"I bought the Kindle e-book reader as an e-book reader, if I had wanted a laptop, Tablet, Mobile phone, portable gaming console, movie device etc..."
Then the lack of a 3G-based web browser should not be a problem.
"Amazon seem to have lost the point of an e-book reader, that it is easier to read books on it than a conventional screen..."
Well, personally I hate e-ink with a passion, and have read hundreds of books on iPaqs, iPhones, and iPads, and that's the point. Some people -- like myself -- love a device that can be read in a dark or dimly lit room without having to strap a light onto the silly thing. Some people -- like myself -- don't sit outside in direct sunlight in order to read a book.
And some people -- like myself -- like having other options like email and internet access and even movies and games available. Especially if we're going to carry another device anyway.
And Amazon knows this! With the iPhone and iPad and Android Kindle apps, they know down to the last decimal point just how many people use smartphones and tablets to read books.
They haven't "lost the point". They're just giving people what they've already demonstrated they want.
And they've added two new e-ink versions for the die hards and stick-in-the-muds. Why begrudge someone else their choice in the matter?
"It is clear from the text on the "basic web" functionality that it is an experimental prototype - they encouraged its use and were soliciting feedback."
Which part of "experimental" and "prototype" do you not understand?
They newer, cheaper versions don't have an experimental feature. Big deal. Don't buy them.
Since it's built on 2.2, you won't be able to side load other tablet apps based on HC or the upcoming IC.
"The only things that are going to make it uniquely Kindle are the Android customizations and apps that they won't offer on the standard Market."
Hmmm. Have you heard the rumors that Amazon is looking hard at buying WebOS from HP? See, to Amazon, the KINDLE is the platform. If Bezos thinks that WebOS would help Amazon build a better, differentiated platform I bet he'd be all over it.
By the numbers I'm hearing, I'm guesstimating that the Fire will be up to the 4-5 million unit range by the end of the year. And that's not even counting the $79 and $99 eInk devices.
"If you think Kindle Fire is a victory for Android, you're not following what's going on."
So true. Running 2.2 under a custom shell does nothing for the Android tablet market, where Google is trying to push 3.x and the upcoming 4.x. Amazon doesn't care about Maps or most of the other Google services, and Google can't beat them with the Android Marketplace stick since Amazon already has its own.
Not to mention that Amazon just undercut almost every other Android tablet on price, making them look even less appealing than they already were.
Basically, Amazon just forked Android, and named the new fork Kindle Fire.
Which part of "customized on top of an OLD version of Android" and "Think of it as an Amazonian Android fork and you wouldn't be too far off" was unclear?
You're probably limited to compatible Android apps available from Amazon, and not the Google Marketplace or other sources. Being custom designed, you probably can't just grab a stock Android installation and expect it to work.
Being built on an OLD version of Android also means that many newer apps, especially those built for Honeycomb tablets, will not work. Root the system and somehow install a newer OS, and Amazon's apps may not work.
So no, it's not a full-blown "Android" tablet. It's a custom device.
You said, and I quote, "... but there is no "need" for new things."
A cancer "treatment" could be a drug or say, nano-probes. Things. Power could be new and better solar cells or generators that produce less pollution. Things. Rocket motors are things. An eye implant is a thing.
So yes, we do "need" new things. And it's impossible to replicate something new. It must be created first.
"And what could there be of value to someone who had a replicator that made all the wanted?"
If you want a possible answer to that question, try reading James Hogan's Voyage from Yesteryear.
Assuming, of course, that you ever recover from your bout with Tourette's syndrome...
Full blown? Not quite. According to reports this a custom shell built on top of an OLD version of Android, using a last generation processor. It runs some Android apps, but doesn't connect to Google's app store.
More importantly, it doesn't bundle Google's search, mail, maps, and other apps that Google depends upon for revenue.
Think of it as an Amazonian Android fork and you wouldn't be too far off.
"There may be value in new things, but there is no "need" for new things."
Really? No need for a cancer cure? No need for cheaper power? No need for space exploration technology? No need for new medical technology to replace that lost eye?
I scarcely think we're at the nadir of the technological cure.
How many sign painters went out of business? How many in-company and in-store artists got fired and replaced by a machine? Used to be you couldn't go too many blocks without seeing a printing company. How many of those are gone?
As you say, good lawyers may still command a handsome premium. The majority, however, who spent much of their time doing routine divorce filings, writing wills, and so on for most of the general population...
That already puts your comments into the proper perspective.
"So far they don't have the magic "intuitition" that enables humans to skip the first 12 deductive law tests (for example), and generate a possible solution..."
So they don't skip them. When you have terra flops to work with, you can just brute force the problem aka Watson.
No one is saying that they're going to replace all of the original thinking in those fields. Most of the people in those fields, however, aren't original thinkers.
Slashdot Mirror
Ahem.
I travel.
"I bought the Kindle e-book reader as an e-book reader, if I had wanted a laptop, Tablet, Mobile phone, portable gaming console, movie device etc..."
Then the lack of a 3G-based web browser should not be a problem.
"Amazon seem to have lost the point of an e-book reader, that it is easier to read books on it than a conventional screen..."
Well, personally I hate e-ink with a passion, and have read hundreds of books on iPaqs, iPhones, and iPads, and that's the point. Some people -- like myself -- love a device that can be read in a dark or dimly lit room without having to strap a light onto the silly thing. Some people -- like myself -- don't sit outside in direct sunlight in order to read a book.
And some people -- like myself -- like having other options like email and internet access and even movies and games available. Especially if we're going to carry another device anyway.
And Amazon knows this! With the iPhone and iPad and Android Kindle apps, they know down to the last decimal point just how many people use smartphones and tablets to read books.
They haven't "lost the point". They're just giving people what they've already demonstrated they want.
And they've added two new e-ink versions for the die hards and stick-in-the-muds. Why begrudge someone else their choice in the matter?
If you switch it on because you're expecting an important phone call later that day, it really doesn't matter if it boots in 10s or 2s, now does it?
Actively encouraged by hiding it in a section labeled "experimental"...
"It is clear from the text on the "basic web" functionality that it is an experimental prototype - they encouraged its use and were soliciting feedback."
Which part of "experimental" and "prototype" do you not understand?
They newer, cheaper versions don't have an experimental feature. Big deal. Don't buy them.
Ditto. The WhisperNet 3G option was always about buying books or accessing your library anywhere. That's it.
If you downloaded two dozen books a month you probably still wouldn't hit a meg of data. A web browser, however, is another beast entirely.
Amazon can't afford to give users 3G web browsing for eternity -- and especially at the price points they're aiming at. It's just not possible.
2 x 8.0GB 1333MHz DDR3 SO-DIMM PC10600 204 Pin = $879
Or $54 a gig.
That's what happens when you need more RAM and you only have two slots...
Since it's built on 2.2, you won't be able to side load other tablet apps based on HC or the upcoming IC.
"The only things that are going to make it uniquely Kindle are the Android customizations and apps that they won't offer on the standard Market."
Hmmm. Have you heard the rumors that Amazon is looking hard at buying WebOS from HP? See, to Amazon, the KINDLE is the platform. If Bezos thinks that WebOS would help Amazon build a better, differentiated platform I bet he'd be all over it.
By the numbers I'm hearing, I'm guesstimating that the Fire will be up to the 4-5 million unit range by the end of the year. And that's not even counting the $79 and $99 eInk devices.
And have you seen the rumors about how Amazon is eyeing WebOS? To Amazon, the KINDLE is the platform. Not Android.
If WebOS would let them build a better, differentiated platform I bet they'd be all over it.
"If you think Kindle Fire is a victory for Android, you're not following what's going on."
So true. Running 2.2 under a custom shell does nothing for the Android tablet market, where Google is trying to push 3.x and the upcoming 4.x. Amazon doesn't care about Maps or most of the other Google services, and Google can't beat them with the Android Marketplace stick since Amazon already has its own.
Not to mention that Amazon just undercut almost every other Android tablet on price, making them look even less appealing than they already were.
Basically, Amazon just forked Android, and named the new fork Kindle Fire.
As soon as I posted this I remembered A9. So yeah, search too.
"... and Amazon don't sell search."
No, but Amazon does sell ads.
"An iOS is running on a workstation class core..."
I suspect that he's referring to the OS X underpinnings that provide the base for iOS's UIKit and the Mac OS X's AppKit.
"... looking at them not as particularly more or less important than any other rules passed down from profits."
From profits? You mean, like the Word as passed down by Baker and Falwell and Schuller?
Which part of "customized on top of an OLD version of Android" and "Think of it as an Amazonian Android fork and you wouldn't be too far off" was unclear?
You're probably limited to compatible Android apps available from Amazon, and not the Google Marketplace or other sources. Being custom designed, you probably can't just grab a stock Android installation and expect it to work.
Being built on an OLD version of Android also means that many newer apps, especially those built for Honeycomb tablets, will not work. Root the system and somehow install a newer OS, and Amazon's apps may not work.
So no, it's not a full-blown "Android" tablet. It's a custom device.
It's a Kindle.
You said, and I quote, "... but there is no "need" for new things."
A cancer "treatment" could be a drug or say, nano-probes. Things. Power could be new and better solar cells or generators that produce less pollution. Things. Rocket motors are things. An eye implant is a thing.
So yes, we do "need" new things. And it's impossible to replicate something new. It must be created first.
"And what could there be of value to someone who had a replicator that made all the wanted?"
If you want a possible answer to that question, try reading James Hogan's Voyage from Yesteryear.
Assuming, of course, that you ever recover from your bout with Tourette's syndrome...
"Unlike the Nook, you can't put in extra storage with a mircoSD card."
They beat the Nook Color price point by $50. Something had to give.
"It's not even an Android tablet competitor..."
If you're looking specifically for an Android tablet, no. But it is an Android tablet competitor, in that it will take marketshare away from them.
And they didn't have all that much to start with.
Apple. Amazon... and everyone else is screwed.
"No, it's a full blown android tablet."
Full blown? Not quite. According to reports this a custom shell built on top of an OLD version of Android, using a last generation processor. It runs some Android apps, but doesn't connect to Google's app store.
More importantly, it doesn't bundle Google's search, mail, maps, and other apps that Google depends upon for revenue.
Think of it as an Amazonian Android fork and you wouldn't be too far off.
"iPad Killed"
Nope, the iPad will do just fine. Amazon will do just fine.
Microsoft, Samsung, HTC, RIM, and all the other iPad-wannabe's...
They just got screwed. Apple, Amazon, and everyone else a distant, distant, DISTANT third.
"There may be value in new things, but there is no "need" for new things."
Really? No need for a cancer cure? No need for cheaper power? No need for space exploration technology? No need for new medical technology to replace that lost eye?
I scarcely think we're at the nadir of the technological cure.
"The solution to all this... and the economic collapse we're experiencing... is the following:
less work
more work sharing"
Right. Less work per individual at the same rate means even LESS income per individual, at a time when individual incomes are already collapsing.
Great solution. Ready to take a 50% reduction in pay so someone else can do half your job?
How many sign painters went out of business? How many in-company and in-store artists got fired and replaced by a machine? Used to be you couldn't go too many blocks without seeing a printing company. How many of those are gone?
As you say, good lawyers may still command a handsome premium. The majority, however, who spent much of their time doing routine divorce filings, writing wills, and so on for most of the general population...
Gone.
"Nothing I've seen in my experience..."
That already puts your comments into the proper perspective.
"So far they don't have the magic "intuitition" that enables humans to skip the first 12 deductive law tests (for example), and generate a possible solution..."
So they don't skip them. When you have terra flops to work with, you can just brute force the problem aka Watson.
No one is saying that they're going to replace all of the original thinking in those fields. Most of the people in those fields, however, aren't original thinkers.