Kindle Fire & the Death of Kindle 1

It seems ironic that they just announced the Kindle Fire today as my Kindle 1 just came to a spluttering death.  Three years ago I posted a blog post stating that "I Have a New Boyfriend."  That post was to announce my new love for the first generation Kindle.  As all first generation tech toys go, it was expensive, and my wonderful mother gave him to me as a gift.  I loved my kindle and it has weathered many things, such as all the traveling I did back and forth to my mom's place in Hawaii, long soaks in the tub (no, I didn't cover it--risky, I know), being packed in my purse, and even an occasional reading session on the beach.  I can't say I was nice to Kindle 1, but I sure got a lot of use out of it.

Earlier this year it started losing battery power like water running through a sieve and it was all downhill from there.  Here's what started happening:

• Dark lined screen of death
• Battery power in less than 10 minutes if I left the Internet connection turned on
• Pages that took up to 5 seconds to turn  (Gasp!)
• Burned in letters into the screen from overuse  (Yea, I'm kind of proud of that one.)

I loved my Kindle, but enough was enough.  I finally put it in the same drawer that still holds my flip cell phone from five years ago, my first generation iPod Shuffle, my Blackberry Pearl from two years ago, and any other tech gadgets that I haven't taken to be recycled.  It is the tech gadget graveyard, where all good technology has been made obsolete by something newer, prettier, and more precious.

Back in May I finally succumbed to the incredibly tantalizing pull of the iPad 2.  This was no little purchase, but one that I had been salivating over from the moment it was mentioned.  It was perfect for my trip to Europe, as I could read on it, listen to my iTunes, and catch email from back home.  Why carry the Kindle, an iPod, and a laptop?  The iPad 2 was my godsend.  Now I'm not sure what I'd do without it!  With four different reading apps on it, I can download any ebook sent my way:  Amazon Kindle app, Bluefire Reader, Overdrive, and the iBook. 

As you can see, I'm sold on my iPad 2, but I'll admit that I'm intrigued by the low price and amazing options that seem to come with this new Kindle Fire!  They seem very similar, so far, but we'll see.  I found this article by PCMag.com that compares the three main competitors if you want to check out their specs., "Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 vs. Nook Color."

My Kindle 1 has died, only three short years into this new e-Reader technology.  Where I once thought I was at the cutting edge of the technology has once again been proven obsolete.  What it really does is show me that I have a serious addiction and need to keep squirreling money away for even newer and cooler tools that are sure to come around the bend!

What do you think of the newest e-Reader on the block?  Any interest?

Sunday Blatherings & Weekend Cooking

What an eventful week.  This school year ends this coming week, my BFF leaves for residency, and I leave for my trip to England and France in less than two weeks.  In preparation for my trip, I splurged a little early and bought the iPad 2.  I was going to get it for myself for my birthday in October, but realized that with my trip coming up, it might be better to get it now so I could leave my kindle and laptop behind and just use the slim little iPad instead.  Because I teach online classes, I really do need access to new contracts that will come rolling in while I'm on my trip, so this was a convenient excuse to purchase now and not later.  Yes, it was a nice excuse to get a new toy and I'm loving it!

Any suggestions on your favorite apps?  Please, share!

I've been playing on my iPad and not reading as much as usual, but I'm surrounded by family & friends this weekend.  Although I don't have great bookish news to share, I wanted to jump back into Weekend Cooking over at Beth Fish Reads and share my favorite drink.  It's not really cooking, but it's super simple and one of my FAVES. 

Let me give you a little back story to this drink.  I have real issues with orange juice.  I'm talking, take-me-to-the-hospital issues if I drink even a teeny glass in the morning.  Well, I saw this  OJ/Mango blend and had to try a sip.  I found that if mixed (in small doses) with Diet Sprite over ice, I could not only tolerate it, but also enjoy!  So, here's my simple drink.  I know.  It's not really cooking, but trust me when I say that this mix is great and gives you the yummy taste of OJ with the sparkling taste of a Sprite.  (My BFF says this is a cheap version of a mimosa, so there you go!)

Fool Yourself OJ
Serves 1

--1 c. ice
--1 can Diet Sprite
--1 c. OJ w/ Mango

Pour the Sprite over the ice, followed by the juice.  If you do it the other way around, it foams up too much.  Then enjoy!

There's my recipe for the day.  Do you have a drink mix that you love, that's super easy like this? 

Sunday Blatherings & Library Loot

How has another week come and gone?  Time seems to keep passing faster and faster and faster.  This past week was a stressful, busy week at work.  My English 11 students just finished Oedipus the King by Sophocles and are going to be working on projects this coming week.  In my AP classes, they have just finished reading Beowulf and will be reading The Canterbury Tales next.  When I'm reading language-dense material with my students, I tend to leave work and not want to read as much on my own time. 

Thankfully, I have a lot of good books I've picked up at the library and received in the mail.  One heavy-duty read I picked up and am eager to flip through is Edith Wharton:  A Biography by Hermione Lee.  I absolutely loved The Age of Innocence the moment I read it and have been a Wharton fan ever since.

I'm also eager to read Half a Life by V.S. Naipaul.  This was an award-winning novel that I've had on my TBR list literally for years.  I'm hoping to get a chance over Thanksgiving to sit down with this one.

Sadly, I had to renew a bunch of books that I still haven't had a chance to get to.  It's always fun to get the new ones though, right?  Well, there's my Library Loot, which  is a meme hosted by Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader and Claire from The Captive Reader. 

I also received a couple of books in the mail this week that I need to review by the first of the year. 

One last jewel I received in the mail on Friday was my new laptop!  Yes, my previous, much-loved laptop that I'd had for about four years started showing serious signs that it had issues.  Rather than fight it, I turned it in to be recycled and picked up a new one.  Because I teach online classes, I really need to have a laptop so that I can access my work when I travel or am away from home.  Thankfully, this new toy will keep me connected!

There's my week and book pick up in a nutshell.  How about you?  What are you reading or enjoying today?

Technology--What's its Role?

This week I have been in an online conference, and I have loved the new information that we learn each year about technology and where it's headed. Of course, all of this information is used to enhance our understanding of programs, platforms, and products that our students are readily familiar with, which in turn will help us integrate technology more easily into the learning process. "Brick and Mortar," or "Face to Face" (f2f) classrooms (as we call them) are way behind the technology game, but I have high hopes that my two worlds between online teaching and f2f teaching will soon collide.

Here are some things I learned, or we talked about, and thought I'd pass some of them along.

First, Twitter was the big rage this year. Our main speaker, and following panels and sessions, often brought up Twitter and its power as a social network. I really love Twitter and how it keeps me connected. Many other book bloggers and publishers are on Twitter, not to mention the authors and news organizations that Twitter messages from time to time (or more often). (To follow me on Twitter, you can find me at @mjmbecky.)

Another platform was introduced, called Google Chrome, and it was suggested that it is another browser that is matching Mozilla in speed and safety. Since it was only brought up as a list of technologies & platforms, I still need to check it out to figure out its impact on what I do day in and day out. There was also some talk about a cool new, controllers-free, technology for gaming that could cross over into other uses, known as Project Natal. There are some really great videos out to demonstrate how it will be used, although I have to say it looks funny to see people playing games without controls, and just their hands in the air!

There were a million other sites they showed us, technologies, and platforms, but these were just the new ones that stood out to me for now. As for actual technology, they did talk about things such as the Kindle, which I can thankfully attest to being amazing! They also showed us Netbooks, which are condensed, mini laptops with a lot more battery power, and all of the capabilities of a normal laptop, minus the giant screen and room for lots of programs or gaming. For what I do online, I'm now dreaming! They're not very expensive (between $200 to $700), so it might be my next "laptop" purchase!



My last dream now is the iPhone. It's not that I wasn't interested before, but when you already have a cell phone & plan, it seems almost useless to even look, since you couldn't buy! Today they talked about the great platforms, speed, and ease of use in the iPhone, and how far ahead of the game this little smartphone really stands. I am coming due for a new phone, so while I might be behind the times with this trend, I'm pretty sold on it now!

So here's my question. In light of all the great technology, programs, and platforms I learn about, I always think about how they change the way I live my life day to day. I know they impact my online teaching to some degree, but what about you? How does technology change or influence your life? Do you feel comfortable with it? Do you like trying out new technologies? I'm probably asking the wrong crowd (since you're online to begin with), but I'm curious, how does technology affect your life? Do you feel technology takes you away too much time from the rest of your life or the reading that you want/need to do?