[clug] Using Kindle?

[Karun Dambiec]

On 13/03/10 8:09 AM, Felix Karpfen wrote:
> I have recently received a notification from Amazon that alerted me to
> the existence of Kindle  (http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Reading-Display-
> International-Generation/dp/B0015T963C/ref=pe_14474820_txt_2/#).
>
> The (dutifully-explored) URL includes the following paragraph:
>
> Global Coverage: Enjoy 3G wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100
> countries. See details. *Check wireless coverage map.*
>
> The flagged link does not work; it sends me back to the above-quoted URL.
>
> I would therefore welcome comments from CLUG members who have explored
> what Kindle has to offer.  And are there competitors to Kindle, that
> warrant a look before I put my money down?
>
> The following additional info is relevant to my queries:
>
> I like reading text on a desktop-computer screen (and feel virtuous about
> saving trees).  I have no interest in portable<telephones|computers|
> libraries>.
>
> Felix Karpfen
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Ive looked at it, but never purchased one or used one. As it raises the 
same issues that there is with non free software to me.
Have a look at the Free Software Foundation site about it

http://www.defectivebydesign.org/amazon1984

Quote "

We believe in a way of life based on the free exchange of ideas, in 
which books have and will continue to play a central role. Devices like 
Amazon's are trying to determine how people will interact with books, 
but Amazon's use of DRM to control and monitor users and their books 
constitutes a clear threat to the free exchange of ideas.

*That is why we readers, authors, publishers, and librarians demand that 
Amazon remove all DRM, including any ability to control or access the 
user's library, from the Kindle.*

Amazon's assurances that it will refrain from the worst abuses of this 
power do not address the problem. Amazon should not have this power in 
the first place. Until they give it up they will be tempted to use it, 
or they could be forced to by governments or narrow private interests. 
Whatever Amazon's reasons for imposing this control may be, they are not 
as important as the public's freedom to use books without interference 
or supervision."