Three quick blips for you this week - Glenn's appearance on the TechFlash podcast, a thought-provoking essay on the move away from "thingness," and some hard numbers on whether it's faster or slower to read on a device like an iPad or Kindle.

Glenn Fleishman on TechFlash about the iPhone and Kindle [1] -- Glenn Fleishman appears on this week's TechFlash podcast. Glenn talks about Apple's odd open letter on antennas, the potential for an iPhone that works with Verizon Wireless's network, and the place of the Kindle in the tablet future. TechFlash is a Seattle technology news site with a strong focus on original reporting.

Read/post comments [2]

It's the Internet, Stupid! [3] -- Blogger Mike Cane has a thought-provoking post about the move away from "thingness," whether you're talking about physical or electronic objects. As thingness becomes less important, he suggests, online access becomes far more important. After all, do people who have Netflix subscriptions still buy as many DVDs? We certainly don't. Worth a read - even if this isn't true of you now, we agree that the world is moving in this direction.

Read/post comments [4]

Jakob Nielsen Tests iPad and Kindle Reading Speeds [5] -- Do you read faster or slower on a device like an iPad or Kindle, in comparison with a physical book? The overall answer, according to usability expert Jakob Nielsen, is about 5 to 10 percent slower (with the same comprehension of what was read). That's statistically significant, though not all that much slower. (We suspect it may have to do with years of familiarity with the form factor of the book.) More interesting was that on a 1 to 7 scale, users rated their satisfaction at 5.8 for the iPad, 5.7 for the Kindle, and 5.6 for the physical book, with the traditional PC trailing behind at only 3.6.

Read/post comments [6]

[1]: http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/07/techflash_podcast_ep_22_wifi_iphone_4_amazon_rapping_monkeys.html
[2]: http://db.tidbits.com/article/11411#comments
[3]: http://ipadtest.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/its-not-the-device-or-the-file-its-the-internet-stupid/
[4]: http://db.tidbits.com/article/11407#comments
[5]: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/ipad-kindle-reading.html
[6]: http://db.tidbits.com/article/11408#comments

Permanent article URL: http://db.tidbits.com/article/11412
This is a specially formatted version of this TidBITS article that removes colors, and optionally removes images; it's designed to minimize the use of ink and paper.
Unless otherwise noted, this article is copyright © 2010 TidBITS Publishing, Inc.. TidBITS is copyright © 2008 TidBITS Publishing Inc. Reuse governed by this Creative Commons License: http://www.tidbits.com/terms/.