Kindle from Amazon

Kindle

This book reading device from Amazon looks great. I saw this on the week-end and fell in love with it. I have been an avid reader from an early age, so any device the size of a small paperback that can store 3,500 e-books and documents is going to get my attention.

What makes it stand out to me is the "do one thing really well" philosophy that appears to be behind the device, intentionally or not. It is an e-book reading device, and that is all. And that is great because that is all I want it to do. It does have built-in Wi-Fi, which is fantastic for getting e-books and documents from the internet to the reader. I won't be using the Kindle as a browser because I don't need yet-another-browser.

I am indeed fortunate that one of these is coming my way for my birthday. Oh yes, this is coming from the United States, and the device plus a charger plus shipping is still less than an equivalent device I can buy here - the Kobo from Borders. As I see it, the Kindle is also better than the Kobo (though the Kobo does come with 100 free classics).

So what kind of books would I put on the Kindle? As I said, I have loved reading since I was a sageling, and in that time many books have come and gone through my hands. Yet in all that time I have kept hold of a select few books. I have kept books about software development (The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master). There are books on Buddhism, and several books on cooking. I still have anthologies of horror and science fiction and fantasy stories, as well as works by favoured authors like Edgar Allan Poe.

These books all still have meaning for me or they would not be on my shelves. I would eventually like to get them on the Kindle assuming they are available. I can imagine reading classics on public transport to and from work [1]. I can imagine having software reference books at my finger-tips while working. I can imagine the continuing education as I read books outside my comfort zone. It will be hard not to go crazy downloading ebooks - I look forward to the challenge.


Will the Kindle live up to the hype? I hope so. I really look forward to giving it a good review and rekindling my passion for reading books.

Thank-you for reading

[1] I am fortunate enough to work from home, for now. I am not naive enough to think this will last forever. I am almost certain to once again take public transport to work at some point in the future

Internet Radio: Accuradio

Accuradio

My sister-in-law (the singing one) recently had to write an assignment on a musical genre. She chose classical crossover. For those who are not familiar, this is a genre in which classical artists have crossed over into mainstream music or a fusion of classical elements with more modern elements. An example of the first category would be someone like Luciano Pavarotti or Charlotte Church. An example of the second category would be Manowar (a heavy metal band) singing opera (Nessun Dorma) or Yngwie Malmsteen performing with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. Yes, it is not something everyone will enjoy, but those who do enjoy it will love it.

One resource she found while researching classical crossover was Accuradio. They boast a very large number of channels. Apart from classical and pop they also have vocals and world. One of the sub-channels of classical is classical crossover, and this is where my Internet Radio has stayed for at least the last week. While I am yet to hear Mr Malmsteen on this channel, it has provided to me some absolutely wonderful performances. More than once I have been tempted away from work to look up the details of a particularly appealing piece.

To my sister-in-law, I thank you for finding this particular station.

Thank-you for reading