Jeremy Thompson Catholic PhD in Biblical Languages, Programmer, Runner

Click through to this link and check out the glare on that sucker: Using the iPad as an eBook Reader.  It seems a lot more like a computer screen than any of the dedicated eBook readers, which I don’t think I would like.  When I read on my Kindle I don’t get that feeling that I get when I’ve been looking at a computer screen all day.  In addition, I use my finger to trace under lines of text, so I don’t think I completely sold on having a touch screen on an eBook reader, though I guess there might be some way to disable that and tap the side of the screen like on the iPhone Kindle app.

Okay. Do I sound like I’m trying to talk myself out of an iPad?  Actually, I’d probably like to have an iPad, just not for its capacity for reading eBooks.

The Old Testament and New Testament are separate in the New Revised Standard Versions currently being produced for the Kindle.  Not sure what the publishers were thinking or if they have ever handled a Kindle for that matter, but this is very annoying.  Essentially, there are two separate books with two separate tables of contents.  This would be fine for a bound volume, but not so much for a Kindle because of the need to “back out” of one book before navigating to another.  I mean really … did they check out any other Bibles that have been published for Kindle before going this route.  The NRSV is a translation of Christian scriptures anyway … I wonder how many people actually buy the Old Testament without buying the New Testament.  Okay perhaps some buy the New Testament without buying the Old Testament, but they are Marcionists …

Oh well…

Technology posts:

Cool iPhone App for Catholics

Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock App Could be Life-Changing

Testing the WordPress App on my iPhone

My Friend Karyn Reviews iPhone Apps for the Hebrew Bible

I was looking at books for my Kindle today and saw the link for Kindle Publishing for Blogs.  I personally could not think of ANY reason why I would want to read a blog on my Kindle or publish my blog for the Kindle.  Of course, I can always read on my iPhone, so maybe that is one reason I cannot see the point.  But, even if that was not possible, the blogs I read often include audio, video, etc., which I imagine would not function well with the Kindle black and white screen.  Has anyone else tried this?  Is there a good reason to subscribe to a blog on the Kindle?

I’ve been doing a good bit of my Biblical Studies reading on my Kindle.  And, the main problem I was having at first was that it was cumbersome to add notes and mark places in the text.  Also, going into menus to start text-to-speech was a bit annoying as well.  But, here are three shortcuts that have helped:

1. Notes – Just start typing. This didn’t take so long to figure out once I read the words at the bottom of the screen; however, I was at first going into the menus to add notes.
2. Bookmark page – “Alt + B”
3. Start text-to-speech – “Shift + SYM;” The shift button is the up arrow.  This has come in handy as I’ve started using the Kindle while walking on the treadmill.

With these three shortcuts, I’ve come to really, really love the Kindle.  I get my books instantly and they’re cheaper.  My wife doesn’t get angry with me for having my books lying all around.   In addition, I can add the books to my iPhone, so in case I ever need reading material in a hurry I have some on hand.  And, now I can mark up my text with a bit more ease.

Related:

Endogamy and Exogamy (Kindle Dictionary Look-up)

Features I’m Liking on My Refurb Kindle

Kindle Text to Speech Not Like an Audiobook

Today was the first time that the dictionary on my Kindle came in handy.  I was reading Niditch’s War in the Hebrew Bible: A Study in the Ethics of Violence and came across the words “endogamy” and “exogamy.”  Should have been able to figure those out based on prefixes and root, but it was early.  So, I used the Kindle word look-up feature (I figured out exogamy after reading the definition of endogamy, but I’ll give you both definitions anyway):

Endogamy: en-dog-a-my n. [ANTHROPOLOGY] the custom of marrying only within the limits of a local community, clan, or tribe. Compare with EXOGAMY.

Exogamy: ex-og-a-my n. [ANTHROPOLOGY] the custom of marrying outside a community, clan, or tribe. Compare with ENDOGAMY.

So, I’ve had my refurbished Kindle for about two days now.  As I said in my previous post, I really don’t see any difference between it and the brand new item.  I thought I’d write about some of the things I’m liking so far.  Many of these will be under the menu function when reading a book, though not all of them.  Things I’m liking:

1. Table of Contents – I like clicking two buttons (i.e. “menu” and then “table of contents”) and being back at the Table of Contents of a book.  It makes the global maneuvering through the book very easy.  It is most helpful when the Table of Contents for a book is broken down into subsections.
2. Search – I love the search function within the menu.  I think this is a major advantage over a paper book.  It will save me time from flipping through a book to find something that is in there, but I cannot remember where.  I can, however, see where there would be a downside if you do not know the exact word or phrase you are searching for.  “Flipping through” the book to find something with locations rather than pages would be difficult if not to say a nightmare.
3. Text-to-speech – I wrote a little about this yesterday.  I like it.  I like it a lot, even though it is not the same as an audiobook.  The voice is a bit monotone and it cannot read difficult technical words.  But, it has proven valuable.  If I’m in a room where it is noisy and I need to concentrate on reading, I can use text to speech to drown out the noise and stay focused.
4. Dictionary look-up – I haven’t really read anything yet where I needed this; however, I can see where this will come in extraordinarily handy.  I know that they will be able to make this more intuitive in the future, but for now it is functional enough to be very helpful.  You simply put the cursor in front of the word you do not know and the meaning comes up in a text box.
5. Bookmarking – The bookmarking is fairly intuitive, though I wish I could add a note to a bookmark.  Maybe I can and I just haven’t figured that out, but I think that would be much easier than using the note writing tool.

Again, I’ve only had the Kindle for two days now and there will be more to come.  There are aspects of it that I definitely think can be improved like the note taking and highlighting ability.  Moving the cursor around is a little cumbersome when trying to do this.  The same with the dictionary look-up.  It is functional, but the cursor is still a little cumbersome to move around.  Despite what I think could be improved I’m still loving it.  And, very soon I will try to make a list of Kindle books that I would recommend for Old Testament Study.

Now, that I have my new Kindle, I can say with certainty that Kindle’s text to speech is not like an audiobook.  It is like text to speech on a computer screen.  I with almost absolute certainty suspected that coming in, but it makes it all the more difficult to understand why some publishers spoke out so strongly against the text to speech function.  I agree with those that say this whole thing is dumb.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the text to speech.  It seems like it will be helpful to keep concentration if my eyes are getting a little weary.  But, it is nowhere near the point where I would give up my Audible subscription (which I love).  And, I think anyone who makes it out to seem like text to speech will kill audiobook sales is being silly.

Well, today is my birthday.  And, a number of family members pooled in together to get me a Kindle 2.  Of course, it was my job to do the ordering and I am stingy (I run a website focused on free resources for goodness sake!).  So, I checked out the refurbished model of the Kindle, which was $40 cheaper.

I have always had very good experiences with refurbished products when I have bought them from major sellers.  My first iPod Nano was refurbished.  I got it from Apple at a pretty big discount and it still looks to have a lot of life in it.  My second Apple laptop was refurbished.  It ran perfectly and lasted way longer than it should have for what I put it through (a lot of video stuff that I don’t think it was really equipped for). So, I thought I would give the refurbished Kindle a shot since it was from Amazon and not a third party.

However, I have had some friends who have had bad experiences with refurbished products.  That led me to write this brief little review of my experience so far in case there are those of you who would like a Kindle at a $40 discount but are afraid of refurbished products.

• In terms of appearance, had I not known that the product was refurbished I never would have guessed it.  The casing is in pristine condition.
• It charged properly in less than three hours as the user guide said that it would.
• Wireless is working properly and downloads are going smoothly (I had gotten some Kindle books for the Kindle App on my iTouch).
• The books are functioning properly (if that is even the proper way to say that).  I can read them with no problems with the controls.

That is about all I can say so far since I haven’t had a chance to use it very much (It came late yesterday evening – about when getting my girls to sleep.  Then I fell asleep in the bed with my 5 year old).  At this point, I can see no reason why not to recommend the refurbished Kindle if you are in the market for one.  If anything does go wrong, I’ll be sure to post about it, but it is smooth sailing right now.  For now, if you’re interested you can check it out HERE.