[!@#$%!]

nothing. this.

[Rob Instigator]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

no it's not. it's really not. if you moved house as often as i do, you'd definitely see the value in it. i love paper books but they are HEAVY and take up a lot of space.

my wife and i have sworn to travel light from now on-- the lp records and the books are the only compromise, but damn, my books need their own room.

in my current apartment i have a measly shelf and all my books are stored in a house 200 miles away, part in boxes, part on shelves-- so if i'm talking with a friend about say a borges story, and i wanna look up a reference, i'd have to drive for a couple of hours to get the thing.

if anything, the kindle has the potential to spark a book renaissance. no ugly ads, no internet distractions, just the book. publishing is cheaper. less transportation costs. more rare books accessible to everyone. think of it as the book of sand-- a little less fantastic, but works the same.

with "global 3G" (whatever the fuck that is), you can take your kindle pretty much anywhere in the world and have access to your book collection. imagine a decade or two from now, you'll have access to the whole contents of the library of congress from a single device. the idea of such a thing makes me totally horny for the future.

all true, but also much easier for "the MAN" to know exactly what yr reading when you read it.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

all true, but also much easier for "the MAN" to know exactly what yr reading when you read it.

im waiting for my man
26 dollars in my hand

there's no "man" that's after me. the man fingerprinted and photographed me, took my blood samples, interrogated me in front of a camera, and mailed me a green card. if i was going to be paranoid, i'd have bigger things to worry about.

besides, im not reading manuals on making dirty bombs-- fact is, i don't even think amazon sells those, much less through the kindle. if someone wanted to know what books i read they could subpoena amazon and barnes & noble, they have the list of a lot of the books i've bought the past 10 years, including manuals on how to shove beads up a lady's ass. they could also interrogate my local seller of used books-- i live mere blocks away from him anyway and he could pick me out of a crowd. but really, who the fuck cares about what i do?

a few years ago i saw a yellowed copy of abbie hoffman's "steal this book" selling for $40. i laughed.

---

ps-- the most "subversive" books i've ever read i've read at library of congress-- CIA sabotage manuals, apologias of the MRTA, and various others. the man gave them to me free of charge!

[!@#$%!]

actually (i just checked), amazon sells abbie hoffman's books, various anarchist cookbook editions, another thing called "dirty tricks"...

ha ha, i wanna buy one now!!!

see this: you can read a bit

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0873641868/

[Rob Instigator]

one neutron bomb and yr Kindle is DEAD.
drop it awkwardly and it is DEAD
get it wet and it is DEAD
sit on it and it is DEAD
scratch the front text panel and it is DEAD

just talkin trash.

I just like holding books in my hand. Books are far more than just text on a page. None of my beloved art books would be worth shit on a Kindle.

[phoenix]

writhing in pain while i wait for my doctors appointment.

I almost just want to go to the hospital, but I will not.

[Rob Instigator]

fuck. hope you feel better

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by phoenix

writhing in pain while i wait for my doctors appointment.

I almost just want to go to the hospital, but I will not.

damn, is the appointment today? why suffer?

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

one neutron bomb and yr Kindle is DEAD.
drop it awkwardly and it is DEAD
get it wet and it is DEAD
sit on it and it is DEAD
scratch the front text panel and it is DEAD

just talkin trash.

I just like holding books in my hand. Books are far more than just text on a page. None of my beloved art books would be worth shit on a Kindle.

ha ha ha @ neutron bomb

if amazon went bankrupt i'd be fucked too.

now barnes and noble makes their ebooks compatible with a bunch of stuff-- you don't need a kindle, you can read them on computer.

but eh, don't get me wrong, i wouldn't rely solely on a kindle, or on e-books. they don't replace a good library, with its awesome smell. and beautiful artbooks on a kindle are laughable-- impossible really (so far, anyway). and huge atlases? books are awesome. once in a library i held in my hands the 1918 edition of cesar vallejo's trilce, which he had printed in the prison workshop after he got out of jail. a fucking treasure of literature, and it was circulating like it was nothing. and it smelled yummy. it was a fucking glorious day. i have some awesome books in my library that i love. but i can't fucking hump them everywhere, and i live like a gypsy. besides, a lot of books are shit paperbacks that i buy for the content, not as book objects. so those can go on the kindle. so imagine. 1500 books in one device. imagine the possibilities in coming years. imagine access to-- all books-- from a little screen. everything. anything. the library of congress accessible to all.

well in the future future we'll just mainline the books to our brains-- but in between, fuck yes! i'll get a kindle when they make them just right.

[Satan]

kindle is a stupid word.


what am i doing?

i'm brooding.

[finding nobody]

I am watching Hebrew Hammer.. good shit

[verme (prevaricator)]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

now barnes and noble makes their ebooks compatible with a bunch of stuff-- you don't need a kindle, you can read them on computer.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000426311

apple is expected to come up with something next january, you might want to hold on.

or not.

[Rob Instigator]

I love closing a book when I am finished with it.

[!@#$%!]

CORRECTION, DAMMIT: trilce is not from 1918, but from 1922. los heraldos negros is the one that's from 1918. i was thinking about this earlier, so here i am to post. fuck factual errors, they multiply like garbanzos evaporate into a fart.

Originally Posted by verme (prevaricator)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000426311

apple is expected to come up with something next january, you might want to hold on.

or not.

hm, yeah, ebook readers... b&n has its own for pc+mac, plus the iphone/ipod touch and the crackberry. and i have this shitty little white macbook that could be my next library. not sure i could read in the ipod-- i don't like it much and it's tiny and i have FAT FINGERS.

see: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks/index.asp

Originally Posted by Satan

kindle is a stupid word.


what am i doing?

i'm brooding.

barnes & noble has come up with its own version called the NOOK. that word i like. so many good associations.

Originally Posted by finding nobody

I am watching Hebrew Hammer.. good shit

indeed. it's a terrible movie, but it's funny.

[verme (prevaricator)]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

I love closing a book when I am finished with it.

different formats, different purposes.
this is just another format, ffs.

books aren't all the same. think of technical books for example, did you ever got emotionally attached to them?

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

hm, yeah, ebook readers... b&n has its own for pc+mac, plus the iphone/ipod touch and the crackberry. and i have this shitty little white macbook that could be my next library. not sure i could read in the ipod-- i don't like it much and it's tiny and i have FAT FINGERS.

see: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks/index.asp

yes i've seen that, i was just pointing out that amazon is also doing the same thing.

i've gotten used to read on screen.
but my 'library' is mostly pirated stuff, i have to say.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by verme (prevaricator)

yes i've seen that, i was just pointing out that amazon is also doing the same thing.

i've gotten used to read on screen.
but my 'library' is mostly pirated stuff, i have to say.

yeah, they're trying to cut each other's throats. amazon as the pioneer could be blown out of the water by imitators-- it often happens.

i have no problem reading on teh computer, or reading briefly on the ipod touch. i actually read a whole novel on my palm PDA circa 200..1? but i wouldn't use a tiny screen for a long book again. a 13" laptop screen however is sufficient.

[verme (prevaricator)]

i'd say the only serious threat to amazon is google.

[!@#$%!]

i dont know here in the u.s., cuz a lot of book people go to barnes and noble-- they have the stores AND the online store, and amazone has no store.

in the 90s all independent bookstores were gobbled up by borders (an original minnesota bookstore chain that was eaten by kmart) and barnes & noble. the rest was destroyed by amazon. so in terms of going to the bookstore (a great pleasure always), borders & b&N have the market cornered. and i think barnes & noble might win that, cuz borders sucks a bit.

then again, who knows. i don't know the relative size of b&n vs. amazon's book-only business. cuz amazon is HUUUGE. oh yes and they are semi-global, the fuckers. like ms vs. apple? eh, you never know.

google i dont know. they seem to have a lot of cool shit that never makes an actual good product. their android phones haven't exactly become the latest hot shit.

[verme (prevaricator)]

that's true, but android is just starting and it will probably get an extra push now that they've broken up with apple.
have you heard about google voice and google maps navigation?
they are making a lot of companies tremble.

actually, android is probably what will be running on most e-book readers.
that b&n reader runs android.

this market is going to be google vs apple vs amazon.

and you know who's global? not amazon, not apple.

[Satan]

i always said that google is gonna take over the goddamn world one day