Round up #176: buy a delivery business from Amazon, Prime Day 2018

Round up #176: buy a delivery business from Amazon, Prime Day 2018

The ILMK Round ups are short pieces which may or may not be expanded later.

Hold on to your money: Prime Day starts July 16

Amazon has made the official announcement that this year’s
Prime Day (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

will start at noon Pacific Time (3:00 PM Eastern) on July 16th and run through midnight Pacific July 17th…36 hours. That’s why they keep saying it is “Prime Day (and a half)”. 36 hours is 1.5 days.

However, as pointed out in this

press release

sales have actually started today!

For example, the

Echo Show (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

is $100 off (making it $129.99 instead of $229.99) through Prime Day…with an important caveat.

You need to be an

Amazon Prime (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

member (but you can get a free trial membership).

We’ve gotten great deals in the past (especially on Kindle Unlimited (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)), but this year does really look it will be significantly bigger and better. A few highlights:

• This year’s sweepstakes (at AmazonSmile*) (which started July 3rd) is amazing, with prizes including $50,000, an Alexa-equipped Lexus, and a SmartHome makeover. There are lots of ways to enter, detailed here (at AmazonSmile*). One way is to visit the Prime Day page when logged into your account and stay there for a minute…I’m not sure how many people realize that they are timing you like that…
• Giant (really giant) Smile boxes are visiting a few cities, and you can watch online (at AmazonSmile*). My guess? At least one of these will open up to reveal a concert by a top music act which is featured on Prime Music.
• Free PC games from Twitch…every day through Prime Day
• Try Kindle Unlimited for three months for $0.99
• Buy your first Kindle book (there are people who haven’t bought Kindle books? 😉 ) and get a $10 credit for e-books, p-books (paperbooks) and Audible audiobooks on Prime Day

I have an Amazon gift card to spend…but I’m going to wait until Prime Day. 🙂

Did a judge just really expand Fair Use?

I’m not an intellectual property lawyer, but I do follow copyright pretty closely. My natural tendency is to reserve rights for the creator, rather than giving the work to society.

About eight years ago, I explored the idea of making copyright permanent in exchange for much broader Fair Use rights:

Should copyright be permanent?

However, I’m cautious about expanding Fair Use without something in exchange.

Judge Claude Hilton of the Eastern District of Virginia in a recent

ruling

decided that a site which used part of a photograph that it had found on the internet did not infringe upon the photographer’s rights.

Fair Use has a number of factors which makes a ruling a bit complicated in terms of setting precedent, but this one does concern me. I need to look at it more closely…

Wanna buy a business?

There are a lot of ways to make money with Amazon…you can get royalties as an author, you can be a third party seller, you do tasks through Amazon Mechanical Turk, you can be an Amazon Flex driver…and now, if you invest $10,000, Amazon will help set you up with a delivery business!

Amazon says you could make up to $300,000…but of course, you could also lose money.

Even with help, running a business isn’t easy. The old saying goes that when you own a business, the business owns you. Even just as a manager (not owner) of a bookstore, I worked…a lot.

I absolutely think this is a good opportunity for the right people! However, unless Amazon does screen very carefully (and they certainly might), a much bigger number of people will fail than succeed…just like in most businesses.

Little House in the Phantom Zone

There have been a lot of stories and opinions published

news search

about the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), which is part of the American Library Association, renaming the Laura Ingall Wilder Award to the Children’s Literature Legacy Award.

They explain the decision in this

statement

For me, the key statement is this:

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“Wilder’s books are a product of her life experiences and perspective as a settler in America’s 1800s. Her works reflect dated cultural attitudes toward Indigenous people and people of color that contradict modern acceptance, celebration, and understanding of diverse communities.”

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This ties directly into an issue I examined in another article from 2010:

The Chronological Cultural Context Conundrum

I think they probably are doing a safe thing, renaming the award so that it doesn’t tie into a specific person. I would challenge you to name any fiction author who was widely popular at least fifty years ago who didn’t write anything that could be seen as offensive today…

Some Fire Tablets can work like Echo Show devices

The

Echo Show (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

is one of my favorite non-reading Amazon devices…it’s an Echo, but with a screen. Yes, it can show me some commercial videos (movie trailers and such), but I really like how it shows information…and how I can make “videocalls”.

I also like the Echo Spot: I keep one at work.

My Echo Spot is here: it’s cute!

Now, some of the newer Fire Tablets are going to have “Show Mode”, which lets them work like an Echo Show. That includes the videocalls.

Those functions certainly would drain the battery, so Amazon has also introduced the

Show Mode Charging Dock (at AmazonSmile*)

You don’t need that, but it’s going to make things better.

A few really short notes:

I’ve had the Fire TV Cube for about a week:

Fire TV Cube: 1st impressions and menu map

I really like it! It’s not perfect, but it is a whole new class of device. You might think you have enough Echo/Alexa devices, but you might consider swapping out one of your old devices for this one. Look for a bargain (although it may be a bundle) on Prime Day.

My Significant Other and I have both really liked

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni (at AmazonSmile*)

It’s not common that we both like the same book this much.

I’d say the last time that happened was with

Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim (at AmazonSmile*)

Both books are available through Kindle Unlimited…

Not lost in translation…

I haven’t always been pleased with the translations from Amazon’s AmazonCrossing imprint. They’ve often seemed…stilted.

That’s not the case with

A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa, translated by Risa Koboyashi and Martin Brown (at AmazonSmile*)

I have read many translated books in my time, and assuming that this accurately reflects what the author intended (and my intuition is that it does), it reads as very natural English. Not just in the words, but in the use of idiom…”as the crow flies”, for example. I doubt that the Japanese equivalent term has anything to do with crows. 😉

That one is also available through Kindle Unlimited at time of writing.

Have an opinion on any of these stories? Feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post. My “day job” activities have started to slow down a bit after being super busy…that will help my responsiveness. Oh, and some of you know about our dogs: Elf got bitten by another dog at the dog park recently. Elf will be okay, but it may be a couple of weeks of recovery (and it’s a difficult time for us…by the way, Elf was literally just sitting there and it was unprovoked). That means no trips to the dog park…which gives me back literally a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday. Definitely not worth it, but it is a reality…

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Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

Just breaking: Fire tablet line revamped with Alexa, and 20% off mix and match 3 pack

Just breaking: Fire tablet line revamped with Alexa, and 20% off mix and match 3 pack

Amazon just sent me a press release announcing a revamp of the

Fire tablet line (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

and an introductory deal.

press release

The deal is by using the code

FIRE3PACK

for any three…you could get two of the kids’ editions and an 8″, for example, and get 20% off. You could get three of the entry level $49.99, and instead of paying $149.97, you’d pay $119.98 (based on my rounding and without tax and possible shipping and in the USA buying from Amazon.com).

The deal ends June 6th, and here are the details on the discount:

Terms and Conditions (at AmazonSmile*)

Oh, and here’s a press release with multimedia:

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170517005706/en/

I need to look over the product details more, but thinner, lighter, better battery life and wi-fi connectivity, better screen, yada yada 😉 and the same price point for the least expensive model.

The 10″ is not mentioned.

Here’s something I think is key:

Amazon is now making Alexa not just a way to get to content, but a way to manage our lives and to connect with human beings.

It seems quite likely we’ll be able to do videocalls through Alexa Calling on these devices (even if not right away).

Frequently Asked Kindle Questions: Alexa Calling edition

If that’s the case, and if that’s how we routinely communicate with loved ones (Significant Others, grandkids, grandparents, and so on), having an inexpensive, portable way to do that becomes very important.

If Alexa runs my car, feeds by pets, does my shopping lists, manages my calendar…I’ll want access to it everywhere, which will increase considerably the demand for tablets. Videocalling, I think, is one of those things that can push people (especially those with even minor vision challenges) to tablets over phones (besides the cost difference, of course).

Virtual/Augmented reality headsets, especially ones you can almost forget you are wearing, have a few years (probably five) before they overtake phones even for the technically comfortable, so there is time to do this with tablets. I do still expect Amazon to make a big VAM (Virtual/Augmented/Mixed/Merged Reality) play this year, though. 😉

What do you think? Some of my readers are really good at parsing these press releases and tech specs…feel free to let me and my readers know what you’ve found or what questions you have by commenting on this post.

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My current Amazon Giveaways

LAST DAY TO ENTER!

One Murder More (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

the award-winning, highly-rated mystery by my sibling, Kris Calvin!

Giveaway: https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/398897583537603c

• Winner:Randomly selected after Giveaway has ended, up to 1 winners.
• Requirements for participation:
• Resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia
• 18+ years of age (or legal age)
• Follow Kris Calvin on Amazon (to my knowledge, all that you’ll get is a notification when Kris publishes a new book in the Kindle store, although I don’t know that for sure…that’s all I’ve ever seen for authors I follow, I think. Kris is working on the second book in the Maren Kane mystery series.

Start:May 10, 2017 7:44 AM PDT
End:May 17, 2017 11:59 PM PDT

Thanks to the hundreds of people who have entered my previous giveaways for a chance to win Kris’ book! I don’t benefit directly from Kris’ book, although we have had a lot of conversations about it. 🙂

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Join thousands of readers an

Amazon Giveaway for And Then There Were None!

https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/3e6a60b4814649a3

Winner:Randomly selected after Giveaway has ended, up to 1 winner.
Requirements for participation:
Resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia
Follow @TMCGTT on twitter
18+ years of age (or legal age)

Start:May 12, 2017 6:24 PM PDT
End:Jun 11, 2017 11:59 PM PDT

===

Star Wars Day through 40 years of Star Wars!

Giveaway by Bufo Calvin

Prize: Star Wars: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn (at AmazonSmile*)

• Winner:Randomly selected after Giveaway has ended, up to 1 winners.

• Requirements for participation:
  • Resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia
  • Follow @TMCGTT on twitter
  • 18+ years of age (or legal age)

Giveaway:
https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/0ce7b24b32a4a670

Start:May 4, 2017 6:32 AM PDT
End:Jun 3, 2017 11:59 PM PDT

It’s going on that long in part so that it covers the actual 40th anniversary of Star Wars (of the release in the USA) on May 25th 2017. Also, this book, which has good reviews and is new, is $14.99 in the Kindle edition…which is a lot for me for a giveaway. 🙂

Good luck, and may the Force be with you!

—

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard our new The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

 * I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

In-book options: Kindle Voyage and the least expensive Fire tablet

In-book options: Kindle Voyage and the least expensive Fire tablet

One of my most popular posts has been

The reading experience: Paperwhite vs. Kindle Fire HDX

However that one was written back in July of 2014, so I thought I’d take a look at two of the current generation.

In this case, I’m using the top of the line Kindle EBR (E-Book Reader)

Kindle Voyage (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) $199.99

and the least expensive Fire tablet

Fire, 7″ Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) $49.99

It might seem odd that I’m taking the most expensive in one category and the least expensive in the other, but in terms of the options, they’ve really homogenized the experience across a given model line.

I’m using the same edition of the same book on both: it’s a version of Alice in Wonderland which I’ve been using for demos since the first Kindle was released…it’s not available any more, though.

Okay, let’s compare!

The Aa button

On the Voyage:

• 8 font sizes
• 7 fonts
• 3 line spacing options
• 3 margin options

On the Fire:

• 12 font sizes
• 8 fonts (Helvatica Light is the additional one)
• 3 line spacing options
• 3 margin options
• 4 color options
• Brightness slider

The Fire wins on this one. The color in particular matters to me…I often read with white font on a black background, although I also like the Sepia scheme.

Sharing options

The Voyage

• Goodreads
• Facebook
• Twitter

The Fire

• Goodreads
• Facebook
• Twitter
• E-mail
• Bluetooth

This one also goes to the Fire.

Notes

The Voyage

• Tap the screen, tap the menu, tap Notes
• Yours | Popular | Public
• Note are shown. You can delete or share (Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter)

The Fire

• Tap the screen, tap the notebook (one step fewer)
• I only seen mine here initially
• Delete, favorite

There may be more to this somewhere else on the Fire, but despite it being easier to get to on the Fire, the Voyage gave me more options, so this one goes to the Voyage.

Settings

The Voyage

• Shop Kindle Store
• Vocabulary
• Settings (device settings)
• Notes
• Landscape Mode
• About This Book
• About the Author
• Sync to Furthest Page Read
• Reading Progress
• Word Wise

The Fire

• Popular Highlights
• About This Book
• Auto-Download Companion Audiobooks
• Text-to-Speech
• Whispersync for  Books
• Notifications
• Word Wise
• Magazine Page Curl

This is a bit mixed, but I like what I see on the Voyage better…I’m going to call it a wash, though, because different things are in different places on the devices.

Navigation

The Voyage

• Beginning
• Page or Location
• Cover
• Chapters
• End

The Fire

• This one has a combined menu. Go to does page or location. Also here…
• About This Book
• Search
• Sync
• Switch to Audiobook (the Voyage doesn’t have audio
• Go to Beginning
• Before You Go
• Cover
• Chapters
• I can also go directly from here to my library

Got to give this to the Voyage…more interesting options.

Long-pressing the word “perhaps”

The Voyage

• Dictionary definition
• Wikipedia
• Translation (16 languages)
• Highlight
• Note
• Share
• Search (This Book, All Text, Kindle Store)
• Report Content Error

The Fire

• Wikipedia
• Translation (16 languages)
• Dictionary
• Color
• Note
• Copy
• Share
• Search in Book
• Search the Web

Hm…I like having “Report Content Error” on the Voyage, but being able to copy and paste on the Fire is a real advantage. No winner.

Other unique options

The Voyage

• Page flip, which lets you look ahead in the book without changing your place

The Fire

• Word Runner (speed reading one word at a time)
• Syncing with an audiobook/immersion reading

These are too different to call. I personally don’t really use any of them. 🙂

The Fire can also use enhanced books to play video, and show images/charts in color.

Overall

While it may seem from this that the Fire Tablet has more options, and it does, the Voyage is still a more comfortable read for me.

That has to do with the screen technology.

The Fire tablet is backlit: the light is behind what you are reading, shining into your eyes.

The Voyage has the light in front of the screen, pointing at the screen. You read it the same way you read a paperbook, with the light reflecting off the object.

Another advantage of the Voyage is the battery life…weeks rather than hours.

For me, it’s pretty simple.

If you just want to read text, the Voyage is better.

If you are looking at images, want sound (text-to-speech or audiobooks), and want other features (apps, music, video, web), and want to save money, you go with the Fire.

I do most of my reading on my now discontinued Kindle Fire HDX tablet, but I also read every day on a Voyage and sometimes on a Paperwhite.

I hope that’s helpful. If you have other questions, or want to share your thoughts with me and my readers, feel free to comment on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard our new The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  By the way, it’s been interesting lately to see Amazon remind me to “start at AmazonSmile” if I check a link on the original Amazon site. I do buy from AmazonSmile, but I have a lot of stored links I use to check for things. 

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

 

50% off Fire tablet accessories, a sale on Kids’ edition…and then there were 4

50% off Fire tablet accessories, a sale on Kids’ edition…and then there were 4

The

Fire HD 6, 6″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

has been a hit for Amazon. It’s the number one bestseller in electronics for the e-tailer.

Interestingly, though, Amazon now only shows four models of Fire tablet in the “family stripe” at the top of the page.

It makes some sense to me that they are consolidating the line.

An obvious question: could this mean new models are coming?

Perhaps… 😉

These are the three others which are left:

• Fire HD 8, 8″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black (at AmazonSmile*) $149.99
• Fire HD 10, 10.1″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black (at AmazonSmile*) $229.99
• Fire Kids Edition, 7″ Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB, Blue Kid-Proof Case (at AmazonSmile*) $99.99

Speaking of that kids’ edition, you can get $50 off a “two pack” with the code, KIDS2PACK. It says that’s for a limited time, but clicking on the link to “learn more” really didn’t tell me much. 😉

Now, you might think they are just temporarily out of stock on, say, the 8.9″ HDX…but they are also having a big

50% off sale on Fire tablet accessories (at AmazonSmile*)

There are lots of great deals in there, especially on covers.

I really like the Origami cover on my now discontinued Kindle Fire HDX 7″ (I’ll be sad when mine needs to be replaced…it’s been a great device for a long time, in gadget years!). They do have that one.

I don’t know how long that sale will last, but my intuition is that they are clearing out stock. That doesn’t mean that Amazon actually stores all these, but they may be wanting to take covers for those models off the main Amazon storefront, and they’ll move to the third-party vendor mode.

Enjoy!

Bonus deal: I didn’t want to do something just for Fire owners so here are

50 Kindle books for $2 each (at AmazonSmile*)

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

$49 for FHD6: check your e-mail

$49 for FHD6: check your e-mail

Just on my phone, but I got a presumably non-sharable code for a Fire HD 6 for $49!

This may not last long…which is why I am sending it out in this limited way.

Update: the offer also appeared for me on the device’s Amazon product page:

• Fire HD 6, 6″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black(at AmazonSmile*)

Yep…$49 instead of $99, for a “limited-time”.

Interestingly, I’m seeing in the Kindle forum that different people are seeing different prices. Assuming that they are all in the same country, it might seem odd that the prices would be different for different people. That can happen…and, as I understand it, it’s legal.

For example, a website could charge different prices to people in different locations. It might cost them more to do business in different states…perhaps there are different delivery methods available.

If that seems odd, it happens a lot. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area: compare our gas prices to those of, say, New Orleans. That’s not just due to our relatively high gas taxes.

More broadly, what if they charged more for an item that was Prime eligible…but only if the customer was a Prime member? I don’t know if that’s the case, of course…but my guess is that it would be legal.

Here’s a

Lifehacker article by Thorin Klosowski

that gives you several examples of “dynamic pricing” at websites…including Amazon. They claim to give you some advice about what to do about it…but I think it’s going to simply be the way it is for most people.

That said, I think Amazon generally has very good prices (it’s one of their three principles: price, selection, and service). I have noticed in the past that a Prime item might be higher than I would pay for it somewhere else…but the convenience of Prime make it worth it. In other words, if I’d pay the same price (counting shipping and handling) for something that is Prime versus something which isn’t Prime, I’d definitely going with Prime.

If you aren’t a Prime member, now is the time to sign up for the free month! That way, you’ll be a Prime member for Prime Day:

July 15th is “Prime Day”: will there be deals on Kindles?

That may be a veeeeerrrrryyyy interesting day, with lightning sales and day-long sales.

Oh, as to Fire HD6?

Yes, we own one now…it’s what we have as our “guest Kindle”, and has been used that way. I think our house guest really appreciated having a tablet to use.

If you can get one for fifty dollars, you could use it yourself…or tuck it away as a gift for later.

On the other hand, who knows what  opportunities we’ll have five days from now? 😉 Of course, Amazon does have a generous thirty-day return policy on Kindles/Fires. You could hypothetically take advantage of this low price, and then return it (paying return shipping, since it would be working as advertised) if there was a better deal on July 15th.

What do you think? Would it be okay to buy a Kindle, with the idea that you might return it if you could get a cheaper price? Is it okay for websites to the same item for different prices to different people? If so, what should the criteria be? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

Limited time sale on Fire tablets: up to $40 off

Limited time sale on Fire tablets: up to $40 off

This isn’t a Limited Time Offer that is only available for owners of the Fire tablets with Special Offers (although those are often outstanding!).

This is available to everyone (at least in the USA)…Amazon just says it is limited, and doesn’t see to be saying how long. My guess is more than one day, since it would otherwise by a deal of the day or a Gold Box Deal.

The

• Fire HD 7, 7″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black(at AmazonSmile*)

is $40 off…$99 rather than $139.

Also discounted is the Kids Edition, which has a ruggedized cover included:

• Fire HD 6 Kids Edition, 6″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB, Blue Kid-Proof Case (at AmazonSmile*)

The six inch (screen) version is $134 instead of $149 (fifteen dollars off).

The seven inch model is $40 off…$149 instead of $189.

Not on a limited time sale, but still discounted is the model I use every day:

• Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers (Previous Generation – 3rd) (at AmazonSmile*)

$199 instead of $239, so again, $40 off.

Again, I don’t know how long these prices will last, so check before you click or tap that Buy button…

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

Round up #297: Bookcon, Alexa plays a game

Round up #297: Bookcon, Alexa plays a game

The ILMK Round ups are short pieces which may or may not be expanded later.

Copy text on the Kindle Fire HDX

When did this happen?

People have often asked about copying text from a Kindle book. They want to paste it somewhere else…an e-mail, a Word document, that kind of thing.

The answer in the past has usually been to highlight it in the book, then go to

https://kindle.amazon.com

From there, you could copy and paste.

Not very convenient.

I was just highlighting something in a book I was reading on my

Kindle Fire HDX (at AmazonSmile)

by “long pressing” (hold your finger or stylus on something on the screen for about a second) and dragging ove what I wanted, when I was that one of the choices was to “copy”.

When I tapped the copy button, it told me it was copied to the clipboard.

The “clipboard” is what Microsoft calls the place where something is temporarily stored when you copy something and then paste it somewhere else.

Back before we had Windows, I created something similar for myself…I called it the “bucket”, but the idea was the same. 🙂

I could then go to the native e-mail program, start a new message, and long press again to paste.

I was also able to paste it into a new document in

OfficeSuite Professional 7 (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

Well, this will make things a lot more convenient! It also makes the Fire tablet a much more capable device for work and school.

I am on version 9.8_1– of the Amazon Kindle app.

When I copied on Kindle for PC, it would give me a citation (identify the source of the book), but I’m actually glad this one doesn’t do that. 🙂 I wouldn’t mind having the option of the either one of the two…

A game you can play with your Amazon Echo

Back when the Amazon Kindle was first introduced in 2007, one question we would get was whether or not it played games.

It did, actually…I wrote about that back in 2010:

It’s the games Kindles play

There was a hidden version of “Minesweeper”.

Certainly, you may want to use your EBR (E-Book Reader) only for, you know, reading, but I think it’s nice to have the option. 😉

I’m guessing that the

Amazon Echo

Amazon’s “ambient computing” device (you talk to it…it does stuff) is going to have a general release in early July. That’s based on them not taking invitations any more, on it saying it is in stock on July 8th, and on them asking for video testimonials for it.

I’m sure people will ask if you can play games with it.

I asked mine it if played games, and it didn’t have an answer.

However, I tried:

“Alexa, scissors, paper, rock.”

Alexa responded with: “OK, let’s play. 3… 2… 1… scissors!”

Each time I ask, it responds with one of the three play options…and I don’t know which one it will choose.

In case you don’t know:

• scissors cuts (wins over) paper
• paper covers (wins over) rock
• rock smashes (wins over) scissors

If you both “throw” the same choice, no one wins.

Have fun!

Oh, and for those of you who were curious…Alexa did not respond to the Big Bang Theory variant, “scissors, paper, rock, lizard, Spock”. 😉

Update: thanks to regular reader and commenter Phink for giving me the proper order to say the sequence…it should be “rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock”.  Then the Echo played the game! I’d never played it that way before, and interestingly, we both threw Spock. 🙂 I also didn’t know that it had originated before the Big Bang Theory, with Sam Kass and Karen Bryla. Thanks, Phink!

For more conversations I have had with the Echo, see

Alexa says

Yes, I did reference WarGames, and say, “Alexa, shall we play a game?” 😉 That didn’t get me much, but when I said, “Alexa, play global thermonuclear war,” the Echo responded, “I’d rather play chess.”

We bought a new computer…

…and we didn’t buy it from Amazon.

Honestly, I really wanted it to buy it from Amazon…not least because I could buy it at

http://smile.amazon.com

and get Amazon to donate some money to my designated non-profit (fifty cents per $100 I spend).

I also have credit at Amazon from doing our taxes through Turbotax (you can get a bonus on your refund if you take part of it as an Amazon gift card), and we have Prime, for free shipping.

Add it that I just like Amazon 🙂 and there’s usually no good reason to buy something big anywhere else.

In this case, though, I get e-mails from TigerDirect (I’ve used them in the past).

We’d already pretty much decided on a Lenova laptop.

Some of you may remember that we bought an Asus two-in-one not too long ago (it converts from a tablet to a laptop by means of a detachable keyboard).

The problem with that one?

The keyboard is really too small.

I type pretty well, and typing is what often moves me from using my Fire to something else.

I just can’t do it comfortably enough on that Asus.

It’s still a valuable device for us, and I use it in addition to a desktop we’ve had for many years…and that is, well, let’s call it geriatric. 😉

This laptop (I’m using it now) is more of a replacement for the desktop, eventually.

TigerDirect had Lenovo G50s for about $100 less than Amazon…and more memory.

I tried to get one once, and it sold out to quickly.

So, when one came up again, I went for it.

Earlier, I had pointed out to my Significant Other that getting one from Amazon would be free shipping…and my SO asked, perfectly reasonably, “Will the shipping be $100?” 😉

Nope…the shipping was about $9.

Just made sense to go with TigerDirect in this case.

I did install the Kindle app on it…you knew I was going to get back to the Kindle eventually, right? 😉

The Kindle app for Windows 8.1 does look beautiful! I’m not often impressed with the graphic design of an app, but I was with this one.

The one negative right offhand was that

Creepy Archives Volume 1 (Creepy Archives Box Set) (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

wouldn’t open, and told me it wasn’t compatible with this version of the Kindle app.

I’d already read it, but I just thought it would look good on this big screen. 🙂

“A Podcaster’s Passion for Ebooks”

This is a great

article by Len Edgerly

who does The Kindle Chronicles podcast (I’ve appeared on it, but not for years).

Len has been reporting on Kindles and e-books longer than I have, and brings an informed and compassionate viewpoint (a rare combination).

I enjoyed this piece, and I think you will, too.

HuffPost: “8 Books to Read Over A Long Holiday Weekend”

I know the weekend’s more than half over, but you weren’t going to read just one book, right? 😉

Huffington Post Oprah Winfrey Network article

I think it’s an interesting set of choices…always a tough thing to do.

Bookcon is next week

I’ve mentioned before (although I’m not sure that I’ve done it in the blog) that I find it interesting that we have great celebrations for movies and TV, and not much for books.

I do understand that: reading is a very intimate activity, and so is writing.

However…

Authors seem to me to have become more pop culture friendly in the past decade or so.

Also, I think that authors have become more of a brand name…more associate with the movies based on their books.

I would guess that most even casual moviegoers know John Green and Nicholas Sparks, in addition to knowing Stephen King.

This is the second year of

Bookcon

which is done by the same people who do New York Comic Con, among other things.

I think they are doing a good job!

It looks exciting, it looks fun…it looks “now”!

Sure, the literati might not approve of it. Mindy Kaling and Nick Offerman might not be put at a literary tea with Jane Austen and P.G. Wodehouse…but why not? It would make for one interesting conversation. 😉

Check out their site…gee, I wonder if there will be cosplay as literary characters?

What do you think? Did you plan out a book (or more) to read this weekend? Are you going to Bookcon? Is it okay to make books pop culture, or should they be “elevated”? Do you ever copy text from a Kindle book to something else? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

I Love My Kindle | Fun and information about the Kindle and the world of e-books

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

 

Great deal! Fire HD 7″ for $79 today

Great deal! Fire HD 7″ for $79 today

You may not think you are in the  market for a backlit tablet, like the

Fire HD 7 (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

but today’s deal should make you seriously think about it.

Amazon has the 7″ Fire HD on sale starting at $79!

That makes it $20 less than the usually lowest-priced tablet, the

Fire HD 6, 6″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black(at AmazonSmile*)

and even more remarkably, the same price as the

Seventh generation entry level Kindle…I call it the “Mindle Touch” (it replaces the old “minimum Kindle”, and has a touchscreen) or the “K7″ (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) (my review)

That’s right…you can get a tablet for the same price as the least expensive EBR (E-Book Reader).

Now, that doesn’t mean that I’m suggesting you would get rid of an EBR: like many people, I use both every day.

I use a

Kindle Paperwhite 2 (at AmazonSmile*) (Kindle Paperwhite 2: first impressions and menu map)

at home when I go to bed and a

Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers (Previous Generation – 3rd) (at AmazonSmile*)

when I am out and about.

I should empathize that: I sight read on a tablet. When we first had a choice of a tablet or an EBR (or again, both), there was a great deal of talk about how much better it is to read on an EBR.

Yes, I get that: the Paperwhite is the most comfortable reading experience I’ve ever had, and that includes paper.

However, I find the HDX to be a serviceable reader. I think part of it is that the screen technologies and software have changed…with the brightness turned almost all the way down, and white letters on a black background, I don’t notice any extra eye effort (although I do have superior night vision, which I believe is tied to some color vision deficiency).

In addition (and for me, this is highly significant), the tablets (including the one on sale for $79) have text-to-speech (TTS), software which reads a book out loud to you.

I use TTS typically for hours a week in the car while commuting.

Of course, a tablet gives you other abilities…like video, apps, and web surfing.

This would be an excellent “guest Kindle”! We have the 6″ Fire hD for that purpose now, but a 7″ screen is a bit nicer.

What does this one not have that my HDX has?

The biggest thing is the lack of Mayday, the almost instant onscreen tech help.

On the other hand, this model has two cameras, front and back, and my HDX only has one (mostly for video calls and such, it faces you as you hold the device).

Bottom line: even if they bring out another generation later this year, this would be a good gift for the holidays, a nice intro to tablets, and a good guest device.

Check the price before you click or tap the Buy button…it may not apply in your country.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

* When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

Today only: 15% off Fire tablets

Today only: 15% off Fire tablets

There is a special sale today:

15% off Fire tablets (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

They are promoting these prices:

• Fire HD 6(at AmazonSmile*) $84 instead of $99
• Fire HD 7(at AmazonSmile*) $118 instead of $139
• Fire HD 6 Kids Edition (at AmazonSmile*) $126 instead of $149
• Fire HDX 8.9 (at AmazonSmile*) $322 instead of $379

Not included on the splash page is the

Kindle Fire HDX 7″ (at AmazonSmile*)

but I assume that’s because it is already on sale at $199 versus $239…which is about 17% off. 🙂

We have an HD 6 at home as a “guest Kindle”, and my Significant Other and I each have a Kindle Fire HDX 7″, which we use every day.

I don’t think this suggests that any change is coming in the lineup…they just do sales like this from time to time.

As  usual, check that price before you click or tap the Buy button: prices may be different in your country.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

Valentine’s Day sale on Kindles and Fires

Valentine’s Day sale on Kindles and Fires

I think we tend to see sales on the Fires a lot more than on the EBRs (E-Book Readers…non-Fire Kindles).

That’s why it was nice to see this

Valentine’s Deals (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

Not only are some of the Fires on sales, so are some of the EBRs.

• $20 off the The entry level model, the one I call the “Mindle Touch”(at AmazonSmile*) making it only $59
• $20 off the Kindle Paperwhite (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) making it under $100 at $99
• $15 off the Fire HD 6(at AmazonSmile*) making it $84
• $15 off the Fire HD 6 Kids Edition (at AmazonSmile*) making it $134

Those prices are all for the least expensive configurations: ad-supported where appropriate, lowest onboard memory.

Update: added for today only, Monday, February 9: Fire HDX 8.9 (at AmazonSmile*) 64 GB, wi-fi only for $299…instead of $479! That’s a savings of $180!

While not mentioned at the “presented by Sprint” page, it’s also

$15 off the Fire HD 7(at AmazonSmile*) making it $114 instead of $139

As a former brick-and-mortar store manager, it’s interesting to me that the top in the line items don’t tend to go on sale as much at Amazon…and that makes customer psychology sense.

The

Kindle Voyage (any configuration) (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

for example, is not included in this sale…and usually isn’t included. I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever seen that one on sale, in fact.

That’s because there are times when something being more expensive is more of an incentive to buy, not less of one.

Gifts are a great example.

If you can afford and want a luxury gift, you are impressed by a higher price.

When I ran a game store (I did that in addition to a bookstore…not at the same time), we would never have discounted a $500 chess set.

A $20 chess set? Sure.

In fact, we probably wouldn’t have had a $20 chess set…it would have been $19.99, to make it look like more of a bargain.

I think Amazon doesn’t price the Voyage at $200 because it is competing with other gadgets…not because it is competing with other Kindles.

They probably sell more with it as the most expensive Kindle.

Couldn’t they discount it for a short time, sell a bunch, and then raise it again?

Yes, but you don’t want people waiting for a sale on an expensive item.

The Mindle Touch is almost an impulse buy for some people. You might debate if you need another one, or if your kid needs their own, and be influenced by a sale.

For the Voyage, it should be a careful, reasoned decision…you have to consider the less expensive models, and decide in favor of the Voyage.

Having people waiting for price fluctuations on the Voyage could make “closing the sale” more difficult.

Regardless, this is a “limited time” sale, and may not be available in your country. Check the price before you click or tap that Buy button.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy  Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.