Gadgets, Tech, etc. - The Bear and Badger

b0r1s

Here you go: http://thebearandbadger.co.uk/discussion/2536/pc-monitors-tvs-thread/p4

I’ve just bought one so have done all the research on latest sets. Depends on your budget and requirements but could have some recommendations.

retroking1981

Thank you

Dinostar77

https://www.wired.com/story/dicekeys-cryptography/

Need a set of these so cool. Really should invest in a Yubikey at somepoint as well.

RamSteelwood

I'm thinking of asking Santa for a Kindle ereader thing for christmas.
Just wondering if anyone has any experience of the current 'basic' version, with the 'special offers' discount? Specifically with regards to how intrusive are the ads, and if you're not using it, is it constantly popping up and alerting you with new ads?

The Daddy

The ads are literally just on the lock screen. If you have a case you only know they’re there whilst it’s unlocking.

davyK

Read about that password generator / dice thing a while back. A rather nice idea that.

Kindle transformed my reading. It got me back into reading fiction. I went all digital for years and now read a mixture of Kindle and real books - and I've no doubt I read more now because of Kindle.

I have an ancient one that Wifey got me for Christmas from the US may years ago edit: 2009!!! - the Kindle 2 international version. Had to have an amazon.com account that was migrated to amazon.co.uk after a year or so. Has a physical keyboard with 6 inch display and GSM+3G instead of wifi that works in every country I've visited - and I love it. Still a great thing to own. I imagine the new ones trump it.

poprock

I have an even older model, might be the OG Kindle? Same as you, it transformed my reading habits. Or at least my book buying habits. I only buy fiction digitally now. Cookbooks, design books, etc I buy physical but novels are Kindle-only for me these days. It’s freed up so much space in my flat.

Kow

Given the choice, I'd prefer to read on Kindle over paper any day. Switching between the kindle itself and the app on my phone without losing a page is massively useful for me. Only black mark is that the pc app is dogshit.

davyK

The big thing you notice when reading a real book once you use a Kindle is you that miss the dictionary feature.

Kow

A lot of people don't know that you can send a digital book you get anywhere else to your kindle email address and it will add to your library and sync across devices exactly the same as books purchased on Amazon. It was years before I discovered that.

davyK

Think I tried that email thing once or twice. Can't remember what I was doing - probably only seeing it it would work. Might have used it to send a pdf to the Kindle.

Mine has an experimental feature menu and there's a browser and a text to speech option. It's got a basic mp3 player too as far as I remember but I've only messed about with it.

Do the new models have stuff like that?

Kow

Mine does books...

davyK

I've subbed to the odd magazine on Kindle for a short time and used it to read a newspaper when on holiday once in a while too.

Can you still do subs in the Kindle store?

tigersgogrrr

I think my Kindle Voyage is my favourite bit of tech. Bloody brilliant.

davyK

Kindle is the one gadget I'd resist giving up. I used to love my iPod as well but the smartphone has usurped it. I still use it the odd time though. I have the last revision of the classic with the 160GB drive in it. I tend to just plonk onto an old sound dock I have with the old style connector.

MattyJ

Think I've got kindle paper white... Or something like that. Great bit of kit and like it a lot. I have the ads on mine as it saved wifey a tenner when she got it. They are not intrusive at all really, just need to swipe it away once when you wake the kindle and that's it.

LivDiv

I've got a 5th gen Kindle which I think was when they were really peaking so likely one of the more common ones out there.
I think it is a fantastic bit of kit in that it just does what it was designed to do perfectly.

I like it for the use I get out of it but in general I just like it as a piece of design. It is rare these days to get a piece of single use tech that isnt hamstrung by trying to offer too much.

RamSteelwood

cheers all. I'll take that as a forum thumbs up for kindle!

lastant

Got a Paperwhite as a Christmas present a couple of years ago as an upgrade to a much older model (which I subsequently handed over to Mum the same day!) - mine's got the adverts, for the sake of a tenner or so they're no real hassle at all.

They really are lovely bits of kit (echo everything @LivDiv has said), and as others have said above they do seem to revitalise reading habits...it's nice to have a library in hand too for when you're not quite sure what you want to read next - whatever you do, get and use Calibre as your library manager if you're not simply going via Amazon online!

yourfavouriteuncle

I despise my kindle paperwhite with a passion. Don’t like the clicking to turn and the size of the screen means it’s a new page every 10 seconds or so. Much prefer reading on an iPad with black background and white text or an actual irl book.

If you pay for the postage you can have my kindle for a small donation to a worthy cause?

djchump

$1.4 billion later: https://www.engadget.com/quibi-is-dead-222257192.html

RamSteelwood

yourfavouriteuncle wrote:

I despise my kindle paperwhite with a passion. Don’t like the clicking to turn and the size of the screen means it’s a new page every 10 seconds or so. Much prefer reading on an iPad with black background and white text or an actual irl book. If you pay for the postage you can have my kindle for a small donation to a worthy cause?

That's very generous, thank you. Will drop you a DM but would be happy to contribute to you and charity rather than Amazon.

Dinostar77

Still read paper books. Never had a kindle or an ipad. I think its just me, i dont appreciate as much media that is digital. It happens with games and pdfs of books on my phone. Im old.

b0r1s

Kindle is completely different to reading on an iPad or phone. It’s a great experience and doesn’t fatigue the eye like looking at an emissive screen. The light shines onto the screen to illuminate, or not at all in daylight. I couldn’t live without my Kindle now.

davyK

I still prefer paper books for that type of large format non-fiction. For straight fiction and history books I go for Kindle. I like to get nice physical copies of old favourites using somewhere like the Folio Society otherwise I tend not to hold onto physical novels due to space.

There is a pleasure to reading something like those Taschen books that an electronic format cannot deliver.

Reading for pleasure on something like an iPad doesn't appeal to me at all. I associate screens with work too much I suspect. And the glare doesn't help either - even with the superior tech today.

b0r1s

It’s also the fact that they are shining a light directly into your eyes too. I’d stay away from phones and tablets for long term reading. Like you say it’s bad enough you are looking at a screen at work for most of the day.

I do wonder if the monks of old were like “screw those printed books. They just don’t feel the same as reading 20lb manuscript”

;-)

RamSteelwood

"if it's not carved in the side of a cow, i'm not reading it"

Dinostar77

Maybe next year i will give Kindle paperwhite a go. Q4 this year is proving to be very expensive already.

What davky said about lack of space for physical books resonates with me. All my books are currently under my desks in my study.

Kow

The one downside with a Kindle is that I find it's very easy to just give up on a book and move on to something else, which is conveniently just a tap or two away. I'm less likely to make an effort to get through something which isn't immediately keeping me interested. I guess that's a symptom of all modern media, though.

Djornson

I love my Kindle Paperwhite. Books are more enjoyable for daytime reading in a chair but bedtime reading while Mrs sleeps, Kindle Paperwhite, no need for lamp etc. It's as easy on the eyes as a book and you can hold it/turn pages with one hand.

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