Roy Schestowitz pointed to this post about the Kindle's operating system today: Linux. I didn't know that. Somehow I missed the memo last year when Robert Love wrote about his discovery of Linux at the heart of the Kindle.
I had written about how the Kindle's content strategy reminded me of open source, but I had no idea that the software running the device was open source. One more reason to want my Kindle back.
In the news today, NBC fails to medal in its online streaming of the Olympics, but Google never fails to meddle (by driving up and down your private roads). OK, that was a Tom joke. Also, the Obama text dissected (but not in a political way), the Pentagon and its fake cat brains, and how to vote better. Listen now: Download today's podcast
EPISODE 795FCC outs HTC Dream’s dimensions: It’s smaller than the iPhone 3G http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/25/fcc-outs-htc-dreams-dimensions-its-smaller-than-the-iphone-3g/
iPhone 3G reception just fine, say curious Swedes with engineering degrees http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/25/iphone-3g-reception-just-fine-say-curious-swedes/ … Read more
Amid reports that Amazon is working on new models of its e-book reader, the Kindle, one analyst says the online titan has an academic spin in mind.
Amazon sees a chance to cash in by marketing the Kindle to college students, according to McAdams Wright Ragen analyst Tim Bueneman, by way of Seattlepi.com reporter Andrea James.
A collegiate version could be just one of a number of potential Kindles-to-be, apparently. "There are already several new, improved versions of the Kindle in the works," Bueneman wrote in a note Friday, per James.
In July, the site Crunchgear reported … Read more
Earlier this month, I traveled to Denver for Denvention 3, the 66th World Science Fiction Convention. I first attended Worldcon in 1977, when it happened to take place in Miami, where I was living at the time.
Since then, I've been to 15 more Worldcons, including in Denver. (I've been pretty lucky--the Worldcon has been held in my home state six times.) I've also been to four North American Science Fiction Conventions (NASFiCs), which are held in the United States when the Worldcon is overseas.
A good fraction of the attendees at a Worldcon are San Francisco-based professionals--writers, agents, editors, publishers, artists, and others. Along with some of the more well-known fans, they participate in panel discussions on a variety of topics. These panels are my favorite part of the Worldcon.
This year, it seemed that there was a panel on issues related to e-books and electronic publishing in virtually every time slot. I went to several of these sessions. It seems to me that there's a serious conflict between the preferences of some professionals and… Read more
On this week's EIC Squared podcast, ZDNet Editor in Chief Larry Dignan and I debate whether Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader is the next iPhone.
That is a big stretch, especially given the way the iPhone has turned the smartphone business on its head, at least from a product design standpoint. The Kindle is a nice product, and Amazon could bring music, video, and other kinds of content to the device, but it's doesn't have the Steve Jobs touch.
In addition, all the talk about Kindle's skyrocketing sales doesn't ring true. If the Kindle were … Read more
Congress learns all about cookies (not the delicious kind...but maybe the del.icio.us kind), Gmail goes down, and Google proves to be a terrible communicator. Also, the Amazon Kindle may take off after all (har har), and Twitter baffles us completely regarding its follow/follower spam prevention thing. In sum, it's a Tuesday, but it feels like a Monday.
Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 786Google apologizes for Gmail outage http://www.crn.com/software/210002714
PC World: Google Apps hit by prolonged Gmail access problem http://www.pcworld.com/article/149524/
Android may be … Read more
Sales of the Amazon Kindle may be higher than expected, according to CitiGroup analyst Mark Mahaney, who inferred once again that the e-reader is the Apple iPod of the book world.
The analyst said Monday that he expects the Kindle to sell about 380,000 units in 2008. The figure is double that of his original sales estimate for the e-reader, and equal to the amount of iPods sold during the first year of release.
Mahaney wrote in a client note that the Kindle may become one of the hottest gifts of holiday season, citing the fact that Kindle is … Read more
Sony announced on Thursday that its Reader Digital Book will be able to read electronic books published using the .epub format that many of the largest book publishers are using.
Until now, Sony's e-book reader could only read books available from the Sony e-book store, PDF documents, and DRM-free text. Starting next month, the new PRS-505 Sony Reader model will be able to access secure DRM- and non-DRM-protected content in the .epub format, formerly called the Open eBook format. (Here's a review of the device.)
The Sony Reader Digital Book is the first e-book reading device to support … Read more
A friend of mine told me recently about Tor.com, a new site managed by Tor Books, part of the Macmillan publishing group.
There's something cool going on there for just the next few days. And if you've bought an Amazon Kindle or a Sony Reader--or just like to read e-books on your laptop, cell phone, or other system--you'll want to scoot right over to the "Freebies Bonanza" page. [Update-- this content is no longer available.]
I left my Kindle on a flight into SFO on Monday night, and unfortunately it doesn't appear that I'll be getting it back. After a two-hour delay to my flight, I think I was a bit brain-dead by the time we touched down, causing me to leave it sitting in my seat.
Feel free to contribute to the "Give a Blogger a Kindle" fund. Just hit "refresh" on this page 1,000,000 times today and my check from CNET should cover a new Kindle. :-)
Seriously, I'm really bummed. It was proving … Read more
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Christina Milian and the gadgets she loves
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