Okies so my nook color decided to live somewhere else it had help leaving though:P anywhoo going to replace it with either the kindle fire hd,nook hd or the nexus7 thingy. some input from people that know these things would be appreciated. thank you
BigCloset TopShelf
TopShelf TG Fiction in the BigCloset!
The Hatbox
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Joyce Melton
1001 Third St.
Space 80
Calimesa, CA 92320
USA
Note: $6000 is the operating, maintenance and upgrade budget. Amounts received in excess of the $6000 will be applied to long term debt accrued over the last 19 years.
If you prefer, you can donate through Patreon:
Become a Patron!
Thank you!
Comments
If you've already got a library of Barnes and Noble titles
then sticking with the Nook series is a good idea. In my opinion the Nook HD's are just as good as the Kindle Fire HD, and seem to be easier to find right now.
A Nexus 7 is a full-blown tablet rather than an E-reader, so it would give you a much better feature set than either of the others. On the other hand, they give you the option for larger screens at relatively low increases in price point, so if space is your thang over adaptability then the E-readers still win hands down. Also, again, your current B&N library might be an issue on the Nexus 7, unless all the titles you have are open-format books.
Melanie E.
Not so...
B&N has a free Nook app available for Android devices so accessing her library wouldn't be an issues.
The Nexus 7 is a great device, BUT I really dislike the lack of a micro sd card slot. You have the set amount of built in storage and that's it. I personally have a galaxy tab 2 7-inch. It only has a dual core processor vs the Nexus's four, BUT it does have that memory card slot for expandable memory which in my opinion every android and iOS device should be equipped with.
Have a delightfully devious day,
There Are Also Free Kindle Readers
Look on the Amazon site to see what there is. The 2 I'm familiar with are the Cloud Reader which you just use through your browser and a downloadable reader that you can use on your PC.
Kindle Fire
The Kindle Fire and Fire HD are also an Android based tablets rather than ebook readers.
I've recently bought a Nexus 7 and I'm very pleased with it. I wanted a full tablet rather than just an ebook reader and I went for this one as it has built in 3G support. Most of the other tablets require either a USB dongle, or need to be used with a mobile phone in order to have a mobile internet connection.
I've never seen the nook to see what its like, but I have seen the Kindles and Kindle paper whites. The Kindle paper white seems a good ebook reader, but personally I find I want more out of a device than just a reader. The Android based devices still act as ebook readers, but can also do a lot more, like web browsing and video. With a 10 hour battery life they can keep going most of the day, unlike a laptop.
It's just a pity Topshelf isn't very easy to read on a tablet. However, I might well be able to solve that with some style sheet overrides to either increase the font sizes, reduce the column widths, or both.
Tell me more about what you think we may need
I'm considering a special mobile theme for BC. What features do we need on it and what are you willing to give up?
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
The basic problem with BC is that the screen layout is fixed
and spans several mandatory columns, all of which are anathema for mobile apps, There are several methods you could use to access this sort of information. Look at Wikipedia and Amazon.com to see two out of many possibilities. All this can be done on the fly if the page is cleverly-described using CSS and other modern HTML features. With enough effort, one can degrade gracefully when the site is confronted with strange devices and/or early Windows environments.
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
I like the ipad, but ...
The problem I have with the Apple universe is everything is proprietary. It feels like blackmail to buy their stuff.
I thought there was going to be an industry wide standard so that everyone could share stuff?
My eyes are going, so I just don't buy those little things. When I read, I blow the letters up till their about 3/8" high. That works
I am an open source advocate
But I use an iPad. Why? Because anything else I have tried requires constant maintenance, has security concerns etc. which take a lot of time to fix. I spend enough time fixing computers and I want my tablet, an appliance after all, to just work hassle free.
Samsung
I use a Samsung Tab 10.1 (the first generation), I even bought a refurbished one. I've had no maintenance issues and using a free antivirus I've had no security issues. Apple users shouldn't be so smug, now that there are more Apple devices in use the malware people have started targeting them also, and Apple turns out to have plenty of security holes. Heck, the last software patch for the iphone only lasted one day before a major security flaw was found in it.
In the year and a half, the only thing I've had to do with my Samsung is charge the battery. And Android apps are plentiful and either free or cheap. Android has readers for the Nook, Kindle and PDF, as well as free office-style programs that handle all the various MS Office files. I understand the newest Samsung tablets have more bells and whistles, but my first generation tablet hasn't failed me yet so I've had no need to upgrade.
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” - Turkish Proverb
Interesting.
I give reasons why I prefer an Apple tablet and the knee jerk reaction is call me smug and dump me in the smug apple user basket. Thai you for your thoughtful courtesy.
With respect to the subject matter, yes there were updates on two successive days. Somehow you consider this a bad thing. I on the other hand see it as a good thing as it shows just how quickly Apple responds when a problem is found. Given that the update rewrites the OS including firmware completely the longest a virus could survive is between updates. Which is why I feel ok without having any antivirus and do not view regular updates as a problem. Everything has holes sometimes. It is the window of exposure that is a problem.
Security is a process not a state irrespective of what equiptment you use. i am no longer prepared to spend 24 hours a day proofing, testing, watching and anticipating. I used to get paid a lot for that but I am now retired and security has become a process of matching trust to confidence and being careful about what I can use for what. There are ways that can be used to attain a certain abount of confidence for certain purpouses though and my means seem adequate for me.
For example if I have an iPhone and an iPad (and I do) I can place my banking apps on the iPhone which has no other installed apps and is never used for browsing or anything other than phone calls, SMS, iMessages, Facetime and those banking apps with appropriate settings (no Bluetooth for example), All browsing and installed apps can be placed on the iPad which contains nothing vital.
I am sorry you think I am an Apple fanboi merely because I said something about an Apple product that could be construed as positive..
Google Nexus Hardware
I agree that many hardware manufacturers really do not release OS updates quickly enough, mainly because they rely on the phone carriers to proof it if it's a subsidized device and then add their own bloatware. But if you want the same kind of quick reliable updates that you get with Apple from Android, then consider getting a Google Nexus Phone and Tablet. They are REAL fast at updating the OS, and firmware flashing works the same way as it does on the iPhone.
-Piper
Proprietary is right
I have to agree. when you have an iPad, it's sorta like being held hostage, or trapped in a cage, since you have to live in Apple's ecosystem in order to keep on using their stuff.
The thing about being in such a closed techverse is that it tends to be self-supporting: no problems on maintenance, no security issues, et cetera. Unlike more open ecosystems like Android, where there are glitches, there are setup problems, there are compatibility issues from hardware platform to platform (though admittedly there aren't many of this type of gremlin).
Still, on the other side - there are apps galore in Android, many of them free! And you can change your device often and still have what you used to have without any change. And you can customize your Android in a gazillion ways, while you can't customize much on an Apple. However, Apples are still the easiest to use, most gorgeous and funnest platforms around - if you have to be trapped in a cage, Apple is the best guilded cage you can be in.
I suppose if you're an inverterate tinkerer, or you are like a hobbyist, an Android platform is the way to go. If you are, on the other hand, strictly a user, an Apple is probably best suited to you.
There really is no real yardstick to use anymore - capabilities seem to have plateaued and most can do what the others do (for example, ebooks can be read cross-platform now, whether an Apple eBook, a Kindle, a B&N), so the demarcation line is now blurry.
Maybe a better yardstick is to judge them based on (1) what you intend to use the device for, (2) your preferred screen size and (3) your budget.
If you just need an ebook reader, then a Kindle would be great, but if you want to use it for other stuff then maybe an IPad or some Android device. If you want big-screen, then an iPad is good, but if you want small, maybe a Samsung Note 2 or an iPad Mini is better. If you want something cheaper, then maybe Kindle? And if you want it to double as a phone, maybe a Samsung?
I myself am platform-agnostic: I use an Apple iPad for my day-to-day, I have a Samsung Galaxy for my purse (which is also my phone), and I have my trusty Lenovo at the office.
Good luck on your selection!
To read my Family Girl Blogs, click this link -
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/28818/family-girl-blogs
To read my old Working Girl Blogs, click this link -
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/19261/working-girl-blogs
To read all of my blogs, click this link -
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog/bobbie-c
To read my stories in BCTS, click this link -
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/14775/roberta-j-cabot
To see my profile and know more about me, click this link -
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/user/bobbie-c
Bobbie is correct
The 'right' choice is the one that fits you best. Android are no more insecure than iOS devices - and no less, either. Especially when you consider that they're both running UNIX variants.
I just finished a week+ long fight with an iPhone that 'required' the update to get any new apps, as well as an iPad that did the same thing - you couldn't install _anything_ on it, because Apple did a forced version requirement upgrade on all apps on their store.
You get something similar from Android apps, where they claim your screen size isn't perfectly correct, and you have to force it. (if you're like me and have a Coby or other no-name brand Android tablet)
That said, I haven't really had any problems with my $100 android tablet, and my wife thinks that it's just great to be able to play streaming internet videos to the DLP tv that I just finished repairing. ($100 for a 42" DLP TV)
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Got to contest that.
Android runs a Linux variant. IOS is a derivative of Darwin which might be considered a UNIX descendant. Linux has a different family tree.
Wellllll...
The family is actually a very large one, it's a very VAST tree, really. And we really ought to refer to them as POSIX-compliant Operating Systems.
IOS is a derivative of Apple's Darwin, which is a proprietary derivative of BSD, which is an open derivative of UNIX.
Android runs on top of Java, which is running under a Linux-derived kernel but with a proprietary user land and some customization to the kernel land. Linux itself as a kernel is derived from MINIX but is actually a complete rewrite with absolutely no source code in common, even in its infancy. These days it's gotten far more complex than MINIX ever wanted to be. MINIX was a rewritten minimalized UNIX with no source code in common with UNIX, but was written to be compatible with its standards. These UNIX standards that built the foundation of Linux eventually spun off from the rest of the UNIX specification and became known as the POSIX standards. All modern variants of UNIX, as well as MINIX and Linux are POSIX-compliant. But MINIX and Linux are NOT able to brand themselves as a UNIX variant, because they do not comply with the REST of the UNIX specification.
The GNU tool chain as used with the Linux kernel are a completely different beast, developed basically on its own, but the project never was able to materialize a working kernel (the HURD) and ended up bundling itself in with Linux since Linux needed a tool chain.
Abigail Drew.
I believe that UNIX is no
I believe that UNIX is no longer just that one 'tree' of OSes. I seem to recall them transferring it to a group so that it now describes any operating system that fits the underlying layout - which includes Linux as well as the BSD's. (Specifically, "Darwin" is FreeBSD. I remember them hiring all of the core FreeBSD programmers they could when they finally did the smart thing and decided to stop writing their own operating system, and concentrate on the user interface. I believe that to be _technical_, Darwin is the GUI running on top of FreeBSD, much like KDE is the GUI I use on top of the Debian derived Ubuntu. I could be wrong, because I'm not going to spend the hours necessary to trace it all out again - much of this is based on memory, plus using the crippled Terminal interface to run diagnostics on several Macs)
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Close
Darwin is actually a rework of FreeBSD not a GUI alone. Hence KDE can run (or could, not sure if it still can) on OpenDarwin. In fact early versions of OS X provided an X-Windows client so that non Apple program's could be run. This is now integral to the Apple GUI. When Jordan Hubbard left FreeBSD for Apple is when I swapped to Apples. It was the best software on the best hardware at the time. With Jordan's love of cats he would fit in we'll here except that he is gay not trans.
Last time I looked the BSD ports collection still compiled under OS X.
I think
That Prof Tannenbaum would be rather annoyed to hear that Linux is derived from MINIX. That is simply not the case. MINIX is a micro-kernel implementation while Linux most definitely is not. There was an awesome debate about that long ago. Linux is a monolithic kernel because it was originally written to be a terminal server and Linus added code to it to become Linux.
You have a pretty good grasp on it though and I am impressed. There is enough material in the history of UNIX to write a very large book about it. Even Microsoft gets a look in as MSDOS was an attempt at a UNIX like operating system. Remember that SCO, The Santa Crus Operation was the brainchild of Bill Gates.
What you might be interested to note...
Is that Linux was originally intended as a micro-kernel, but when the community response exploded like it did, Linus decided that rather than try to keep it a micro-kernel and deal with all that mess, he'd just build everyone's ideas right in for faster early development.
It continued that way all the way until the 2.1 dev branch, IIRC, when Linus decided it was time to try to modularize the kernel as it was becoming too large. So now we have a modular monolithic kernel instead of the early megalithic kernel which is what MS has continued to produce.
The HURD was also going to be a micro-kernel... But you-know-who refused to back down when it became evident that method just wasn't going to work. AFAIK he's still trying to get the HURD to work... lol.
In a way you're right about MSDOS... But the attempt fell far short of success, and the botched code remained in use for a very long time until the NT kernel matured enough to replace it fully. NT is itself an interesting case because they took a lot of ideas from the POSIX family, but completely warped them to a state of complete incompatibility, and then had the audacity to call it "New Technology". What BS.
MS will never ever admit to being even remotely related to the family though... After all, the entire family is nothing but thieves and software pirates and MS is sooo above that! ;) (Not, but that's what MS's propaganda claims.)
If you really think about it, the BSD's are a product of free software purists, who don't really need to compromise much, because they already share all major thoughts in common. Very BORG-like those bunch. They ended up forking over disagreements and now we have a few different BORG-like groups, but inside their own little group they ARE BORG. Don't let them fool you.
Linux is a product of constant compromise between seemingly conflicting goals. It does so many different jobs, and does them all quite well, simply because it's community is founded on compromise.
NT is a product of wanton theft while humming a randomly tuneless tune and pointing to a fake halo over your head to try to distract people from the truth.
And the HURD is what happens when you refuse to compromise, aren't a wanton thief, and don't have a BORG collective behind your vision.
Abigail Drew.
Horses for courses
If you have a tablet of any kind then having one that can also be used for reading books is sensible.
But, consider, you also have to take battery life into account. A tablet needs charging every 2-3 days with average use. A proper e-book using a proper e-paper screen can last a month on a single charge. That e-book can also be read on the beach and the display gets better the brighter the sun is, whereas a tablet will suffer because it is backlit.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that a Kindle is similar to a tablet. The two have different strengths and weaknesses. (There is also, confusingly, a Kindle branded tablet now.)
Disclosure: I have owned a Kobo Touch for a while and recently bought a Galaxy Tab 2 7". The Tab is at least twice as heavy as the Kobo. It is usable for bulk reading but I'd rather not. The Kobo is much better for that job. Oh, and both have Micro SD slots.
Penny
Oddly enough...
Apple, like B&N, uses the ePub ebook standard, which is a public standard widely supported on many different platforms. If you're curious, an ePub document is just a linked group of HTML files, plus graphics and CSS stylesheet files. The bunch of them are ‘zipped’ into a compressed file and an ‘ePub’ file typename identifier stuck onto the end. If you happen to own an ePub book that happens not to be encrypted (Gutenberg.org is one good source) you can replace the .epub suffix with .zip, unzip it, and poke around inside to see how it works.
Amazon.com's .AMZ3 and .mobi filetypes are basically ePub-style documents, also zipped, but with slightly different facilities available.
It's not rocket science.
There are several tools available which enable one to whip up one's own eBooks in one's basement (or attic) and do with them what one wills, as Aleister Crowley famously said.
Calibre is my personal fave, although it's something like those fat Swiss Army knives, with so many features that one winds up opening all the blades just to find the one one wanted...
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
I plan on getting....
Currently I use a "Modified" Nook Color, ( rooted and running CM7 ) but I'm SLOWLY saving money for a Galaxy Tab 2 ( 7in ).
The Galaxy can run both the BN Nook app ( my favorate reading app ) and the Kindle app giving you both worlds. Since my CM7 Nook runs anything, all of my apps ( both paid and free ) will already run on the Galaxy. It also has a micro-sd slot, a MUST for me!
Currenly they're priced out at $175(ish), a full REAL tablet at a ereader price.
Sapphire
ps: the reason I'm SLOWLY saving the funds is that the Nook was a gift from the wife and three kids, and while my son understands the proposed upgrade, the three girls just see ...." what, our gift isn't ok anymore " and take it personal!
Well then, Sapphire
Explain to them that you totally understand their feelings, and in the same spirit there will be no 'fashion upgrades' either. As long as their clothes are in good repair and fit properly there is no need to waste money on new clothes. And be sure and thank them for making you aware of this. ;-)
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” - Turkish Proverb
Are you kidding me?
Not going to happen!
Reasons:
1) I love my wife and daughters and it would hurt their feelings,
2) while I keep no firearms in the house, with my collection of swords and other medieval weapons... I would fear waking up to one of them standing over me, yelling " ... there can only be one!"
Which is better than having
Which is better than having one of them being found holding a smoking gun and asking "How do you reload this bleeding thing?" ?
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
I use the Galaxy Tab 7 plus.
I use the Galaxy Tab 7 plus. It is a little older than the galaxy tab 2, but strangely enough it has a better hardware. I got the wifi version of it and when I need to use it somewhere without free wifi I just activate the wifi router function on my phone. I know it is easier to use a tablet own 3g connection, but that for me would mean only to spend more on the tablet itself and another monthly Internet access bill.
I have been using it for a little over a year now and I just love it.
Samsung Galaxy 7" and 10"
I took the plunge this year and got an 10" Samsung G 2 for my self, and the 7" for my oldest Daughter. I have had no hardware issues with either, and my oldest uses hers regularly, and hard.
I wanted the front and rear cameras and expandable memorie. Both start out with more in house memory than most, 16gb for the 10" expandable to 32 gb/I think maybe 64 gb, and 8gb for the 7" , expandable to 16 or 32Gb.
My 10 inch works with BCTC well and takes great pictures. I find the Word Processor to be functional but a little limited like it is more like an expanded notepad.
This is being used as my (field) computer as it is very light weight, and does data capture very well. But for heavy creation and data routing work I still prefer my Lap Top and Desk Top set up, but they are not portable. Even my Acer Net book is heavyer and harder to use in fieldwork. I think something like this moded to beMore rugged and a few custom features would be great for many of the hard sciences. Like Archeology, Ecology, Ocenography, any thing requiring data
capture and referencing.
Yes it does allow me to read all formats of E-books. There are quite a pile of android apps.
I just loaded a Where is my bus, widget on both this
and my phone, they use the built in GPS feature. It is scarry good to see just how accurate the GPS is locating me on the bus on the road. Sci Fiction scary.
Y
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book
Can a cell phone accept
e reader material? mine can accept text messages.
May Your Light Forever Shine
Android and iOS phones can
Android and iOS phones can support e-reader apps, if that's what you're asking.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Just to add my two cents........
I've owned a samsung galaxy tab 7.0 for close to two years now and I'm very happy with it. I just purchased a samsung smart phone a few month ago and can tether it to the tablet for internet access where ever there's phone service. (Hugs) Taarpa
ipad ftw
If you're looking for something that will just read books and nothing else, I would recommend the Kindle Paperwhite. In my experience, eink screens are best for reading text and the Paperwhite is probably the best reading-only device out there.
If you want to be able to read web pages, rss feeds, etc, the Paperwhite or any other eink device is not going to cut it. So, if you have any other needs besides book reading, I highly recommend the iPad mini. It's hands down the best tablet I've ever used, even though its low res screen is not the best for reading and nowhere as good as eink, it's currently my primary reading device.
On the topic of ebooks, the current options are really poor. All the book stores sell DRM encumbered books with different formats, and in general the state of the art for presenting books leaves a lot to be desired. I would say to buy a physical book for anything you really care about.
As far as buying ebooks, what I currently do is purchase from Amazon (or DRM free books direct from the publisher when possible). Even though I buy kindle format ebooks, it's relatively trivial to strip the DRM and convert them to the epub format. So, while I buy Amazon/Kindle books, my book reader is iBooks on an iPad mini and so far that's working out pretty well.
All I can say is, a device is a device
Whether ikt be my Axim or my Velo or any letter in between, I make do with it to do what I need. Lets see, Dell Axim 500, Blackberry 8700c or my curreent phon (9700 Bold), HP Jornada, alas poor Palm VIIx (now departed), iPad2 and 3 (sorry, Next generation iPad), iPhone 3 and 4s, Toshiba Portege (ultralight notebook), NextPad, and several other pcs's and laptops Speaking of, I need to fire up the at&t unix pc the trash 80 model 3 and see if they still work. Man I really need a life :(
But to seriously answer your question, it is like others have said, it will depend on what you want to do with it. My main is my Blackberry bold 9600, but since the browser really blows, I use Opera Mini on it, as well as on my iPhones/iPads and on Lisa's HTC Aria Android based smartphone. All the ones you mention have potential, but if budget conscious, look at the android offerings from a reputable brand. Hope that helped :)