De-lurk

DanM · 03-21-2009, 10:53 AM

Hi. I've been monitoring the Cybook-related boards here for a few months via RSS. Good stuff, and I appreciate the info that people post here.

I've had a Cybook Gen3 for a little over a year and am pretty pleased with it for fiction reading. I no longer have to build another bookcase every couple of years.

Light non-fiction, e.g. layman's science books, work OK too. Technical reference books are another matter; the screen's just too small for diagrams and charts.

A friend at work just got a Kindle 2. He's actually not a heavy book reader, but he likes to read newspapers regularly and is excited about being able to have the Wall Street Journal and some others automatically download to it nightly.

Personally, I stayed away from the Kindle due to the sales model, and sent a note to Amazon letting them know this. I used to buy a fair number of books from them, but haven't bought more than one since getting the Cybook. But it is a nice device.

daffy4u · 03-21-2009, 10:58 AM

I won't "Welcome" you to MobileRead since you've been here longer than me! So, I will just say, thanks for stepping out of lurk mode.

If I didn't have a Kindle I would probably own a Cybook or iLiad, they're both great readers.

desertgrandma · 03-21-2009, 11:10 AM

Glad you've come out of the woodwork, Dan

MickeyC · 03-21-2009, 11:35 AM

Hi an and welcome (officially) to MobileRead

Elsi · 03-21-2009, 11:46 AM

Ah now! Since you've finally introduced yourself, we can give you a great big "Welcome". If you're interested in newspapers, you can use Calibre to generate a "paper" for you from various RSS feeds and produce a Mobipocket file you can load onto your Cybook.

I played with a friend's Cybook 3 a while back, and it's got some nice features. I own both a Kindle (K1) and Sony (505) and am going to stick with those for a while longer. I really can't see a big difference in the sales model between Amazon and Sony -- at least in the USA, both lock you into their own stores if you want to purchase current release (and thus DRM-encoded) books. Given that Amazon was in front with a push to sell DRM-free music, I have to believe that *someone* at Amazon is at least working internally to try to get publishers to come around to a similar position.

I'm thinking I might look seriously at the next generation of readers, but for now I have technology that is appropriate to the type of reading that I do.

Now that you've poked your head up and said "hello", please join in other discussions around the place. Tell us about what type of fiction you're reading on your Cybook.

DanM · 03-25-2009, 08:32 AM

Thanks to everyone for the greetings.

Elsi, I thoroughly agree with your comments; the Sony & Kindle sales models are quite similar, and that's why I didn't get a Sony either. Both the Sony and the Kindle (esp. the Kindle 2) seem like very nice hardware devices, though, and I've been keeping an eye out for changes in the DRM handling.

Is it really true that Amazon was a leader in DRM-free music? I didn't get much into online music purchases until this past year, and ended up signing up with eMusic. They sell only DRM-free music, but I don't know how long they've been around or how long they've had this policy. In any case, though, Amazon's choices here are welcome, and along with you, I really hope it spreads to eBooks. Early in my investigations into eBook, preceding my Cybook purchase, I ran into Baen (http://www.baen.com), who have been pushing the idea for quite some time.

As to what non-fiction I read: Mostly science fiction, with a preference for "hard" science fiction, which I define loosely as science fiction with a plot that is driven or enabled by extrapolating from plausible but speculative scientific theories. Also a bit of fantasy (hard to find ones I really like these days), the occasional historical novel (loved Shogun when it first came out, but that's long before eBooks), an occasional spy thriller. I've been taking the occasional dive into the Gutenberg collection and have came up with, for example, the original Sherlock Holmes stories and H.P. Lovecraft's novels and shorts.

03-21-2009, 10:53 AM	#1
DanM Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 474554 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: Cybook Gen3	De-lurk Hi. I've been monitoring the Cybook-related boards here for a few months via RSS. Good stuff, and I appreciate the info that people post here. I've had a Cybook Gen3 for a little over a year and am pretty pleased with it for fiction reading. I no longer have to build another bookcase every couple of years. Light non-fiction, e.g. layman's science books, work OK too. Technical reference books are another matter; the screen's just too small for diagrams and charts. A friend at work just got a Kindle 2. He's actually not a heavy book reader, but he likes to read newspapers regularly and is excited about being able to have the Wall Street Journal and some others automatically download to it nightly. Personally, I stayed away from the Kindle due to the sales model, and sent a note to Amazon letting them know this. I used to buy a fair number of books from them, but haven't bought more than one since getting the Cybook. But it is a nice device.

03-21-2009, 10:58 AM	#2
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	I won't "Welcome" you to MobileRead since you've been here longer than me! So, I will just say, thanks for stepping out of lurk mode. If I didn't have a Kindle I would probably own a Cybook or iLiad, they're both great readers.

03-21-2009, 11:10 AM	#3
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Glad you've come out of the woodwork, Dan

03-21-2009, 11:35 AM	#4
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi an and welcome (officially) to MobileRead

03-21-2009, 11:46 AM	#5
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,366 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	Ah now! Since you've finally introduced yourself, we can give you a great big "Welcome". If you're interested in newspapers, you can use Calibre to generate a "paper" for you from various RSS feeds and produce a Mobipocket file you can load onto your Cybook. I played with a friend's Cybook 3 a while back, and it's got some nice features. I own both a Kindle (K1) and Sony (505) and am going to stick with those for a while longer. I really can't see a big difference in the sales model between Amazon and Sony -- at least in the USA, both lock you into their own stores if you want to purchase current release (and thus DRM-encoded) books. Given that Amazon was in front with a push to sell DRM-free music, I have to believe that someone at Amazon is at least working internally to try to get publishers to come around to a similar position. I'm thinking I might look seriously at the next generation of readers, but for now I have technology that is appropriate to the type of reading that I do. Now that you've poked your head up and said "hello", please join in other discussions around the place. Tell us about what type of fiction you're reading on your Cybook.

03-25-2009, 08:32 AM	#6
DanM Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 474554 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: Cybook Gen3	Thanks to everyone for the greetings. Elsi, I thoroughly agree with your comments; the Sony & Kindle sales models are quite similar, and that's why I didn't get a Sony either. Both the Sony and the Kindle (esp. the Kindle 2) seem like very nice hardware devices, though, and I've been keeping an eye out for changes in the DRM handling. Is it really true that Amazon was a leader in DRM-free music? I didn't get much into online music purchases until this past year, and ended up signing up with eMusic. They sell only DRM-free music, but I don't know how long they've been around or how long they've had this policy. In any case, though, Amazon's choices here are welcome, and along with you, I really hope it spreads to eBooks. Early in my investigations into eBook, preceding my Cybook purchase, I ran into Baen (http://www.baen.com), who have been pushing the idea for quite some time. As to what non-fiction I read: Mostly science fiction, with a preference for "hard" science fiction, which I define loosely as science fiction with a plot that is driven or enabled by extrapolating from plausible but speculative scientific theories. Also a bit of fantasy (hard to find ones I really like these days), the occasional historical novel (loved Shogun when it first came out, but that's long before eBooks), an occasional spy thriller. I've been taking the occasional dive into the Gutenberg collection and have came up with, for example, the original Sherlock Holmes stories and H.P. Lovecraft's novels and shorts.

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