Journey to the Past

As the rumor suggested , the new Kindle DX was announced this morning. I am drooling over the big screen (still in the middle of reading a manga). It's also a good thing that they finally support PDF files. But the almost-USD-500 tag price is working against it. I knew I wouldn't buy it before, but now I know with deeper conviction. On another note, the Spring Fellowship is coming. I am so looking forward to it. And of course, Vina's wedding is up next after that. Do.. mi.. so... I need to make sure I hit the right notes when it matters. In the meantime, Sony, hurry up and release a bigger screen e-reader, please!

Since yesterday morning, the internet has been buzzing with the rumored new Kindle DX that supposedly will have a 9.7 inch screen among other things. Engadget even has the leaked pictures (shown here). I am not a big fan of Kindle, BUT a 9.7-inch-screen sounds wonderful. I wish Sony would release one that size as well. Why would I want a 9.7-inch screen? Well, for one, think about all those mangas I have downloaded (and printed on to PDF for reading on my Sony PRS-505). On 6-inch screen, it is a bit small to read especially when I am sleepy. I need to change the display to display only half a page at a time to read comfortably. A regular manga has 4-12 volumes, at 130-190 pages per volume. That's a lot of page turns, especially at half-a-page a turn. The waiting time to turn sometimes exceed the reading time. A 9.7-inch screen will enable me to read my mangas comfortably again. I have also started to collect technical books for my work and other managerial books. On a bigger scr...

I recently found the site for British Columbia Online Library , where members of BC library can borrow the electronic versions of books. These do not include CD or DVD, but includes a sizable selection of ebooks (in DRM'ed PDF format) and audiobooks (in DRM'ed mp3/wma). The DRM is there to ensure that the files "expire" after the checkout duration (21 days for ebooks; 14 days for audiobooks). Because the e-books and audiobooks are DRM-ladden, special softwares are needed before enjoying them. The e-books require Adobe Reader version 6 or 7 with Adobe Digital Editions. This is quite troublesome, since my computer has the latest version of Adobe Reader (version 9), and it wouldn't work with version 9. I cannot install previous version without removing version 9. So I need to take these steps: 1. Uninstall Reader 9 2. Install Reader 7 3. Install Adobe Digital Editions 4. Authorizing my computer to read the DRM books (by registering and logging in with Adobe username...