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Re: [tlug] Amazon Kindle



burlingk@example.com wrote:

One of the reviews for the Kindle does state that it has a USB
connection,
however, for me that is still not quite enough to get me to spend the
cash.
:P  However, if they came out with one that was functional in Japan, it
would probably be purchased post haste.

Unless the USB connection got you access to a pool of software that several different hardware readers could use, then the Kindle remains a tied product to the Amazon network. Also, I note that no one has been able to point me in the direction of newspapers or books that can be read / shared among the other readers we've mentioned in this discussion, Google didn't do such a hot job, either. So, you've basically got a bitchen database that can be read by one hardware reader or you've got 3~4 bitchen hardware readers without much content available ... and little-to-no crossover.


One of the things that struck me about the Kindle concept is that it is greedy at its base. At my local station, we've got several bookshelves set up by the station staff where people leave the books they've finished for someone else to pick up and read. There are always 25~30 people there leaving books and taking another and everyone seems to know everyone else. The Kindle business model is going to assure that book sellers collect payment for every single read, but it is also going to destroy the local sense of community, which began to disintegrate when people could cut themselves off from others by stuffing earplugs in their ears, a little bit more.

--
CL


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