Please explain

[james_davis_nicoll]

Why anyone would think that this product is a good idea.

Comments

[insaint.livejournal.com]

According to this:
What seems to be incorrect from the initial reports of the device is third-party format support. The Kindle is compatible Microsoft Word, HTML, TXT, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP files, however not the popular PDF format out of the box. Amazon will convert PDF files to the Kindle format if they are sent to the company via e-mail.

Mind you, for me, lack of PDF support kind of seals the deal. Even if I were in the US and in a position to buy one of these, I wouldn't just for the sheer idiocy of having to email my PDFs to Amazon. I hope that that design decision is a result of a time crunch rather than a deliberate feature omission. That being said, it looks like the situation isn't as dire as "Amazon format and nothing else".

[kate_nepveu]

_After Amazon converts them_, according to its own user manual. And that statement about PDF conversion contradicts everything else I've seen, again including Amazon's own manual.

Useful links:
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/11/19/15-things-i-just-lea.html
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/amazon/amazon-kindle-hands+on-and-questions-answered-gallery-324375.php
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/digital/fiona/general/Kindle_User_Guide.pdf

(Edited to fix link)

[insaint.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Reading through those sites, in addition to the one I linked to before, looks like there's some conflicting information out there. To the point where any pro-argument would make me worried. Too many negative things out there.

My bad. I'm gonna go sit in a corner. :)

[kate_nepveu]

Hey, considering that I've seen major sites get something as simple as audio support wrong, PDF conversion is nothing . . . (and it sounds plausible, doesn't it?). Don't worry.

[armb.livejournal.com]

Neil Gaiman says it was really easy to put your own PDFs on the reader. But maybe the production version has tightened up the DRM side of things and made that harder as a result.
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2007/11/me-in-manila.html

[kate_nepveu]

I've kind of given up on figuring out PDFs--it's not in the manual and numerous places have said that you can't do it, and then a couple of places have said you can, so I give up--wait until someone with an actual production model tries it.