After the death of Steve Jobs in 2011, Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos inherited the mantle as the tech world’s smartest CEO. He’s built his empire by making Amazon.com the 600-pound gorilla of online shopping, and by using his company’s Internet prowess to developping a cloud platform for Businesses That Can handle everything from computing and storage to databases and networking.
Apple’s late CEO was better at coming up with winning products: The iPod, iPhone and iPad were all Jobs’ brain children. In That area, Bezos Has a hit-or-miss track record. Amazon Fire tablets have been doomed by the company’s proprietary app store, Which Does not measure up to the Android and Apple stores. And Amazon’s attempt at a smartphone disappeared soon after it was released, making it one of the biggest busts of its kind.
There is, however, one Amazon device That is so good That It has defined an entire category : The Kindle e-reader – distilled over the years into the best-selling Paperwhite model – dominates the e-book market dominates like Kleenex facial tissue. The little 6-inch Paperwhite, now in its third generation, far outsells its competition, survived the tablet scare and put itself in the position to ask the load reader standing When digital books Eventually supplant Their printed counter-party.
Big book publishers have been reporting a drop in e-book sales, but that’s probably due to an Increase in e-book prices, Which the publishers themeselves orchestrated. Best-selling books on Amazon used to go for $ 9.99, but in 2014 the publishers wrested control of pricing from online Distributors, and $ 12.99 Became The New $ 9.99. Once the sticker shock fades, e-book sales Should Resume Their Climb – while sales of printed books will continue to shrink.
But I digress. The Fact Is that the Kindle Paperwhite May well be the most nearly perfect consumer device. It really does make reading a pleasure. The lighted, nonglare screen works in any lighting conditions, and every action except turning the device on and off is built into the touchscreen. You can swipe a finger to turn pages, long-press words or phrases to view dictionary definitions and Wikipedia entries, create and share notes, and quickly conduct Searches. There’s even a feature That Helps you build your vocabulary. And the best part Is that the battery lasts for weeks on a single charge.
The latest Paperwhite ($ 120, or $ 140 for one without ads on the lockscreen) HAS twice the screen resolution of the first version , as well as a new type font called Bookerly That Amazon Designed to Improve the digital reading experience (and Reduce eye strain).
The reason I’m writing this now Is that the Paperwhite makes a great holiday gift – especially for someone who does not read much, Because it can open the door to a whole new world of entertainment and learning.
Q: Thank you for your recentchanges column explaining Wi-Fi Routers . At our house we have a Comcast Xfinity Gateway Modem / Router, Which we use for our Internet, TV and phone. It’s in our home office upstairs, and the Wi-Fi signal is spotty Downstairs at the other end of the house. What can I do to ENSURE a strong signal throughout the house?
A: You’re kind of stuck with the Xfinity equipment, Because it’s hard to find routers That can handle phone service as well as the Internet.
The Xfinity Gateway, you have probably is a dual-band model, Which Means it tran Smits Wi-Fi at bothering 2.4 and 5 gigahertz. The 2.4 signal – Normally the default – Has a longer range, but it can be compromised by neighboring networks as well as devices in the home That Share the 2.4 band, including cordless phones and microwave ovens. So try connecting phones, laptops, etc. to the less-congested 5GHz band (f They have That capability).
If That does not work, get a dual-band network range extender, Which you can plug into an outlet somewhere between the router and the rooms That are not getting a strong signal. Thatshould do the trick.
Q: I want to use a sound clip from an MP3 song as a ringtone. What’s the Easiest way to do that?
A: Download Audacity (from www.audacityteam.org), a free audio editing and recording software for Windows PCs, Macs and Linux. It has lots of features and can be intimidating on first blush, but you can simply use the Select and Cut tools to truncate a song or cut out a section of it for a ringtone. After saving the selection, you’ll have to export it as an MP3, but that’s overpriced easy.
Got a question about computing? E-mail David Einstein at einstein.dave@gmail.com.
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