Reading Re-Kindled

I'm not going to pretend like I discovered this, though I will point out that Amazon's Kindle does meet all the requirements of my last blog on e-readers.

If for some reason you haven't stumbled across Amazon's full front page spread of the Kindle, here's a link.

What's not to like about it? It's got free wireless (EVDO network called Whispernet), it uses Amazon's e-book service, you can subscribe to newspapers and also magazines. It's a wonderful thing.

My only complaint is that it's ugly. It's thin, it's light, but it looks like the first palm pilot ever created. The keypad looks weird. The page flipper switch on the side is fun.

The last thing that irks me is that supposedly you can subscribe to blogs, but they will have a monthly fee of a dollar or two dollars attached to it, which I don't really blog Amazon for. It makes sense that since Whispernet isn't really a web browsing service, that some kind of "maintenance fee" will be needed to convert the blogs into a Kindle friendly format. Basically what it means is keep your i-Phone or blackberry close for when you get the urge to read your favorite blog on the run.

Any Amazon reps, please feel free to contact me about converting my blog to a Kindle feed.

Veoh: A stream of streams.

I've never been a big fan of streaming video. I hardly ever go on YouTube. I think streaming video suffers from what TV suffers from--the ability to instantaneous find what you're looking for. With web pages, you have tools to search for exactly what you're looking for. Google or Wikipedia the general idea, then search the text for the exact phrase. Instant gratification. Sure, sites like YouTube allow you to find exactly what you want to watch, but you still have to watch it. Ever watch a video from someone with no description, but it took seven minutes to get to an unrewarding punchline?

If I had to choose streaming videos, I like the direction where Veoh is going. Veoh most recently was featured in Wired Magazine for their new product VeohTV. It basically aggregates all the streaming video sites and plays them all. I like that. It's basically the internet version of TV. You just turn it on and let it go.

The article addresses products like Joost, so I won't go into it. I'm sure it's pretty self explanatory.

I'd like to state that I'm pretty biased though. My friend works for Veoh, so I wish only good things for her and her company.