scouring

Michael Piston asked:


You’re spending a relaxing afternoon reading an e-book on your new Kindle 2 e-book reader and the thought strikes you - “I need to check my e-mail to see if I’ve heard back from my daughter!” Now normally that means that you have to stop reading, put down your Kindle, and check your e-mail account on your computer. But, if you have a Gmail account you can read and respond to e-mails right on your Kindle!

First, go to your Kindle’s built-in basic web browser (Home > Menu > Experimental > Basic Web). Next, make sure that Javascript for your Kindle’s browser is turned on (Browser > Menu > Settings > Enable Javascript). Finally, go to the Gmail Internet address (Browser > Menu > Enter URL > www.gmail.com), enter your Username and Password.

IMPORTANT - use the standard Gmail URL and not the Google URL provided by default in the Kindle’s bookmark folder. If you try to access your Gmail from the URL provided in your Kindle you will be prompted to load a Google Gmail application. Applications cannot be loaded onto your Kindle so this will fail - you need to use the URL provided above to be able to use your Gmail account.

Are you a Twitter user? If you’d like to send a “Tweet” to your friends and followers about the great new book your reading on your Kindle you can do it right from your Kindle. This popular microblogging service offers a mobile version that works great on your Kindle.

Go to your Kindle’s built-in basic web browser (Home > Menu > Experimental > Basic Web). Next, make sure that Javascript for your Kindle’s browser is turned on (Browser > Menu > Settings > Enable Javascript). Finally, go to the Twitter Mobile URL (Browser > Menu > Enter URL > www.m.twitter.com), enter your Username and Password.

IMPORTANT - The standard Twitter URL is too complex for your Kindle to display properly. Use the URL above for best results on your Kindle. Have you ever wanted to “save” a page you were reading to share with a friend? The Kindle has two different ways to do this. The first way is to take a screen shot of the page you wish to share. To take a screen shot hold down the and the keys then press the “G” key. You will notice that the Kindle screen will “flash” showing that the Kindle created the screen shot.

The screen shots are stored in your Kindle’s “documents” folder as image files with a .gif extension. You can get them by plugging your Kindle into your computer using the USB cable that you got with your Kindle. Open “My Computer” and look for the Kindle drive icon. Double click on the icon to open up your Kindle and then double-click on the “documents” folder. Look for files that end with .gif and you’ll find the screen shots you just made.

To share them with your friends you can save the files to your computer and then attach them to an e-mail message. You also can print-out the screen shots by opening them in a graphic program such as Windows Paint or Windows Internet Explorer. The quality is not great - but is certainly acceptable for sharing several pages.

There is another way to capture and share passages from Kindle e-books. When you highlight passages from Kindle e-books and make notes your Kindle saves them to a file in the “documents” folder called “My Clippings.txt”. You can open this file with a program like Windows Notepad and copy your highlights to save in another program or share.

To do this, go to the passage you wish to share. Move the Kindle cursor to the beginning of the passage you want to save and click the navigation button. Now move the cursor to the end of the passage you want to save and press the navigation button again once all of the text is highlighted. This will save the highlighted text to the “My Clippings.txt” file.

Plug your Kindle into your computer then look for the Kindle icon in “My Computer.” Double- click on the Kindle drive icon then double-click on the “documents” folder. Locate the “My Clippings.txt” file and double-click on it to open it in Windows Notepad. Find the text you highlighted on the Kindle. It should be at the bottom of the file. You can copy the text and paste it into a program like Microsoft Word to save it. Or you can copy and paste the text into an e-mail message.

Up to now we’ve been talking about text - now let’s talk about graphics. If you haven’t noticed, your Kindle 2 offers the ability to enlarge graphics so you can actually see them! To do this simply move your cursor over the graphic and it will change to a magnifying glass. Press the navigator button and your Kindle will zoom-in on the image so that it fills the Kindle’s screen. This is very handy when you are reading books with technical graphics or screen shots. The Kindle 2’s screen is enough better quality that these graphics are worthwhile reviewing as you read through your books. To return to the original page view, press the button or the button.

Congratulations! Now you can use your Kindle 2 to check your Gmail, Twitter, take screen shots to save or share, save or share passages from Kindle e-books, and make graphics in your e-books more relevant by using the Kindle’s “zoom” feature.

John asked:


Nowadays, a kind of electronic reader device called e-book reader are hot selling at amazon. The feature of this ebook reader is, you can download thousands of e-books online and store the e-books at the DISK by using this device. The e-book reader is as light as a real book, easy to hand it to every where. So you can bring it just as you bring a real book, but actully you can read many different books just operate this device. The manufactures who have developed the electronic readers include Samsung, sony, panasonic, and a new IT manufacture from china,Hanvon. These are two news about the e-book reader listed below.

The Hanvon eBook Reader is an Electric Paper Display based device that provides pleasant reading experience to the customers. Touch screen, Handwriting input, and Wi-Fi connections are core strengths of Hanvon eBook Reader. Comparing to the Amazon Kindle and Sony Prs-700, the Hanvon E-reader is only 5.9oz weight, 11mm thick, super power save, and huge memory capacity. These valued features are providing an excellent convenience to the travel, meeting, and corporation trainings.

Samsung had an early version of its Papyrus e-book reader on hand at CES, but it looks like a spruced up version of the device is now making the rounds in Europe, and the company has taken advantage of the opportunity to dish out a few new details.

Now let’s think about this issue, will this new electronic tech bring a revolution of culture aspect? without doubt, it will improve the rapid of culture spreading, and make people getting knowledge more easier. On the other hand, it also makes the bad culture spreading to all over the world easily. Maybe some day the publishing company will be closed, or they have to change their business.

James Kara Murat asked:


If you have just heard about the entire latest buzz surrounding the e-book reader Kindle from Amazon, you need to know more. Here are the top 10 aspects about Kindle almost everyone needs to know!

i. MP3 playing

The Kindle device from Amazon has the amazing ability to play all the MP3 songs which you would have downloaded into the internal storage mechanism. Capacities of the internal storage are around 180 MB in space. You could also store these MP3 songs in the allocated SD card slot. You can play the songs in random shuffle and choose to listen to songs in the background while you read the e-book!

ii. DRM support

The Kindle comes with DRM support by means of support for file types of extensions .AZW. It also is compatible with Mobipocket books of the unprotected varieties. Therefore file types like .MOBI, .TXT, .PRC, Word as well as .HTML are all supported by the Kindle. You can transfer files via USB or via email. No more need to print!

iii. Kindle Now Now

This is a new feature introduced by Kindle which enables a powerful search mechanism. By means of a query mechanism you can search for almost anything you wish for absolutely free of cost! This search facility is powered with the help of Mechanical Turn from Amazon which is a distributed system of work.

iv. Blog subscription

You can avail blog subscriptions by paying a meager 2 dollars every month! Besides this, you also get access to a 14 day trial period. For no additional cost, you get to browse the blogs directly via the ‘Basic Web’ which is a browser provided for free. You only pay for access to the RSS feeds but not for surfing the web.

v. Font types supported

Kindle primarily supports two kinds of fonts namely the Neue Helvetica and the Caecilia. These are provided by Linotype. Book texts are all provided in the default Caecilia font. However, other than reading, you can select from 6 font types.

vi. Ergonomics

While the Kindle may not have great aesthetics what with a no-so-great looking color, the shape of the device is very ergonomically designed.

vii. No scroll keys

If you wish to navigate to the next page or further below, there are no scroll down keys provided in the Kindle. To move across content or even scrolling on the web pages you will need to use the page forward keys and the back button for this.

viii. Audible e-books

You can use the Kindle from Amazon to play out audible e-books. However the ‘whispernet’ service provided by means of the EVDO internet connection does not support downloads of such audible e-books on air. You will need to leverage the Audible Manager for downloading and subsequently copy the file to Kindle via USB port on the PC. This eliminates the need for printing altogether.

ix. Text file download

Kindle allows you to easily download text files for future use. All it takes is just 45 seconds to download even massive text files!

x. Files not supported

The Kindle does not ensure compatibility with Mobipocket files which have been DRMed. Also the Kindle will not support PDF file types – not even after you convert the file!

James Kara Murat asked:


There has been a lot of buzz lately about the brand new e-book reader launched by Amazon. The most popular e-book reader around has been the one launched by Sony.

The price difference

One of the main differences that really stands out between the Sony E-book Reader and Kindle is the vast price disparity. There’s a whopping 100 dollar difference with the Sony reader being priced at 300 USD and Kindle having a price of 400 USD. While the Sony reader promises a host of freebie features like free viewing of PDF files, no internet connection needed, free access to blogs as well as RSS feeds and even a memory card included in the welcome kit, this reader from Sony sure has plenty of upsides to it. However, Kindle isn’t far behind what with the capacity to contain more than 200 titles and an SD card slot that is included with it. However, you do need to pay 1 dollar for every blog and RSS feed respectively which is quite a bit expensive.

The format

While the Sony Reader allows you to view PDF files free of cost, the Kindle charges a 10 cent fee for every PDF file that you would sync into the device. Also Kindle tends to read HTML, plain text formats and images from the SD card but doesn’t do too well with DOC, RTF and PDF formats. But then again even the Sony Reader cannot read DOC formats directly.

E-ink technology

As far as the 6 inch LCD screen display goes in the Kindle, the display uses the revolutionary e-ink technology using ‘Vizplex’ film on the surface. However, both the Sony Reader and the Kindle have used the same technology. The plus side to this technology is that 40% of received light gets deflected and uses reflected instead of transmitted light which makes both devices easy on the eyes.

Printability

There is no need to print any document because Kindle offers portability in taking along all personal documents at anytime in any place, thereby eliminating the need for printing. The 10 cent fee is applicable for wireless transfer of word documents. However, if users do not wish to shell out this fee, free transfers can be leveraged. For this, the file or attachment needs to be sent to ‘name’@free.kindle.com where name stands for the ID used for your Kindle email address. So if the Kindle email ID is smith@kindle.com then attachments need to be sent to smith@free.kindle.com and then the file gets converted and emailed to the associated Amazon account.

Battery life

The Amazon Kindle is by far a better choice when it comes to battery life. You can go for four days at a stretch without any need to charge the Kindle. Besides, this is its good network coverage in almost any area which makes for good portability. Turning pages is as easy at the click of a button which means that even if you are reading the e-book in bed, operating the Kindle is much easier than the Sony Reader.

Michael Piston asked:


Fans of Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader have plenty of content from which to choose. Amazon offers over 260,000 (as of this writing) e-books, newspapers, magazines, and other publications that can be transmitted by wireless to the Kindle. With all of this content you may wonder if you’ll ever need another source for your reading enjoyment. But think of all of the other content you may have stored away in your computer in the form of Adobe Acrobat .pdf files, text files, or .HTML files you’ve downloaded from the Internet. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to put these on your Kindle as well?

As a matter of fact you can! There are several ways you can do this. Amazon offers a file conversion service for Kindle owners. Check our web site at the address below for an article that provides the steps to use Amazon’s service. But, there is another way that we’ll describe in this article and that is with the Mobipocket Creator software. Mobipocket Creator software is designed to convert documents into the Mobi .prc format that can be read by the Mobipocket e-book Reader software for PCs and for phones using the Palm Os, Windows Mobile, Symbian Os, and Blackberry operating systems. Interestingly Amazon owns Mobipocket and the Amazon Kindle’s book format is based on the Mobipocket format.

What does this mean to you? It means that files you convert with the Mobipocket Creator software can be loaded onto your Kindle through your computer and read as any other Kindle e-book! Here are the instructions for converting your files with Mobipocket Creator software:

1. Realize that this software ONLY works with unprotected files. If the file you want to convert have any sort of DRM (digital rights management) protection then you cannot convert your books.

2. Download the Mobipocket Creator software from Mobipocket’s web site - you’ll find the link below. Make sure you download the “Publisher” edition and not the “Home” edition. The current version is 4.2.

3. Install Mobipocket Creator software on your PC following the installation instructions.

4. Open Mobipocket Creator - you will be at the “Home” page.

5. You will see “Import From Existing File” on the right side of the “Home” page. For this example we’ll convert an Adobe Acrobat file so choose “Adobe PDF” from the menu - this will bring you to the Import File Wizard.

6. Choose the file you wish to convert (using the “Browse” button) and the location in which you wish to place the imported file (again - use the “Browse” button). Click the “Import” button.

7. You will be brought to a work screen that shows you the Publication File or files you’ve imported. From here you can either build your final output to save on your Kindle, or modify some of the options for your e-book.

8. If you wish to add a Cover Image or Table of Contents choose the appropriate menu items under the “View” menu on the left side of the program window. You also can modify a number of settings for your e-book and add or modify the book’s metadata by choosing other options under the “View” menu. Note that you do not have to modify any of the settings under the “View” menu - they are there as options for your use if you choose.

9. When you are done click the “Build” button on the toolbar at the top of the program window. You will be brought to the “Build Publication” window. You can choose the compression settings for your e-book (”Standard” is fine for your Kindle) and also encryption options (choose “No Encryption”). Click the “Build” button just above the progress bars when you are ready to create your e-book.

10. You will go next to the “Build finished” window.  This window will let you know if you’ve successfully created your e-book. You may get a message that says “Build succeeded but with warnings.” Normally this indicates a minor error or notification such as when you choose not to add a cover to your e-book. This will not prevent you from loading the e-book onto your Kindle. 

11. Click the “Open folder containing eBook” then click “OK.” The folder you provided in step 6 will open and you will see a number of files. This will include your initial Adobe PDF file,  plus files with the extension .html, .opf, .xml, and .jpg. You also will see the file you need to transfer to your Kindle, the file with the extension .prc. 

12. Attach your Kindle to your computer using the USB cable. Open your Kindle and locate the “documents” folder. Copy the .prc file you created with Mobipocket Creator into your Kindle’s download folder. Close the Kindle > documents window and disconnect your Kindle by opening “My Computer”, right clicking on the “Kindle” drive icon, and selecting “Eject” from the menu.

13. Your new document will appear on your Kindle’s Home Page. You may need to refresh your Home Page view by pressing and holding down the “ALT” key and then pressing the “Z” key.

14. You can now enjoy your new Kindle e-book.

This process will work for Microsoft Word (.doc), Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), Text (.txt), and HTML files. You can download the Mobipocket Creator software from the Mobipocket web site - http://www.mobipocket.com.

By the way - if your new e-book file does not appear the way you expect on your Kindle 2 and you wish to delete if from your Kindle simply highlight the book and move the 5-way navigator to the left.  The “delete” button will appear, press down on the 5-way navigator and then confirm the delete.

Congratulations! You now know how-to convert files into e-books you can read on your Kindle wireless reading device. 

 

 

Nollen asked:


On This Monday, February 9, 2009, Amazon announced the Kindle 2 - new wireless reading device (latest generation) , which will be available for purchase starting on February 24, 2009 on all online shops for $359, without the speculated price increase.

There may be a variety of reasons that you want to get a new kindle 2 device. For example, I never thought I’d use an e-book reader, but after buying the Kindle I became an instant convert. It has saved me many a boring hour stuck in airports, doctor’s offices, or during business flights. Most hardcover bestsellers or books for business now cost about $30. I can buy the same book for $9 on the Kindle. So the my Kindle now is holding about 100 books.

I love my kindle 1 reading e-book device. Quick, smooth, easy to read, and I don’t complain about the large buttons. But I’ve been waiting for Kindle 2 device. So, I ordered yesterday the my Kindle 2. I received an email saying my order had been upgraded to a Kindle 2 and that I would be in the first group to receive Kindle 2, and would receive mine as soon as Kindle 2 becomes available later this month.

Amazon announced the second latest generation Kindle e-book reader  will be thinner than an iPhone at thick 0.36 inches. There’s seven times more storage then the Kindle 1 first generation device packed inside,  and now holds over 1,500 books. It has a new sharper 16-level e-ink display that turns pages some 20 percent faster, provides even crisper images and clearer text for an improved book-like reading experience. There’s also a new Read-to-Me Text-to-Speech feature and a 25 percent longer battery life, along with a new five-way joystick controller that makes navigation simpler and faster. Kindle 2 comes with the New Oxford American Dictionary and its 250,000 word definitions built-in, and with Kindle 2 definitions appear instantly at the bottom of the page. Amazon also announced that the Kindle Store has now over 230,000 ebooks, plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines available.

Finally, If you do a lot of traveling, or if you are like me and hate having paper books everywhere. So, this is a great innovative device  for you and for all readers all around the USA. I’ll bet you must love to have one NOW! Kindle 2 or new Amazon wireless reading device (latest generation) is available today for pre-order.