Some of the information on this page is now out of date, and this page is scheduled for deletion by the end of April 2011. If it appears after that date, it is being held in the collective memory of the internet.
An Amazing Device
Kindle
My Father was a book lover. So am I, but I am considerable less systematic than my father was.
Over twenty years ago we were discussing the amazing things being done with computers and similar modern technology.
My father put the opinion that one thing that would never be replaced
with a computerized device was the book. I postulated a device that was
about the size of a normal book, with a screen taking up most of one
side, with some controls and which could take chips with a book recorded
on it.
No doubt thousands of other people had speculated about similar
devices. But speculating about something in the future is quite
different from actually inventing it.
I was very interested therefore when I first heard of the Kindle.
An Amazing Device
The Kindle was released in 2007 by Amazon. It was an amazing device. Rather than the one book at a time
I had postulated, it could hold about 1500 books (without pictures). I
was looking forward to getting one. Apparently a lot of people wanted
one as well and the first release of the Kindle sold out in a few hours.
In February 2009, Amazon released the Kindle 2 which was even better than the original Kindle.Then in May 2009 the Kindle DX was released. Each successive model of the Kindle has incorporated improvements.
A Problem with the Kindle
However, all models of Kindle have a huge problem. Amazon only sells them in the United States of America. So far Amazon has not solved certain legal and other problems involved in selling the Kindle and the book downloads for it in other countries.
Of course this does not mean that it is impossible to buy this amazing device in other countries. With the Kindles bought outside the US,there are still copyright problems with the books.
For People living in the United Statea, this is not a problem, but for the rest of us it is a very big one.
Copies
Other companies are now bringing out devices to do the same job as the Kindle.So far I have not heard of one that comes anywhere near Amazon's original invention.
I have not yet heard of a pirated Kindle, but if it has not been done, it is only a matter of time.
I hope Amazon will solve the problems with selling the Kindle to other countries as well as the copyright problems and give a fair return to the authors of the books, as they do in the USA.
I am very much looking forward to being able to buy a Kindle.
Amazon have a huge number of books available for
Kindle. These can be downloaded quickly and easily. A common price for a
new book, including a best seller, is $9.99. The author typically
gets 35% of this. This is a better return than many authors can
reasonably expect to get otherwise.
There are many older books which are not under copyright that are available from Amazon for nothing or a very low price. Note that Amazion is a American company and the prices are in US Dollars.
Environmental Disasters 
