google+ (and -)

There has quite a bit of hullabaloo about google+ today.

So I put out a post on facebook asking for an invite and immediately got one from my friend Jack (thanks!).

And I was really excited to get into the whole google+ing of it all.

But I just don't get it.

And I don't know if it's because it's new, so there aren't very many people on it, or what, but something about it isn't adding up (or plussing up, I suppose). I'm having a hard time finding people on it more than anything. And I've also been trying to figure this out...can people who don't use gmail even use it? 

I'm still excited about it, but I think it will offer better competition to facebook if I can figure out how to fine people on it. 

Thoughts?

Monday Musings: e-readers

I go back and forth on the whole concept of the e-reader. I have a much earlier post called "Where I hope technology will fail." And now I'm contemplating getting one - I know, right? I still hope the e-reader isn't the death of the book, but at the same time I don't really think that anything will ever completely replace that whole feeling of opening a book, and going to the bookstore. Finding new authors. The smell of books, especially old ones. Getting an actual autograph inside a book. Love, love, LOVE all of those things.

But what about academic books? Or books that I wouldn't spend much money on? I feel like, if I had an e-reader, and there was a book that I was on the fence about, or that I knew I wouldn't probably read again, it would be good to have. It would also be really good for academic articles, or so I hear.

So, that brings me to the current dilemma:

Kindle, iPad or nook? 

The thing I like about the nook is the ability to share books, and it's really the only thing that I like the most about it. I think that color touch screen is cool, but I'm not overwhelmingly impressed by it. The note-taking is somewhat tedious, because the keyboard is on the touch screen.

The things - there are two - that I don't like about the Kindle are the lack of sharing and the fact that you can't try a working model in a store before you buy it (yes, they SELL it at Target now - which I like - but it's not functional so I can't fiddle around with it, and even though the girl I was talking to about the nook at Barnes & Noble was pretty daffy, I could still play with it, which was nice). I like the two sizes (and, if I'm going to make the investment, maybe the bigger one is actually worth it?). I like the little tactile keyboard, even thought the letters are really small it's easier to type with buttons; I think it would be easier to use with both hands. I really like the note-taking feature on the Kindle (at least, on the iphone app, which I just discovered how to use).

Their libraries are similar; though the girl at BN pointed out to me that they have exclusive rights with some publishers, the Amazon free library is more comprehensive. I really like the e-ink technology, I think that it's a pretty cool concept. I like the super-long battery life.

My biggest problem with the Kindle and the nook is something that they share, which is exclusivity. I can't buy a book on BN.com and use it on a Kindle; I can't buy a book on amazon.com and use it on a nook. I can't buy a book in iBooks and use it on either one of them. I think that, honestly, if I could buy an electronic book from wherever I wanted and use it on my e-reader, I would've already bought one. Amazon, can you open up an amazon.it already? That would probably push me over the edge. I also read somewhere that amazon will convert academic articles into Kindle-readable documents in five minutes - is that true?

Which brings me to the iPad. I love - and don't love - the iPad. I don't love the back-lit screen - if I wanted to read on the computer all day, I would. I don't love the short battery life (compared to the other e-readers). I get it, iPad, you're a computer, but you need to work on your longevity. I don't love the fact that I can't use Word on it - seriously, can you just develop that? I don't love the whole pay-$30-per-month-for-3G - especially since AT&T service blows - but would it be a waste to get the wi-fi only model? I don't love the price - at $489 for the smallest model, it's almost twice the price of both the nook and the 6" Kindle (but just a bit more than the 9.7" Kindle). Oh, and I love me a touch screen. If Kindle had a touch-screen, I'd be all over it.

I do, however, love the fact that I can download a Kindle app and a nook app and read books from any of them on the iPad by opening their application. And I do kind of love the fact that it is also a functional computer and I can do word-processing on it.

In conclusion:
nook: pretty, but aside from its random monopolies with certain publishers, I think its main selling point is that it has the in-store support.
Kindle: my favorite of the e-readers, but I don't like that I can't just buy books wherever I want them. Also, meager selection of international titles.
iPad: good offerings of both kindle and nook apps, but battery life and excessive monthly charges make me hesitant to buy it.

My question to you is, do you have one of them? What have you found so far? Which would you recommend?

Well done, Steve.

Since everyone is reviewing the iPad, I thought I might add to the white noise. For the first time yesterday, I sat at home and followed along on a techie blog while Steve Jobs and co revealed their new baby, the iPad.

My first thought, "why didn't they run this name by a woman first? Open the doors to the iTampon jokes." Incidentally, I've since seen the MadTV sketch about the iPad, in that exact circumstance, and I'm sure it will have a resurgence on the internet.

But once I got past the name, I tried to follow the various features and see their real-world applications.

Giant games? Okay, I don't do much gaming on my phone and none on my computer, so this doesn't really interest me.
Paintbrushes? It's cool, sure, but I'm not sure I would use it that much. But it's definitely a different kind of application and would be cool until the novelty wore off.
So what was cool?
Giant NYTimes? Definitely digging this application. I think this is one I would use without question.
iBooks? The books seemed a bit cheaper than kindle/sony/nook, and I really like the interface of the iBookstore. This might give the other e-readers a run for their money.

I'm still on the fence about iWork. I've been a mac user for 3 years now, and I've still not made the switch to iWork as my primary platform, because it's not very functional outside the mac world.

The price, of course, is awesome, but there are plenty if hidden costs. $130 extra for 3G? If I'm going to make the investment in a tablet, I'm going to get 3G, and how big are the files for the ebooks?it has a battery life of 10 hours, but I can read for 10 hours with no problem. And movies are 1.5-2 gb each, so the 16gb iPad may still fill up quickly. So then you have to basically go for the 32/64, which is more still. Plus $30/month for the wireless? They should have a way that if multiple people in one household have the iPad, they can get a discounted rate on the Internet. Or if they already use AT&T for their internet.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed by apple's new creation. Of course, I won't be getting it in the first generation (probably not in the 2nd either). I'll wait until you can add Word (because, regardless of what steve & co say, it's still really hard to use other platforms in academia), you can type on a flat surface, and 3G is standard.

I tip my cap to you, steve. Can't wait to see what you think up next.

where i hope technology fails...

That sounds like a really negative post title, doesn't it? Well, I don't hope that technology fails, completely. I think that technology is amazing. In fact, yesterday I got an iphone (it was a wedding gift) and I kind of, sort of love it. I don't completely love it, yet, but I think that's because I don't completely know how to use it, you know?  I was just figuring out how to get the most out of my blackberry, and then I suddenly have to change technologies, and carriers, all for a family plan... just kidding. I'm sure it will be worth it. I've been coveting them for quite a while.

But where I (not-so) secretly hope that technology fails us is in the Kindle. I wasn't so opposed to the success of any other forms of technology.  But something about the Kindle just, well, sucks.  One of the best things about reading is the activity behind it.

Going to the bookshelf. Thumbing through all your books to see which one asks you to read it. Holding the weight of the book in your hand. Turning the pages, physically. Feeling like arriving at page 300 is a serious accomplishment, because you gauge how far you've come on this journey with these characters. Being able to, if the mood strikes (or you're reading for serious purposes and not for unabashed enjoyment), underline something. Or make a (sometimes not-so) witty comment, in pencil, that you can erase when you've gotten past your joke. Writing your name inside the book when you're finished.  Finding its home again, next to the rest of these books, all of which you have shared similar experiences with. 

Something about the Kindle really irks me, though. The tablet. The pages that "mimic" turning, the way that the digital cameras make the "click" sound that is just to try to make people feel more involved. The difference, however, is that most people didn't develop their own pictures, or physically imprint the image onto the negative.  They enjoyed them afterwards, and sharing photos between people was exponentially better with digital cameras. 

With digital music, you can still share it really easily with friends. Can you share kindle books? 

I can tell you the physical difference between holding something epic like Ulysses or War and Peace and something like A Christmas Carol (which I love, but I'm just trying to explain the difference in size, so...). Reaching that last page can really feel like an accomplishment. What would I do with a kindle? Set it back on the shelf where I got it? Upload another book? Also, what about crack screens? Or reading a kindle near the beach? If water splashes on a book, the page gets all warped, but does an electronic even survive?

And what about first editions, that have been loved and cherished and used as investments over a long period of time? Is there a "first edition" e-book? I mean, I can see reading a kindle for newspapers, since they use so much paper and they are relatively obsolete the next day. And even for magazines, for the same reason. But books? Come on, people.

Two things

1. Shelfari update: I haven't used it since I posted about it, so I guess it's not the most efficient of the network places.  I use the "Visual Bookshelf" application on facebook really regularly, though. I've just completely forgotten about shelfari's existence since then, so. Not completely, since obviously I'm talking about it. But you know what I mean.

2. With all the time that I spend reading, I've spent very little time blogging about that reading, so I'm going to work on blogging about it more regularly. Both academic/required reading and the rest of reading.

That's it for now. I'm going to put off the blogs a bit longer.

yet another social networking site... or is it?

So, I was recently procrastinating, as I am wont to do with those large lists looming below and in front of me, and my fiancé recommended I look at the site shelfari. 

Shelfari is basically a book-networking site, rather than a social networking site. Each member has a bookshelf holding all your books, and you label each one as "plan to read" or "reading now" or "I've already read". You can review books and everything as well.

Facebook has an application that is basically the same as it, under the social-living category called "virtual bookshelf". I think it's great for people to share their books and their opinions about recently read books, but the best part of the facebook feature is that it also tells you which of your friends have read the book in question -- I'm sure that Shelfari does this too, but since I just joined and I'd never heard of it before, I don't have a very large network of people to browse.  

I'm willing to give shelfari a shot, because I think that any platform for getting out the word on books is a great platform. But I find myself wondering what the function of a site like this is. Its biggest draw is that there are "book groups," which basically function to give people a way to link up with one another based on a variety of topics, such as "Twilight movie and books," "1001 Books to Read before you die," and a variety geared towards high schoolers and younger readers to give them ideas of books to read. 

If you're interested in trying out shelfari, the link is www.shelfari.com and it's a pretty easy platform to use. Maybe you already use it, and I just don't know about it.