E-reader for homeopathy

[Ellen Madono]

Nice to hear from you Rosemary.
I hear you. Lugging around a computer for reading, even when it is a very light laptop, gets heavy. Especially because I only use the public transportation. Then there is the issue of reading medical textbooks. Pull out a couple and you have a major clean up job afterwards.

I decided on the Sony e-book 950. I was choosing between it and the Kindle DX.

Many homeopathy books are available on Amazon. I did not search Barnes and Nobel. I could not find the ones I wanted in free books.

According to the Sony provided information, you cannot buy Amazon e-books with a Sony reader. But there is hack ware available. One free ware is called caliber. But the one that seems appropriate for the Sony reader is called BBebinder. It will convert Amazon or any other format to the Sony format. These software packages take off the lock that prevents different e-readers from using their specific vendors.
I think the basic notion that a single vendor can corner the book market is outdated. Somewhere I read that Amazon responded to the new Nook (Barnes and Nobel's reader that will accept Amazon books) by saying it is a vending machine for sales of Amazon digital books. That is a more appropriate attitude. Anyway, young people are not going to sit back and let a software lock prevent them from buying and using books they need. So, I plan to use the BBeBinder to unlock the Homeopathy books that I need. According to what I read, you put the book into the converter window and it happens.
Another source said that Android phone applications can be place on a Sony reader and then through them you can read an Amazon book. The Japanese are blocking applications that cross those borders, so I suspect I will have trouble. You won't.
I could copy these books from my own library of books provided by Radar. Actually I am thinking I want either the DX or the Sony 950 because I want to be able to read PDF files easily. And I will do this for reading material that I can not find on the market. But buying a book is better for something that I am planning to read more than once (Kent's rep or an MM). The problem is skipping to the relevant chapter of a reference book. For example, you can use the find function to locate the particular remedy that you want to read about in an PDF file, but a table of contents that an e-book always has will be much easier. With books, we are so good at even remembering where on the page the information that we want to remember is. With an ebook, we won't be able to do that. So the reading process will change. I have read that the Sony e-books get slow at page turning when you fill them up with notes. I scribble all over my books. I think I will probably type in notes if I use notes at all. I will have to experiment with this. The DX has an external keyboard. This looks difficult to use compared to a touch keyboard in landscape view. Basically, a waste of space.
The reason why I decided against the DX is 1. too big to be held in one hand. The Sony 950 can be turned landscape and it will read the page in two columns very nicely. The same could be done with the DX, but I want the ebook partly for ease of transportation. No DX keyboard in landscape view. Also, I get very tired of sitting, so curly up around an ebook holding it in one hand sounds nice to me. 2. The Sony 950 has a touch screen. You would not browse with it they say because it is too slow. But often I am really reading websites. I go back to the same site over and over again. Not really browsing. Just reading. So rather than using the joy-stick like device on the DX and then clicking up and down a page, I would much prefer a touch screen. Also, going to the wikipedia to look up words etc. is a typical ploy for reading with these devices. So again, maneuvering around a web page becomes important.
I watched YouTube to make the decision. I got a pretty good feel for my choices. I also looked at smaller screens, but PDF files are my bread and butter so I do need the bigger screen.
I am going out on a limb and buying the version made in Japan just so I can read Japanese literature and use the Japanese dictionary. Logically, I should be able to buy books as I described above. Apparently each country has their legal limitations on e publication and sales so using the internet, you have to get around those limits. To buy in the US, you need a US bank account. You will not get a Japanese dictionary on the Sony sold in Japan.
These PDF friendly devices are a lot more money than the smaller ones. 100 dollars more and Sony is expensive to begin with. I think I could make do with a 6 inch screen, but then the landscape option would not be there. Also, I could not get the newspaper with the smaller sony devices. This is an issue if you want US newspapers in Japan.
Another thought is Sony's business is making electronic machines. I saw them in the store here and the small ones felt really nice. Amazon's business is selling things. I think their vending machine instinct is too strong.
Best,
Ellen Madono