>> They did not, however, restore the drafts of student assignments that
>> were held inside the "Notes" field. Suggestion: don't store anything in
>> the Notes that you can't afford to lose.

> I never picked up the habit of scribbling in the margins.  I doubt
> I will with the Kindle.

>> Chuck Riggs <chri...@eircom.net> wrote:

>>> After much hemming and hawing about the advantages and disadvantages
>>> of going to bed with a book-reading machine, I was won over yesterday
>>> when I read how Amazon automatically corrects the errors it finds in
>>> its Kindle editions.
>> They do?  Where did you read this?

> The Economist.

>> Is there a way for readers to
>> report errors?

> I am under the impression that the author and the publisher learn
> about many errors after a typical book as gone to print, but don't ask
> me about the details.

>>> They did not, however, restore the drafts of student assignments that
>>> were held inside the "Notes" field. Suggestion: don't store anything
>>> in the Notes that you can't afford to lose.

>> I never picked up the habit of scribbling in the margins.  I doubt
>> I will with the Kindle.

> I have the proof of an unpublished theorem in the margin of a page in my
>  Master's thesis. If I ever lose that copy ...

> Sorry about that delay. I've just been frantically searching through the
> house. Oh well, another memento of my past life gone forever. My PhD
> thesis seems to be missing, too.

> I'll never have that recipe again.

>>>> They did not, however, restore the drafts of student assignments
>>>> that were held inside the "Notes" field. Suggestion: don't store
>>>> anything in the Notes that you can't afford to lose.

>>> I never picked up the habit of scribbling in the margins.  I doubt
>>> I will with the Kindle.

>> I have the proof of an unpublished theorem in the margin of a page in
>> my  Master's thesis. If I ever lose that copy ...

>> Sorry about that delay. I've just been frantically searching through
>> the house. Oh well, another memento of my past life gone forever. My
>> PhD thesis seems to be missing, too.

>> I'll never have that recipe again.

> Oh dear, is it raining?

>>> Chuck Riggs wrote:
>>>> After much hemming and hawing about the advantages and disadvantages
>>>> of going to bed with a book-reading machine, I was won over yesterday
>>>> when I read how Amazon automatically corrects the errors it finds in
>>>> its Kindle editions. To name two examples that could affect me, I've
>>>> been plagued by errors in the Faulkner novels I have bought recently
>>>> and the countless errors that have crept into Joyce's works over the
>>>> years are infamous.
>>>> So I ordered a Kindle reader, with a case, from Amazon this morning. I
>>>> hope I got the right reader, for I was presented with a number of
>>>> options. If all goes well, I look forward to having hundreds of books
>>>> at my fingertips.
>>> I'll be very interested to know how you find it. My US friends urged me
>>> to wait for a Barnes and Noble Nook but my research indicated that
>>> outside the US the Wifi may not work too well so I bought a Sony eReader
>>> instead. I have downloaded several books which I have avoided in part
>>> because of their size and will have lots of travel opportunities this
>>> month in which to test out the advantages.

>> I'll be sure to let you and the group know how it works, Laura. It
>> arrived this morning, so I am anxious to finish with AUE, email and
>> the newspapers this afternoon to find out if it works. From what I saw
>> of Amazon's coverage map, the British Isles are inside its coverage
>> zone, but that may have been hype.
>> Can Amazon's books be downloaded to your Sony eReader?

>I think so, if they're in epub format. The different formats of ebooks
>available are quite confusing. But I am delighted to find that I can
>load the reader up with pdfs of academic papers that I need to read - I
>would normally have to carry hard copies or my laptop to be able to read
>them on my travels.

>I look forward to hearing your report, Chuck.

>>> Chuck Riggs <chri...@eircom.net> wrote:

>>>> After much hemming and hawing about the advantages and disadvantages
>>>> of going to bed with a book-reading machine, I was won over yesterday
>>>> when I read how Amazon automatically corrects the errors it finds in
>>>> its Kindle editions.
>>> They do?  Where did you read this?
>>  The Economist.

>>> Is there a way for readers to
>>> report errors?
>>  I am under the impression that the author and the publisher learn
>> about many errors after a typical book as gone to print, but don't ask
>> me about the details.

>Why should the author and the publisher ask you about the details?

> I think so, if they're in epub format.

> >They do?  Where did you read this?

> The Economist.

>>> Why should that be different from paper books,
>>> for which the rights are also sold separately
>>> for the US and the UK?
>>> (with UK editions 'not for sale in the USA'
>>> and idem the other way round)

>> Which doesn't have any legal force, I assume.  I bought quite a
>> number of US books from a UK store.

> It used to have a lot of practical force in Australia. You couldn't
> get a bookseller to import an American book for you; you had to buy
> the
> more expensive UK edition. (When the Pope divided up the world,
> Australia was, without consulting us, put in the UK sphere of
> influence.) I
> presume that this was because the bookseller feared being put on a
> blacklist and not being able to get any books at all. Direct ordering
> from the publisher wasn't an option, because the US publishers
> wouldn't supply.

>>>> Why should that be different from paper books,
>>>> for which the rights are also sold separately
>>>> for the US and the UK?
>>>> (with UK editions 'not for sale in the USA'
>>>> and idem the other way round)

>>> Which doesn't have any legal force, I assume.  I bought quite a
>>> number of US books from a UK store.

>> It used to have a lot of practical force in Australia. You couldn't
>> get a bookseller to import an American book for you; you had to buy
>> the
>> more expensive UK edition. (When the Pope divided up the world,
>> Australia was, without consulting us, put in the UK sphere of
>> influence.) I
>> presume that this was because the bookseller feared being put on a
>> blacklist and not being able to get any books at all. Direct ordering
>> from the publisher wasn't an option, because the US publishers
>> wouldn't supply.

>Exactly. I tried to order Hofstadter's *Gödel, Escher, Bach* from the US
>publisher when it was first published. They wouldn't send me one, but
>instead passed my order on to the UK publisher and I had to wait about a
>year, IIRC, before I got it.

>> >> After much hemming and hawing about the advantages and disadvantages
>> >> of going to bed with a book-reading machine, I was won over yesterday
>> >> when I read how Amazon automatically corrects the errors it finds in
>> >> its Kindle editions.

>> >They do?  Where did you read this?

>> The Economist.

>You mean this article?
>http://www.moreintelligentlife.com/content/anthony-gottlieb/facts-err...

>>Chuck Riggs  <chri...@eircom.net> wrote:

>>> >> After much hemming and hawing about the advantages and disadvantages
>>> >> of going to bed with a book-reading machine, I was won over yesterday
>>> >> when I read how Amazon automatically corrects the errors it finds in
>>> >> its Kindle editions.

>>> >They do?  Where did you read this?

>>> The Economist.

>>You mean this article?
>>http://www.moreintelligentlife.com/content/anthony-gottlieb/facts-err...

> Yes. Since Intelligent Life is a sister publication of The Economist,
> I erred on the exact source.

>>That is pure speculation that e-readers *might* one day allow
>>automatic corrections.

> Corrections can be incorporated into what is available for sale on the
> Kindle much faster than they can be incorporated into Amazon's print
> editions. Since the process is invisible to the user, I called it
> automatic. You're right that corrections won't, at present, be made to
> material already downloaded.

> Was it worth it?

> Was it worth it?

>>> Exactly. I tried to order Hofstadter's *Gödel, Escher, Bach* from the US
>>> publisher when it was first published. They wouldn't send me one, but
>>> instead passed my order on to the UK publisher and I had to wait about a
>>> year, IIRC, before I got it.

>> Was it worth it?

>That book passed the ultimate test for being a Good Book. Someone
>borrowed it and never returned it.

>>> Exactly. I tried to order Hofstadter's *Gödel, Escher, Bach* from
>>> the US publisher when it was first published. They wouldn't send me
>>> one, but instead passed my order on to the UK publisher and I had to
>>> wait about a year, IIRC, before I got it.

>> Was it worth it?

>Yes, it is an amazing book.

>> On Fri, 6 Nov 2009 16:12:46 +0000 (UTC), na...@mips.inka.de (Christian
>> Weisgerber) wrote:

>>>Chuck Riggs  <chri...@eircom.net> wrote:

>>>> >> After much hemming and hawing about the advantages and disadvantages
>>>> >> of going to bed with a book-reading machine, I was won over yesterday
>>>> >> when I read how Amazon automatically corrects the errors it finds in
>>>> >> its Kindle editions.

>>>> >They do?  Where did you read this?

>>>> The Economist.

>>>You mean this article?
>>>http://www.moreintelligentlife.com/content/anthony-gottlieb/facts-err...

>> Yes. Since Intelligent Life is a sister publication of The Economist,
>> I erred on the exact source.

>>>That is pure speculation that e-readers *might* one day allow
>>>automatic corrections.

>> Corrections can be incorporated into what is available for sale on the
>> Kindle much faster than they can be incorporated into Amazon's print
>> editions. Since the process is invisible to the user, I called it
>> automatic. You're right that corrections won't, at present, be made to
>> material already downloaded.

>Removing criticisms of the Government once they get in power, that sort
>of thing?

>>Chuck Riggs wrote:
>>> On Sat, 7 Nov 2009 21:36:22 +1100, "John Holmes" <see...@instead.com>
>>> wrote:

>>>> Exactly. I tried to order Hofstadter's *Gödel, Escher, Bach* from the
>>>> US publisher when it was first published. They wouldn't send me one,
>>>> but instead passed my order on to the UK publisher and I had to wait
>>>> about a year, IIRC, before I got it.

>>> Was it worth it?

>>That book passed the ultimate test for being a Good Book. Someone
>>borrowed it and never returned it.

> If true, I've owned very few books that were Bad.

>On Sun, 8 Nov 2009 18:56:57 +1100, "John Holmes" <see...@instead.com>
>wrote:

>>Chuck Riggs wrote:
>>> On Sat, 7 Nov 2009 21:36:22 +1100, "John Holmes" <see...@instead.com>
>>> wrote:

>>>> Exactly. I tried to order Hofstadter's *Gödel, Escher, Bach* from
>>>> the US publisher when it was first published. They wouldn't send me
>>>> one, but instead passed my order on to the UK publisher and I had to
>>>> wait about a year, IIRC, before I got it.

>>> Was it worth it?

>>Yes, it is an amazing book.

>No offense, I hope, but I found it to be amazing gibberish, much of
>it, largely aimed at pseudo-intellectuals.

>>> Chuck Riggs wrote:
>>>> On Sat, 7 Nov 2009 21:36:22 +1100, "John Holmes" <see...@instead.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> Exactly. I tried to order Hofstadter's *Gödel, Escher, Bach* from
>>>>> the US publisher when it was first published. They wouldn't send me
>>>>> one, but instead passed my order on to the UK publisher and I had to
>>>>> wait about a year, IIRC, before I got it.
>>>> Was it worth it?
>>> Yes, it is an amazing book.
>> No offense, I hope, but I found it to be amazing gibberish, much of
>> it, largely aimed at pseudo-intellectuals.

> Oh, the *real* intellectuals liked it too, what they could understand of
> it...it's just unfortunate that Hofstadter's subsequent books didn't make a
> similarly large splash...(show of hands, please, all who actually read both
> "Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies" and "Le Ton Beau de Marot" all the way
> through)....r

>> On Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:39:52 +1100, Peter Moylan
>> <pe...@pmoylan.org.not.china> wrote:

>>>Chuck Riggs wrote:
>>>> On Sat, 7 Nov 2009 21:36:22 +1100, "John Holmes" <see...@instead.com>
>>>> wrote:

>>>>> Exactly. I tried to order Hofstadter's *Gödel, Escher, Bach* from the
>>>>> US publisher when it was first published. They wouldn't send me one,
>>>>> but instead passed my order on to the UK publisher and I had to wait
>>>>> about a year, IIRC, before I got it.

>>>> Was it worth it?

>>>That book passed the ultimate test for being a Good Book. Someone
>>>borrowed it and never returned it.

>> If true, I've owned very few books that were Bad.

>How many books have you borrowed?

>> I own a copy of GEB but have never got round to reading it. That and
>> Gibbon's Decline and Fall are shelved, waiting for my retirement.

>Those two aren't in the same category. Once I started GEB I couldn't put
>it down, and at the end I was tempted to start again at the beginning.