kindle

terrygold.com on Kindle

by

I didn't realize that Amazon was publishing my blog on the Kindle until this weekend when I got the following email from them . . .

Dear Publisher,

We noticed your blog (listed below) has not updated for more than 60 days. Kindle customers expect to receive frequent updates for blogs and news feeds to which they subscribe. Because blogs should update at least once per month, we are cancelling blogs that have not updated in more than 60 days. Accordingly, if you do not publish new updates within 7 days, we will remove your publication from the Kindle Store.

Blog Title: terrygold.com | Blog ASIN: B002A7WC20

Sincerely,

Amazon Kindle Team

I think I remember signing up when the Kindle first came out, but it was still a surprise to see that my blog has an ASIN number!

I suppose this post counts as an update, but in anycase I do have some new things to write about so I'll be doing another few posts soon.

Kindle in the cockpit

by

I mentioned in my post about "The New, New Kindle" that I had seen a photograph of the Kindle displaying an approach plate, but that it had disappeared.  Russ Still commented on the post to say that Airbrief.com is doing an open beta, providing pilots with the approach plates for the Kindle.  Below is a photo from Airbrief showing how the plates look on the Kindle.  If you are a pilot or just interested in aviation, also check out GoldSealFlight.Com and if you use Airbrief.com, I'd be interested in hearing about it too.  It's been a long time since I sat in the front seat of an airplane, but I like keeping up with it and thinking about the day when I'll do it again.

Chart-comparison from airbriefdotcom 

Update #1:  Russ just emailed me to let me know you can get a free copy of the 2009 FAR for the Kindle right here, and it works on the DX as well as the Kindle 2.  For the Kindle DX, they have the Airplane Flying Handbook and Instrument Flying Handbook as well.  The Kindle just became a "Must Have" for pilots I think.

The new, new Kindle

by

I won't be buying the new Kindle DX, because I like that my Kindle 2 is small enough to fit into my backpack for traveling, but it does look interesting.  If you haven't heard, Amazon surprised people this week with another new Kindle that has a screen that is "two and a half" times bigger than the Kindle 2.  It also auto-rotates when you turn it on it's side, can handle PDFs and it holds up to 3,500 books.  Some people are saying this device will save the newspaper industry, but I'm not believing that as long as they still think of themselves as the newsPAPER industry.  Amazon announced new deals with the New York Times and the Washington post and also partnerships with several universities and textbook publishers so that students can get their textbooks on the Kindle DX.

Yesterday I sat outside at lunch and read.  The sun was so bright that I was practicly blinded, but my kindle was perfectly readable.  When a new email arrived on my phone, I pulled it out to check it and was struck by how un-readable my phone display was in the sunlight compared to the Kindle.  In the photo below, the phone display is on, but impossible to read in the direct Colorado sunlight.

IMG_8407

(Click the photo for a closer look)

I was also going to link to a photo I saw yesterday of the new Kindle DX that showed an instrument approach plate on it.  Pilots carry big books of loose-leaf paper around with them with diagrams of how they are expected to fly instrument approaches.  Every month they get updates that they are then expected to file (quickly and correctly) into their spiral bound notebooks.  Occasionally they put one in the wrong place and then "discover" a new antenna or other structure has appeared near the airport.  The picture seems to have disappeared – maybe the idea of depending on technology in the cockpit scared to many people.  That's a joke – unless you fly a Piper Cub, you probably are already depending on a whole lot of technology in the cockpit.

Kindle 2 arrives

by

 Amazon.com beat expectations again, as they often do, and delivered my Kindle 2 a day early.  I love my original Kindle, but my first impression is that the Kindle 2 is a big improvement.  It is true that I can share content between the two devices, so everything I bought before can be moved to the new Kindle 2.  I don't know yet if I can have a book on both devices at the same time, but I think I can.

I had breakfast this morning with a friend who used to work in the publishing business, and we both are scratching our heads about why people get hung up on physical books.  For me, it's about reading, not the actual physical books.  I'll aways own certain books – my grandfather's and my father's books, or books that have really meant a lot to me will stay on my shelf, but soon I'm going to start getting rid of the books that I've already read (or never will read) using bookcrossing.com.    Let me know if you find one of my books in the wild.  And you can be sure that the book below will remain on my shelf.

Kindle 2

Waitamo Caves – Wonderland or Weirdoland – Kindle update

by

kindle story

Back in October I wrote about my experience publishing on the Kindle ebook from Amazon.com.  My wife Cindy had written a short story about our experience doing something called Blackwater Rafting a few years ago, and she donated it to me for my publishing experiment.  I published it to the Kindle and mentioned it once on my blog, expecting that maybe one or two of my friends with Kindles would buy it.  It’s only about 10 pages long, so I priced it at the minimum price of $1 and Amazon discounts it 20%.  At 80 cents a pop, we weren’t planning on being able to fund a return trip to New Zealand.  I think I get maybe 8 cents for each copy sold, but the joy that Cindy gets every time someone buys a copy has turned out to be worth way more than 80 cents.

I checked the stats on Amazon.com today and I’m very proud to report that my wife’s story is now ranked #66 in the Rafting category, and #85 in the Adventure travel category.  She will be horrified if she finds out I’ve written this, because she would first point out that it’s #66 ON THE KINDLE, not in all books, and besides she’s kind of shy about this sort of thing.  Seriously though – 80 cents.  I’ll personally refund your money if you don’t like it, but you will – it’s a funny story and pretty much told at my expense.  There are a few four letter words in the story – the ones you would use on your husband if you were coerced to ride down a river in an inner tube, in a cave 300 feet below the surface, in a tight wet suit with a miner’s helmet on your head.  And there are “Enchanting Glowworms” on the ceiling of the cave.  “Glowworm” is a nice tourist-term for maggots with poop that glows in the dark.  Oh, and you are a tad claustrophobic.  You know the words I mean.  :-) 

The experience, and the reaction from some very kind readers, has encouraged her to write more.  Just a few weeks ago she finished the first draft of a novel.  I’m biased, but I think it’s a great story.  If you want to take my word for it, and you are an agent representing fiction novels, PLEASE contact me.  I’ll get SO many points if I can help Cindy get her book published.  And it really is a great story.  So far I haven’t been able to convince her to let me publish it on the Kindle – she’s kind of traditional about some things.

Thanks to everyone who bought Cindy’s story.  If you haven’t yet, here’s another convenient link.  I get double points if you go write a nice review on amazon.com.  Once again, that link is right here and here, or you can just search for Cindy Gold on amazon.com  Can you tell how proud I am of her?

Cindy doesn’t read my blog, so let’s just keep this post between us, OK?

Update 1:  She found out about this post, and has called me "Ridiculously Supportive."    I'm so lucky.