Wolfie007My dog is an elitist Premium Member join:2005-03-12 |
to Guspaz
Re: Kindle Paperwhite finally launching in CanadaOne last thing I needed to check, to see how various non-Kindle books would convert to the Kindle format. The pagination is screwed up on other apps but displays perfectly on the Kindle app on the Playbook. So I ordered the button model. Looking forward to it, but if it's the ad version, it's going right back. Pretty sure now that it isn't, though. |
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to Guspaz
Just broke down & bought the $139 unit. Looking forward to giving it a good work out. |
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GuspazGuspaz MVM join:2001-11-05 Montreal, QC |
Guspaz
MVM
2013-Jan-30 4:02 pm
Pagination? Generally an ePub converted for the Kindle should be indistinguishable from a native MOBI version of the same file... I certainly can't tell any difference between a Baen book where I've converted the ePub to MOBI versus the native MOBI (Baen gives you their books in all conceivable formats when you buy them).
In terms of the left hand, it's a missing feature to be sure. You can still use your left thumb by swiping it, but that requires stretching it farther. |
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Wolfie007My dog is an elitist Premium Member join:2005-03-12 |
said by Guspaz:Pagination? Generally an ePub converted for the Kindle should be indistinguishable from a native MOBI version of the same file... I certainly can't tell any difference between a Baen book where I've converted the ePub to MOBI versus the native MOBI What do you use for conversion? Calibre? Does it look OK in the internal viewer? Maybe I'm missing something simple, but going between ePub and MOBI or the other way always seems to lose pagination in the Calibre internal viewer and in Book Reader. For instance, when I convert stuff purchased from Amazon into ePub (because Book Reader doesn't really support mobi all that well) the pagination is shot. But in the test that I did (going from ePub to MOBI) I specified "Kindle" as the output profile, and though the pagination once again looked shot in the Calibre viewer, it displays fine in the Playbook Kindle app. As long as the conversions display fine on the physical Kindle, that's all I care about. P.S.- I noticed that the voltage and the microUSB adapter on the Playbook charger are the same as the Kindle, so I should be able to use that charger with it instead of a computer USB port -- an added plus! |
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GuspazGuspaz MVM join:2001-11-05 Montreal, QC |
Guspaz
MVM
2013-Jan-30 4:26 pm
I haven't converted anything in a long time, but I used calibre, and I don't use the calibre viewer. What do you mean by pagination is messed up? eBooks don't use any pagination at all, except between chapters. |
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Wolfie007My dog is an elitist Premium Member join:2005-03-12 |
Sorry, I should have been more clear. What I mean is that explicit page breaks are gone -- i.e.- the title page runs right into the table of contents which runs right into the preface which runs right into the first chapter, etc. At least as observed in the Calibre viewer and in Book Reader. But as I say, ePubs converted to MOBI that seem to have "lost" pagination seem to still display correctly in Kindle. I even verified that the hyperlinked table of contents works, and takes you to the correct page. |
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Wolfie007 |
to Guspaz
Well that was efficient -- my Kindle just shipped! It took four hours! |
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milnoc
Member
2013-Jan-30 8:28 pm
And you should get it within a day or two, with your account info already pre-programmed.
Don't worry. you can easily change it if it isn't the account you want to use for buying books. |
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GuspazGuspaz MVM join:2001-11-05 Montreal, QC |
Guspaz
MVM
2013-Jan-30 8:42 pm
You'll get it in a day or two if Canada Post doesn't fail to leave a delivery slip during the delivery attempt, proceed to deliver it to a different post office than your normal one, forget to scan it at the post office as it arrives making it appear as if it's still in transit, and then put it on the wrong shelf in the back room so that the post office employee can't find it when you show up to ask where the heck it is.
Luckily, all that only meant that the delivery took 4 days instead of 1. It did mean some unnecessary walks in the cold, though. |
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Wolfie007My dog is an elitist Premium Member join:2005-03-12 |
Ah, yes, the illustrious members of CUPW. Last time I ordered something from Amazon it was just a paperback book and I ended up finding it by accident on a chair on the front porch. It's always an adventure with Canada Post. Maybe this time they will fling it through my window or leave it on the street in a puddle of water at the end of the driveway. We shall see. |
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Wolfie007 1 edit |
to Guspaz
Well that was impressive. Less than 24 hours after placing the order, and it was sitting in the mailbox (superbox). For all I know, it might have been there for hours! I was expecting a delivery at the door. Nothing to report yet as I want to let it warm up to room temperature, but it comes in a completely different and much nicer box than what The Source had. EDIT: Turned it on, network setup was a breeze, there are no ads, it looks beautiful. Happy camper here. Now to load it up with books for tonight's reading! |
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GuspazGuspaz MVM join:2001-11-05 Montreal, QC |
Guspaz
MVM
2013-Jan-31 4:20 pm
The box annoyed me, although that might be because the plastic strip broke when I tried to tear the "tear here" strip and I had to resort to an exacto knife :P
At least they didn't ship the bare Kindle box this time. |
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milnoc
Member
2013-Jan-31 5:51 pm
I received just the bare black Kindle box, just like my previous Kindles. No problems here.
The Kindle does funny things at low temperatures. The power button can freeze up and not work at all. And once it does work, the page refresh can be so slow, it's often incomplete. Luckily, it warms up quickly and is generally unaffected by a cold spell. |
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Wolfie007My dog is an elitist Premium Member join:2005-03-12 |
to Guspaz
No real complaints so far, and I've moved over a pretty large sample of books, but those of you who bought the Paperwhite have the advantage of being able to choose nicer default fonts, like the elegant Baskerville or Palatino. The basic Kindle has only Caecilia as the default font, albeit in serif or sans-serif or condensed versions. To my eye it looks rather cold and austere, the sort of font you'd expect to find on a customs and immigration form. All in all, with colours and font choices, and colourful book covers on display, I think either Book Reader or Kindle on the Playbook makes a much visual nicer first impression than the physical Kindle. But then, long-term reading with a paper feel is what it's all about. I also found that the front USB ports on my primary desktop computer don't have enough juice to charge the Kindle. Possibly the rear ports do but I didn't bother trying. Other computers charge it fine, even the laptop, and so does the Playbook charger.
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milnoc
Member
2013-Feb-1 8:37 pm
You can also use a MicroUSB phone charger. |
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Wolfie007My dog is an elitist Premium Member join:2005-03-12 |
to Guspaz
More news on the Kindle front. Reading is important to me, so I was checking this out carefully. I guess I've been reading on the tablet for a long time because I'd almost forgotten how hard it is to get comfortable lighting for reading a paper book in bed, especially since I'd gotten used to reading in a pretty dark room and sometimes lying down rather than sitting upright with the book towards the light. And the Kindle possibly needs even more light than most paper books. Long and short of it is, I went out today to look for a book light to clamp on to the Kindle. After looking at the different types and their advantages and disadvantages and the prices of the better ones, I finally ended up buying the perfect solution: a Kindle Paperwhite (which just happened to be in stock at Staples for the same price as Amazon)!! So now I have two Kindles. Not sure if I'll bother returning the original one which is also pretty nice, but I love the lighting and the extra font choices on the Paperwhite (Palatino is my favourite by far -- man, does it ever look nicer -- you can get some idea from the screenshot in the other post!). Staples had it on display (unlike the freaking "Source") and I fell in love with it immediately! Guspaz .... you should have been MUCH more enthusiastic in your praise of this thing. I blame you for the fact that I have two Kindles now! Haven't used it enough to see if the touchscreen vs. physical controls make that much of a difference. Only problem I see is that when looking at your book list, you can't tap on the screen to go to the next page because it thinks you want to open whatever book you're tapping at. As far as I can figure out, you have to swipe to go to the next page when you're in book list view. Couple of other observations. The Paperwhite seems slightly more laggish in responding to taps than the old one is in responding to button clicks. Also, for whatever reason, the Paperwhite charges just fine on my old computer's front USB ports, the old one didn't. |
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to Guspaz
Geez I hate UPS. I don't know how they stay in business. Feb 5 2013 06:00:00 PM RICHMOND BC CA Delay in delivery due to weather or natural disaster Feb 1 2013 02:15:00 AM CONCORD ON CA Departure Scan Jan 31 2013 09:23:00 PM CONCORD ON CA Shipment received by carrier Jan 31 2013 03:44:15 PM Mississauga ON CN Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit Didn't arrive today either. I had no idea a tsumani in the Solomon Islands affected distribution from the UPS station in Richmond B.C. As to our weather... it did what it always does rain & about +9C.
I send & receive Fedex shipped items almost daily. Never late, in fact days ahead sometimes.
UPS is so full of shyte. Grrrrrrr! |
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Wolfie007My dog is an elitist Premium Member join:2005-03-12 |
Funny that they sent it UPS, mine was sent as an expedited package via Canada Post and arrived the next day. Waiting nearly a week for a courier shipment that doesn't even go through customs is nuts!! |
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to Thingamajig
LOL judging by the time stamp its more likely that "Driver clocked out for the day". |
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milnoc
Member
2013-Feb-7 7:42 am
I had one UPS package sent to Minnesota instead of Montreal. It was a rackmount server. Pretty big package to misplace. |
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