Re: "New Kindle Fire Review"

>If you know a simple way to get PG files to the Kindle Fire, just state it.
If you know nothing, shut up.

It is simple to get PG files on a Kindle Fire, just use the web browser to
navigate to a PG link that says "Kindle" and then click on that link.  Then
Complete action using "Browser" if presented with a choice of applets which
know how to take action on mobi files.  The Fire will say "downloading" and
a second or two later you are done -- the book IS on the Fire -- the Fire is
*much* faster than previous Kindles.  The problem now is that Kindle Fire
has followed Android behavior of downloading to "Downloads" instead of
following traditional Kindle behavior of downloading to "Documents" -- which
was historically more convenient.  Read more below.

It should be obvious to you by now Marcello, that I and others, especially
at mobileread.com, have dealt with these issues in depth many months ago
when the Kindle Fire first came out.  The original Kindles, as I discovered
years ago, allowed one to read mobi files which had been downloaded from the
web directly, by going to the web browser, and clicking on them, at which
time the Kindle would download them to the "Documents" directory.  I further
discovered that one could put a URL in a mobi book, and invoke this behavior
also directly by clicking on that URL inside that book "catalog" , resulting
in the "Magic Catalog."

Other web browsers do not download directly to "Documents" but traditionally
download to a directory called "Downloads."  Unfortunately, the Kindle Fire
has adopted this common web browser behavior rather than following prior
Kindle behavior of downloading directly to "Documents." Presumably Kindle
Fire made this change because it is an Android device, and Android applets
expect downloads to happen to "Downloads." While Kindle Fire doesn't
advertise the fact, it does come with an applet (Quickoffice) allowing one
to manage and move files between folders, and it is also possible to pick up
other good applets for free which also does these things.  There are also
applets that allow one to sync and send files to and from Kindle Fire (being
a flavor of Android) directly to/from your PC via wifi, which can be helpful
during book development.  Also, Amazon has an applet for your [desktop]
computer called "Send to Kindle" which allows one to send a file from your
PC to the Amazon Cloud, with or without caching, your choice, and from there
back down via wifi to your Kindle.  I do book development on my PC, and then
when I want to "take a break" and view how its going on my mobi device, I
often find it easiest just to hit "Send to Kindle" -- even though it takes a
couple minutes for the file to make it up through the Amazon Clould and then
back down again.  But its about as simple as clicking on the "Print" button.
And I do book development in a downstairs office and often my Kindle is
laying around upstairs somewhere, so the two are not collocated in the first
place.

The Kindles have always had a problem getting them to understand when you
have added a new book file "behind their backs" and now they need to refresh
their memory and add the new book to the list of books "they know about."
The Kindle Fire has this problem somewhat worse than earlier models,
presumably because the Fire is based on Android.  One simple solution is to
"three finger" power down the Kindle and then it checks and fixes its state
of knowledge on power up.  Most people find this reboot a pain, so there are
other work-arounds.  For example after a download one can use File Expert to
navigate to a book file, put your finger on it for a second or two to bring
up a context menu, hit "More" then hit "Open With" hit "More" again and then
hit "Amazon Kindle" to read that book file in the "Amazon Kindle" applet.

There may be better ways to do all this -- talk to an Android expert --
which I am not. For me overall, the Kindle Fire is more convenient than
previous Kindles because it is "Android" -- even with all the limitations
that implies -- and it is mobi8, which is miles less of a pain than mobi7 --
and it is much much faster and more reliable in everything it does,
especially the web browser.  Is it "better" than a Nexus 7 or a B&N Tablet?
I think that probably depends on which family of devices you are most
familiar with.  It also probably depends on which of the various obnoxious
monopolistic behaviors of the various obnoxious monopolistic major vendors
one personally finds least onerous and odorous.  I put up with the
limitations of Amazon and mobi8 and even mobi7 for one simple reason: THAT
is where the users are.

It should also be obvious to everyone that part of these obnoxious
monopolistic business practices includes selling reader devices into the
market at subsidized prices, in order to try to "capture" your future
business.  When we buy these devices "below market" and then turn around and
use them for free books, then the monopolists do not make their mark.  And
this makes them unhappy.  And then they in turn "turn the screws" and try to
engage in even more monopolistic behaviors in the future.  Consider, for
example, how Google has been constantly tightening the screws around "Google
Books."  Certainly everyone here must understand that we are not being their
little "good buddies" when we don't buy product, but instead engage in
making "free books" !  Certainly if you "buy into" an advertising motto like
"Don't Do Evil" then you need to get your head examined. Don't inhale, and
don't drink the kool-aid.




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