Kindle DX Drooool : The Quantum Pontiff

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Dave Bacon is a theoretical ski bum who is also a pseudo professor. His research is on quantum computing, his scientific passions extend to everything in physics, mathematics, computer science and beyond, and his personal pleasures include making wine, playing poker, skiing, camping, and daydreaming (although not all of those at the same time.) Nothing he says on this blog should be construed as having anything to do with his employer or his dog.

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Kindle DX Drooool

Category: Technology
Posted on: May 6, 2009 12:47 PM, by Dave Bacon

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I've not had a chance to play with a Kindle, but seen a lot of them in the coffee shops of Seattle (Amazon will soon be moving to a neighborhood very close to mine, in South Lake Union.) My first impression was: cool, but a bit small. Now here comes the Kindle DX with a 9.7" display and better integrated PDF. Now if Amazon will just offer an easy method for connecting to the arXiv, and I can scrounge up $500 bucks (can I put a Kindle on one of my grants?), I might think of getting one. One question I couldn't find an answer to was whether one could use the "basic web browser" in the Kindle DX to download PDFs.

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Comments

I totally don't understand the Kindle hype, especially if you mainly want to read pdfs and don't care about buying DRMed books from Amazon. There are other ereaders like the irex Digital Reader that you can write on too!

Posted by: Matt Leifer | May 6, 2009 3:18 PM

Exactly: I care about DRMed books! (Hopefully more textbooks and scientific books.)

Posted by: Dave Bacon | May 6, 2009 3:24 PM

Is the screen that good? For $500 you're in netbook territory, no?

Posted by: Joe Renes | May 6, 2009 3:25 PM

Why can't you put it on a grant?

It seems unlikely that Amazon will add arxiv access. Maybe Apple will come out with a large-screen "iPhone" and then *you* can give us arxiv access. :) If these platforms were more open (no $99 Apple fee), then open-source scientific apps would take off much more easily.

Posted by: Jon | May 6, 2009 3:44 PM

Nothing will ever replace the feel and smell of a good book. In fact, I find reading anything on paper is much easier on my eyes than a screen. I even print out many of the scientific papers I read. Paradoxically (because I am not yet 40), I feel safer having records of all my students' grades, syllabi, etc. on paper while my nearly 60-year-old colleague feels safer if there's an electronic copy somewhere. Anyway, feel free to enjoy your iPhone and Kindle and all that jazz. Just make sure you don't drive the printed word out of existence.

Posted by: Ian Durham | May 6, 2009 3:55 PM

Exactly: I care about DRMed books! (Hopefully more textbooks and scientific books.)

Why? Ask your students where they get their un-DRMed versions of their textbooks (because obviously I have no idea where one can find such things). It is not that hard to find and is the reason that book DRM will eventually be as dead as music DRM.

Posted by: Matt Leifer | May 6, 2009 4:50 PM

I know it's not hard to find, but some choose not to fight immorality with immorality, just sayin (as the quantum pontiff it is my god given duty to play at holier than thou ;) )

Posted by: Dave Bacon | May 6, 2009 5:31 PM

"Nothing will ever replace the feel and smell of a good book. In fact, I find reading anything on paper is much easier on my eyes than a screen"

The kindle doesn't use a screen like the ones you've used before.

Posted by: Jon H | May 6, 2009 9:00 PM

Indeed; read up on electronic paper.

Posted by: Chris W. | May 6, 2009 10:02 PM

"Indeed; read up on electronic paper."

But to a true bibliophile (or bibliomaniac as my father has been called) it's not only about being easier on the eyes. The look and feel of paper are hard to replace. Yes, they're not terribly environmentally friendly (though I am all for electronic forms which would vastly reduce the amount of paper used).

Posted by: Ian Durham | May 6, 2009 10:18 PM

The views at Villa Sophia must be awesome. [I googlemaps'd South Lake Union]

Posted by: David | May 7, 2009 12:42 PM

You should read 8W8 - Global Space Tribes on your Kindle on the plane. I am sure you will love the experience from that moment. www.8W8.com or simply go to Amazon.com

Posted by: L.A. | May 7, 2009 3:30 PM

I know it's not hard to find, but some choose not to fight immorality with immorality, just sayin (as the quantum pontiff it is my god given duty to play at holier than thou ;) )

We copyfighters are fighting immorality with illegality, actually. We have the moral high ground, it's just not recognized by the law of most countries yet. ^_^

Posted by: Xanthir, FCD | May 29, 2009 3:51 PM