the smaller screen (even with the mid-range text size I use), but it became automatic very quickly, so that when I have to scroll back to something I "just read", I'm always surprised how many page-turns ago that was, because it sort of becomes seamless. Not sure if it works the same with the touchscreen page-turn, though...
I never even look at covers anymore, because they just don't look right in b&w. I've never actually used the Kindle to "browse" for books -- only buy books I already knew I was planning to read.
That said, I most heavily use the Kindle for reading during my public transit commute and when traveling, so size/weight and battery life trump the little bit of a lag and lack of color.
(BTW, not sure if your local library has the Overdrive link, but library books on Kindle was the thing that tipped me over into finally getting an eReader. The selection is still not stellar, though a lot better than it was 2.5 years ago when I bought mine, but it's really great to have the convenience of a library without any of the inconveniences -- no having to actually schlep out there to pick up/return books, no late fees.)
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My library does! I need to check out the selection again. Though, and here's another feature I forgot about: since I have Amazon Prime, I can "borrow" lots of books from Amazon. That doesn't work with the Kindle app, just the Kindle itself.
You're right about the page thing. I get about two paragraphs per page, and when I had to check something I reread, I couldn't believe how many pages back it was.
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Oh, right, I keep forgetting that's a thing! (I don't have Amazon Prime, but ever so often I think about getting it, and that's one of the considerations.)
Do you read via a Kindle app on your iPad? Supposedly it can synch up across devices, so that maybe you could browse for the color and other advantages on the tablet but use the Kindle for more extended reading, if the backlit screen of the iPad is hard on the eyes?
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Yep, I use the Kindle app on my iPad. If I stick with the Kindle, that's a good idea! The longer I use it though, the less likely it seems I'll keep using it. I read a lot less than usual today, but I have more eye strain than usual. I'm going to switch to the biggest font (even though it is bigger than I'd like) and see if I can read that way.
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Sorry to hear about the eyestrain! I have the old, pre-Paperwhite screen, which to me feels as easy on the eyes as a paper book, but I've wondered about how the new screen compares for glare -- it's one of the reasons I'm hoping my present Kindle lasts, b/c a lot of the changes that have been made since that model I don't think I would consider improvements...
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I always forget about Prime's streaming video. I think I've used it once ever, in the years I've had it.
It's really a shame Prime changed. For years, I've done the vast majority of my shopping there, but now I'm going to have to do more in person. The free shipping was what made it such a good alternative.
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Amazon's non-express shipping is still pretty good (and mostly we just go for that). My brother swears by Google's new shopping thing, but then, he would :P Still, they really do seem to do same-day delivery (free for now, though ultimately they'll be charging for it, I think), and F claims their return policies are flexible, too.
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They have another new grocery thing. For $9.99-ish you can fill a box with products and get it shipped at once. They assign points to each thing, like dishwasher soap is 2 points and a big container of napkins might be 2 as well, a bar of soap is 1. You get X number of points per box (based on size instead of weight, I think). Didn't seem like a value to me, but was interesting.
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I don't know why they think this'll work as a business plan, except that it seems that Google has enough money that they could be just paving the streets with dollar bills and this is a more efficient use of it? But we'll see. I admit the same-day delivery thing has been pretty impressive!
Huh, I haven't heard of the box-by-points thing, and I don't really get how this would work better than just having groceries delivered the normal way, but it's neat to see what-all people come up with.
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Yeah, that Google shopping thing is crazy! I see their cars all the time around here (they were in my apartment complex twice that I saw last week).
I think you're right, Google probably has just too much money, so can toss it at wacky stuff like this and see if it works.
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And yeah, no color. eInk can't do it. You can only get color right now on backlit tablet-like things, like the iPad, the Kindle Fire, or Nook Color. If you really need pretty colored covers to buy a book, I'd suggest doing so at the Amazon webpage rather than via the Kindle itself. :)
If you're having to put the text up to the second largest font size, have you checked with your eye doctor about getting bifocals or reading glasses?
I'm sorry you had such a negative initial reaction to it, but I'd suggest sticking with it for a while if for no other reason than the eye strain issue. Give it some time to see if you start to notice yourself feeling less eye strain the longer you use it versus the iPad (and no cheating! or it'll negate the experiment results).
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And yep, I don't even have the iPad anywhere near where I read. I want to use just the Kindle for at least my current book and next one, see how it goes.
Someone else commented with a good suggestion -- you can increase the spacing between lines (the whitespace), and that seems to have helped a good deal. I'm using that third largest font, which gives me a reasonable amount of text per page.
I actually do have reading glasses, I just haven't seen them in a couple years. I'm going to see if I can hunt them down, because I'm sure they'd help with this.