Proprietary Delivery Devices
On the front page the master, JMM, asks whether the polloi would like to receive their momentary doses of TPM on Kindles and iPhones. He doesn't provide a feedback device, but I assume he wants feedback on the qt via email. I am not good at feedback on the qt.
I have noticed a decided preference for proprietary devices in these sorts of queries around here. Kindles are noted for two things at the moment... They only work with Amazon approved book formats and, so it seems, Amazon can actually invade your device and steal back your book. While iPhone hasn't that bad a reputation, it is, again, a proprietary device delivering the goods in proprietary format.
Let's assume the intention is good (get the message out in more forms of the media). Please stop being so upper-middle-class/hooked-on-proprietary-goods. Its offensive.
Thank you.
I have noticed a decided preference for proprietary devices in these sorts of queries around here. Kindles are noted for two things at the moment... They only work with Amazon approved book formats and, so it seems, Amazon can actually invade your device and steal back your book. While iPhone hasn't that bad a reputation, it is, again, a proprietary device delivering the goods in proprietary format.
Let's assume the intention is good (get the message out in more forms of the media). Please stop being so upper-middle-class/hooked-on-proprietary-goods. Its offensive.
Thank you.
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I'm with you on this one, Marquis. I don't have a Kindle, nor would I ever want one. I prefer hardcover over paperback, for crying out loud.
As for an iPhone, I don't own one of those either, and don't see the need for one. My purple Razr plays my Clash ring tones, and that's fancy enough for me, thank you.
I've already become a fan of TPM at Facebook, and God knows I spend all my waking hours reading this site and commenting and recommending and posting here....why I'd need a live newsfeed on top of all that, I'll never know.
Call us old school...or just call us old...but don't call us on an iPhone.
Heh.
October 24, 2009 4:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
uh oh... i just bought the very latest version of an electronic book... but it has the very specific characteristic of not being locked into proprietary formats.
October 24, 2009 5:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
So whadda you got against the people of Propriestan? They work hard, they play by the rules, they make great products. And then you put out your hate, Mr Xenophobe-Hiding-Behind-A-Clown-Mask.
Power to the Proprietors, baby!
October 25, 2009 1:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Glad you posted this. I was surprised and confused by the - (last time I looked: 250 rec'd posting) - that asked for feedback but didn't ask for comments. I do have an iPhone, but it doesn't work at my home -- I know, I know -- stupid, but I am a gadget freak! I have no desire to get tpm on any device except my computer.
The only thing I might go for with my phone is a breaking news thingy, but then only if it really is important; not just something about the latest update on the swine flu. (as a nurse I get those from an official site)
And BTW, why is this not above the fold, when spam - with no recs - is.
October 24, 2009 6:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
If Josh wants to give away iphones and kindles with the newsfeed, I'm up fer it.
October 24, 2009 8:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
**Thanks for this thread. I couldn't find a way to respond either. I dont' use any other device than my computer but I have a friend, an author, who does. She wanted to answer Josh's question, but could find no way to do it. I'm passing along her words:
Only thing I could tell him is that I no longer read on paper; just on the computer and on the Kindle. If you can tell him privately, you could tell him that my book was reviewed in a subscription blog and sales started ticking upward so subscribers do pay attention. Then tell him if he has a Kindle, he needs to read The God Wars, a book that only a peace-wanting, Bush-detesting liberal can love.
October 24, 2009 8:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just read on the front page that several emails have come in. Frankly I don't think it is a very user-friendly way to get feed-back. Why not have a "Comment" section? too much trouble? Well, Josh will not get a representative response without it.
In the Front Page article he talks about a subscription possibility for one-on-one feedback, etc. I don't have a problem with that even though I doubt I would use that particular feature. This is about the only site that I would willingly contribute to in order to get features I care about.
If Josh wants to know what his loyal fans think (and I include myself in that group), he probably ought to develop a survey/checklist of items asking what he wants to know. Depending on email will not give him a representative response.
October 24, 2009 9:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think a survey would be a great idea.
October 24, 2009 9:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, guys, he said in his first post on the subject that he was planning on doing a survey. :-)
October 25, 2009 2:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
I never go anywhere.
So with email, chat, my blogs, other's blogs....I am fine
October 24, 2009 10:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you Marquis. You probably know the answer to this. Currently if I want to copy a quotation from a Kindle book I take a picture of the Kindle page on my iPhone and then send the picture by email to my desktop. I copy the picture into MS Word and then run OCR software to turn it into text. After that I can cut and paste the text into my notes. Will I be able to do that with TPM?
October 25, 2009 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink