great kindle

PageBot for Kindle - Assistive technology for access to Kindle reading

PAGEBOT FOR KINDLE
Origin Instruments, a global provider of assistive technology, announced today the first switch-based access to the Kindle eReader. PageBot for Kindle enables convenient reading by people who cannot hold the Kindle or press its buttons.

Origin's solutions for Kindle DX and Kindle 2 are available now, and an additional PageBot model that works with all versions of the Kindle 3 will be available in June.

The CEO of the company is Steve Bain, long involved with the e-reader community on Twitter as KindleToday, keeping us abreast of developments in the e-reader world along with KindleZen, who explains to us at the KindleZen website how, as a high-level quadraplegic and member of the team, he uses the PageBot, placed on a lapboard, to read on a Kindle. Below is some information from the Origin Instruments site and from the press release.

Designed for adaptability, PageBot combines:
. actuators for the Kindle's Next Page and Previous Page
buttons,
. a contoured frame for securely holding the Kindle, and
. a universal mounting arm that can position the Kindle for
convenient reading.

PageBot's switch interface accepts Next Page and Previous Page commands from:
. one or two adaptive switches, or
. a wired or wireless USB mouse device.

Origin Instruments provides more-detailed explanations at their PageBot webpage. I especially liked their solution for the Kindle's time-out function, which requires having to power up the Kindle from sleep, via its power switch. Some excerpts from that page:

' PageBot combines a secure and adjustable mount, dual integrated actuators for the Kindle Next Page and Previous Page buttons, and a built-in intelligent drive circuit that can directly interface to a wide variety of adaptive switches.

With PageBot, reading on the Amazon Kindle is accessible to people with motor disabilities that might result from birth defects, spinal cord injury, ALS, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, multiple sclerosis, stroke, arthritis, or repetitive strain injury. PageBot provides a much more compact, reliable, and cost effective solution for long-form reading than legacy mechanical page turners for paper books.

PageBot integrates multiple interfaces for adaptive switches that can suit the preferences and abilities of individual users.

Standard mechanical adaptive switches with 3.5 mm microphone-style connectors, like the button switches available from Origin Instruments, can be plugged in directly. Dual switches, like the Origin Instruments Sip/Puff Switch, can interface with a single stereo cable.

PageBot is also compatible with a wide range of adaptive switches that are available from other assistive technology suppliers. In addition, a USB host interface is provided so that PageBot can be operated from the buttons of a wired or wireless USB mouse.

PageBot captures the Kindle in a grip of compliant foam that helps prevent scratches and enhances resistance to mechanical shocks.

PageBot is delivered with an adjustable mechanical mounting arm that is articulated in four degrees of freedom. [See their webpage for details]

PageBot has very low quiescent power consumption and can be powered from the standard Kindle power adapter or from an optional rechargeable USB battery pack.

PageBot includes an integrated Keep Awake mode with an automatic timer that can optionally prevent the Kindle from entering sleep after a period of inactivity. This feature eliminates the need to manipulate the Kindle power switch after a pause in reading.

PageBot is available in three different models. PageBot for Kindle DX and PageBot for Kindle 2 are both available for delivery from the Origin Instruments online PageBot Store.

PageBot for Kindle 3 will be available in June 2011. Amazon's Kindle and needed adaptive switches are available separately. '

The pricing of adaptive equipment technology, usually produced in modest-volume, is often extremely expensive. These seem, relatively speaking, more reasonably priced to me.

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. Top 100 free bestsellers.
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

Jeff Bezos talks about possible Tablet and concerns over adKindles

CONSUMER REPORTS TALKS WITH JEFF BEZOS

"Asked today about the possibility of Amazon launching a multipurpose tablet device, the company's president and CEO Jeff Bezos said to “stay tuned” on the company’s plans. In an interview at Consumer Reports' offices, Bezos also signaled that any such device, should it come, is more likely to supplement than to supplant the Kindle, which he calls Amazon’s “purpose-built e-reading device.”

I'd prefer the words "would supplement" to "more likely" ... but he's likely being cagy with the "should it come" that Consumer Reports' Editor, Paul Reynolds, reports.

Bezos added, "We will always be very mindful that we will want a dedicated reading device,” he said. “In terms of any other product introductions, I shouldn’t answer."

There's a video of another talk with CR yesterday. Pressing 'play' on it may not work. If not, just move the pointer forward a bit. I haven't listened to it yet. Kindle-Blog edition readers won't be able to use this video link on a Kindle and will need to view it on a computer, smartphone with data plan, or tablet.
It's a pretty lively conversation, from what I can see.

Re the new ad-subsidized Kindle With Special Offers and ads of course, CR reports that Bezos said it shouldn’t be interpreted as a stepping stone to a future Kindle that’s more multipurpose or that allows e-commerce to intrude on the reading experience.

Re Library Lending, Bezos didn't feel he could say more than “sometime this year” for when library lending would be available on the Kindle. "But he did say that users should expect a lineup of titles that’s at least comparable to those available for competing devices that support library e-books."

In Len Edgerly's conversation with Jay Marine the other day, it seemed that "by the end of the year" was brought up. The last time I heard that phrase used (and it was for Kindle book loans between Kindle owners), it was finally announced as ready on Dec. 31, so I wouldn't count on it being any sooner. It'd be nice to be surprised though.

CR reports that Bezos said again that Color E Ink “is not ready for prime time…the colors are very pale.” And Reynolds notes that 'he added that “it continues to be improved” and “it makes a lot of sense for there to be a low-power, reflective color display. I think that’s something you could build a fantastic product around.”

Well, I don't think they can afford to wait for that before offering a color tablet. Quite obviously they're working on one, and I'll be adding more on the possibilities soon.

Kindle 3's (UK: Kindle 3's), K3 Special, $114 DX Graphite

CONVERTER for Kindle, a new app from 7 Dragons - Update

Dragon 7 Group, which brought us Notepad, the most popular longer-time Kindle app, has just released Converter ((Easy Conversions for Kindle). As with other Kindle apps, Amazon has not yet made them available internationally.

From the product description:
Converter is a simple utility that lets you convert between different units of measure on your Kindle and answers common conversion questions. How many Cups are in a Quart and how many Teaspoons are in a Tablespoon? Having trouble converting between Celsius and Fahrenheit while visiting a foreign country? Quickly convert among 76 units of measure in these 11 categories:
- Angle
- Area
- Energy
- Length/Distance
- Power
- Pressure
- Speed
- Temperature
- Time
- Volume
- Weight

There is more in the description on the product page.

Update - Typing Numbers on the Kindle 3
The Converter tool explains numbers on the Kindle 3 but here's a general explanation so you'll be prepared. The combo of the alt-key followed by the hidden number keys on the top row work best and they're shown at the bottom of the pages.
[End of Update]

I've downloaded the utility and it's pretty fast, more so when you learn some shortcuts, and I especially like 'b' for switching the From and To types.

Instead of just depending on Menu options and Menu Help, you can view, at Vimeo, videos showing the Kindle Converter and Kindle Converter Shortcuts as well as several other videos on using the Converter. You can select them in the box at the right at Vimeo. Those include Intro, Detailed Intro, Quick Look, and Converter pages.

For 99 cents, a very helpful tool!

Kindle 3's (UK: Kindle 3's), K3 Special, $114 DX Graphite

The Kindle Chronicles interviews Amazon's Jay Marine re Library Lending, etc.

AMAZON'S JAY MARINE ANSWERS SOME QUESTIONS IN THE KINDLE CHRONICLES FRIDAY PODCAST

Kindle Director Jay Marine is interviewed by Len Edgerly for last Friday's podcast at thekindlechronicles.com.

Special Offers: some want these for older Kindles
For each podcast, Len has a text summary with a description of what's covered in the various regular sections, and it's the most relaxing way to catch up with the week's Kindle news.

They start out by discussing the new $114 Kindle with Special Offers and Ads (the Special Offers being a carrot for the currently low-key ads said to subsidize lower-cost Kindles).

The initial offers include:
. $10 for $20 Amazon.com Gift Card
. $6 for 6 Audible Books (normally $68)
. $1 for an album in the Amazon MP3 Store
(choice of over 1 million albums)
. $10 for $30 of products in the Amazon Denim Shop or Amazon Swim Shop
. Free $100 Amazon.com Gift Card when you get an
Amazon Rewards Visa Card (normally $30)
. Buy one of 30 Kindle bestsellers with your Visa card
to get a $10 Amazon.com credit
. 50% off Roku Streaming Player (normally $99)

As more ads are bought by companies to be displayed on the ads-supported Kindle, it'll be interesting to watch the ratio of ads to special offers.

While I've not been interested in this for myself, others who have Kindles already are asking, on forums, that the older Kindles get updated software to get the special offers too. Of course, the ads would come along with those special offers.

Marine is asked if Amazon has plans to do something like this for those wanting the special offers in a software update. You can hear the answer at the podcast.

Kindle Library Lending
A question asked in the discussion of how the Kindle Library Lending will be run involved whether or not Amazon would use Adobe's DRM (digital rights management) process as Barnes & Noble, Sony, and Kobe do.

In my article on how the Lending Library would probably function, vs how it's run for the other e-reader companies, I didn't think Amazon would be using Adobe's DRM.

Marine confirms that they will not be using Adobe's DRM and that when you opt to borrow a library e-book that's available, you'll be able to have it within 60 seconds without needing to download any other software. That's a big advantage. And it means, to me, that Amazon will provide the download in order to track annotations and keep them for the users for possible future use.

According to Marine, they waited until they could do it 'right' because their entire goal with the Kindle has been to make downloads seamless and fast.

They discuss how it won't be ready right away. Len asks some good questions during the interview. He doesn't ask about the rumored Android tablet, he explains, since Amazon has a policy of not talking about possible coming products.

Kindle 3's (UK: Kindle 3's), K3 Special, $114 DX Graphite

Inside Apple - Fortune's report on ' how Apple really works' - $0.99 on Kindle. Update 3

INSIDE APPLE - From Steve Jobs down to the janitor: How America's most successful - and most secretive - big company really works, by Adam Lashinsky Sr. Editor at Large - Fortune (Kindle Edition - May 10, 2011). That's a mouthful of a title!

Update - Amazon has changed the download date each day. Release was to be 5/10/11, then it was 5/11, and today, it's 5/12. One has to wonder why the holdup, not that it's that important, but it's strange. Maybe Fortune didn't want it competing for first-days download when they'd want people to buy their own magazine app (for Apple devices only) to read the report, which makes some sense. Also, as noted, Amazon's version has added-material.

Update2 - As of 6:15 am or so, 5/11, Amazon has made the download available for Kindles after all, and the Product Detail release date was set back to 5/10. If you've pre-ordered it, it'll just show up on your Kindle now.

Update3 - It's quite a short, unsurprising article. I'm surprised they'd begin to call it a 'book,' and definitely it's not a long, meaty article even.

~~No longer described as a 'pre-order,'~~ the official release is dated 5/10/11 but not downloadable ~~now~~ until ~~5/11/11~~ 5/12/11 for some reason. Should be a fascinating read. $0.99 in the U.S.

From the Product Description:

' To Apple’s legion of admirers, the company is like a tech version of Wonka’s factory, an enigmatic but enchanted place that produces wonderful items they can’t get enough of. That characterization is true, but Apple also is a brutal and unforgiving place, where accountability is strictly enforced, decisions are swift, and communication is articulated clearly from the top. Fortune takes you around 1 Infinite Loop, inside Apple’s management structure, and into a world where CEO Steve Jobs doesn’t tolerate duds. '

Not an exaggeration, judging from Sunday's news about how Jobs handled the MobileMe matter. As noted, he did bring the company from near-bankruptcy to a hugely $-rich company.

While the Fortune issue detailing everything is available as a download of the Fortune app for APPLE devices here, and that will get you the latest issue with the full report at $4.99, macstories.net updated their report by letting their readers know that Inside Apple is now available on Amazon as a Kindle Edition, adding:

' it’s undoubtedly the best way to get the full story (which includes several more details, facts and anecdotes than the ones summarized...) without purchasing the entire [Fortune] issue or subscribing to the magazine. '

Furthermore, it's only $.99 as a Kindle edition instead of $4.99 for the Fortune app on iPad or iPhone, etc.

In fact, many aren't aware that it's Amazon's policy that you don't need to buy a Kindle to read Kindle books.

You can just download either the free Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac apps to download and read the Kindle version on your laptop or computer. In addition, there are several other Kindle apps available for the various smartphones and tablets now, and they'll also be able to read this.

Kindle 3's (UK: Kindle 3's), K3 Special, $114 DX Graphite

Tips for new Kindlers on Mother's Day. Free Kindle books. Battery use.

Mother's Day greeting at left, is from the Manhasset Library.

Since many will be opening new Kindles today, I thought I'd mention a couple of things that can help with finding free books, to give it a workout, and do a reminder on tips for getting the most out of the Kindle battery.
At the top of this blog's reference column, you can always find free books available at the moment (some are temporarily free due to promos).

Temporarily-free books -
Non-classics - USA: by:
NEW: Last 30+ days May 2011
Publication Date Late-listed
Bestselling High-ratings
UK: PubDate Popular

Most Popular Free K-Books
U.S. & Int'l (NOT UK):
Top 100 free
UK-Only:
Top 100 free
USEFUL for your Kindle (U.S. only, for now):
99c Notepad for Kindle, 99c CalendarPro

You can also get an idea of other sources for over a million free books as well as get some pre-set links for low-cost Kindle books, at the Free Kindle Books guide here

SPECIAL BOOK DEALS TODAY - temporary promos
The Amazon Kindle Forums often has message threads on discounted books that include some free books.

Yesterday's included a tip on Kindle books from Rosettabooks that have tie-ins with movies, available at $0.00 today. I've no idea for how long. These include: A Passage to India, The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, and others.

There are also some Dr. Vook TextVooks available for $0.00 today BUT BEWARE of any that are animated, with audio/video, as those features work ONLY on the iPad, iPhone, or iPod (Touch) -- they don't work on the Kindle or even the Kindle for PC app either.

However, the NON-animated TextVooks are extremely "brief" (maybe 15-20 pages only) and said to be good 1/2-hour refreshers for some. For $0, those may be worth a download for the Kindle. I have to believe the product descriptions are thoroughly tongue-in-cheek, by a cheeky professor who says outfront that these are written by graduate students. The "Did you know?" boxes can be fun, and the TextVooks are like more-filled-out outlines.

More from The Complete Works Collection

The blog entry just before this had to do with the Complete Works Collection offerings for $2.99.

What I hadn't noticed among the sets was the Harvard Classics set, which my family actually had when I was growing up. A lot of families did. They must have been sold by radio or door to door. This is quite a set though.

TIP 1 - for using Table of Contents to get to Chapters and back
I've read that some who jump to a chapter have felt that they must then page through until they can get the next chapter or another one they want.

The trick is that if you want to go back to the LAST place you were when you 'jumped' by clicking a link, you just press the "Back" button and you're back where you were before the 'jump.' This works for footnotes too, generaly.

For those who bought Shakespeare sets, some families might be interested in a not-free but much-praised Shakespeare GLOSSARY. Warning: it's $12 but many feel it's well worth it while trying to read that old English :-)

BATTERY LIFE
The Kindle is known for its long battery life, but certain functions use a lot more battery power than others, and one involves a process that's a part of putting new books on your Kindle (UK: K3).

Indexing - The Kindle allows you to do a Search on the entire device to find a key word or phrase that may occur in any book or magazine on the Kindle.

In order to do that, the Kindle "indexes" all new text material that is placed on it, which means it makes lists of key words found in each so that they can be found when you decide to do a Search, either within a book (commonly done) or of all the text on the Kindle (less common and it takes awhile to get search results but this can be very useful).

That indexing takes a LOT of battery life. New Kindles seem to use a lot more juice than people had expected, and that's because they are usually getting a lot of new books on them, with a lot of indexing to be done.

Sometimes, a book might not finish indexing for some reason, and that can cause slowdowns.
TIP 2 - If you think the Kindle is being a bit slow and you want to check to see if a book has not completely finished indexing but should have completed (a day later, say), do a SEARCH on a nonsense word, such as "xwzq" and the search will end without finding that (normally!). However, if a book has not completed indexing, you'll get a message to that effect.

It shouldn't take more than an hour or 4 to do indexing, but I've seen that people put hundreds of books on right away, or even a thousand, in a couple of cases. That will take quite a bit of time to index.

If a book never finishes indexing (after a day or two), it probably became corrupted during a downloading session due to weak reception with the WiFi or 3G. I'd delete it and re-download it.

TIP 3 - Plug in the charger when you're putting a LOT of books on it, because you can read while the device is charging. That way, the indexing won't use battery power, and you won't be surprised by the battery being unusually low after you've added a great many books. A few books, no big difference -- but as I say, some just download or transfer hundreds right away.

BATTERY ADVISORIES FROM KINDLE CUSTOMER SERVICE FORUM MESDAGES
I collected the ones that were made over a year ago, and they still hold.

Essentially, no battery power is used for a screensaver/screensleeper or for any page of content, until something changes in that page. Kindle Team recommends you just let the Kindle go to sleep rather than power it down. It takes more power to turn it on often, actually.

TIP 4 - When you're through reading for a while, CLOSE the book by pressing the "Home" button. This records the last-page you read so that you return to that page when you next open the book (or when you next open the book but you're using your smartphone which is sync'd with the Kindle - a nice feature). Closing the book by pressing the "Home" button also saves, to a special file, your highlighting and notes, so it's important to do that.

The type of battery in the Kindle shouldn't be brought down to Zero. Amazon recommends you not let it get below 25% or so. Leaving enough there prevents problems. There's no harm in topping off, because there's no "memory" effect as with the older type of batteries.

Read much more in the Battery Advisories from Amazon Kindle Customer Service.

That should do it!

Special Kindle Illustrated, Commented Editions - Complete Works Collections - UPDATE

THE COMPLETE WORKS COLLECTION

These are sets published this year, and I hear more attention is given to formatting with the newer ones.

While I have the Complete Works of Shakespeare already, I wanted some of the features mentioned in the product detail. Using the Shakespeare set as an example, the description is: "The Complete Plays of Shakespeare (Special Kindle Illustrated and Commented Edition) All of William Shakespeare's Unabridged Plays AND Yale Critical..."

The set was "especially created for the Kindle" and is "commented and fully illustrated," with:

' - Over 12 full color (color enabled device required) illustrations and photographs [Well, THAT makes no sense, does it. But the Kindle can deal with color photographs; it just shows them in black and white. However, your Kindle for PC or for Mac and other Kindle apps can show them in full color] ...
- Over 300 pages of additional biographical and historical materials
- Over 14 critical essays from leading Shakespeare scholars from Yale University on various aspects of Shakespeare's life and literary legacy
- Fully Kindle enabled with fully interactive table of contents, Kindle MasterLink technology, Kindle Text-to-Speech ' (Audiobook) enabled, Kindle Lending Technology enabled

Note that sets of complete works, with illustrations, will be several times larger than a regular Kindle book. In this case the file for the Kindle book is 6 times larger than the average Kindle book.

Here's the page listing all the Collections available.

These sets are probably, at $2.99 each or less, something students and families might find worth a look.

UPDATE - I perused my copy more closely. The illustrations I've seen so far have been in in the front and are small although putting your cursor on them and clicking on one zooms it to fill the screen but they're not in high resolution.

There is also no explanation for these illustrations. It's as if they're there just for atmosphere. I don't see why they couldn't explain one was the Globe Theater. For a set with a very good set of notes in the BACK of the book, the lack of information for the illustrations is pure laziness.

The Table of Contents: As promised, it's interactive, but the essays under "A critical Introduction to Shakespeare" by writers from Yale University, while linked under most circumstances, doesn't work if the would-be link winds up at the top of the page in some font-settings. The workaround is to lower or raise the font size so it moves off the first line and then you can click on it.

The essays start at Location 82864. (Good to bookmark it.) Curiously, just in front of it is another illustration and this one is explained. And there are others illustrations in the Yales essays section.

Chapters (to give you an idea of whether or not they'll interest you)
1.   An Outline of Shakespeare's Life
2.   English Drama before Shakespeare
3.   The Elizabethan Theater
4.   Elizabethan London
5.   Shakespeare's Nondramatic Works
6.   The Sequence of Shakespeare's plays
7.   Shakespeare's Development as a Dramatist
8.   The Chief Sources of Shakespeare's Plays
9.   How Shakespeare got into print
10. The Plays of the First Period -
Imitation and Experiment 1587 (?)-1594
11. The Plays of the Second Period - Comedy and History
12. The Plays of the Third Period - Tragedy
13. The Plays of the Fourth Period - Romantic Tragi-Comedy
14. Chapter 14 - Famous Mistakes and Delusions about Shakespeare

Although the Complete WORKS by Shakespeare, via Mobile Reference does not have the voluminous notes/essays, its formatting is easier to read, as they use bold facing and more separation between lines. They do recommend font size 2 to avoid odd line breaks but you can rotate the Kindle to Landscape to avoid that. That set is $2.99 also and is nicely organized but has only a short biography of Shakespeare as an addition. The sonnets and other poems are included in that set though.

THIS set of plays uses small italics instead of bold facing (to identify the speaker) and less separation of lines.

Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's), K3 Special, $114 DX Graphite