--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <noozguru@...> wrote: > > On 09/02/2011 08:56 AM, authfriend wrote: <snip> > > I didn't try to access FFL; figured you all could get > > along without me until I got back, and I didn't want to > > run the Kindle's battery down (I did bring its charger, > > but that's not much use when the power's out). A charged > > battery lasts for weeks if all you're doing is reading > > what's stored on the Kindle, but using wireless to > > browse sucks up the charge pretty fast. > > Tablets usually have a bit longer battery life than smartphones > which most people charge up overnight. The problem is the > battery technology not the devices themselves. My tablets can > hold a charge for several days the Acer much longer than the > cheap one.
I used the Kindle a *lot* over Saturday and Sunday, both browsing and just reading, and it still had several hours on it when the power came back on Monday. Then I recharged it, but I just wanted to be careful not to use up too much battery in case the power went out again. The thing is only 7" x 5" x 1/3" and weighs 8.7 oz. I don't imagine you could cram a much bigger battery into it. > School districts are starting to opt for iPads instead of > textbooks at $500-600 a pop. Apparently school administrators > don't know that readers can be purchased for ~$100. Well, if you read the article you cited, the iPad does a great deal more than a reader. > Just got to have that logo I guess: > http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44384057/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/ > > What pisses me off and it is about this economy is that used > book stores have closed up. Yesterday on an talk show one of > Robert Heinlein's novellas was recommended "If This Goes On". > It was published in 1940 and is about a theocracy. I found > online with Scribd but not sure how much you can actually read > and I wouldn't mind picking up the "Revolt in 2100" anthology > at a local shops. You can get the anthology (which has the longer 1953 version) used on Amazon (mass market paper) for 1 cent plus $3.99 shipping. Also available as a free PDF download (with a two- week free trial subscription to the site) here: http://www.ebook3600.com/robert-a-heinlein-if-this-goes-on This may be the shorter original 1940 version. You can find just about any used book on the Web, but you have to know what you're looking for. Browsing in a shop full of actual old books looking for something of interest is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, although there'll probably be a few holdouts that are able to stay in business more or less as curiosities. Sad. There is still a Half Priced Books > but even though they have a database in the store it isn't tied into > their web site. Another used book store closed a few months back and > relocated 20 miles south. Their web site shows they have it. However > if I wanted to spend my day browsing downtown in this burg has a few > "antique" stores with used books. Of course nothing is in order so one > would really have to be lucky to find the book if they have it. > > The other thing is being published in 1940 it would be public domain by > now and available easily online for free, that is if Disney hadn't > messed with the copyright laws to protect their beloved Mickey. And > not available as an ebook. >
