Why I bought a Nook
by chris on Jan.07, 2011, under Blog
Christmas has come and gone, and I found myself with a little disposable income. Not much, but enough to get something nice for myself (thanks Dad!). My little brother received a ViewSonic’s G-Tablet for Christmas, and I have to admit I was a little jealous. So, with my dollars I walked into a store, and purchased a Nook…. not the color one that can be rooted easily and turned into a fully-functional android tablet. No. I purchased the lower-tech e-ink display model.
What?
Well, here’s the thing. I enjoy reading books. On average I go through about 2 novels a month and I’m a big fan of reading stuff on paper. I even go so far as to occasionally print out website articles so I can sit back and read on 25% recycled stock. The e-ink display isn’t perfect, but it does look enough like paper that it’s comfortable on my eyes, and the nook is just the right size and weight where it could be a paperback novel itself.
What about the features I’m missing out on?
I don’t need them.
I’m the kind of person who gets distracted easily, and I made the choice to get an e-book reader versus a more modern tablet for that reason. It’s too easy to get distracted wikipedia-style when reading a book, following a path of hyperlinks which inevitably lead to an article detailing the history of underwater basket weaving. It’s also just as easy to get distracted by a facebook notification, and switch gears to an hour marathon of Angry Birds. I read to be immersed in the setting, the characters, the story, not to be notified that the AP has a breaking story about the latest celebrity pushing a car off of a cliff. Besides, I have an iPhone for that.
But why the Nook? Why not a Kindle or a Sony e-reader?
I did my research, and made my decision for a few main reasons. Point one, the nook supports epub – the open standard for e-books, which strangely kindle does not. For those who don’t know, EPUB is an XML formatted book which leaves most of the formatting to the reader itself. No awkward pages ending halfway, or distorted half-pictures. Also, the DRM version of the EPUB standard is currently in use by libraries. That’s right… I can rent out a library book on my Nook. Take that Amazon!
Second, convenience. To purchase my nook, all I had to do was walk in a Barns & Nobel store, give them my plastic credit card, and walk out. No shipping. No waiting. Also, anytime I feel like visiting a Barns & Nobel store, I have full access to their entire library of e-books for an hour. I can download, read, and make a decision right there if I want to buy it. While I’m at it, I might even be able to present a digital coupon to receive a free smoothie or coffee, depending on the current promotion.
The final reason I choose the Nook over all others is this: Barns & Nobel is a book store. They sell books, this is their business, and if anyone is going to care to update the firmware, or improve their library, it’s going to be them. The world is moving digital, they know it, and they are going to be damn sure to take care of their customers down the road.
I hope.
The Future of Printed Books
by chris on Sep.01, 2010, under Blog
So, I just read this article from the UK’s Telegraph about the Oxford English Dictionary, and their conclusion that print as a media format for books is dying. It got me thinking about the future of the media, and I don’t think print will truly go away any time soon.
I see every person in the (near) future having a high-resolution personal data device. It will most likely a phone, and we will probably have something similar to an iPad in the house just to browse the web with comfort on a larger screen. Some of us are already starting to live this way. I just finished reading a full novel on my phone.
Books, both reference and leisure will be available in a variety of both open and closed proprietary formats. Once purchased or obtained by other means, we will then sync our text to all of our devices by using some kind of cloud storage system.
Here’s where it gets fun.
Just like how some people prefer to dry their clothes in the sun on a clothesline, some people will prefer the nostalgic feel to reading text printed on paper. Here’s where print-on-demand services will come into play. You want a text version of that new C. S. Boren Novel? Drive up to Meijer or Wal-Mart, stick your thumb drive in, and tell it to print the file. Your book will be ready in forty-five minutes.
… that is unless the ‘save the planet’ people manage to convince everyone on earth that paper is a bad thing.
Oh well, just some random thoughts. Oh, hey! Look at that… I made a blog post. Go me!
Website Overhaul
by chris on Feb.07, 2010, under Website Updates
My poor neglected website. Started in 2001 as a tool to learn website design (and also to circumvent a specific content filter), it quickly became my main outlet of expression. Some people had Livejournal or Geocities, I had this website. But over the years I’ve gotten into the habit of neglecting it.
So if i’m going to neglect it, why not just nuke the whole thing and start over? Good idea. Here’s the fallout:
I’ve removed all of my previous content. I may occasionally bring some of my old ramblings back with the ‘vintage’ tag, but for now, they’re gone.
WordPress is now the global content manager for my website. Writing code is fun and all, but there are too many complexities in my life as it is. Simple and straightforward is better, let’s leave it at that.
New theme! Based on ‘pixel‘ by samk and slightly modified, of course. I like designing my own from scratch, but it’s just too much of a headache right now. Maybe I’ll get back into it when HTML5 takes off.
Facebook Revenge: oh, sweet facebook revenge. You’ve spammed me with Mafia Wars, Farmville and every quiz on earth, and now it’s my turn. Using the Wordbooker plugin, new posts will be syndicated to my facebook feed! Muhahahahaha!
So there’s where I stand. I’ll probably post again in the near future. Until then, check out a few of my current projects and let me know what you think:
Detroit Geeks
Flooded Basement Cleanup
Longitude Marine Services
Twins
by chris on May.26, 2009, under Old Posts, Uncategorized
Jeff: so, what do you want to do today?Jeff is online.Chris: well, i want to work on a website, and call my hopefully new work, and see if i’m working next week
other then that, i want to spend the rest of my day in bed, with asian twins.Jeff: I see
would you want to see a movie at all? maybe get some drinks?Jeff: lol
Chris: that’s what I want to do today
anything short of that is just disappointment =/Jeff: well, I can’t get you asian twins
Chris: why not?
Jeff: because I don’t have Asian Twins
Chris: well, given the idea that every possible choice spawns an almost endless array of alternate realities, in one of them… i’m getting asian twins today
Jeff: lol
well, you can take comfort in that
Garage Sale
by chris on May.19, 2009, under Old Posts, Uncategorized
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Perfect Collection Boxset +End of Eva – $50 obo
http://detroit.craigslist.org/emd/1178601166.html
Guitar Hero Controller for Nintendo Wii – $20
http://detroit.craigslist.org/tag/1178584813.html
Super Smash Brothers Brawl (wii) – $30
http://detroit.craigslist.org/tag/1178526136.html
20.1″ Sceptre Widescreen LCD Monitor 1680×1050 – $150
http://detroit.craigslist.org/sys/1178508993.html
I’m also selling my computer for $200
Pentium D (dual core) 2.7ghz 64-bit
2GB DDR Ram
80GB Hard Drive
Radeon x800 256bit / 256mb Video Card
(or GeForce 7600gs 512MB for $230)
Call me or e-mail me if interested in anything… or just leave a comment. ^_^
More Insomnia
by chris on Jan.18, 2009, under Old Posts, Uncategorized
Tonight’s gaming session as a “Shawn of the Dead” Movie Poster. I’m still not tired =/
Insomnia
by chris on Jan.18, 2009, under Old Posts, Uncategorized
It’s happened again. I can’t sleep. Well, at least this time it was somewhat productive. I watched the new episode of BSG – the one where they reveal the 5th Cylon. Yeah… it was good, might even redeem the series for me.
I’m almost done with White Knight – the book I’ve been reading – and the next one isn’t out in paperback until march. This is a very bad thing, since I typically just jump to the next book, and I’d like to continue this series before I sidestep to another author. Sure I could just buy the hardcover… but I vowed I’d buy the next one paperback – and the one after that hardcover. So, I get two Dresden books in march instead of just one.
So, what’s an unemployed single guy in his early 20s (… I can technically say that for another 6 weeks) supposed to do to cure insomnia? Well, I’ve resorted to playing online poker and browsing MySpace as often as the BBC News or Digg. Don’t look at me like that! I’ve just been browsing profiles, I haven’t taken any quizzes or installed the mobsters app. I also redid my profile. The link is here if you’re interested. It’s an original design, and I think it looks good – it got over 100 views on DeviantArt in the past week, so I guess it’s not bad.
So here I am, listening to… I guess Stone Temple Pilots right now, writing mindless dribble in my blog. Good times. Things should turn around soon. After the past year, life can’t get much worse, right?
Pain
by chris on Jan.06, 2009, under Old Posts, Uncategorized
“We still hadn’t learned, though, that growing up is all about getting hurt. And then getting over it. You hurt. You recover. You move on. Odds are pretty good you’re just going to get hurt again. But each time, you learn something.
Each time, you come out of it a little stronger, and at some point you realize that there are more flavors of pain then coffee. There’s the little empty pain of leaving something behind – graduating, taking the next step forward, walking out of something familiar and safe into the unknown. There’s the big, whirling pain of life upending all of your plans and expectations. There’s the sharp little pains of failure, and the more obscure aches of successes that didn’t give you what you thought they would. There are the vicious, stabbing pains of hopes being torn up. The sweet little pains of finding others, giving them your love, and taking joy in their life as they grow and learn. There’s the steady pain of empathy that you shrug off so you can stand beside a wounded friend and help them bear their burdens.
And if you’re very, very lucky, there are a very few blazing hot little pains you feel when you realize that you are standing in a moment of utter perfection, and instant of triumph, or happiness, or mirth which at the same time cannot possibly last – and yet will remain with you for life.
Everyone is down on pain, because they forget something important about it: Pain is for the living. Only the dead don’t feel it.
Pain is a part of life. Sometimes it’s a big part, and sometimes it isn’t, but either way, it’s part of the big puzzle, the deep music, the great game. Pain does two things: It teaches you, tells you that you’re alive. Then it passes away and leaves you changed. It leaves you wiser, sometimes. Sometimes it leaves you stronger. Either way, pain leaves its mark, and everything important that will ever happen to you in life is going to involve it in one degree or another.”
-Harry Dresden (Jim Butcher)
White Knight (book 9)
Sorry to go all emo. I read this in a book last night and it kinda seemed relevent to my life – I read it again today and figured i’d post it.
Black Mesa Source
by chris on Dec.02, 2008, under Old Posts, Uncategorized
And I thought this project was dead. This is going to kick so much ass.