Blog post from a 202er:
Katy,
Interesting new technology. Amazon.com has this new gadget called the "kindle" you buy books and newspapers and blogs, and they are automatically updated on to this device. You can have thousands of books all on this little device. What does this mean for print? Is this just another step on the way to making tangible, paper documents obsolete? I just think it is interesting, especially with so many things moving to the Web (like Cap Times for example), and that article you posted on the blog last week about the "dumbing" of our generation. We talked about this last year in my j201 class, what could this mean for history? The thought of our entire history being on hard drives from here on out is a little frightening. And, the worst part is, I know all of this, and still can't help but think that is sort of cool /:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FI73MA/ref=amb_link_6369712_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1DPT074MSY63Z6E0HDDC&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=365797001&pf_rd_i=507846
Thanks!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Amazon's Kindle
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11 comments:
The Kindle looks interesting, although I don't think I would personally buy one. It seems like it would be useful for someone on the go who doesn't always want to carry around a bunch of books. Although it would be interesting when there comes a day where all of our textbooks are in an electronic format-then I think the Kindle would be more necessary for students, although it would be cool if there was a "highlighter" function that came along with it. I can't wait to see what other companies are going to come up with when it comes to making portable devices that can view electronic formats of newspapers, books, magazines and the Web. I think the iTouch is so helpful when I have to read something on the Internet and I don't have my computer with me.
I know of a student who recently purchased a Kindle and immediately had technical problems, both with the hardware and in the fact that it took quite some time to download any content. While I do believe that wireless technology will continue to revolutionize the way we read and experience news and other literature, there are some kinks to be worked out first.
I do agree with the previous post as well in that having a device like my iPhone has made my life much easier as I can immediately read emails the moment they land in my inbox and stay up-to-date on headlines and research topics online anywhere. Also, as Katie says, it frightens me to think that there may one day be a world, or at least a nation without tangible newspapers, but at the same time I am an active wireless consumer and can't wait to see what they come up with next.
The Kindle, sounds like something I expected to come about.
I stopped buying DVD's three years ago, because the future is all goign to be downloaded. We aren't going to have to store all this junk around in our homes and apartments. Just think how much simpler and cleaner our homes will be.
Borders has a similar device too. I don't know much about it either but It's been around for a few months atleast.
I really hope the future isn't going to be all downloaded. I like tangible books and newspapers, but then again I still buy DVDs and CDs in hard copies. Technology hasn't completely caught up to these other forms.
Like Meredith mentioned, there are a lot of kinks to be worked out a the premature switch to all digital media has reduced the aggregate quality of music and movies already. It is still very difficult to download music files as high in quality as CDs and the same goes for the pixel qualities on DVDs vs. downloaded movies.
Borders has a similar device too. I don't know much about it either but It's been around for a few months atleast.
I really hope the future isn't going to be all downloaded. I like tangible books and newspapers, but then again I still buy DVDs and CDs in hard copies. Technology hasn't completely caught up to these other forms.
Like Meredith mentioned, there are a lot of kinks to be worked out a the premature switch to all digital media has reduced the aggregate quality of music and movies already. It is still very difficult to download music files as high in quality as CDs and the same goes for the pixel qualities on DVDs vs. downloaded movies.
Borders has a similar device too. I don't know much about it either but It's been around for a few months atleast.
I really hope the future isn't going to be all downloaded. I like tangible books and newspapers, but then again I still buy DVDs and CDs in hard copies. Technology hasn't completely caught up to these other forms.
Like Meredith mentioned, there are a lot of kinks to be worked out a the premature switch to all digital media has reduced the aggregate quality of music and movies already. It is still very difficult to download music files as high in quality as CDs and the same goes for the pixel qualities on DVDs vs. downloaded movies.
Devices like the Kindle are really cool. I've seen one before and it's smaller than most books people would carry with them. It has it's definite advantages, but it's hard to compete with being able to pick up a book and read it. In today's technologically based world hard copy books give everybody a break. It's nice to pick up a hard copy, turn the pages, and not have to stare at the glowing computer screen for hours.
while advancements like the kindle are great for the gadget world, i hope that print isn't phased out. a balance of both would be good for us.
My opinion is still up for grabs on the issue. I would be interested to know how much energy it takes to keep a thing like that to run. Of course people will buy it because it is cool, but it seems like it might waste energy.
I think its a great idea. Why wouldn't we want to make resources more accessible?
A few of you made interesting points regarding CD and DVD quality. Well for audiophiles and 'filmies' CD and DVD will never stand up to film and vinyl, regardless oh how handy a digital device may seem. In fact, such a device will almost certainly become commonplace just like a digital audio player, but that doesnt mean hard copies will ever leave the market. And as for the glitches, whether or not they work well most of the time, some of us just can't afford iPhones. Kindle-like devices might continue to pose a similar problem to your average budgeted college student.
Love-hate relationship with the idea.
I love that great photos won't suffer from terrible newsprint quality.
However, it sounds like layout of newspapers will be lost, which I don't like.
and what about clipping those memorable newspaper moments to put on the wall ... like the one I have hanging above my computer?
Seeing it in print is always an exhilarating thing, even if people are literally walking all over your work in the giant lecture halls or using the newspaper as an umbrella on a rainy day.
Another thing that sounds good is: less weight for textbooks and such, and hopefully less cost... but can we highlight on these yet?
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