eBook reader review

Maximize your home computing potential with the Gateway 24" LCD Dual Core, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD Desktop. You'll love the large 24" LCD monitor for ease of viewing, especially if you like to view multiple windows at once. The 250GB hard drive gives you plenty of processing power and it comes with an 18x DVD +/- RW SuperMulti Drive to make data backups and mix-CD ripping a snap. Plus, it comes with Windows Vista Home Premium, so you get the latest Microsoft operating system technology at your fingertips. There is also a substantial array of pre-installed and user-installed software included to meet all of your home computing needs.

Gateway 24" LCD Dual Core, 1GB RAM, 250GB HDD Desktop Features:

Processor: Intel Pentium Processor E2140 (dual core)

System Memory-RAM: 1024MB DDR 2 (2 x 512MB), 667MHz (PC2- 5300); expandable to 2GB; Total: 2 DDR2 slots/Available: 0 DDR2 slots

Hard Drive: 250GB SATA II Hard Drive (7200 RPM)

Optical Drive: 18x DVD +/- RW SuperMulti Drive featuring LabelFlash technology (Up to 8.5GB with Dual Layer Media). Write max: 18x DVD+/-R, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW, 8x DVD+/-R DL, 12x DVD-RAM, 48x CD-R, 32x CD-RW. Read max: 16x DVD-ROM, 48x CD-ROM.

Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium

Monitor: 24" widescreen TFT LCD

Card Reader: 15-in-1 digital; accepts xD Picture Card, CompactFlash 1CF, CompactFlash II, Secure Digital (SD), Mini Secure Digital (Mini SD), Multi Media Card (MMC), Reduced Size MMC (RS-MMC), MMC Mobile, MMC Plus, Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Pro Duo, SmartMedia, IBM Microdrive

Additional Features and Specifications:

* System Bus: 677MHz
* Cache Memory: 1MB
* Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950; up to 224MB shared video memory; PCI-Express (PCI e x 16) slot available for upgrade
* Video Memory: Up to 224MB
* Audio: 5.1 high definition audio
* Speakers: Stereo; 6-channel 5.0 high definition audio
* Modem: 56K ITU V. 92 fax / modem
* Network Interface: 10/100 Mbps built-in Ethernet LAN
* External Ports: 6 USB 2.0 (2 front, 4 rear); VGA, parallel port; serial port; 2 PS/2 ports (keyboard and mouse); RJ-45 Ethernet port; RJ-11 modem port; audio ports: 2 audio (front): microphone, front headphone (stereo); 3 audio (rear)line-in (stereo), speakers/headphone (stereo), microphone
* Keyboard: Elite Multimedia keyboard
* Mouse: USB optical 2-button wheel mouse
* Weight: 23.4 lbs.
* Power Supply: 300 watt (internal to desktop)
* Case: Classic system design with brushed silver faceplate
* Measures approx. 15.50"L x 7.25"W x 16.50"H
* Weighs approx. 23.4 lbs.
* Model #GT5672E
* Comes with a manufacturer's 1-year limited warranty

Software Included:

* Microsoft Works 9.0
* Microsoft Money Essentials
* Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 (60-day complimentary trial period)
* Adobe Reader
* Vista Integrated DVD Playback with 6-Channel Audio
* CyberLink Power2Go
* Napster 3.0 (30-day trial)
* Microsoft Internet Explorer
* AOL (90-day risk-free offer)
* NetZero Internet Access
* Google Toolbar and Google Desktop Search
* Gateway Connect
* Norton Internet Security (60-day live updates)
* BigFix – helps identify and solve problems
* Spare Backup
* Gateway Games Powered by WildTangent (preinstalled with 10 demo games with 60-minutes of game play)

User-Installed Software: PC Essentials

* DVD 1 – World Book DVD Encyclopedia 2008
* DVD 2 (Entertainment) – Aquazone Desktop Garden; Hoyle Board Games 2007; Hoyle Puzzle Games 2007; Morpheus Photo Animation Suite; Muppet Babies – Thinking and Sorting; My Scrapbook 2; Serif Creativity Suite: Serif Draw Plus 8, Serif Page Plus X2, Serif Panorama Plus 3, Serif Photo Plus 11, Serif Web Plus 10; Sudoku Crunch; Wizard Chess
* DVD 3 (Productivity/Reference) – ACT! 2007; Budget Express 3.0; Cook n' with Betty Crocker; EMC Retrospect Express HD; Family Tree Heritage 7; Form Tool Deluxe 6; Professor Teaches Vista; Quicken Willmaker Plus 2008; Stuffit Deluxe 11; Sunbird Calendar; Thunderbird Email; Turbo FloorPlan Home Designer; Turbo FloorPlan Landscape and Deck; Typing Instructor Deluxe
* CD 1, 2 and 3 – Tiger Woods 2006

About Gateway…
Looking for easy computing solutions at amazing prices? Gateway offers powerful computers that are simple to set up and a blast to use. You won’t have to worry about poor customer service thanks to unmatched technical support and friendly service. Each computer is also packaged as a complete system, so your computer is ready to go right out of the box!
For warranty information, please call HSN.com Customer Service at 800.933.2887 (8 am-1 am ET).

Note: This item cannot be shipped to Puerto Rico, Guam or the Virgin Islands. The customer should expect delivery within 12 days from their order date. Due to the size of the item, it cannot be shipped

It's not super amazing, but it's nothing to laugh at. I have a similar computer and it does everything I want it to. If you're a gamer, just upgrade the video card to like a 7600GT and add another gig of RAM and it should handle most modern games with ease, (That's what I did to my computer)

I was thinking about using a [url=http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8278641&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat103700050018&id=1171058630195]sony portable reader system[/url] to consolidate all my textbooks I would need for college into digital format. I think it would be lovely to have all those heavy books condensed onto a small chip form instead of running back and forth to the car inbetween classes.

Anyone doing this while they're in college? How long does it take for college textbooks to become ebooks?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8278641&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat103700050018&id=1171058630195

Sony Portable reader

Sounds great. You would have to check what books you need for your classes and what editions of those books, but I wonder if you will find it cumbersome to read your assignments on your computer?

I made the mistake of looking here for pricing advice. I get it; this is not the place to ask that kind of question, so instead I'd like to know if you, the average reader, prefer an actual book to a digital copy.
For the record, I prefer an actual book.

Turning the page is half the point of an reading a book. Not really, but I think an actual book is better.

Description says:
"Eddie Tapp on Digital PhotographyThe second book in the series, Color Management, delves into a topic that has needlessly become a mystery to the growing ranks of experienced digital photographers: avid amateurs, serious students, and professionals moving from film to digital. With his easygoing yet authoritative style, Eddie Tapp explains how color management is a part of the overall photographic workflow. He shows readers exactly what they need to know and why they need to know it, and teaches the three stages of color managed workflow — including calibration versus profiling. Color management scientist Rick Lucas provides expertise on the hard-core technical aspects, and the book's appendix offers the newly released Universal Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines (UPDIG). Other books on color management can be too long, involved and intimidating for average consumers.This absorbing book sets the right tone and supplies answers quickly."

Is it worth buying?
Or would it be wasted on me ?

You would be better off using the money to buy a monitor calibrating device (Spyder 3 or Huey) as a basic first step in calibrating your system.

These devices work by putting various colour swatches on the screen the device then reads the RGB values and compares them with the known values in a file, it then compiles and installs a monitor 'Profile' which means the monitor will display accurately the RGB values of every pixel in your image.

The problem with colour management is every device from camera, scanner, monitor and finally printer uses the RGB values in different ways in hardware.

For instance your monitor is emmiting light ( a bit like a projector) so positive colour mixing is taking place (R+G+B=White) whereas your prints are using reflected light and uses negative colour mixing (C+M+Y=Black) (your printer has a black cartridge as Cyan, Magenta and Yellow can't produce a pure black). The white is provided by the paper i.e. no ink is laid down. The exact opposite of your monitor.

Getting the 'Profiles' right for all devices when achieved means your system is WSIWYG and your prints will mimic the screen very closely. This ultimately makes printing easy and can save a fortune in inks and paper. More importantly it means that all the little 'tweaks' you do in Photoshop for colour balance and tones will be accurately replicated by your printer.

There are a lot of sites covering this subject on the web heres a good starting point;-

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/color-management1.htm

and a very humorous explanation of colour management here;-

http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/The_Color_of_Toast

Colour management can be a bit like a dog chasing it's tail, but getting your monitor to accurately represent colour is the first step and, if you havn't already done it, you would be better spending your money in a hardware calibration device, trying to use your eyes for calibration doesn't work.

Sorry for 'bending your ear'

Chris

Received it for Christmas. I do like it, however, I find that I can not download pics directly to my computer. I followed the instruction book and downloaded the Easy Share software, the first thing. Now I find that I can not download directly to my computer.

I finally pinned one of their help techs down, after I told him that I felt that I was getting the old runaround. He said it could be done and also, when asked, that I did not need to get a reader card.

What am I failing to understand?

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/products/ekn035973.jhtml?pq-path=13535
Click on the "Step-by-Step Solutions" link under the picture of the camera. Follow the steps, it'll take you to a page that explains you need the latest version of the EasyShare software. Download it and install it. Should take care of your problem.

My dad's 55th birthday is coming up, and I am at loss on what to give him. He's a computer scientist and an avid gadget geek, so he has pretty much every latest gadget you can think of, including DV-Cam, GPS navigator, digital camera… he even has a fingerprint reader attached to his computer. So if it's a gadget, it needs to be something very original.

His other interests include: physics (he used to be a research physicist before switching to computers), detective stories (both in book and TV form, from Agatha Christie to 'Monk'), traveling to various historic and nature places by car and taking day hikes there… if I think of anything else, I'll add it in the details.

My budget for this is about $300 (flexible if it's a little over) — it can be one thing, or a few.

Ideas?
I noticed a few answers suggesting I just spend time with him: I'd love to, but we are on opposite coasts, and right now it's not realistic for me to travel across the country. So that, unfortunately, is not an option .

Seeing as he has all the latest gadgets and stuff maybe you should think about giving him something more personal. You might think its cheezy, but I think you should make him an album. I made one for my mom and she loved it. I don't mean taking a few pics & sticking them in an album. I mean taking a scrapbook & actually taking some time. When I made mine, I gave everyone 2 pages. So I started with my mom's dad…..I found really old pictures of them when they were really young! Then I kept adding, my grandparents, my mom, dad, uncle, aunt, cousins. Not only is it really thoughtful, but it'll bring back some great old memories. Try it, if you want and good luck with your dad's gift. I'm sure he will love anything you give! Take care!

I'm looking for a good book to read after Stephen King's Cell. I'm really enthralled with Cell so far. I love all of Dan Brown's books, especially Digital Fortress. I loved Jurassic Park and Timeline, but I hated Sphere. I liked Crichton's Prey, however.

I like books aimed at teens, but I think I've read of of them that I want to. I loved the Eragon books, but for some reason, even though Paolini's writing style in Eragon seems to attempt to mimic that of Tolkien's, I can't get into the LOTR books. I also liked Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl.

I want to read another technological thriller like Cell and Prey and Digital Fortress, or another book set in older times, like Timeline.

What should I pick up next?
I've read every Dan Brown and Michael Crichton.

You may want to try Julian May's Pliocene and Mielu sagas. Incredible books.

"The Doomsday Book" by Connie Willis is something that I think you will very much enjoy. Like "Timeline" but, well, read it and you'll see. Another time travel book by Willis is "To Say Nothing of the Dog".

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (co-authors) write awesome books. My favorite by them is "Cabinet of Curiosities" you'll like it. "Utopia" by just Lincoln Child is worth reading.

"Deep Fathom" and "Sandstorm" by James Rollins are good though a little softer on the hard science type facts.

Another good author is Arturo Perez-Reverte. He writes many historical-ish fiction novels. Very highly recommended.

Roger Zelazny's "Chronicles of Amber" are wonderful. I think you'll like them a lot.

You may also look into "Vurt" by Jeff Noon.

My situation
I really need your suggestions, info, links, et cetera to get me break away from this computer addiction please. I have been living with computer since its advent, and I have been too long in this bit and byte world. I have almost no problem with my family and/or social matters (maybe), but certainly, I have problems with myself. I realize that my addiction to computer and internet has seized big values of my life. Please do not assume that I am addicted to the gaming, gambling, chatting, or sexual leisure online. I think I have really got the most of the computing and internet, I got answers for my quests in life: history, languages, hobbies, health, skill improvement, and other eye-openers, but I realized that at the end I just barely do not recognize myself. I knew that before the PC arrival, I was a simple human with a romantic and artistic mind inside, and then later I evolved to such a robot, to be precise: a slave of the technology. The internet had made me more tied to the PC, at first it delivered me the news of the world, marvelous things found there within the clicks and so on, but then made me deep drown into the pond of information.

The cost and the lost
Having knowledge to computer hardware made me always upgrade my gears. It made me spend big cost just to fulfill my lust over those times. My room is full with the old gears, gadgets, and things from online stores. My PCs and notebooks are full with MP3s, PDFs, and many things downloaded both free and paid. I also spent for many external/ portable harddisks for backing up and traveling. I do not mean to showoff, I just tell you how worse it was from time to time during about 20 years. I sometimes think about the lost time for repairing my gears, updating my softwares, browsing; and how many books that I have not read completely.

There was a break
One time, in two straight months last year, I spent my times with my son playing Tamiya, small racing cars in small tracks. It was wonderful that it made me totally forgot my computers. We have had most of the time together for racing, modifying, winding the wires for the tiny motors, etc. My wife was so amazed that the toys have made me away from the PC. It ended because of the coming rainy season that made us packed and boxed back the tracks and cars, and I simply switched back to the old routine.

In search of healing
I remember a precious phrase: Two kinds of those who lost; they are who looks for wealth and for knowledge. This phrase sometimes wakes me up but bad habit is addicting and I found myself always returned into that path. I think it is just similar to drug addiction. As the internet is an endless resource, I search through it for the cure, and I have found some articles about it and tried to implement them, but it always hard for me to liberate myself from my habit. I really hope that finally I find it in this forum, especially from you.

Your helps, Please
I know that some of you are familiar to manage some types of dependence, or maybe you have healed from the same situation. Whether you have some psychological, spiritual expertise, certain medication, or exercises, please share your advice, I need it badly. I do not want to clog the rest of my life in that digital world. There must be somebody else also in pain from the same thing, your kind suggestion will be very valuable and it will save some life. Thank you very much for sparing your time reading this lengthy note. God bless you.

PS:
I post this in Computing & Internet, Health, and Social Science with time interval, hoping to net more inputs.
Please do not waste your time to put any unpleasant or unnecessary words, consider it will not only read by me but also by the other fellow readers. If you are not in the same situation with me, you perhaps still have the advantage of knowing the answers. Thank you, again.

You obviously enjoy it, however you have let it take over. It would seem that you like writing, why not try devoting your energy into writing a book?
This could involve your family, give you some contact still with the computer but keep you off the net. i would suggest that you discuss this with your family and decide upon an amount of time that you can do this each day, with a couple of days that are non computer days.

Am afraid that this is not expert advice, addiction to anything is difficult to break. you are the only one who can decide to change what you do. Looking for help is a start but to implement a change must come from you. You need to reprogramme your habit and replace it with something you and your family will benefit from.
Good luck.

The none touch screen one.
Currently all my computers are broken, cept for my one running puppy. Can the reader digital book get book downloads from this computer?

I'm not intimately familiar with this device, but from what I have read, it should be detected as a Flash drive in Linux. As long as you know how to transfer files to it manually, it should work. There are programs available to manage it better in Linux, but I highly doubt anyone has built a package for Puppy yet.