Koozie Notes

MIT Technology Review: Now on Kindle

By recently adding "MIT Technology Review", a new magazine Kindle magazine subscription (No price listed as of 30 MAY 2008 @ 1543 CST), Amazon bumps up their magazine subscription offerings to 16.

-Chris

International Herald Tribune: New Newspaper Addition for Kindle

By recently adding "International Herald Tribune", a $9.99 Kindle newspaper subscription, Amazon bumps up their newspaper subscription offerings to 19.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm still surprised that USA Today hasn't jumped on board with the Kindle.

-Chris

Amazon Knocks $40 Off Kindle

While browsing Amazon today, I notice that they knocked off $40 on a new Kindle.  That would set the new price at $359.00.

I went ahead and submitted a $40 refund request.  The pains of early adopting.

-Chris

UPDATE:
Since my Kindle ordered shipped within 30 days, I was eligible for a $40 refund. Yeah!

Kindle Sales Article: 10,000 to 30,000 Sold

Well, I came across another article trying to figure out how many Kindles Amazon has sold or will sell in the near future.  Some of methods used by the author for determining success -- since Amazon has been so tight lipped about the subject -- is listed below.

1. Kindle ranked #1 in electronics
2. The number of Amazon reviews for the Kindle top 2,500
3. Quality of reviews for the Kindle
4. The fact that Steve Gibson's review had been reviewed by over 27,000 people.

So, base on this criteria, they think Amazon has sold between 10,000 to 30,000 Kindles.

-Chris

How to Install QuickBooks Pro 2005 on Windows XP

If you ever had to reinstall QuickBooks Pro 2005 on Windows XP, you may have come across the following error message.

Error Installing Flash 7

My solution to get around this install problem is to first, make sure you have a current version of flash installed on the computer.  Next, run the msi package located on the QuickBooks 2005 CDROM at

D:\QBooks\QuickBooks.msi

instead of the default

D:\setup.exe

in the root directory of the CDROM.  Note:  on this machine the CDROM drive maps to D:, but that might not be the same for every computer, so change the drive letter accordingly.

After that successfully installs, be prepared to spend over an hour trying to download and install all the necessary updates from Intuit.  File--> Update QuickBooks...

Good Luck.

-Chris

Telemarketing to Cell Phones

Don't you hate it when telemarketers call you on your cell phone? This morning [14 MAY 2008 @ 09:45 am CST] I received another one, claiming I was eligible for some sort of credit offer.

I went ahead and posted my experience to 800notes.com.  The caller-id on my cell phone read (850) 433-1850.

Also, I have filed a complaint with the National Do Not Call Registry.

-Chris

Missed Sunday's Paper

With any new technology, problems tend to crop up from time to time and the Kindle is no different.  This past Sunday, my Kindle did not greet me with my copy of the Austin American-Statesman.  After making sure that I wasn't at fault, like forgetting to turn on Whispernet, I emailed Amazon's customer support team about the my problem and part of their response is listed below.

I have researched this issue and have verified that there has been a delay in the delivery of today's edition of this newspaper. It appears that our developers discovered an error in the file that we received from the publisher of this newspaper, and they are currently working to resolve this situation.

As of 13th, I still do not have a copy of Sunday's paper.  I even went so far as checking my media library on Amazon to see if Sunday's edition was available for download.  No dice.  Oh well, I'll mark this up under early adopter pain.

-Chris

Kindle Rejection Letter: Scholastic & Harry Potter

Today, I received my first Kindle rejection letter from Scholastic.

In early May, I sent out a few letters to publishers and authors asking them to consider publishing some of their work in the Kindle format.  Like most readers and Kindle owners, I already have copies of my favorite books and so my letters were geared toward getting my *favorites* on my Kindle.

Well, Scholastic sent me a standard form letter with a pithy reply.

"___X___  it isn't available at this time through Kindle."

--Chris

Update - 2nd Rejection Letter

Links to stories/updates regarding the possibility of see Harry Potter series as an e-book.

1. Harry Potter and his wizarding chums may be about to make a digital publishing leap.
2. J.K. Rowling has not permitted any of the six Potter books to be released in electronic form, not even during the peak of the e-book craze a few years ago.
3. Neil Blair, a lawyer from Rowling's literary agency, told Associated Press reporters Sunday that no Harry Potter E-Book editions, of the new book or of any works in the series, are scheduled for the foreseeable future.
4. Harry Potter e-Book Scam

How to Jump Around a Kindle E-Book

Before I found this trick, I found it difficult to navigate around any lengthy document on my Kindle, such as 1,000 page book.  To speed up your browsing, try this cool ruler trick to move around quickly. [http://brentnewhall.com/kindlefanguide.html]

1. Jump into a book on your Kindle.
2. Move the select wheel next to the [........], near the bottom of the screen.
3. Click the scroll wheel.
4. Press a number to jump to that position of the book.  Pressing 4 will put you at the 40% location and pressing 8 will move you to 80%.

Of course, pressing ALT + Next Page will move you 5% forward without having to select the position location bar [.......].

-Chris

Kindle Keyboard Shortcuts

I will be using this post as a collection point for useful Kindle keyboard shortcuts.

1. Check Time:  ALT + T
2. Jump ahead or back by 5%:  ALT + Next Page or ALT + Previous Page
3. Bookmark Current Page: ALT + B

Other cool Kindle hacks, like changing the default screen-saver, can be found at [http://igorsk.blogspot.com/].

-Chris