eric135

Reading, eBooks, Kindles, Kindle speakers, and the quest for power...

I've had a voracious appetite for reading lately. I usually get my books from ereaderiq.com, but a couple of weeks ago, I got an itch to read some Star Trek novels, specifically the Cold Equations trilogy, and decided the need was great enough to spend some money.

They've been an entertaining read. It's the first Star Trek Next Generation book that I've read that picks up after Data dies in Star Trek Nemesis. I've finished the first two books, and am about 25% into the last one. 

I've been making better use of the Kindle Fire that I got last year for Christmas. For the first six months after I got it, I didn't do too much reading on it. It is a lot heavier than my Kindle keyboard, and I prefered using the lighter model for my sometimes hours-long reading sessions.

 Kindle Fire vs. Kindle Keyboard

I've been putting the Kindle Keyboard in a zip lock bag, reading while soaking in a hot bath (my favorite time of day it seems), and have yet to have a water-related calamity.

But my Kindle Fire was relegated to rare use, until I decided to take it out of it's protective case. For some reason, the removal of the case got me to start using my Fire much more often. I keep a charger cord next to the couch, so it stays nearby.

A new Kindle HD was briefly considered as a requested Christmas present, but I couldn't come up with anything more I would do that I don't already successfully do with the two models I now have. I did struggle over the idea of having a Kindle Fire with a cellular connection for when we go traveling, but I'd want a Kindle that could do a lot more than the present models. 

For example, one of the most common tasks I perform on my laptop is using Google Spreadsheet. But the Kindle Fire (and every other tablet I've looked at) can't handle the spreadsheets. You have to use the line-edit version of Google Spreadsheet, which is too much of a pain. So if they ever got to where it would function on a tablet as well as Spreadsheet function on my laptop, I'd consider an upgrade.

Plus, my monthly data useage is a bit higher than the well-priced 250mb/month (at 50USD/year). My usual monthly data use on my iPhone is about 300mg/month, and from what I gather on the internets, I'd have to pay 30USD/month through ATT (and I'm not ready to do that quite yet). 

One Christmas gift that I got a few days ago has breathed some new life in my Kindle use. These iHome Kindle speakers have made it easier to use my Kindle to watch movies and listen to podcasts. I do these things already, but sometimes the speakers on my Kindle Fire are no match for, say, a fan, or a space heater, or the house AC/heater running. These speakers plug into the headphone jack, and recharge via USB (but the fully charge speakers has lasted me for days with fairly heavy use). Since it's a normal headphone jack, it will work with my iPhone, iPod and laptop. 

And then there's the quest for power.

Another recent Christmas present was my Mophie. It's an external battery which charges via micro-USB, but has two (regular) USB ports that you can use to recharge/power two devices. 

I've always had this weird anxiety about running out of power for my cell phone. Because of this, I always carry a power cord so that I can recharge my iPhone, either of my Kindles or my Nuvi GPS. I have a little zipper case that has one of those plug-in USB iPhone charger things, a 30-pin iPhone USB cord, a micro- USB and a mini-USB cords. I just throw them into my bag so they are always with me.

But I wanted something that could recharge my battery even when I don't have access to an electrical outlet, or a car cigarette lighter (we keep cords in our car too). 

The Mophie will charge my iPhone 4S from 0 to 100% in about 90 minutes, and only depletes to about 75% of stored power. I have yet to try it on my Kindles or our iPad but it should keep us connected/reading/musicated even when the power grid is out (which, to be honest, has never happened here in Phoenix even once in 13 years). 

Wow that was a long post. 

Yes I know "musicated" is not a word.

 

 

Converting DVDs to play on the Kindle Fire using Handbrake and DVD43...

I've been a ripping whore the past couple of days, since I caught this blog article at BlogKindle.com about converting DVDs for your Kindle Fire. If you've been trying to navigate the murky waters of copyright infringement and have been frustrated, as I am, at how confusing the process can be, go read the article. [Skip to the last paragraph for my take on DRM and copyright protection].

Matthew at BlogKindle even goes over the settings that he uses to get DVD content onto his Kindle Fire. Once I read it and downloaded the Handbrake program from Handbrake.com, I was ripping my first DVD (obviously, a Star Trek movie) within 10 minutes.

Some thoughts about the process:

• The two programs you need are totally free.
• The download mirror sites can be confusing to navigate. The biggest button isn't always the download button you want. You have to read what exactly is being downloaded, or you'll download other programs you don't want. Just read carefully and you'll be ok.
• BlogKindle hints at this but I'll state it quite clearly: You have to download and use a program that removes the DRM copy protection before you can use Handbrake. If you try to just run Handbrake, you'll get some sort of error message (in my case, the program looped endlessly in the reading process and I had to kill the program). I used a program called DVD43 from DVD43.com. The program doesn't have a user interface. You just run it (on mine, it automatically runs once downloaded and runs at startup from then on and works in the background). Once you have DVD43 on your computer, when you put a DVD in your DVD drive, DRM is removed and the DVD is ready for Handbrake.
• Run Handbrake using the settings written in the blog article. As the author states, other settings may work, but hey with no fiddling his settings will get you there the first time.
• The next step, once you click START, is to ... Wait ... A ... Very ... Long ... Time...  I'm not kidding, a 2-hour movie took my netbook 6-7 hours to convert. The process is so taxing my computer is not really all that usable while the program is running, so I only run it as I am heading off to bed. 
• Once the process finishes, you'll end up with an mp4 file that you transfer to your Kindle's "Video" folder, and the file will show up under the "Gallery" app (NOT under the Video Tab as you'd expect).
• I tried storing the mp4 files in my Dropbox folder, and with the dropbox app on the Kindle Fire, I could stream the mp4 and watch on the Kindle. There may be an option to download also, for viewing files when out of Wifi. But the files are big, you'd have to purchase more than the free 2Gig dropbox space. But I had enough memory to store 2 movies along with all the files in my dropbox account. Sweet.

A screenshot of the Handbrake user interface with the settings that work for me:

Like many (ok, some... oh hell maybe just a few) of you, I struggled with the issue of using a program to get past the DRM copyright protection. In my defense, I am ripping only DVDs that we already own, for use on our own devices. We don't make files available at download sites or give files away to others. So I feel pretty justified in that I'm just using technology to make the files viewable on other devices that I own. 

My review of the Kindle Fire...

Ah, yet another Christmas in the can for the year. It was, once again, a retail orgy opening presents on Christmas morning, but the gift-giving was definitely more reseved this year. Some of it was due to financial circumstances (I haven't worked very many extra shifts this year) but there are so many reasons to be thankful and grateful this year. The hospital where I work was doing well enough financially that they offered a last-minute Christmas bonus. We haven't had one in about 3-4 years, and the surprise was even more so because I personally thought the hospital system (two hospitals) was going under or would be bought out. So pleasant surprises all around.

I worked Christmas Eve as usual. It's one of the main drags of being a nurse in a hospital -- we never close, and someone has to be there. Thankfully, the night was a relatively quiet one, with fewer admissions than usual. We'll pay for that over the next few days. It just seems many folks are "just barely hanging on," trying to "make it through the holidays" putting off visits to their physicians. All of the food and drink won't help much. This week, we'll be seeing a lot of peripheral edema, blood pressure problems, aches and pains put off too long, and other sorts of human deferred maintenance come in through the ER. If I'm talkin' to you, consider lightening up on all the salt, drink, spicy food and oxycontin for the holidays :-)

My big gift this year was the Kindle Fire:

 I have the Kindle Keyboard (previously known as the Kindle3) and I'm very happy with it, but wanted something to more fully web surf with without having to crank up my netbook. My thoughts about the Kindle Fire:

• I personally like the form factor. I can hold it easily with one hand. I like the smaller 7" screen (as much as others apparently hate the smaller screen). 
• I also have no problems having the power button on the bottom of the unit. I don't even know why this is an issue because, if it were a problem, one could just turn the screen upside down and everything would work fine. 
• I don't mind not having external volume buttons. To change the volume, I just hit the Settings button. But some are saying it can be a problem if a program/app "takes over" the screen and doesn't give you access to the settings without exiting the program/app. I have not yet run into this situation.
• I don't mind the Carousel function. I had heard there were problems with "fat finger syndrome" having problems, but I guess I have greater than average manual dexterity. 
• So far, browsing has been a good experience. I personally can't distinguish any advantage or disadvantage to the Silk browswer, it seems to work fine either way. I personally have set the Fire to "Optimize each web site" for readibility. I like using the pinch-to-zoom and the smaller print, when viewing a full page on Desktop view, doesn't bother me.
• My Netflix experience isn't as good as I want it to be. There is a noticeable lag (maybe 1/2 - 1 second) in the audio of my Netflix shows/movies. I have read this is a widespread problem with Netflix, and everyone is waiting for an updated app. Watching video's on YouTube is very clear and sync'd, so I don't think it is a probem inherent in the Fire. I plan to try watching videos purchased from Amazon but, man, I really want the Netflix thing to get worked out.
• Listening to podcasts is, for the most part, a smooth experience. When on my computer, I listen to podcasts using Google Reader, but the Google Reader app for Kindle doesn't play any podcasts. So I am using Stitcher for most of my podcasts, and the few that aren't included in Stitcher's wide selection I use MyPod to download podcasts via their direct feed. MyPod isn't very user friendly and seemless as Stitcher, but between the two, I can listen to pretty much to anything I want. 
• The Kindle Fire speakers have been a hit and miss sort of thing. When playing Netflix shows, the sound is too faint without the use of earbuds, unless you hold the unit in your hands and thus the speakers are close to your head. Setting the Fire on the coffee table and having 2 or more people watch wouldn't be possible. However, my podcasts are very loud. When listening to my Magnatune podcasts, I can easily walk around the room and do other things without having to wear earbuds. I also notice YouTube video's are loud, so it might just be a Netflix thing.
• Reading books has been a good experience, which is good considering it is, in fact, a Kindle. I have been reading several books and find the Fire to be easy to navigate. However, after lengthy periods of time, my eyes do get fatigued looking into a back lit device. For hard core (multi-hour) reading sessions, I'd still use my Kindle Keyboard. I haven't had any probems with the brightness being too low. For indoor use with the usual levels of light through the window, I have to turn the brightness to the lowest level or eye strain is a definite problem. Books sync perfectly between all of my devices (the Kindle fire, Kindle Keyboard, iPhone 4S, netbook and laptop) which is nice.
• I've been able to do all of the activities I wanted to do on the Kindle Fire: read/write gmail, work outlook mail, Evernote, Facebook, podcasts, Twitter, etc. The only activity that my Kindle can't do is communicating, since it has neither camera nor microphone, but I have lots of other options for communicating. 

So, overall, after 24-hours of working with the Kindle Fire, I have been very pleased with it.