[buildyourown]

I expected the I-pad->tablet thread to explode.

I bought one yesterday. Already a heavy Amazon user and have been buying music regularly for download. Amazon Prime might rid me of Netflix if the selection is on par.


This new layout sucks and is uber-choppy on my work CAD machine. No love.

 

[IH8Rice]

some discussed in the Apple tablet thread.
did the ship date still say Nov 15th?

edit: how much cloud storage do you actually geT?

 

[Mr Jones]

little did I know about how sneaky sneaky Amazon is.

http://cdespinosa.posterous.com/fire

the lightweight Fire-based browser has to only download one simple stream from Amazon’s servers. But what this means is that Amazon will capture and control every Web transaction performed by Fire users. Every page they see, every link they follow, every click they make, every ad they see is going to be intermediated by one of the largest server farms on the planet.

 

[syadasti]

little did I know about how sneaky sneaky Amazon is.

Amazon isn't really breaking new ground here, Opera Mobile has been around for about 10 years and its the same basic scheme (AWS' design is faster/better hardware but its newer) and has millions of users on all the major platforms.

 

[buildyourown]

little did I know about how sneaky sneaky Amazon is.

http://cdespinosa.posterous.com/fire

This is how the internet works now. Not that I'll blindly allow all cookies and never clean stuff up, but I feel much better about Amazon mining my usage to key in on what I might like to buy then I am about Facebook or Google mining my data to sell to 3rd parties.
Amazon already does this. It's very obvious on my work computer since I'm forced into using IE and I can't clear cache. Log in once and they track were you go and the ads are telling.

Facebook just revealed that if you visit the site, without logging in, they track were you go.

 

[buildyourown]

some discussed in the Apple tablet thread.
did the ship date still say Nov 15th?

edit: how much cloud storage do you actually geT?

I read 2 or 5gb, but if you buy any media from Amazon, even a single 99c song, it jumps to 20gb for free. And any media you buy on Amazon doesn't count toward that limit. Pretty good considering the media is a good deal over itunes already. And DRM free.

If nothing else, this will be a remote for browsing Netflix/Amazon Prime and an e-reader/game platform for my daughter. At $200, I wouldn't be crushed it she wrecked it.

 

[jutny]

I pre-ordered one the day they announced them, I'm still waiting on my HP Touchpad... but have a very specific purpose in mind for the 7" device. I'm sure we'll see all sorts of interesting things happen with them when they hit the market and get into the hands of the android devs out there.

I'm curious to see what they look like cracked open, chances for hardware/storage expansion, etc...

 

[bean]

Meh. I had a TouchPad for a day before I sold it. I couldn't find a purpose for it that wasn't already filled by my iPhone, laptop or kindle. And it wasn't a replacement for any of them.

 

[gonefirefightin]

my droid does every thing that tablet will do......plus more

 

[buildyourown]

my droid does every thing that tablet will do......plus more

That's not the point.
The iphone does everything that an ipad will do, and it's much cheaper.

 

[norbar]

That's not the point.
The iphone does everything that an ipad will do, and it's much cheaper.

Yup. Reaised it a few weeks ago. Tried working on my phone and while writing an article was possible I still needed to re-check it on my laptop and a 4'' screen is a pita to use. Still I'd rather use a netbook over an ipad.


btw. Who else is hyped for the new kindle ? Amazon books take ages to come here (3+ weeks) so even though I like my bookshelves full I'm seriously considering buying one.

 

[jonKranked]

yea, discussion (albeit light) was in the tablet thread.

worth noting, in the last 2 days i've had numerous friends/family/coworkers who have previously expressed disinterest in tablets ask me about it and whether or not it'd be worth it.

 

[jimmydean]

If I can root is and wipe the Amazon only crap off, I am interested. It's the right form factor and has a dual core proc for the truck. Price is right, too. I also like the no camera since I couldn't use one anyway.

 

[trib]

I like it except for the name. I don't like the connotation of fire and literature. book burning has always been a way to destroy cultures, hardly a positive image for amazon to show off.

maybe they didn't think about it from this perspective.

 

[syadasti]

I like it except for the name. I don't like the connotation of fire and literature. book burning has always been a way to destroy cultures, hardly a positive image for amazon to show off.

maybe they didn't think about it from this perspective.

Truth in market this time: http://www.defectivebydesign.org/kindle-fire

Amazon came out with their newest line of Kindle ebook readers today, including the appropriately named "Kindle Fire".

To quote their TV commercial: "The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all."

This device does not kindle that fire -- it extinguishes it, with more of the same digital restrictions.

Let's look at the facts:

Amazon claims you have no right to sell or share the books you buy. They advertise a "lending" feature which, at best, allows you to lend a book one time ever, to one person, who must also be a Kindle user. You don't get to make the decision about whether you can lend a book or not -- the publisher and Amazon do. That's not sharing.

In fact, when people tried to cooperate to make large-scale use of the lending function, Amazon shut them down. The most prominent example of this was the web site Lendle, which is back up now, albeit with fewer features, including a feature which made it easy to lend the books you have without typing in all the titles -- a move forced on them by Amazon to discourage sharing.

The power exerted over its users, arbitrarily blocking lending of books and remotely removing books, is unacceptable even if they later change their minds or promise to stop doing it.

Amazon is working its way into public libraries and schools now, subverting the functioning of the very places they, in the above quote, claim to support.

Via the wireless connectivity of these devices, Amazon can hold data about everything you read.

Also via the connectivity, Amazon can delete books from Kindles. They have already done this multiple times. They say they won't do it anymore, but they make users sign an agreement which still gives them the authority to. They have demonstrated only reasons to doubt their word.

Although it is possible to use the Kindle for DRM-free materials, that is not the system that Amazon is promoting or working most actively toward. Funding Amazon's work in this area, even if you use it differently, is supporting their moves at limiting sharing and access to books.

The result: More of the same: A major threat to the shareability -- like fire -- that has enabled human culture and knowledge to advance.

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

Amazon books take ages to come here (3+ weeks)

 

[zdubyadubya]

some food for thought...

the kindle wont be an ipad killer. but it could spell the end of netflix if amazon can step up their game.

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/business_briefings/48281--lighting-a-fire-under-netflix

 

[jonKranked]

amazon buying netflix isn't exactly the end of netflix, at least in the traditional sense.

 

[jimmydean]

So full of win. Louie speaks the truth.

 

[stevew]

So full of win. Louie speaks the truth.

going to see him on the 21st.

 

[norbar]

Anything from Louis CK is a good answer Though I'm probably just crabby because I forgot to order some books before I finished reading my last one and now I'm left with crappy polish translations of Pynchon and Mieville (I didn't want to read the books because of how bad they were)