Foxit just announced a new ebook reader, the Foxit eSllick. At less than a half inch thick, it has a built-in MP3 player and it uses the same eInk technology that Amazon Kindle uses. It comes with an SD slot and a 2GB SD card. It doesn't have wifi but it comes in at $100 dollars less. It also lets you update the device via USB and supports rich PDF documents, that means that you can load your own documents painlessly (unlike the kindle that makes you jump through hoops and does not support rich documents).
It will be temporarily available for $229 (MSRP is $259). That's still more than I would like to pay. I think $99 is the ideal price point for an ebook reader. For that price, I'd like to see an FM tuner and some kind of video playback. I know the eink technology doesn't refresh fast enough for video though. Still $229 is a bit steep.
Since it supports PDF, that means that any of your business documents can be converted (software included). .doc, .ppt, open office, cad and just about any other document can be viewed on the device. PDF can be zoomed for better reading and an interesting feature is reflowing. That means that if you use a large font for easier reading, the device will flow the text so that you don't need to pan around the screen.
As a bonus, you can listen to your music while reading. I don't know anyone who doesn't already have an MP3 player or a cell phone with MP3 capabilities. Having an MP3 player in the reader is a nice touch, I guess, but I would prefer it to be MP3-less and $50 cheaper.
The OS is an embedded Linux running in 128MB of ram on an ARM 400MHz processor. The SD can take up to a 4GB card. The rechargeable lithium ion battery will last 8000 page turns. That's like reading Battlefield Earth 8 times. That's a lot of reading.
I am somewhat tempted to get this. I don't have a kindle or a sony reader and I am an avid reader. I'm also a gadget freak. Still, I can do so much to my EEE PC or my laptop with $200 and both of those are far more useful to me than an ebook reader. I'll have to think about it some more.
Well, it's taken over a year but it has finally arrived. I started writing the book back in Aug 2006. I finished in late Jan 2007 and the technical editor finished his work in March. Now, In Jan 2008, EnterpriseDB: The Definitive Reference is available. I'm glad I didn't wait for the movie. ;-)
It's kind of ironic. Just this morning, I posted that I am working on my second book. My wife called me at work and told me two boxes of books had arrived. 2008 is turning out to be a good year. I'll have some additional news in the near future.
Anyway, the book looks good. I've already found a few typos and grammar errors just skimming around. I like the font and the pages look really crisp. All in all, I have to say I am very happy that the book is out.
Check out some photos:
I think I want to give a couple away. Maybe some kind of contest for the blog readers. Any ideas of something fair? I am willing to pay shipping for a couple but that would only be here in the US. Overseas shipping gets expensive.
LewisC
This is a review of both the book and the movie, Transformers.
I was recently in Books a million and saw a display for the new movie Transformers. Actually, the display was for a novelization of the movie by Alan Dean Foster. If you don't know Alan Dean Foster he did the novelization of at least the first Alien movie (and I think more), Krull, a bunch of original Star Treks, Pip and Flinx, Outland, the Spell Singer series, and about a bazillion more. If you read, you have probably read something from Alan.
Transformers, the book:
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Del Rey; Mti edition (May 29, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345497996
ISBN-13: 978-0345497994
I was a fan of the transformers in my late teens when they first came out. I've always been a fan of comics and cartoons. As a fan, I decided to pick up the book and give it a read. My son wanted to see the movie (he is a HUGE fan) so I figured I could use "research" as an excuse to buy it.
If you don't know the premise, it's fairly simple. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away a battle raged between intelligent cybernetic beings on a planet called Cybertron. The good beings are, being autonomous, Autobots. The bad guys, being deceptive, are Decepticons. Combined are they Cybertronians? Cybertrics? Cybertronner?
The war between good and evil starts to destroy Cybertron so the All Spark, the special energy cube that gives life to inanimate (but only complex inanimate) objects, is ejected into space to prevent Megatron (leader of Decepticons) from getting it. Megatron goes after the cube and after thousands of years, both arrive on Earth. Eventually the good guys follow, followed by additional bad guys.
The story is about the search for the All Spark, the battle between good and evil and two horny teenagers. Sam Witwicky, bumbling teenager, manages to, ineptly, steal the girlfriend of the ultra-macho, footballer bad guy. The girl, Mikela, is poor where Sam is solidly middle class. In the meantime, the Men In Black, are tracking Sam and Mikela down and the Secretary of Defense is trading witty banter with a green haired punk rock computer genius (in the book anyway, the same character in the movie is an attractive blond with an British accent). The movie ends in a crescendo of robotic violence of epic proportions.
I'm not sure how many more cliches could have been squeezed into a single novel/movie. The weird thing is, it works. The novel is better than the movie but only because Alan Dean Foster is a master and he can spend more time building the characters.
An example of the time spent on characterization is this bit from an early scene in the book:
Later, as they cruised back toward town, her voice rose above the hum of the Camaro's engine as the car coasted down a hillside road. Sunset muffled the light but did nothing to mute her continuing rant.
"I cannot believe I am here," she was saying.
"You can duck down if you want," Sam suggested helpfully. "It won't hurt my feelings."
She flicked her eyes at him. "Duck down? Are you crazy? Not with you, in your car. Here, in this situation." Leaning back against the headrest, she implored the heavens. "This serves me right. God, I've got such a weakness for hot guys."
So this is what grandma meant when she used to talk about someone making her feel knee-high to caterpillar, Sam mused as he mumbled a response. "Yeah, that, that is a weakness."
The story is enjoyable on many levels. My four old, whom I did bring to the movie with me, was only impressed with the last 15 or so minutes. I, on the other hand, read the book in about 8 hours and then two weeks later was held spellbound for the entire two hours and twenty three minutes. The other audience members, who seemed to range from young teen to elderly, were also spellbound. The theater resounded with applause in several places and the applause lasted for several minutes at the end.
This movie/book combination has something for everyone. Drama (teen angst, alien invasion, politics, world war), humor (the way the autobots talk, computer geek inside jokes, Sam's slightly tipsy mom and his "special time"), special effects (transforming giant robots), military jargon, and so much more.
Some of the humor is decidedly adult but much of it is straight at the teen demographic. Maybe it's just because I am an old fan but I would be willing to see a part 2, if there is one. Want to take odds that there will be?
Alan Dean Foster has written a prequel to the movie, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday (Transformers (Ballantine Books)). I plan to buy this the next time I am in a book store.
If you need a book to while away a lazy weekend or if you have a few hours to burn on a movie, you could do worse than Transformers.
LewisC
. Actually, the display was for a novelization of the movie by 
. I plan to buy this the next time I am in a book store.
If you need a book to while away a lazy weekend or if you have a few hours to burn on a movie, you could do worse than Transformers.
LewisC
