_A Rising Thunder_ released in trade paperback

[Lynn McGuire]

_A Rising Thunder_ (Honor Harrington) by David Weber
http://www.amazon.com/A-Rising-Thunder-Honor-Harrington/dp/145163871X/

I just noticed that the newest Honor book was first
released in hardcover as normal early in 2012. Now
I just saw it in trade paperback instead of MMPB at
B&N. Is Baen trying to maximize their revenue from
their most published author?

Just wondering, not complaining. I will buy the
trade paperback variant but from Amazon for the $9
price instead of $16 at B&N.

Lynn

[Michelle Steiner]

Post by Lynn McGuire
Just wondering, not complaining. I will buy the
trade paperback variant but from Amazon for the $9
price instead of $16 at B&N.

You can get it on line from B&N for $8.96.

B&N's online prices for books tends to match Amazon's, but only if you have
it shipped; if you order it on line to be picked up at a B&N store, the
price is the same as if you bought it there without ordering it.

You can also get it as an ebook from Baen.com for $8.99.

-- Michelle

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by Michelle Steiner

Post by Lynn McGuire
Just wondering, not complaining. I will buy the
trade paperback variant but from Amazon for the $9
price instead of $16 at B&N.

You can get it on line from B&N for $8.96.
B&N's online prices for books tends to match Amazon's, but only if you have
it shipped; if you order it on line to be picked up at a B&N store, the
price is the same as if you bought it there without ordering it.
You can also get it as an ebook from Baen.com for $8.99.
-- Michelle

That is OK. I spend $300+ per month at
Amazon so a single purchase at B&N would
not do me any good.

Thanks,
Lynn

[Wayne Throop]

::: I will buy the trade paperback variant but from Amazon for the $9
::: price instead of $16 at B&N.

:: You can get it on line from B&N for $8.96.
:: You can also get it as an ebook from Baen.com for $8.99.

You can get it as an ebook from Amazon for $8.51.
Indeed, it's sort of a Contractual Obligation of some sort,
that Baen not undersell Amazon for ebooks.

(There are some loopholes.)

[Michael R N Dolbear]

Post by Wayne Throop
:: You can also get it as an ebook from Baen.com for $8.99.
You can get it as an ebook from Amazon for $8.51.
Indeed, it's sort of a Contractual Obligation of some sort,
that Baen not undersell Amazon for ebooks.
(There are some loopholes.)

Once Baen publishes an ebook, Baenebooks.com prices are intended to be
identical with Amazon.

The price of Shadow of Freedom should be $9.99 until the tpb is
actually published when it will drop to $8.99

There are problems checking this for those outside the US since the
Amazon.com Kindle store server is sometimes overly smart and shows no
price or a different price.

If you buy a Baen Monthly Bundle (only before publication) that's four
new books plus reprints, still for $18 for delevery on publication or
earlier.

[Michael R N Dolbear]

Post by Lynn McGuire
_A Rising Thunder_ (Honor Harrington) by David Weber

http://www.amazon.com/A-Rising-Thunder-Honor-Harrington/dp/145163871X/

Post by Lynn McGuire
I just noticed that the newest Honor book was first
released in hardcover as normal early in 2012. Now
I just saw it in trade paperback instead of MMPB at
B&N. Is Baen trying to maximize their revenue from
their most published author?

Same for other first line authors, Lois McMaster Bujold's Captain
Vorpatril's Alliance was hc Nov 2012, scheduled Sept 2013 in tpb.

More money for Bujold and Weber, we hope.

A while back Tor used to do the hc, tpb, mmpb route so it's not
unprecedented.

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by Lynn McGuire
_A Rising Thunder_ (Honor Harrington) by David Weber

http://www.amazon.com/A-Rising-Thunder-Honor-Harrington/dp/145163871X/

Post by Lynn McGuire
I just noticed that the newest Honor book was first
released in hardcover as normal early in 2012. Now
I just saw it in trade paperback instead of MMPB at
B&N. Is Baen trying to maximize their revenue from
their most published author?

Same for other first line authors, Lois McMaster Bujold's Captain
Vorpatril's Alliance was hc Nov 2012, scheduled Sept 2013 in tpb.
More money for Bujold and Weber, we hope.
A while back Tor used to do the hc, tpb, mmpb route so it's not
unprecedented.
More money for Bujold and Weber, we hope.

I hope so too!

Lynn

[Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)]

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by Lynn McGuire
_A Rising Thunder_ (Honor Harrington) by David Weber

http://www.amazon.com/A-Rising-Thunder-Honor-Harrington/dp/145163871X/

Post by Lynn McGuire
I just noticed that the newest Honor book was first
released in hardcover as normal early in 2012. Now
I just saw it in trade paperback instead of MMPB at
B&N. Is Baen trying to maximize their revenue from
their most published author?

Same for other first line authors, Lois McMaster Bujold's Captain
Vorpatril's Alliance was hc Nov 2012, scheduled Sept 2013 in tpb.
More money for Bujold and Weber, we hope.
A while back Tor used to do the hc, tpb, mmpb route so it's not
unprecedented.

Note that MMPB may be simply going away. TPB seems to be the best
selling format overall these days.

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by Lynn McGuire
_A Rising Thunder_ (Honor Harrington) by David Weber

http://www.amazon.com/A-Rising-Thunder-Honor-Harrington/dp/145163871X/

Post by Lynn McGuire
I just noticed that the newest Honor book was first
released in hardcover as normal early in 2012. Now
I just saw it in trade paperback instead of MMPB at
B&N. Is Baen trying to maximize their revenue from
their most published author?

Same for other first line authors, Lois McMaster Bujold's Captain
Vorpatril's Alliance was hc Nov 2012, scheduled Sept 2013 in tpb.
More money for Bujold and Weber, we hope.
A while back Tor used to do the hc, tpb, mmpb route so it's not
unprecedented.

Note that MMPB may be simply going away. TPB seems to be the best
selling format overall these days.

That would not hurt my feelings. I do not like
hardbacks in my collection of 4,000 books for their
size. But, I do like TPBs. And TPBs generally have
better paper than MMPBs. And larger fonts for the
aged <g> like me (52).

Lynn

[Aahz Maruch]

Post by Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
Note that MMPB may be simply going away. TPB seems to be the best
selling format overall these days.

That would not hurt my feelings. I do not like hardbacks in my
collection of 4,000 books for their size. But, I do like TPBs. And
TPBs generally have better paper than MMPBs. And larger fonts for the
aged <g> like me (52).

That would bug me less if TPB came in consistent sizes. I have to
allocate way more shelf space for them to accomodate that. MMPB stacks
nicely.

[David DeLaney]

Post by Aahz Maruch

That would not hurt my feelings. I do not like hardbacks in my
collection of 4,000 books for their size. But, I do like TPBs. And
TPBs generally have better paper than MMPBs. And larger fonts for the
aged <g> like me (52).

That would bug me less if TPB came in consistent sizes. I have to
allocate way more shelf space for them to accomodate that. MMPB stacks
nicely.

And boxes nicely. In contrast, no two TPBs are the same size and shape, unless
they're in the same series from the same publisher, and a lot of the time not
even then. It's really frustrating. Hardbacks also have this problem but you
sort of expect it from them if you've grown up using libraries... but you'd
think they could get it RIGHT with TPBs, and nobody bothers.

(And then there's these marketing-decision-inspired new abortions in the last
five years or so that are ALMOST mmpb size but are about 1/2 to 1 inch too
tall, so that you CAN'T store them with MMPBs and they're too small to stack
or store with TPBs and luckily almost nobody actually important is using them
except Jim Butcher for some reason. Dudes, if you want something you can charge
a dollar more for, _charge a dollar more for the MMPBs_, it's not like their
price HASN'T been rising steadily for many decades. Don't take the exact same
content and put it in a mis-sized wrapper and say that lets you charge more.
OH WAIT I JUST SLAMMED THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF TPBs DIDN'T I.)

Dave

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Aahz Maruch

That would not hurt my feelings. I do not like hardbacks in my
collection of 4,000 books for their size. But, I do like TPBs. And
TPBs generally have better paper than MMPBs. And larger fonts for the
aged <g> like me (52).

That would bug me less if TPB came in consistent sizes. I have to
allocate way more shelf space for them to accomodate that. MMPB stacks
nicely.

And boxes nicely. In contrast, no two TPBs are the same size and shape, unless
they're in the same series from the same publisher, and a lot of the time not
even then. It's really frustrating. Hardbacks also have this problem but you
sort of expect it from them if you've grown up using libraries... but you'd
think they could get it RIGHT with TPBs, and nobody bothers.
(And then there's these marketing-decision-inspired new abortions in the last
five years or so that are ALMOST mmpb size but are about 1/2 to 1 inch too
tall, so that you CAN'T store them with MMPBs and they're too small to stack
or store with TPBs and luckily almost nobody actually important is using them
except Jim Butcher for some reason. Dudes, if you want something you can charge
a dollar more for, _charge a dollar more for the MMPBs_, it's not like their
price HASN'T been rising steadily for many decades. Don't take the exact same
content and put it in a mis-sized wrapper and say that lets you charge more.
OH WAIT I JUST SLAMMED THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF TPBs DIDN'T I.)
Dave

Uh, dude, the MMPBs are $7.99 and $8.99 now.
The TPBs are $16.00. The publisher is selling
their books to the retailer for 50% of the list
price. Do the math. We are not just talking
about $1.00 extra (retail price).

Lynn

[David DeLaney]

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by David DeLaney
(And then there's these marketing-decision-inspired new abortions in the last
five years or so that are ALMOST mmpb size but are about 1/2 to 1 inch too
tall, so that you CAN'T store them with MMPBs and they're too small to stack
or store with TPBs and luckily almost nobody actually important is using them
except Jim Butcher for some reason. Dudes, if you want something you can charge
a dollar more for, _charge a dollar more for the MMPBs_, it's not like their
price HASN'T been rising steadily for many decades. Don't take the exact same
content and put it in a mis-sized wrapper and say that lets you charge more.
OH WAIT I JUST SLAMMED THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF TPBs DIDN'T I.)

Uh, dude, the MMPBs are $7.99 and $8.99 now.
The TPBs are $16.00.

TPBs are anywhere from $12-$18. The VerySmallTPBs I'm specifically referencing
in this paragraph above are not normal TPBs, and are usually like $10-$12;
they really are MMPB-size in everything except how tall the book is (and some
of them have extra spacing between lines to compensate, how daft is THAT?) and
how much it's listed as costing.

Dave

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by David DeLaney
(And then there's these marketing-decision-inspired new abortions in the last
five years or so that are ALMOST mmpb size but are about 1/2 to 1 inch too
tall, so that you CAN'T store them with MMPBs and they're too small to stack
or store with TPBs and luckily almost nobody actually important is using them
except Jim Butcher for some reason. Dudes, if you want something you can

charge

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by David DeLaney
a dollar more for, _charge a dollar more for the MMPBs_, it's not like their
price HASN'T been rising steadily for many decades. Don't take the exact same
content and put it in a mis-sized wrapper and say that lets you charge more.
OH WAIT I JUST SLAMMED THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF TPBs DIDN'T I.)

Uh, dude, the MMPBs are $7.99 and $8.99 now.
The TPBs are $16.00.

TPBs are anywhere from $12-$18. The VerySmallTPBs I'm specifically referencing
in this paragraph above are not normal TPBs, and are usually like $10-$12;
they really are MMPB-size in everything except how tall the book is (and some
of them have extra spacing between lines to compensate, how daft is THAT?) and
how much it's listed as costing.
Dave

Butcher's TPBs are about an inch taller and
are $9.99. Or are they "supersized" MMPBs?
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Front-Dresden-Files-Book/dp/0451457811/

Lynn

[David DeLaney]

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Lynn McGuire
Uh, dude, the MMPBs are $7.99 and $8.99 now.
The TPBs are $16.00.

TPBs are anywhere from $12-$18. The VerySmallTPBs I'm specifically referencing
in this paragraph above are not normal TPBs, and are usually like $10-$12;
they really are MMPB-size in everything except how tall the book is (and some
of them have extra spacing between lines to compensate, how daft is THAT?) and
how much it's listed as costing.

Butcher's TPBs are about an inch taller and
are $9.99. Or are they "supersized" MMPBs?

Those are the ones I'm talking about, among other authors'.

Which means that I STILL can't buy the last two books of his Alera Codex
because they STILL haven't come out in MMPB size. I finally had to read
them from the library a year or two ago. Can't buy that crappy hybrid size,
no matter if it's new or used. COULD buy hardback or TPB ... but I'm not
changing sizes for the last two books of a series, in general, even though
I'm buying other books of his in hardback. Don't LIKE storing part of a series
with my hardbacks and another part with the paperbacks.

Dave

[Howard Brazee]

Post by David DeLaney
Which means that I STILL can't buy the last two books of his Alera Codex
because they STILL haven't come out in MMPB size. I finally had to read
them from the library a year or two ago. Can't buy that crappy hybrid size,
no matter if it's new or used. COULD buy hardback or TPB ... but I'm not
changing sizes for the last two books of a series, in general, even though
I'm buying other books of his in hardback. Don't LIKE storing part of a series
with my hardbacks and another part with the paperbacks.

One advantage to going e-book.

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by Howard Brazee

Post by David DeLaney
Which means that I STILL can't buy the last two books of his Alera Codex
because they STILL haven't come out in MMPB size. I finally had to read
them from the library a year or two ago. Can't buy that crappy hybrid size,
no matter if it's new or used. COULD buy hardback or TPB ... but I'm not
changing sizes for the last two books of a series, in general, even though
I'm buying other books of his in hardback. Don't LIKE storing part of a series
with my hardbacks and another part with the paperbacks.

One advantage to going e-book.

Too bad it does not override all the other
disadvantages of going ebook.

Lynn

[Howard Brazee]

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by Howard Brazee

Post by David DeLaney
Which means that I STILL can't buy the last two books of his Alera Codex
because they STILL haven't come out in MMPB size. I finally had to read
them from the library a year or two ago. Can't buy that crappy hybrid size,
no matter if it's new or used. COULD buy hardback or TPB ... but I'm not
changing sizes for the last two books of a series, in general, even though
I'm buying other books of his in hardback. Don't LIKE storing part of a series
with my hardbacks and another part with the paperbacks.

One advantage to going e-book.

Too bad it does not override all the other
disadvantages of going ebook.

It doesn't.

But there are plenty of other advantages of going e-book, with the
biggest one being I have a library with me, while my old dead-tree
library won't fit in my new digs.

[Paul Arthur]

Post by Howard Brazee

Post by David DeLaney
Which means that I STILL can't buy the last two books of his Alera
Codex because they STILL haven't come out in MMPB size. I finally
had to read them from the library a year or two ago. Can't buy
that crappy hybrid size, no matter if it's new or used. COULD buy
hardback or TPB ... but I'm not changing sizes for the last two
books of a series, in general, even though I'm buying other books
of his in hardback. Don't LIKE storing part of a series with my
hardbacks and another part with the paperbacks.

One advantage to going e-book.

Too bad it does not override all the other disadvantages of going
ebook.

Given that for me there's only one, minor disadvantage to going ebook
(some older titles aren't available), the many advantages do indeed
override the disadvantage.

[Howard Brazee]

On Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:43:10 -0400, Paul Arthur

Post by Paul Arthur

Post by Howard Brazee
One advantage to going e-book.

Too bad it does not override all the other disadvantages of going
ebook.

Given that for me there's only one, minor disadvantage to going ebook
(some older titles aren't available), the many advantages do indeed
override the disadvantage.

Lots of dead tree titles aren't available.

We can't throw e-books across the room as well. It's harder to get
e-books autographed. We aren't allowed to sell e-books we pay for.
Lending them is extremely limited.

But I very much agree with your conclusion.

[J. Clarke]

Post by Howard Brazee
On Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:43:10 -0400, Paul Arthur

Post by Paul Arthur

Post by Howard Brazee
One advantage to going e-book.

Too bad it does not override all the other disadvantages of going
ebook.

Given that for me there's only one, minor disadvantage to going ebook
(some older titles aren't available), the many advantages do indeed
override the disadvantage.

Lots of dead tree titles aren't available.
We can't throw e-books across the room as well. It's harder to get
e-books autographed. We aren't allowed to sell e-books we pay for.
Lending them is extremely limited.
But I very much agree with your conclusion.

I'm slowly working my way through the Harvard Classics of late. All in
my pocket for instant access.

[Howard Brazee]

On Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:31:21 -0400, "J. Clarke"

Post by J. Clarke
I'm slowly working my way through the Harvard Classics of late. All in
my pocket for instant access.

I got rid of my Dad's old copy when I moved to my retirement
community. The e-version of those books are cheaper than the dead
tree version.

[Paul Arthur]

Post by Howard Brazee
On Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:43:10 -0400, Paul Arthur

Post by Paul Arthur

Post by Howard Brazee
One advantage to going e-book.

Too bad it does not override all the other disadvantages of going
ebook.

Given that for me there's only one, minor disadvantage to going ebook
(some older titles aren't available), the many advantages do indeed
override the disadvantage.

Lots of dead tree titles aren't available.

That's the disadvantage I noted.

Post by Howard Brazee
We can't throw e-books across the room as well.

I don't throw physical books across the room.

Post by Howard Brazee
It's harder to get e-books autographed.

I don't get physical books autographed.

Post by Howard Brazee
We aren't allowed to sell e-books we pay for.

That may change, and I don't sell physical books I've paid for.

Post by Howard Brazee
Lending them is extremely limited.

Mmmph. I find them easier and less risky to lend to the people I would
have lent books to before ebooks, but the method I use isn't strictly
legal so I'll grant you that.

[Howard Brazee]

On Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:06:34 -0400, Paul Arthur

Post by Paul Arthur

Post by Howard Brazee

Post by Paul Arthur

Post by Howard Brazee
One advantage to going e-book.

Too bad it does not override all the other disadvantages of going
ebook.

Given that for me there's only one, minor disadvantage to going ebook
(some older titles aren't available), the many advantages do indeed
override the disadvantage.

Lots of dead tree titles aren't available.

That's the disadvantage I noted.

I misunderstood which you were referring to.

[Loren Pechtel]

On Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:06:34 -0400, Paul Arthur

Post by Paul Arthur

Post by Howard Brazee
We can't throw e-books across the room as well.

I don't throw physical books across the room.

Seconded. That's not how to treat a book.

Post by Paul Arthur

Post by Howard Brazee
It's harder to get e-books autographed.

I don't get physical books autographed.

Likewise. I'm interested in what they said, not in the physical
manifestation.

Post by Paul Arthur

Post by Howard Brazee
We aren't allowed to sell e-books we pay for.

That may change, and I don't sell physical books I've paid for.

Yup, e-books are generally less than tree-books - resale value.

Post by Paul Arthur

Post by Howard Brazee
Lending them is extremely limited.

Mmmph. I find them easier and less risky to lend to the people I would
have lent books to before ebooks, but the method I use isn't strictly
legal so I'll grant you that.

Yeah, this is the only way tree-books are superior.

[Kurt Busiek]

Post by Howard Brazee
On Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:43:10 -0400, Paul Arthur

Post by Paul Arthur

Post by Howard Brazee
One advantage to going e-book.

Too bad it does not override all the other disadvantages of going
ebook.

Given that for me there's only one, minor disadvantage to going ebook
(some older titles aren't available), the many advantages do indeed
override the disadvantage.

Lots of dead tree titles aren't available.

That one's overridden, at least for me, by the fact that lots of
public-domain books are free.

With the codex titles that aren't available, I'm in exactly the same
situation as before: I can buy them in codex form or not, as I choose.
So having an e-reader doesn't hurt me any on that front.

It does, however, give me much, much, much easier (and less expensive)
access to work by Lord Dunsany, Frank R. Stockton, H. Rider Haggard and
many others.

Post by Howard Brazee
We can't throw e-books across the room as well. It's harder to get
e-books autographed.

These aren't disadvantages for me.

Post by Howard Brazee
We aren't allowed to sell e-books we pay for.

Probably balanced out by the savings represented by the cheaper (and
free) stuff I now acquire.

Post by Howard Brazee
Lending them is extremely limited.

That one's a minor issue, since I do lend books to a few people. But
since I can't lend them e-books, I don't have to worry about never
getting them back.

And another countervailing advantage in that category: My wife and I
can read the e-book at the same time.

Post by Howard Brazee
But I very much agree with your conclusion.

Me too.

kdb

[David DeLaney]

Post by Howard Brazee

Post by David DeLaney
Which means that I STILL can't buy the last two books of his Alera Codex
because they STILL haven't come out in MMPB size. I finally had to read
them from the library a year or two ago. Can't buy that crappy hybrid size,
no matter if it's new or used. COULD buy hardback or TPB ... but I'm not
changing sizes for the last two books of a series, in general, even though
I'm buying other books of his in hardback. Don't LIKE storing part of a series
with my hardbacks and another part with the paperbacks.

One advantage to going e-book.

REALLY don't like storing part of a series in physical space and another part
in virtual space. It's the same problem but magnified philosophically.

If I was just starting out to-day to collect, I'd probably be really happy
to use one or another ebook; I have a Kobo now, and have actually gotten it
finished with its setup, but I do not have wi-fi at home and apparently
everything it does requires that. So my exploration of the e-book world is
still at preparing-for-first-step. And I'd be grumbling about all the older
good stuff that I couldn't get on the e-reader by any means, hook or crook,
and complaining about how physical books were so HEAVY and DUSTY and SMELLED
WEIRD. ...But I'm not, and I have four decades+ of collection already under
my belt, and NO way to get all of it, or even part of it, in e-form without
the same level of annoyance people had when switching from cassettes to CDs
or vinyl records to cassettes. And I'm NOT BUYING MY COLLECTION OVER AGAIN,
I already OWN all of it.

Dave

[Wayne Throop]

: ***@gatekeeper.vic.com (David DeLaney)
: If I was just starting out to-day to collect, I'd probably be really
: happy to use one or another ebook; I have a Kobo now, and have
: actually gotten it finished with its setup, but I do not have wi-fi at
: home and apparently everything it does requires that.

Do you have wired access? Adding wireless is... hrm...
fairly easy and inexpensive. Mumble grumble.

But good point; be aware that you'll need wifi. I hadn't really had
that in mind, but it's true, and People Should Know. If you get a 3g/4g
enabled kindle, you'll be more locked into amazon than you would be if
you had wifi.

Once again, things that could've been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!
--- Robbie Hart

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

Post by Wayne Throop
: If I was just starting out to-day to collect, I'd probably be really
: happy to use one or another ebook; I have a Kobo now, and have
: actually gotten it finished with its setup, but I do not have wi-fi at
: home and apparently everything it does requires that.
Do you have wired access? Adding wireless is... hrm...
fairly easy and inexpensive. Mumble grumble.
But good point; be aware that you'll need wifi. I hadn't really had
that in mind, but it's true, and People Should Know. If you get a 3g/4g
enabled kindle, you'll be more locked into amazon than you would be if
you had wifi.
Once again, things that could've been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!
--- Robbie Hart

I don't know where you live, but around here (a medium sized city)
wifi is everywhere. Even in my Aunt's small town the local McDonalds
has it.

As far as I'm aware, any kindle which has 3g also has wifi. Or at least
that was the case when I bought mine.

[Scott Lurndal]

Post by Wayne Throop
: If I was just starting out to-day to collect, I'd probably be really
: happy to use one or another ebook; I have a Kobo now, and have
: actually gotten it finished with its setup, but I do not have wi-fi at
: home and apparently everything it does requires that.
Do you have wired access? Adding wireless is... hrm...
fairly easy and inexpensive. Mumble grumble.
But good point; be aware that you'll need wifi. I hadn't really had
that in mind, but it's true, and People Should Know. If you get a 3g/4g
enabled kindle, you'll be more locked into amazon than you would be if
you had wifi.

I have a nook, and I've never enabled the wireless on it. Side-loading
works just fine.

The nice thing about ebooks vs. paper is that one can, ahem, customize
the book (e.g. global search and replace Clynton with Schrub in Weber's
Armaggedon Reef stories).

scott

[Bookwyrm]

Post by Scott Lurndal
The nice thing about ebooks vs. paper is that one can, ahem, customize
the book (e.g. global search and replace Clynton with Schrub in Weber's
Armaggedon Reef stories).
scott

<splort>

'wyrm

[David Johnston]

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Howard Brazee

Post by David DeLaney
Which means that I STILL can't buy the last two books of his Alera Codex
because they STILL haven't come out in MMPB size. I finally had to read
them from the library a year or two ago. Can't buy that crappy hybrid size,
no matter if it's new or used. COULD buy hardback or TPB ... but I'm not
changing sizes for the last two books of a series, in general, even though
I'm buying other books of his in hardback. Don't LIKE storing part of a series
with my hardbacks and another part with the paperbacks.

One advantage to going e-book.

REALLY don't like storing part of a series in physical space and another part
in virtual space. It's the same problem but magnified philosophically.
If I was just starting out to-day to collect, I'd probably be really happy
to use one or another ebook; I have a Kobo now, and have actually gotten it
finished with its setup, but I do not have wi-fi at home and apparently
everything it does requires that.

Uh...what? Use that cable that should have came in the box and attach
it to your computer.

[David DeLaney]

Post by David Johnston

Post by David DeLaney
If I was just starting out to-day to collect, I'd probably be really happy
to use one or another ebook; I have a Kobo now, and have actually gotten it
finished with its setup, but I do not have wi-fi at home and apparently
everything it does requires that.

Uh...what? Use that cable that should have came in the box and attach
it to your computer.

The cable that did have come in the box is the one that has the plug on the
other end to charge the thing with. Yes, it plugs into the USB Kobo port,
but.

Lemme look and see if there's one still hiding in the box... nope. Just the
charging cable. And the instructions in the box literally end with "and follow
the setup instructions on the screen". After you get done with that there's a
short 'tour' of what Tapestries are, which appear to be a method of filing
things involving throwing them at a virtual wall and leaving them where they
stuck to, rather than putting them in folders or subfolders. And that's it;
with some concentrated guesswork and poking you can find where they have the
wireless-connection scan/connect bits hidden, though I had to progress through
some sort of web-camera with no instructions or any apparent way to delete
pictures it took ... but the Help manual appears to be online-only at some
webpage or other, which isn't particularly helpful unless you go find WiFi
somewhere. Which I can DO, but it takes a separate trip mostly.

So no, no handy cable, no handy instructions, chimp-level intelligence-test
icons and Stuff Done The Android Way which apparently has to be different from
any previous OS's system. Not impressed yet.

Dave

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

Post by David DeLaney

Post by David Johnston

Post by David DeLaney
If I was just starting out to-day to collect, I'd probably be really happy
to use one or another ebook; I have a Kobo now, and have actually gotten it
finished with its setup, but I do not have wi-fi at home and apparently
everything it does requires that.

Uh...what? Use that cable that should have came in the box and attach
it to your computer.

The cable that did have come in the box is the one that has the plug on the
other end to charge the thing with. Yes, it plugs into the USB Kobo port,
but.

Um!? That sounds like a USB cable. Look at the wall charge plug.
Odds are that if you pull the end of the cable attached to it, it will
come loose to reveal itself as a standard USB cable. Then just plug
it into your PC. Once again, the odds are that it will immediately
pretend to be a disk drive with a folder to which you can copy your ebooks.

I've not seen a kobo. I could be wrong, but that's the way I'd bet.

[David DeLaney]

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by David DeLaney
The cable that did have come in the box is the one that has the plug on the
other end to charge the thing with. Yes, it plugs into the USB Kobo port,
but.

Um!? That sounds like a USB cable. Look at the wall charge plug.
Odds are that if you pull the end of the cable attached to it, it will
come loose to reveal itself as a standard USB cable. Then just plug
it into your PC. Once again, the odds are that it will immediately
pretend to be a disk drive with a folder to which you can copy your ebooks.

...Nope. The other end is firmly fixed into the electric plug, with no way
to remove it other than physically tearing the wire out. Sorry!

I can see what you're thinking of, but this isn't one of those.

Dave

[J. Clarke]

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by David DeLaney
The cable that did have come in the box is the one that has the plug on the
other end to charge the thing with. Yes, it plugs into the USB Kobo port,
but.

Um!? That sounds like a USB cable. Look at the wall charge plug.
Odds are that if you pull the end of the cable attached to it, it will
come loose to reveal itself as a standard USB cable. Then just plug
it into your PC. Once again, the odds are that it will immediately
pretend to be a disk drive with a folder to which you can copy your ebooks.

...Nope. The other end is firmly fixed into the electric plug, with no way
to remove it other than physically tearing the wire out. Sorry!
I can see what you're thinking of, but this isn't one of those.

Geez, a USB cable is 99 cents and shippign on ebay . . .

[Wayne Throop]

:: Um!? That sounds like a USB cable. Look at the wall charge plug.
:: Odds are that if you pull the end of the cable attached to it, it
:: will come loose to reveal itself as a standard USB cable. Then just
:: plug it into your PC. Once again, the odds are that it will
:: immediately pretend to be a disk drive with a folder to which you can
:: copy your ebooks.

: ***@gatekeeper.vic.com (David DeLaney)
: ...Nope. The other end is firmly fixed into the electric plug, with
: no way to remove it other than physically tearing the wire out.
: Sorry!

So, it "needs" wifi just for the trasfer, not software updates that
it insists on, or registration, nor nuttn? Hm. So... you didn't
already have a USB cable? They run under 5 bucks iirc...

However... it does seem idiotic of them to sell it with a usb-power-only
cable. I wonder why they would shoot themselves in the foot like that?

[David DeLaney]

Post by Wayne Throop
: ...Nope. The other end is firmly fixed into the electric plug, with
: no way to remove it other than physically tearing the wire out.
: Sorry!
So, it "needs" wifi just for the trasfer, not software updates that
it insists on, or registration, nor nuttn? Hm. So... you didn't
already have a USB cable? They run under 5 bucks iirc...

No, it needed wifi for the initial update, and apparently it SHOULD have done
some sort of opening a Kobo account for me but it didn't seem to happen, and
for any sort of contact with the internet including finding the help files,
but I'm guessing it can do all sorts of technically-interesting stuff with
things that are already on the Kobo. Whatever those might be, since it doesn't
seem to have an obvious filing system other than Tapestries, in which I have
one (1) accidental photo stuck to one wall.

And the USB end of the cable isn't the same USB end as those on the USB cables
I already have. It's smaller and slightly more trapezoidal. I understand it's
probably trivial, if you're at a Best Buy or Radio Shack or somewhere, to
find and purchase one, or to use Online Purchasing Power to find and have one
sent to you. But it didn't come with the initial package.

Post by Wayne Throop
However... it does seem idiotic of them to sell it with a usb-power-only
cable. I wonder why they would shoot themselves in the foot like that?

Don't know. ("Return it and get a different kind" isn't really in the stars
either, as it was a gift.)

Dave

[Torbjorn Lindgren]

Post by David DeLaney
And the USB end of the cable isn't the same USB end as those on the USB cables
I already have. It's smaller and slightly more trapezoidal. I understand it's

There are three (main) USB sizes, normal, mini and micro (and each as
A and B models. I doubt it's a normal size, so expect it's "the other
one" to the ones you have lying around.

USB mini was common for a while, but now everyone seems to have
switched to USB micro which is the same width as the micro connector
but thinner (or normal size if it's something like a printer)

Post by David DeLaney
probably trivial, if you're at a Best Buy or Radio Shack or somewhere, to
find and purchase one, or to use Online Purchasing Power to find and have one
sent to you. But it didn't come with the initial package.

All documentation I find on the Web for various Kobo models says that
they're supposed to come with a USB cable (normal size on computer
end, unclear what's on the Kobo end but probably USB micro).

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Wayne Throop
However... it does seem idiotic of them to sell it with a usb-power-only
cable. I wonder why they would shoot themselves in the foot like that?

Don't know. ("Return it and get a different kind" isn't really in the stars
either, as it was a gift.)

If it's any of the standard USB connectors the cable is cheap and
available pretty much everywhere (not always cheap, there's some
stores that do extortion prising, then it's time to hit a web-shop
instead).

Photo that includes all the standard (USB 1/1.1/2) connectors:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Connector_types

The "Mini and Micro connectors" section gives measurements that you
can use to figure out the type if the photos aren't enough.

USB3 specifies new backwards compatible connectors (but funky looking)
for normal and micro sizes, looks they didn't bother with defining USB
3 mini connectors... That's a clear acknowledgement that USB Mini is
effectively dead.

http://blog.macsales.com/14399-usb-3-0-brings-a-newish-plug

[J. Clarke]

Post by Torbjorn Lindgren

Post by David DeLaney
And the USB end of the cable isn't the same USB end as those on the USB cables
I already have. It's smaller and slightly more trapezoidal. I understand it's

There are three (main) USB sizes, normal, mini and micro (and each as
A and B models. I doubt it's a normal size, so expect it's "the other
one" to the ones you have lying around.
USB mini was common for a while, but now everyone seems to have
switched to USB micro which is the same width as the micro connector
but thinner (or normal size if it's something like a printer)

Post by David DeLaney
probably trivial, if you're at a Best Buy or Radio Shack or somewhere, to
find and purchase one, or to use Online Purchasing Power to find and have one
sent to you. But it didn't come with the initial package.

All documentation I find on the Web for various Kobo models says that
they're supposed to come with a USB cable (normal size on computer
end, unclear what's on the Kobo end but probably USB micro).

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Wayne Throop
However... it does seem idiotic of them to sell it with a usb-power-only
cable. I wonder why they would shoot themselves in the foot like that?

Don't know. ("Return it and get a different kind" isn't really in the stars
either, as it was a gift.)

If it's any of the standard USB connectors the cable is cheap and
available pretty much everywhere (not always cheap, there's some
stores that do extortion prising, then it's time to hit a web-shop
instead).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Connector_types
The "Mini and Micro connectors" section gives measurements that you
can use to figure out the type if the photos aren't enough.
USB3 specifies new backwards compatible connectors (but funky looking)
for normal and micro sizes, looks they didn't bother with defining USB
3 mini connectors... That's a clear acknowledgement that USB Mini is
effectively dead.
http://blog.macsales.com/14399-usb-3-0-brings-a-newish-plug

FWIW, my cell phone, Kindle, and Logitech keyboard all use the same
micro-USB connector. My older DSLR though uses mini.

[Loren Pechtel]

On Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:53:45 -0400, "J. Clarke"

Post by J. Clarke
FWIW, my cell phone, Kindle, and Logitech keyboard all use the same
micro-USB connector. My older DSLR though uses mini.

Yup. All my modern gear uses micro-USB.

[John F. Eldredge]

Post by J. Clarke

Post by David DeLaney
And the USB end of the cable isn't the same USB end as those on the
USB cables I already have. It's smaller and slightly more trapezoidal.
I understand it's

There are three (main) USB sizes, normal, mini and micro (and each as A
and B models. I doubt it's a normal size, so expect it's "the other
one" to the ones you have lying around.
USB mini was common for a while, but now everyone seems to have
switched to USB micro which is the same width as the micro connector
but thinner (or normal size if it's something like a printer)

Post by David DeLaney
probably trivial, if you're at a Best Buy or Radio Shack or somewhere,
to find and purchase one, or to use Online Purchasing Power to find
and have one sent to you. But it didn't come with the initial package.

All documentation I find on the Web for various Kobo models says that
they're supposed to come with a USB cable (normal size on computer end,
unclear what's on the Kobo end but probably USB micro).

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Wayne Throop
However... it does seem idiotic of them to sell it with a
usb-power-only cable. I wonder why they would shoot themselves in
the foot like that?

Don't know. ("Return it and get a different kind" isn't really in the
stars either, as it was a gift.)

If it's any of the standard USB connectors the cable is cheap and
available pretty much everywhere (not always cheap, there's some stores
that do extortion prising, then it's time to hit a web-shop instead).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Connector_types
The "Mini and Micro connectors" section gives measurements that you can
use to figure out the type if the photos aren't enough.
USB3 specifies new backwards compatible connectors (but funky looking)
for normal and micro sizes, looks they didn't bother with defining USB
3 mini connectors... That's a clear acknowledgement that USB Mini is
effectively dead.
http://blog.macsales.com/14399-usb-3-0-brings-a-newish-plug

FWIW, my cell phone, Kindle, and Logitech keyboard all use the same
micro-USB connector. My older DSLR though uses mini.

Walmart sells a three-foot standard USB to micro USB cable for ten
dollars, and it works fine with my Motorola Droid phone.

[Scott Lurndal]

Post by John F. Eldredge

Post by J. Clarke
FWIW, my cell phone, Kindle, and Logitech keyboard all use the same
micro-USB connector. My older DSLR though uses mini.

Walmart sells a three-foot standard USB to micro USB cable for ten
dollars, and it works fine with my Motorola Droid phone.

$3.99 at newegg.com.

[David Johnston]

Post by David DeLaney

Post by David Johnston

Post by David DeLaney
If I was just starting out to-day to collect, I'd probably be really happy
to use one or another ebook; I have a Kobo now, and have actually gotten it
finished with its setup, but I do not have wi-fi at home and apparently
everything it does requires that.

Uh...what? Use that cable that should have came in the box and attach
it to your computer.

The cable that did have come in the box is the one that has the plug on the
other end to charge the thing with.

You may want to look at that cable more closely. If the plug doesn't
come off, then you should probably return your Kobo and deal with a sane
manufacturer.

[Howard Brazee]

Post by David DeLaney
REALLY don't like storing part of a series in physical space and another part
in virtual space. It's the same problem but magnified philosophically.
If I was just starting out to-day to collect, I'd probably be really happy
to use one or another ebook; I have a Kobo now, and have actually gotten it
finished with its setup, but I do not have wi-fi at home and apparently
everything it does requires that. So my exploration of the e-book world is
still at preparing-for-first-step. And I'd be grumbling about all the older
good stuff that I couldn't get on the e-reader by any means, hook or crook,
and complaining about how physical books were so HEAVY and DUSTY and SMELLED
WEIRD. ...But I'm not, and I have four decades+ of collection already under
my belt, and NO way to get all of it, or even part of it, in e-form without
the same level of annoyance people had when switching from cassettes to CDs
or vinyl records to cassettes. And I'm NOT BUYING MY COLLECTION OVER AGAIN,
I already OWN all of it.

I bought much of my music collection over again. I haven't bought
many movies over again. There are some authors whose works I have
bought over again. It's especially nice with series, when I can
quickly go to some other story or chapter, even when I'm not home.

[Loren Pechtel]

Post by Howard Brazee
One advantage to going e-book.

Definitely. At this point I don't buy dead-tree versions of books
unless e-books can't be obtained. It's so much simpler and the old
e-books aren't an allergy problem for me, either.

[John F. Eldredge]

Post by Aahz Maruch

Post by Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
Note that MMPB may be simply going away. TPB seems to be the best
selling format overall these days.

That would not hurt my feelings. I do not like hardbacks in my
collection of 4,000 books for their size. But, I do like TPBs. And
TPBs generally have better paper than MMPBs. And larger fonts for the
aged <g> like me (52).

That would bug me less if TPB came in consistent sizes. I have to
allocate way more shelf space for them to accomodate that. MMPB stacks
nicely.

Well, at least they used to stack nicely, before some publishers had the
bright idea of making their MMPB an inch or so taller than the standard.
I have never understood the logic behind doing so.

[Aahz Maruch]

Post by John F. Eldredge

Post by Aahz Maruch

Post by Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
Note that MMPB may be simply going away. TPB seems to be the best
selling format overall these days.

That would not hurt my feelings. I do not like hardbacks in my
collection of 4,000 books for their size. But, I do like TPBs. And
TPBs generally have better paper than MMPBs. And larger fonts for the
aged <g> like me (52).

That would bug me less if TPB came in consistent sizes. I have to
allocate way more shelf space for them to accomodate that. MMPB stacks
nicely.

Well, at least they used to stack nicely, before some publishers had the
bright idea of making their MMPB an inch or so taller than the standard.
I have never understood the logic behind doing so.

That doesn't count as MMPB and will be treated as such by me should I
ever encounter any.