tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7972265641914893342024-03-06T01:06:35.237-08:00Nitpicking KindleA few months ago, I bought a kindle. Generally I like it, but I do have a few small points to make.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-59660358125155818462013-07-11T18:31:00.001-07:002013-07-11T18:31:43.603-07:00Kindle auto updates itself!?! Hey I was reading! Where's my book<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YgS-RvnT8UyvpXzdoeVVjYDK0NlbElXEAsUCWtBLORuKc1_1xSCCDX-kV88Ph3r4FQPyENmx59tJR42Oy1es3ecYO3Q6o34iCdWiP-O8tdA-PeJsNm53iezrO2QEUzi9q9FUVmRM6_M/s640/blogger-image--941593012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YgS-RvnT8UyvpXzdoeVVjYDK0NlbElXEAsUCWtBLORuKc1_1xSCCDX-kV88Ph3r4FQPyENmx59tJR42Oy1es3ecYO3Q6o34iCdWiP-O8tdA-PeJsNm53iezrO2QEUzi9q9FUVmRM6_M/s640/blogger-image--941593012.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Was just reading and would like to continue! Not cool kindle. Auto updating without prompting is the weakest kind of sauce. </div>Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-48558543960573241172012-06-25T14:01:00.001-07:002012-06-25T14:01:17.927-07:00Nah. It wasn't just a one time thing. It happened again. like they planned it. Like loading the menu on the bottom and then loading it on the top when you finished would be more efficient or more logical. <br />
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Then I hovered over a word and tried to highlight and it brought up the Full Definition button and I realized that should never happen. It's bad enough I'm essentially double clicking now to highlight, but to have those double clicks sent errantly into full definition is madness. Full Definition (though it shouldn't be there at all) should be off to the side, with the double click always landing on highlight. (but really they should just remove add a note, put it on the menu like boomark, it should go on the page, and restore the highlight button to the way it was on the last Kindle. They should focus on making things better, not making them worse.)Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-72886918550586520962012-06-25T13:22:00.000-07:002012-06-25T13:22:07.348-07:00Amazon Kindle Menus appear at the top or bottom of the screen at random. Why not just pick one? Menu selection should not be a choose your own adventure game.So, I'm trying to work with you on this whole, make highlighting harder on the Kindle thing. But this one. This really blows my mind. I don't know where you got your developers Kindle, but I swear, I don't think they test or think about anything.<br />
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I push the button. It prompts me <b>from the bottom</b> to "start highlight, define, etc, annoying." I push the button again.<br />
<br />
I highlight my section. I push the button again.<br />
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It prompts me <b>from the TOP!</b> if I want to end the highlight.<br />
<br />
I was staring at the bottom like a fool, thinking that the dialog box would come back in the same place.<br />
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SERIOUSLY people. You built an ereader. You've got to get the interface out of the way and let me read my book. Madness. It's bad enough that you're making me click the button 4 times to highlight, twice as many button clicks than my previous Kindle, but now you're loading the menus at the top and the bottom, allowing me the fun of guessing where the menu will be. Reading a book and making a highlight should not be a choose your own adventure game. It should be easier.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-34949106634626232172012-06-20T09:45:00.001-07:002012-06-20T09:45:34.548-07:00Top 5 Easy to fix software problems with the New Amazon Kindle (Kindle4)<i><br /></i><br />
1. <b>Large Screen Menus </b>- It's maddening that Amazon won't make a Kindle that my Grandma can use. She can read the book just fine, but she can't choose other books from the menu and there's no way she could use the Kindle store to buy a book. My Grandma reads large print books. Why can't she read a Kindle with Large Print Menus? In the Settings screen there should be a large print/accessable mode that would use simple large menus with the reading font set to a large font. It makes no sense why Amazon won't do this. <br />
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2. <b>Highlight button confusion</b> - On the old Kindle, I could click to start hilight, select the area, click to end hilight. It was great. On the new Kindle, they've made it harder to hilight. You click the button, it then asks you if you want to "Start Highlight" or "Full Definition" or want to "Create a Note". Hold on a second here. I don't have a keyboard. Why flash this create a note button in my face everytime I want to create a highlight? Why not move Create a Note to the menu and just create a note on that page. If the user clicks on an already created highlight, it could bring up the share box. And the Full Definition option already comes up when you hover over a word and it defines it for you. <span style="background-color: white;">Sepereate the three functions and restore my highlight key. Don't make me return to the old heavy kindle because you screwed up the software.</span><br />
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3. Popular Highlights, Public Notes, Annotations Backup came defaulted to OFF and the screen never popped up a message about what they are and how they work. Maybe before you read a book, it should bring up a "Kindle tips box" that would help people get more information out of their kindles (although that could be annoying, but it could be turned off as well). This really goes to the whole, is the Kindle a social reader or not question. Currently it's not, especially if you have to go into the settings menu and turn it on.<br />
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4. Turn Wifi Off was just moved into Airplane mode, but I'm fine with that, with the exception of the fact that I used to run my old kindle with wifi off all the time to save the power. Not sure if my new kindle has a problem with that, but I'll test it out.<br />
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5. Just get rid of the progress bar at the bottom of the screen. I don't need to be reminded that I'm 71% of the way through constantly. Especially when I'm reading Game of Thrones and they've combined all four books into one massive ebook and it's gonna take thousands of page presses to even get the thing to move from 1%. It's better appearing when you push menu. They don't have clocks in casinos and they shouldn't have digital progress meters on books.<br />
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Some of these are minor complaints, but the first two are pretty serious and I think pretty darn easy to fix. I might check back in with more pictures and more complaints, but for now I'm going to go back to reading my book, which is what I was doing, before the Highlight key made me throw up my arms in rage and type out these blog posts.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-13339508889789656252012-06-20T09:12:00.001-07:002012-06-20T09:12:17.015-07:00I feel like dedicating my day to describing how I would fix the new kindle. A device that I like very much, but again, who's software inteface is not refined enough. I wish that I could be part of the kindle proccess. I am unemployed, read alot, and live in Sacramento. I have a B.A. in History, am very clever and solved technical problems for corporate lawyers specializing in complex litigation with large amounts of data for seven years. I am interested in the Kindle's potential as a social reader. I also believe there is a chance for Amazon to develop a discussion network around media, ie: if you watched everything through Amazon, why not review and rate and tell your friends you watched it through them. I think there's a chance for an Amazon "High Fidelity" Facebook that would develop around people discussing media. (ie: build it for books, then sneakily expand to videos and music and beat Spotify+Facebook at their own game). Maybe after I finish complaining about the Kindle, I'll take some time to describe my positive vision of Amazon. While I have been enjoying my time off, when it really comes down to working, I really want to work in technology and there really seems to be nowhere else but Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. Perhaps if I describe my visions of them long enough, one of them will give me a chance to be a part of their future.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-75918943576877434732012-06-14T09:26:00.000-07:002012-06-14T09:26:38.116-07:00Poetic Review of the New KindleKindle3 Keyboard, my best friend no more<br />
the minute I held the new kindle<br />
my old one was out the door<br />
It might not have sound<br />
there's no headphone cable to be found<br />
for some reason they've forgotten<br />
text to speech<br />
deaf people they must think of least<br />
and those who like their books occassionly read aloud<br />
by a robotic voice from an electronic cloud<br />
quickly forgotten<br />
because not just it's size<br />
but it's weight<br />
I would advice<br />
you weigh them both<br />
one in each hand<br />
and find while they both seem grand<br />
one weighs a deck of cards<br />
while the other seems rather light<br />
more of a matchbook than a jack's delight<br />
and that's where reading needs to be<br />
on devices lighter than a feather<br />
you see<br />
for when you hold it<br />
in your hand<br />
for hours or more<br />
and think it grand<br />
that it's as heavy as a lead weight<br />
I'll laugh at you and think it's great<br />
my magic book weighs less than clouds<br />
and from on high I'll shout aloud<br />
this kindle's great and the one for me<br />
at least until it runs out of batteries.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-52473942912631495702012-05-09T11:51:00.000-07:002012-05-09T11:51:11.608-07:00The best kindle/tablet case hasn't been invented yetBut I made a prototype the other day. This is copyrighted, so when you steal it you have to give me a cut of the profits and a demonstration model, but it's really simple: Tablets (and especially ereaders) should be more ergonomic. They need a case that's like a squeezy ball taped to the back of a Kindle or iPad. The new cases with a glove on the back of a tablet are close, but they still need that grippy squeezy ball. Especially when your reading in bed. Currently I masking taped a squeezy ball to the back of my Kindle. I really like it. I might have to get more tape and try to attach it again. Anyway. This would be the best case. Please contact me if you want to design and manufacture it so I can have one or if there's one already in existence that I could buy. Maybe I don't know how to describe it.<br />
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TL;DR: squeezy ball on back of Kindle/iPad Case for ergonomic reading (<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px;">©</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 15px;"> </span>Copyright 2012, Thunt Industries)Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-62019229007391653762012-04-01T08:44:00.001-07:002012-04-01T08:44:49.299-07:00E-Book prices need to compete with Used Book Prices<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiph9Mkqt_nDatRFm8FlDuG97JV1gqF3PqRaj2sqpOk7CLxRBF6tX9JTtTsIyBV9vkT8StRCzXeBLMD7SiDfQiHy3bSf0f3ve0-4iIEUapIXweoTcgpTocEFzKjdG1bC_QUIX8jBytjV-0/s1600/Amazon-Ebooks-Pricing-should-match-Used-Book-Pricing.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiph9Mkqt_nDatRFm8FlDuG97JV1gqF3PqRaj2sqpOk7CLxRBF6tX9JTtTsIyBV9vkT8StRCzXeBLMD7SiDfQiHy3bSf0f3ve0-4iIEUapIXweoTcgpTocEFzKjdG1bC_QUIX8jBytjV-0/s1600/Amazon-Ebooks-Pricing-should-match-Used-Book-Pricing.gif" /></a></div>
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It's not really a competition is it? $19.89 for the new copy, $14.39 for the Kindle Edition or $5.75 for the used book (shipped). After you've paid $70-$140 for your Kindle you then have to pay three times the used price to get your electronic book (that costs nothing to produce). It just boggles the mind. I know it must go down. Why are they wasting their time? Why not sell more copies at a lower price? It's going to happen eventually. Until then, I guess I'll be waiting for my good friend the used bookseller to ship me a copy. </div>Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-82004838684964591372012-03-21T09:55:00.003-07:002012-03-21T09:56:27.915-07:00Down with Amazon Kindle's Clipping Limit - The reason I bought books was to annotate them electronically<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuhcaf2947h2r51_fuKLRePB2JJFFpB17lYGAZT0XpYLC7_j6o6KL_TreUciFJF46Dmntwh0ccKWeDlqBPhJz9Hyyg7YCljGimieZHLvykZL8G8cUcHj4853PZu5HWiV6YggGYySMGuI/s1600/amazon-clipping-limits.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuhcaf2947h2r51_fuKLRePB2JJFFpB17lYGAZT0XpYLC7_j6o6KL_TreUciFJF46Dmntwh0ccKWeDlqBPhJz9Hyyg7YCljGimieZHLvykZL8G8cUcHj4853PZu5HWiV6YggGYySMGuI/s1600/amazon-clipping-limits.gif" /></a></div>
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This is why we can't be friends Amazon. You sold me on the future of reading and you actually delivered. Now just bring the publishers in line. Restore my ability to digitally annotate and (for chrissake ADVERTISE your books for you to my readers)! I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed marking it. I'd enjoy sharing it. I'm not trying to steal it. I already bought both the hard copy and the electronic copy. I'm dedicated. Why does the publisher hate me? I'm just a reader. I love to read. I love to mark things. (I also hate it that you're so lazy amazon. You're so lazy you won't let me annotate sample content, probably because you're too lazy to write code to transfer the notes to the paid version of the book. Maybe you're trying to say that annotation is a feature you get when you pay for the book, which I did. Now give me my feature. Give me my annotation.)Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-18513779180009850142012-03-04T12:39:00.001-08:002012-03-04T12:39:58.421-08:00Sharing Not Supported: How Amazon bowed to publishers and destroyed the KindleAmazon. For every advantage the technology gives you, I can't believe you let the publishers take it from you. I just finished reading Stephen King's brilliant 11/22/63. When I reached the end of the book, I was offered the chance to tweet that I had finished the book, adding a link to the book and essentially advertising the book and the Kindle that I used to read it. I said okay. It then responded with the error message that has been the bane of my kindle existance: SHARING NOT SUPPORTED.<br />
<br />Why Amazon? Why did you even bother making an electronic book if you planned to take everything that made it new and exciting away? Sure I could tweet excerpts from the book and share my progress as I read it, but I wouldn't be able to use my kindle's built in wifi and keyboard and the technological ability to do so, because Amazon, once a marketplace, now a technology company gave that technology away to the short-sighted publishers who will not exist in a few years. They gave it away. They allowed them to lock the books and keep them away from the modern features that could keep them alive. They said you may pay for the book, you may pay for the reader, but if you want to share a quote or announce that you finished the book, you can't. Book Publishers are afraid of the future and afraid of technology and instead of convincing them that they were wrong, Amazon just went along with it and destroyed the Kindle.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-53869314189388364602012-02-29T11:29:00.001-08:002012-02-29T11:29:39.725-08:00Kindle still not displaying cover artI'm reading 11/22/63 and I paused. Why is my Kindle showing Jules Verne instead of the cover of 11/22/63? I paid more to get the adfree kindle, why not give me a nice adfree feature of seeing the cover of the book I'm reading? (not asking for a full dashboard with weather, though that would be a nice option, keyword option, you could turn it off)Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-45441684696978256112012-02-29T10:16:00.001-08:002012-02-29T10:16:44.249-08:00Sharing not supportedwas enjoying Stephen King's new book (11/22/1963) and I wanted to share a quote, maybe get some discussion going, when I was met with that horrible sign "Sharing not supported". This is why the Kindle fails. I want a bold new world of reading. The technology is there. But amazon, the company from whom I bought all my books now stands in the way as gatekeeper? Why? <br />
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you're not protecting anything. You're losing everything.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-14343950906735634712011-12-14T16:12:00.000-08:002011-12-14T16:12:45.350-08:00Annotating is disabled for sample contentYou fail me again, Amazon.com. You fail me again. Here I am, trying to be good. Sampling a real book. Thinking about buying. Reading the first chapter. Enjoying it. Then I want to highlight a good passage. There's a good chance I'll buy this book. I'm a potential customer. What am I greeted with:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Annotating is disabled for sample content</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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This is not the way to treat people. I could spread awareness about the book by tweeting out a quote. I could be well served as a customer by being able to annotate the first chapter and then transfer my annotations to a paid version of the book. Why? Why, Amazon.com, must you allow the foolish publishers to block access to the very tools that make e-reading the future? Why must you allow them to stand in the way? Why treat your users like this? There is no DRM on pirated content. Why must you continue to make paid content inferior?</div>Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-90341388450182857452011-10-18T23:13:00.000-07:002011-10-18T23:13:14.026-07:00Best use for a Kindle: Reading Big Books, Series Books and Free ClassicsI really like to read big books like Infinite Jest or Moby Dick on the Kindle. This way I have no idea how much the book actually weighs when I carry it around. Sure I have to read it for what seems like forever (which is counterintuitive, because the kindle is so thin), although when I finish I don't have a trophy to put on my shelf, all I have to do is return to the menu to pick out another book and keep the reading going. (it's also great for series books. Finishing Book 6 of Dune and instantly starting Book 7 was quite a cool way to go. Also a big fan of the free classics.)Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-33489281866525640922011-10-18T22:44:00.000-07:002011-10-18T22:44:32.803-07:00The Kindle should display the cover of the last read book instead of Jane Austen's dour face<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.universitypressclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/P1030333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.universitypressclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/P1030333.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from a google search for Jane Austin Kindle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Okay. Sponsored Kindle is a big hit. I don't like ads, but other people don't care and love cheap things, so Sponsored Kindle is the hottest thing around. I was wrong on that one, but it still doesn't mean that Amazon couldn't update the original paid Kindle to display the cover the book you've been reading so that the device more resembles a normal book. I think it would really help me restart my reading more than seeing Jane Austen's dour face. (or a way to choose certain authors, choose different screen savers, etcera, etecera) Capturing an image on screen is a really neat feature of e-ink and I don't think Amazon has done near enough to exploit this technology for it's non-advertising based users. <br />
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It could also display recent things you've highlighted, a list of recent books you've read, quotes from your friends, their reading progress, your reading progress, general reading based stats. In general I'd say the thing doesn't give me nearly enough stats or coach my reading, but I guess that's a topic for another day. For now I'll just wish again, for the thing to display a proper book cover instead of Jane Austen's dour face.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-20235485284089849482011-06-29T11:03:00.000-07:002011-06-29T11:48:10.661-07:00Amazon Cloud Player - Add to playlist with just 5 clicks! - Set phasers on annoying<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjd7z-LbEWX_AGKw8v0WPgDu9MjIAbT45Iccz2LC2ufD_ggjgDOhkNOCSP6zUr2IDFUUCxixUinu6T6Hk5twLPtTzXc89VywCun31E-Jdjcdrrm4Mj-steW-AX-xqW0Mo-CDMxLE279Ck/s1600/select-annoyance.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjd7z-LbEWX_AGKw8v0WPgDu9MjIAbT45Iccz2LC2ufD_ggjgDOhkNOCSP6zUr2IDFUUCxixUinu6T6Hk5twLPtTzXc89VywCun31E-Jdjcdrrm4Mj-steW-AX-xqW0Mo-CDMxLE279Ck/s1600/select-annoyance.gif" /></a></div><br />
This the worst kind of dialogue box. Every attempt to use it involves a wasted click. Let's say I just want to add it to my "_Tops" playlist, that I'm using as a pathetic kludge until they add a star button. If it showed the first playlist in the selector, I could just click Save and be done with this. Instead, I have to click, select the playlist, and then click save. Everytime. Waste of clicks. Waste of time. Annoying.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Amazon Cloud Player</b><br />
Number of Clicks to <i>Add to Playlist</i>: <b>5</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><br />
1. Click Song<br />
2. Click Add to Playlist<br />
3. Click select playlist<br />
4. Click playlist name<br />
5. Click Save<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Google Music Beta</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Number of Clicks to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Add to Playlist</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>2</b></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br />
</b></div><div>1. Click Select Song</div><div>- Drop down menus to playlist</div><div>2. Click playlist name</div><br />
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<div style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">iTunes</div><div style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Number of Clicks to <i>Add to Playlist</i>: <b>2</b></span></div><div style="font-weight: bold;"><b><br />
</b></div><div>1. Select Song</div><div>2. Drag and drop to playlist</div><div><b style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
</b></div><div><br />
<b>Disclaimer: </b>Okay. I see it now. They have another add playlist button along the top of the song list that uses drop downs. But when you click on the song, that one doesn't have the drop downs. Google seems simpler, but that's only because they're only working through song at at time, not having reached the multiple select stage of complexity.</div><br />
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</b>Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-23440107316368587072011-06-29T10:44:00.000-07:002011-06-29T10:47:37.557-07:00Amazon Cloud Player - Quick Hits1. Unhide the volume controls!<br />
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2. Make the Controls/song information it's own frame so I can control my music all the time.<br />
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3. Need Star button to like songs, rate songs, etc. I'm sure you know all that, but it still seems really odd that you're ahead of google, but you don't even have a simple star, so I can add a good song to a starred list.<br />
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4. I like the Latest Purchases button, but maybe it should be a "+ menu" that shows me the recent albums so I can quickly select the album I bought and listen only to that with a few clicks.<br />
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5. Skips - if I skip a song it should be depreciated. Also without a play count column it's a bit tough to figure out where I was in an album if I accidentally close the browser tab (which seems to be the biggest problem so far. <b>Accidental Tab Closure = Music Stoppage and Total Place Loss</b>. This is the one that needs to be fixed in this cloud player thing is going to take off.)<br />
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6. Columns don't sort, no track numbers. Basically it's just confusing to drill down to an album to avoid random shuffling. It has a very mp3.com circa 2000 feel. Yawnsville.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-73217964000963784452011-06-05T17:17:00.000-07:002011-06-05T17:17:24.921-07:00Kindle Screensaver - It needs to display the book coverI really don't understand why, when I turn the Kindle off, it doesn't display the cover of the book I'm currently reading. It would help it seem more like a real book (whenever you looked at it, you'd say, wow I can't wait to start reading "Book Title" again...), instead of a strange screensaver, that sometimes I like (showing pictures of authors I read who are smiling) and sometimes I don't like (creepy pictures of Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf and other authors who have committed suicide). What's the deal Amazon? This is Kindle3 and it still doesn't display the book cover? Just seems silly.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-73655654382553587732011-05-17T15:07:00.000-07:002011-05-17T15:07:12.089-07:00Kindle Leather Lighted CoverI bought the Kindle Leather Lighted Cover at the same time as the kindle and most of the time I find myself removing the Kindle from the cover and setting the cover aside to make the Kindle lighter and I have rarely had reason to use the light. It seems like a nice protector when I slide the kindle + cover into my laptop bag for travel, but it doesn't seem like I'm really using it to it's full potential. Maybe something like a sleeve would be more appropriate for my needs. I'd sure like to try one.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-77697580353351350242011-04-14T15:37:00.000-07:002011-04-14T15:37:59.860-07:00Kindle for Mac: Feedback Screen discourages feedback<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtFsHD0SsKo5SJdjx1J2iGwM2pOCvnTUrxXALMsmSezuKT25BXva_oue6TrzPTkfZ93wg1Dvk6heBhBpn16Uj4EofDBgBJ3UcYyj83y_jqIcb6SqVngANMkxIoj3-DxvaJXSMy7ixCGI/s1600/kindle-for-mac---we-dont-care-about-feedback.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtFsHD0SsKo5SJdjx1J2iGwM2pOCvnTUrxXALMsmSezuKT25BXva_oue6TrzPTkfZ93wg1Dvk6heBhBpn16Uj4EofDBgBJ3UcYyj83y_jqIcb6SqVngANMkxIoj3-DxvaJXSMy7ixCGI/s400/kindle-for-mac---we-dont-care-about-feedback.gif" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Message boxes like this make me never want to leave feedback. You care enough for me to do free tech support for you, but you're not going to give me credit for any of my ideas or be able to ask me clarifying questions about my complaints? Really seems like a black hole that I don't know why anyone would want to contribute feedback to. Just like the classic SNL Sketch: "We're the Phone Company. We don't care. We don't have to."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><center><object height="288" width="512"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/sRXwU0Gulq8Isa-kT9tbLg"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/sRXwU0Gulq8Isa-kT9tbLg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="512" height="288" allowFullScreen="true"></embed></object></center><center>Lilly Tomlin in the Classic SNL Phone Company Sketch</center><center><br />
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</center>Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-54296534142143717442011-04-14T15:30:00.000-07:002011-04-14T15:30:45.648-07:00Kindle for Mac: Mousewheel page scrolling really unnecessaryI keep scrolling by my Kindle window, causing the pages to flip uncontrollably and me to curse, trying to get back to the page I was on, while not spoiling the material now flying past my eyes. Why is mousewheel scrolling necessary on Kindle for Mac? People are reading your books for fun, yes? Who's trying to scroll faster through their endlessly descriptive seemingly never-ending heavily footnoted tome? Scrolling is for webpages with gobs of useless information that you're really only searching through to find the section you want to read. Reading books is different. Under no circumstances do I want the pages flying by at a rate so fast I can't read them. You're not planning on adding a scrollwheel to the next version of the Kindle are you? Then why'd you put one in your Kindle for Mac software? Does anybody at Amazon test this software? Anybody who reads (at the whole company, not just the testing department)? Cause I don't see reading and scrolling to be the same thing.<br />
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Ah well. More endless hot air as I complain to no one. Back to my book.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-90595260602789652512011-04-13T10:15:00.000-07:002011-04-13T10:15:18.281-07:00Kindle for Mac: Dictionary Box doesn't disappeerIf the Dictionary Box fails to define the word, it should disappear. Even if it finds the word, it should disappear after a few seconds. Remove the close button. Make the box disappear automatically:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gU1tzA8gqi3rWnQWjXDyEQAY4lV1HF4U9o38VS3AaNkjJaof78wJsZmr5JAYViefYvqmjfd20Q7vkvJlDOpdYwG3XW6NhBPDqDYwo5YMr8e0GtjiJ1pvjvjTCGWqmLNIdJWtKIsir7A/s1600/amazon-close-button.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gU1tzA8gqi3rWnQWjXDyEQAY4lV1HF4U9o38VS3AaNkjJaof78wJsZmr5JAYViefYvqmjfd20Q7vkvJlDOpdYwG3XW6NhBPDqDYwo5YMr8e0GtjiJ1pvjvjTCGWqmLNIdJWtKIsir7A/s400/amazon-close-button.gif" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">No definition found. Just an annoying box.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Down with close buttons! Down with unnecessary clicks!</div>Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-41823698169167824562011-04-12T11:02:00.000-07:002011-04-12T11:02:05.769-07:00Kindle for Mac: Multipage Highlighting still impossible, Too many page advance buttons and bookmark button still ridiculousAs I complained on <a href="http://nitpicking-kindle.blogspot.com/2010/12/kindle-for-mac-multipage-highlighting.html">December 12, 2010</a>, it's impossible to do a multipage highlight on the mac and I had to yet again resort to creating two separate highlights that straddle the page. <br />
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It's also annoying the way clicking on the page advances the page. I think we've already got enough ways to advance the page, and could do with a few less. When I click on the page I'm trying to get the cursor to go away so I can get back to reading. This does not need to advance the page. Also the mouse wheel does not need to advance the page. I really can't read that fast. Advance the page if the user clicks in the gutter next to the page, not the page. Advance the page on space bar, right arrow and that's more than enough ways to advance the page. <br />
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Also, clicking "+" to add a new bookmark instead of pushing the bookmark button is <a href="http://nitpicking-kindle.blogspot.com/2010/12/kindle-for-mac-bookmark-button.html">still ridiculous</a>.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-61198810754651726742011-04-12T09:55:00.000-07:002011-04-12T10:05:16.543-07:00Kindle Quick Hits<b><br />
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<b>Kindle for Mac - New Features: </b> I like the highlight a word auto look up in the dictionary and even better than that I love the Google and Wikipedia buttons that I use after the word doesn't exist in your pitiful dictionary. Good job thinking about what happens when the word's not there and the user still wants to look it up. Way to use the fact that I'm already on the computer to lead me to more information. Still needs FB/Twitter integration so I can quote from it the same way I can quote from my kindle. (Of course I can't quote from my kindle ever since <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Jest-David-Foster-Wallace/dp/0316066524?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Infinite Jest</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0316066524" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> went over the clipping limit and became an old fashioned book that you have to retype quotes from, but that's a different story altogether).<br />
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<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=widgetsamazon-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B002FQJT3Q&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
<b>Kindle Device Update: </b>Did the software update this morning, but was still a little terrified during the reboot process. What if it doesn't come back on? But it did and all seemed fine. Location numbers were gone, but there were no page numbers in their place. I kinda liked the new minimalism of only the % number on the left hand side, but I wanted to know how to get page numbers back. (A "welcome to the new version of Kindle" page would have been nice. Outlining what's fixed in the update and letting me know how to find out what page I'm on. Perhaps an info button?) Still having troubles transferring my position from Kindle for Mac to Kindle device. It tried to link me to the furthest read footnote in the back of the book again. Then I had to manually advance to the furthest page. Maybe if it offered "furthest page, furthest consecutive page, last bookmark, last highlight" I could have found my place easier.<br />
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<b>Update: </b>You know what I'd really like to know? <b>How many pages left in this chapter.</b> How many pages until a section break. Cause I'm pushing and I'm pushing and that's the information I require. In the past I'd just flip forward and check it. But whenever I flip forward in the Kindle it's always hard to go back to my place. So yes. I paid for my ebook. It probably has chapter marks. Now why not make your software countdown to them? (this also brings up how I'd like a stat page for after I read the book. Telling me which sections took the longest, average pages read per minute, average pages read per day, total reading time, total reading time (actual), words looked up, highlights/bookmarks made, etc, etc. Tell me everything about how I read the book. (also put me on a score card with other readers of the same book, other fast readers, other slow readers, other readers who read the book during the same time period. All of this gets back to my social network/<b>social reading </b>idea. That was kindof derailed when I learned the true horror of clipping limits (limits that have allowed me to share 0 clips from Infinite Jest, promoting the book and the Kindle on Twitter 0 times and pretty much knocking me out of the whole social reading delusion. Also there's been no movement on large print menus for the kindle (even though I tried to explain it to customer service). Seems like development takes place in a vacuum and I am very much outside of that vacuum.)Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-797226564191489334.post-91816509081038850952011-04-11T15:34:00.000-07:002011-04-11T15:34:34.292-07:00Ad-supported Kindle: saves $25, ruins Kindle reputation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMM0GpI3WwY16f093Z68-cqGvO7YNk9ESHJgxgRvVz0Hzt_tkK29NHWHwHqjmdvR2ke970stWyFbqLoXNaXLLs90BYNkypLbRmtJH_AYP8ZQNK3FMFYcqhpYsYzKt5G2laH_Q9opcV3z0/s1600/which-kindle-do-you-have.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMM0GpI3WwY16f093Z68-cqGvO7YNk9ESHJgxgRvVz0Hzt_tkK29NHWHwHqjmdvR2ke970stWyFbqLoXNaXLLs90BYNkypLbRmtJH_AYP8ZQNK3FMFYcqhpYsYzKt5G2laH_Q9opcV3z0/s400/which-kindle-do-you-have.gif" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/11/ad-supported-kindle-to-ship-may-3rd-saves-25-adds-lot-of-enti/">Ad-supported Kindle to ship May 3rd: saves $25, ruins Kindle reputation</a></div><br />
Imagine this. One day your Ipad begins to load random websites filled with sponsor's advertising. Your once beautiful device is now covered with marketing. Sound like malware? Perhaps a vicious computer virus? Or could it be Amazon purposely and desperately destroying their once beautiful Kindle reading platform in a pathetically feeble attempt to entice frugal consumers into buying a damaged version of their device to save a mere $25? Is your Kindle one of the good ones or the nasty spyware infested popup marketing version? <br />
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This is windows thinking. Wrong Wrong Wrong.Thomas Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16425118745369415607noreply@blogger.com0