tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9354285.post352210759292845712..comments2023-12-07T00:36:41.698-05:00Comments on Darksome Thirst: I'd Rather Read this on my KindleUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9354285.post-69739242138712843762012-03-01T23:03:15.955-05:002012-03-01T23:03:15.955-05:00Kate,
Thanks for the tip about Calibre for the Ma...Kate,<br /><br />Thanks for the tip about Calibre for the Mac. Much appreciated!<br /><br /><br />Lee-Anne,<br /><br />Is there any free ePub converters you'd recommend? This would be for quick and dirty conversion for personal use, not for publishing.Morven Westfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08405941916318705198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9354285.post-36818530724508971032012-02-22T22:33:24.812-05:002012-02-22T22:33:24.812-05:00Although the Kindle format is very popular, it'...Although the Kindle format is very popular, it's also in the process of rapid change as Amazon.com tries to update its capabilities to approach that of the industry standard ePub format.<br /><br />The Mobipocket format is a deliberately "crippled" form of the ePub format, with significant weaknesses requiring special care on the part of the author (or an author's technical contractor) to work around dozens of inconsistencies and irritating limitations.<br /><br />I personally have devices that rely on both formats, and actually prefer the performance and appearance of even Kindle books on an Apple iPhone and iPad. The ePub format, on the other hand, blows Kindle away, because they're capable of real typography, so the publisher (whether that's an author or her publisher) can actually *design* the look and feel of the book without stumbling over the Mobi "gotchas" and "you can't do thats."<br /><br />The only really big advantage of Kindles over iPhones and iPads is battery life, but the Nook also handles ePubs (its native format) and has the same or better battery life.<br /><br />The free access to downloads from the cellular telephone network is also nice, but my cellphone and full tablet do lots more handy things. I can't make a phone call on my Kindle, for example, or do much of anything really useful, other than read books.<br /><br />The third generation Kindle (much less the earlier versions) is very susceptible to overloading as well, despite their claim that one can load thousands of books on the thing. After around half the available memory is filled, somewhere around a thousand to two thousand books, the Kindle bogs down to glacial slowness and starts crashing randomly, not a happy experience.<br /><br />If pressed, Kindle support will suggest resetting the device to the factory default, which erases all one's books, giving one the wonderful opportunity to access the world's worst "backup" library, where the only access is by author name and title. Imagine trying to find a book without a specific name, absent the Dewey Decimal or LOC indexing taxonomy...<br /><br />If you want to look at all your books on cosmology, or historical romance, it simply can't be done. Neither can any "general" search, so reloading particular subjects involves inspecting each title, looking at the description in the online store, and then going back to the catalog and acting on that information for each and every book.<br /><br />Trust me, it's a miserable experience.<br /><br />Lee-Anne PhillipsLee-Anne Phillipshttp://bookwoman.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9354285.post-74618870929734459602012-02-22T19:29:46.660-05:002012-02-22T19:29:46.660-05:00Wow, you've really got me thinking about the n...Wow, you've really got me thinking about the next phase of peer review/critique. It never even occurred to me to read and critique draft materials on my e-reader but it's a brilliant idea and seems to obvious now you pointed it out!Terri Brucehttp://www.terribruce.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9354285.post-42019794537559761202012-02-20T13:32:03.513-05:002012-02-20T13:32:03.513-05:00Get an iPad ;-) PDFs look pretty. So do Kindle boo...Get an iPad ;-) PDFs look pretty. So do Kindle books. And you can surf the web, play on social media, email, write new books, play music -- everything!<br /><br />The Mobipocket Creator is not Mac friendly, by the way. I've got Calibre which seems to do the trick.K. A. Laityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05983280397279864583noreply@blogger.com