Analysis: Amazon’s major instance of accidental irony leaves many Kindle owners and would-be owners feeling spooked, and the goof convinces one reader not to buy a Kindle.
Archive for March, 2009
I have never considered myself a spy novel reader. I’ve always been a fan of espionage on the big screen–hooked since the first time I heard the words “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die,” in fact–but I admit to being intimidated by spy novels. I imagined them as too dense and loaded with acronyms for the novice reader, and requiring advanced knowledge at best and homework at worst. So, it was with some trepidation that I prepared for an author visit from Daniel Silva. I nervously cracked open my copy of The Defector–and was promptly lost to the world. I had to force myself to put it down at two in the morning so I could get some sleep. I picked it up first thing in the morning and read as I walked to the office. And in between meetings at work. And on the bus on the way to dinner with the author. When someone at dinner started talking about the ending, I literally stuck my fingers in my ears and hummed to myself. This is all to say that it has been a long time since I’ve been as taken with, or surprised by a book as I was with The Defector. I encourage those of you, like me, who have enjoyed Bond, Bourne, or Bristow on the screen, but never made the leap to the page, to give Silva a shot (I’m sure Fleming or Ludlum fans will have some recommendations as well). Gabriel Allon is one hell of an interesting character (learn more about the artist/assassin in an exclusive essay from Silva), and the best news is that once you are hooked, there are eight other books in the series to keep you occupied for the rest of the summer.
I’ll leave you with my review for The Defector, and encourage spy thriller fans out there to please send me recommendations, because I for one, am sold on the genre.
Amazon Best of the Month, July 2009: “If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.” The ninth book in Daniel Silva’s smart, fast-paced series about enigmatic assassin and art restorer Gabriel Allon begins with an epigraph courtesy of Machiavelli. A fitting start to a twisty spy thriller chock full of clandestine meetings, tenuous alliances, and ruthless men. The beauty of Silva’s series is that it is easy on acronyms and byzantine operations (so you don’t have to be a spy novel aficionado to enjoy it), and each book gives you a discreet rundown on familiar characters and back-stories (so you don’t have to start at the beginning). In The Defector, the disappearance of Russian defector and dissident Grigori Bulganov draws Gabriel out of semi-retirement and into the path of Ivan Kharkov, the former KGB agent and Russian oligarch from Moscow Rules. Exotic locales, intriguing characters, and a breakneck pace make for a riveting summer read. — Daphne Durham
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Thoughts on the new Kindle DX. Comment!
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Earlier this week I received an early copy of Paul Shaffer's upcoming memoir, We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives, and devoured this star-studded "swingin' showbiz saga" in one sitting. Breezy and bursting with boldfaced names and industry dish, Shaffer shares how a kid from Thunder Bay, Ontario, grew up to get a gig as David Letterman's bandleader (with stops as SNL's first musical director, working with the Blues Brothers, penning the disco hit "It's Raining Men,"and appearing in This Is Spinal Tap along the way).
As a life-long Letterman fan (I remember watching his1980 NBC morning show(!) and spent far too many pre-VCR school nights staying up until 12:30AM to catch him) I smiled in recognition as Shaffer reminisced about classic Letterman moments Larry "Bud" Melman trying to read a French edition of The Night Before Christmas, Sonny and Cher performing "I Got You Babe" in an impromptu reunion, Darlene Love's annual rendition of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," and accidentally drawing blood from Mel Gibson during a bit called "May We Turn Your Pants Into Shorts?"
The book is filled with plenty of "Page Six"-style memories of Eric Clapton, Jerry Lewis, Phil Spector, Richard Belzer, Mr. Blackwell, Gilda Radner, and Martin Short but one of my favorites is Shaffer's "Sammy story." Shaffer was coordinating a Letterman appearance with one of his idols, the great Sammy Davis, Jr. ("Schmuel, it's Paul Shaffer." "Paul, what's shaking, baby?"). Shaffer, worrying too much about arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Once In My Life," insists, after much protesting from Sammy, on playing a recording of the horn arrangement for him prior to the show. After listening, Sammy says: "It's swinging, but think of how much more fun we could have had if I hadn't heard this tape."
Recommended for fans of Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life and Rickles' Book: A Memoir
–BTP
The Moxi DVR and its new extender (right), the Moxi Mate.
(Credit: Digeo)
When we last heard from Digeo in April, the company was adding several digital media extras to its flagship Moxi DVR. Flash forward to August, and the company is back with more updates, the biggest of which is a new hardware announcement. The Moxi Mate is an “extender” that adds multiroom capability to any household with a Moxi DVR. The box is basically a thin client (no hard drive) that can access recorded content from the main Moxi, as well as all of the system’s online and home networking digital extensions (Rhapsody, PC-based media streaming, PlayOn content such as Netflix and Hulu, and so forth).
Sounds great, but there are some significant caveats that prospective buyers should know. Most importantly: the Moxi Mate can’t currently support the streaming of live TV–only programs that you’ve previously recorded on the main Moxi DVR. And while you could theoretically have several Moxi Mates in a household, Digeo currently supports only one of them streaming from the main Moxi at a time. It also doesn’t autoresume recorded programs where you’ve left them on the main Moxi; you’ll have to fast-forward back to the location. Of course, all of these issues could possibly be addressed in future firmware updates–but those are the product’s initial notable limitations. The other big deal: the Mate doesn’t have a built-in Wi-Fi connection, so you’ll need to supply an Ethernet network connection. On the plus side: the video streaming is said to be nearly instantaneous, unlike TiVo’s multiroom solution, which requires the video files to be copied to the hard drive in another room first prior to viewing.
Speaking of firmware updates: the latest Moxi update (being pushed out to DVR owners between now and the end of the week) adds a variety of small upgrades. Among them:
…
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Amazon releases a new Kindle device which could change the future for both textbook and newspaper readers. Newsy.com takes a look at the buzz.
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To mark its 40th anniversary, Nerf sent us a small arsenal of weapons stocked with foam ammo. When this package landed in PC World’s intern pen, how could hostilities not ensue?
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Translator
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