So What do I Need to Know About Owning a Kindle?

[OracleofWuffing]

So one of my Aunts sent my mother a Kindle Fire 2 as a surprise Christmas gift. This... Probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, as just yesterday I had to troubleshoot the following problem for her e-mail: "I put a checkmark on something that I didn't want a checkmark on, how do I take the checkmark off I tried clicking on it." I'm also incredibly out of the loop on eReaders, because I've been on the thought of "Why would I buy a computerized book when I have a computer," but hey, gift horse, mouth, something about brushing teeth in there, you know what I'm saying.

Thing is, now that my highly contagious illness has reduced to a dull growl, I'm running out of ways to put off showing her how to use the thing. She's never been too good into reading books, so I don't know exactly what to show her, and she doesn't even have an Amazon.com shopping account at the moment. So, uh, what's important to show a non-technically inclined person on the Kindle...verse? Something just to convince her that she's using it. Not so much games and weird apps, but stuff you'd show a grandma? I mean, she's not that old, but that's the kind of mental demographic I'm looking at here.

[factotum]

Surely what you should be showing her is the book reading functionality and how to purchase new books? It's an e-reader, after all, that's what it's for. If you start showing her games and other stuff you'll just confuse the issue, I think.

[Flickerdart]

A Kindle Fire is not really a Kindle - it's not an e-reader, but rather an Android tablet set up with the Amazon suite of services. While you can definitely read e-books on it, it doesn't have the Kindle's e-ink screen, amazing battery, or (I think) Whispernet access.

The advantage is that it's much more than a computerized book. Netflix, games, apps, it can do a whole bunch of stuff.

[The Succubus]

Very important - you mustn't charge it after midnight otherwise it turns into an iPad. >:)

[Traab]

Very important - you mustn't charge it after midnight otherwise it turns into an iPad. >:)

NOOOOO! Thats not true! Its impossible!

[Coidzor]

Be very careful of putting an arm down on the screen or letting any real pressure get on it because the most incongruous things will break that screen.

[Flickerdart]

Be very careful of putting an arm down on the screen or letting any real pressure get on it because the most incongruous things will break that screen.
Maybe you shouldn't touch it inconsistently or inappropriately, then. :smalltongue:

[turkishproverb]

Very important - you mustn't charge it after midnight otherwise it turns into an iPad. >:)

Oh that's awesome.:smallbiggrin:

[Coidzor]

Maybe you shouldn't touch it inconsistently or inappropriately, then. :smalltongue:

All I know is that the old ladies who have had kindles that I've known have gone through way too many of them for being little old ladies.

[OracleofWuffing]

Surely what you should be showing her is the book reading functionality and how to purchase new books? It's an e-reader, after all, that's what it's for. If you start showing her games and other stuff you'll just confuse the issue, I think.
I think- no, I'm pretty certain- the last time I was physically in a library, like, I mean, a book library, looking for books, can be measured in years, and I know that the last time she was in one was in much more years. I'm pretty much a blank slate when it comes to finding books. Are there free books that aren't horrible, or are they all pay-only?


The advantage is that it's much more than a computerized book. Netflix, games, apps, it can do a whole bunch of stuff.
Oh... joy. :smallyuk: Thanks for being honest.


Very important - you mustn't charge it after midnight otherwise it turns into an iPad. >:)
An evil iPad or a bad iPad? Uh, time may be of the essence, here... :smalltongue:

[Jallorn]

Very important - you mustn't charge it after midnight otherwise it turns into an iPad. >:)

Also, if you get it wet, then it'll multiply and you'll have a horde of evil ones on your hand... course, they'll be as dead as the original, so.... not really that much of a problem.

[Anarion]

I hate to ruin the string of movie references, but I thought I might actually try to answer this. :smalltongue:

This is a good "teach a man to fish" situation. Rather than try and get her everything she could want, get her through the basics of how to download an app and then use it. Have her do it with you for a couple examples, like Netflix and maybe her preferred news aggregator.

Then have her get a couple that she wants, and maybe give her a list of suggested things it can do or even suggested apps, such as a few games, some language services (dictionary, translator, thesaurus), news services, movies/tv/music, and whatever utility stuff she might like.

[factotum]

Are there free books that aren't horrible, or are they all pay-only?


Project Gutenberg does Kindle versions of their library of out-of-copyright works, so if you only want stuff that's more than 75 years old you should be golden! Newer books you'd actually have to purchase from the Kindle store, though.

[turkishproverb]

Are there free books that aren't horrible, or are they all pay-only?

Gutenberg and Baen both have some good free books.

[dehro]

a side question, since my little brother has gotten a kindle for christmas too..
are ebooks actually cheaper than printed books? by which I mean recent books and best seller list books.
instinct says they should be..but.. I actually don't know. I'd expect a new book to be more expensive than something that's been reprinted a few dozen times..and I'd expect this to hold true in ebooks as well.

[Anarion]

a side question, since my little brother has gotten a kindle for christmas too..
are ebooks actually cheaper than printed books? by which I mean recent books and best seller list books.
instinct says they should be..but.. I actually don't know. I'd expect a new book to be more expensive than something that's been reprinted a few dozen times..and I'd expect this to hold true in ebooks as well.

Almost always yes. The kindle version will be cheaper than the cost of the same book ordered on Amazon.

On the other hand, if you have a used bookstore near you, it's going to vary a lot more, since some used books can be found very cheaply.

Libraries, of course, are still free.

[Flickerdart]

The odd thing is that, at least here, libraries may only lend as many copies of ebooks as they own, due to licensing restrictions from publishers. So you still have to get on a wait list, even though you're only waiting for a bit of code.

[OracleofWuffing]

This is a good "teach a man to fish" situation. Rather than try and get her everything she could want, get her through the basics of how to download an app and then use it. Have her do it with you for a couple examples, like Netflix and maybe her preferred news aggregator.
Oooookay. So, um, what's your preferred news aggregator? I don't use one and I know she thinks an aggregator's is a crocodile's cousin.


Then have her get a couple that she wants, and maybe give her a list of suggested things it can do or even suggested apps, such as a few games, some language services (dictionary, translator, thesaurus), news services, movies/tv/music, and whatever utility stuff she might like.
That, we might be able to work out.

[Anarion]

Oooookay. So, um, what's your preferred news aggregator? I don't use one and I know she thinks an aggregator's is a crocodile's cousin.


In that case, if she's liberal download the NPR app and show her how to listen to radio. If she's conservative and tasteful, the Wall Street Journal, if she's conservative and has no taste, Fox.

[Flickerdart]

There's a Google News app that just takes feeds from Google News (which aggregate from all kinds of places), but it may not come standard on a Kindle Fire and I have no idea if the Fire can access Google Play to get it.

[dehro]

The odd thing is that, at least here, libraries may only lend as many copies of ebooks as they own, due to licensing restrictions from publishers. So you still have to get on a wait list, even though you're only waiting for a bit of code.

wait.. libraries give out ebooks now?:smallconfused:
I don't see that happen anytime soon in my country..