Kindle and Annotation

[Janice in NJ]

I posted this on the General Boards, but didn't receive a response. Info?

 

I was reading about the Kindle last week. How do they handle annotation? Do they store your notes for you? Can you turn that feature off and back them up yourself?

 

If so, how does that work? It seems like a list of notes would be useless unless they were linked to the actual word/sentence.

 

I'm concerned about privacy issues. From what I was reading it looks like a "feature" with the Kindle - you can read/share what other people think; but I don't want to share my notes with the world.

 

Info?

 

Thanks,

Janice

[Lan]

Janice,

 

There are bunch of Kindle forums if you google it. They might be able to answer your questions. I got mine last Friday and was surprised it showed most highlighted sentences. I got mixed feelings about it. Interesting to see what other people thought worth underline but I'm not sure I want to share it with others.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

You can indeed turn the sharing off, which is one of the first things I did.

 

The notes are stored for you in your Kindle, not online (although it's an option). Since I have a Kindle 3, and I turn Wireless off, there's no way for my device to contact the Amazon site. And still, I have my annotations in there.

 

The annotations are linked to the text. A little number in superscript is added to the text to tell you there's an annotation.

[Tullia]

Thanks for the tip; I have mixed feelings about this feature too. Turning it off is easy; from the home page, select the menu and then "settings" from there go to "annotations backup" (found on page 2 of settings for Kindle 3) and select "turn off". The only downside I see is that while your annotations will still be stored on your device you'd lose them if your device fails. I'm pretty sure that it's possible to do your own backups, but I haven't explored that process yet. (I've only had my Kindle for a few weeks.)

 

ETA: Privacy issues are a downside for gadgets which communicate with other devices or which are often exchanged instead of being serviced. YMMV.

Edited December 7, 2010 by Martha in NM

[Janice in NJ]

That's what I thought. OK. Back to being content with my paper books. Yes, I could lose ALL of my notes if the house burned down. But that hasn't happened yet, although I've had plenty of electronic disasters. It takes me hours to annotate a book so I feel comfortable teaching it. And then I NEED those notes for the next go-round with the next kid; there's no way I would want to lose those notes. AND there is no way I would want to share them; I'd be dubbed a nut-case. (Can you say "Unbridled SARCASM!!!!!????!!!")

 

Bummer. It's like Facebook for intellectual property. EVERYONE wants to build a database. A good friend offered up a wise assessment last month. "If there's no cost for a service you are receiving, then YOU are the product, Janice." OK. I get it.

 

THANKS MUCH! I can stop drooling and go back to sifting through the pulped trees on my nightstand.

 

Peace,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

[Hunter]

I've lost ALL my books as an adult twice, and several times as a child.

 

I have both electronic and hardcopy books and neither feels safe. I have had to learn to deal with not feeling safe, and having to start over with less, much less. But...that itself is an opportunity to learn...so...

 

Right now...I have to say my current collection of books, all in all, is the nicest I've ever had :-)

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

I just checked and the notes I take on an Amazon-bought book are indeed saved on my computer (where I can back them up) through the use of Kindle for PC.

[Tullia]

There are other options for ereaders that might be a better fit. I found this article about privacy issues:

 

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/12/e-book-privacy

 

and from the same site a comparison chart:

 

http://www.eff.org/files/ebook-privacy2.png

 

I do have to say that reading the rumor about Kindle possibly including a GPS in the device has me looking suspiciously at my new toy. I've heard they make Faraday cages for cell phones--now I'm wondering if there's one available for Kindle. O tempora, O mores. "YOU are the product..." Sad, but true.

 

ETA: about the Faraday cage...I was mostly (but not entirely) joking. OTOH, don't want to make light of privacy issues.

Edited December 8, 2010 by Martha in NM
clumsy attempt at humor

[Tullia]

I just checked and the notes I take on an Amazon-bought book are indeed saved on my computer (where I can back them up) through the use of Kindle for PC.

 

Thanks for the tips, Cleo. I'm not much of a techie, and hate to bug my dh and ds to help me with research. Neither of them have or want e-readers. --Martha

[Susan C.]

Janice,

We would want your notes!!! LOL

 

Big toothy smiley (I don't know how to do it).

[Janice in NJ]

:D Right back at ya, Susan! Wouldn't it be fun to peek under the lid of other people's hsing? Actually I'm not sure my notes would make sense. Lots of abbreviations and references to other things I have read with page numbers of other books where there are more notes.

 

They would make no sense to someone else. Why would people want someone else's scribbles. There is NOTHING coherent about mine. They are primarily only a string of electric shocks to trigger something else. :confused:

 

Thanks for the hug, Susan!

 

Peace to you and yours,

Janice