How I got a preview of the Kindle 3 – and totally geeked out

He read his parents books! They had been licensed for the original purchasers use only - it's this sort of piracy that funds drug dealing and terrorism

I've got floppy disks and zip drives and old, dead hard drives full of stuff which I can't run or read.<p>And that's for files that I created on hardware I own.<p>Amazon as a company is only 15 years old - will it be around in 50 years? Any given Kindle will only last for a few years - will I always be able to afford to buy a new one? Will they always be available to buy?<p>It is a big issue for me that I can't buy an ebook and have a reasonable expectation that the ebook will be mine for the rest of my life, and can be given to my kids to read.<p>It makes me think of ebooks as disposable - I can't build up a library. It's more like borrowing someone else's books where they can demand the book back.<p>But, like this guy, I still use them for convenience...

I feel somewhat the same way about bookshelves. When you walk into my parents' house, the first thing you see is three bookshelves covering a wall, stacked as high as you can reach without a ladder. I was looking forward to getting my own when I moved out permanently. Now, I don't see that happening. (On the plus side, I won't have to fight my dad over who gets to keep what.)<p>But I'm sure people felt the same about vinyl records. And now, if I want to check out a friend's music taste, I just look at their iTunes. I'm not old enough to know whether it's quite the same, but I'm not sentimental enough to think we haven't made massive improvements.<p>I suspect DVDs will be the next to go. (I don't have a DVD player of my own, but I like to have my fairly small collection where people can see it.)

I refuse to pay full price for a digital edition you don't own and can't resell or lend.<p>Most of my best books are in the hands of friends and family or given away to somebody who would use them. If the electronic version had a reduced price I wouldn't mind. Even if it was for a limited time, like renting the book. But full price? You got to be kidding.<p>Also the authors are <i>still</i> getting scammed by the industry and only see a tiny fraction of what the buyer pays. This is not <i>it</i>.

The only thing that prevents me from using a Kindle is DRM: I want to be able to backup and really "own" the books I buy, and read them in whichever device I choose (or Notepad).<p>Does Amazon realize how terrifying the '1984 incident' was?<p>On the other hand, Amazon doesn't need to lift DRM: a crack would suffice. Any news on this front?

Here's an idea:<p>A touch screen bookshelf replacement. A large screen you could hang up as a virtual bookshelf with an interface similar to Delicious Monster / iBooks.<p>You could flip through your books and still see the cover art and enjoy browsing them in a size comparable to that of as a paper book.<p>Your kids could still see that books have "physical" presence in your house.<p>You could still show your books off to people visiting your house.<p>The shelf would also incorporate sharing. You could drag a book from your shelf to one of your devices shown as an icon on the screen or share it via an email address.<p>As a starting point you could have this an app for Google TV and Apple TV (when/if they open it to apps), but ideally it'd be touch screen.

I was pretty negative on the Kindle over time. Mostly because of its abysmal typography and fonts. But I bought a Kindle 3 because "it's so cheap" and because I plan to release some books for it and wanted to test direct. And.. I'm won over. The typography still isn't great, but the form factor and the ease with which I can read the screen for longer periods is much welcomed.

I love going to my local book stores here in Austin. I feel kinda bad when I buy something for the Kindle app on my iPad instead of the physical books. But having the ability to read a book on the iPad, or my laptop or my T-Mobile MyTouch is a killer feature.

How are programming/technical books on the Kindle 3? I've read reviews that the Kindle DX can handle them but the normal Kindle has a much more attractive price point.