Amazon Kindle Fire...no longer a rumor.

The wait is over! Amazon has entered the tablet market and they've done it with style. The Kindle Fire (I'll be calling it Fire from here on out) is a 7" tablet with respectable hardware specs although one significant missing spec is a camera. Amazon has streamlined the UI to be more consistent which is a frequent complaint about Android.

The nitty gritty is where this device gets really fun. Amazon has introduced a "split browser" that harnesses the strength and speed of Amazon's cloud computing (far too complicated to explain) to help render mobile web pages faster. This means that you're probably going to find pages loading faster on your tablet than your desktop or laptop. This is really good news and perhaps the single biggest advantage that Amazon is bringing to the user experience. This may be the reason that Fire is the proverbial "iPad killer" (although I think it just makes Apple work harder...which is good).

Some of the other awesome that was brought down from the Amazon gods is the improved and easy access to all of your content, from music to movies and books it's all simplified and unified in the Fire. Access to the Amazon Apps Market brings the flexibility, games, usability, and ease to your tablet and places you well ahead of Nook with access to a significantly larger library of apps. This is not a low grade tablet. This is a practical tablet with access to the fastest growing content library on the planet. This is something you need to get your gadget loving uncle, brother, sister, wife, husband. It's not as fancy as the iPad but what it lacks in fancy it more than makes up for in content, price, and simplicity. All of these can be found in the Gadgets section of my store so please go there to pre-order yours today.

UPDATE: There's a great video at Gizmodo showing the Fire in action.

BONUS:
To make today all the more exciting Amazon refreshed the entire Kindle eReader lineup with even better prices. Here's the breakdown:

Kindle: Newest version of the kindle without a keypad but still using buttons and smaller than the originals. $79 wifi only (ads) $109 (no ads).

Kindle Touch: Finally a touch screen. Doing away with the keypad and bringing you two choices. Wifi only $99(ads); wifi & 3G $149(ads). This is a big deal. Touch screens will make things easier, smaller, and ultimately more book-like.

Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card

I just finished another great book by Orson Scott Card. It's hard not to spoil the book in the review so I'll try and keep it short and let you pick it up at the library or using one of my links.

Let me first say that I am of the opinion that the Ender's Game Saga is without peer in science-fiction. That's saying a lot because there are plenty of science fiction writers that deserve praise and certainly Asimov is one of the most celebrated. But when you put it to me I think there isn't a better writer in science fiction today than Orson Scott Card. That said...this book is not science fiction.

In fact this is a continuation of Card's foray into Modern Day Fantasy, or fantasy/magic in modern days. It started with Enchantment (See all Contemporary Fantasy Books)  and continued with Magic Street (See all Fantasy Books). The Lost Gate is a continuation of that style and is perhaps the first book to capture my imagination since the Ender's Shadow series came out. It combines Card's notorious ethical dilemmas and his penchant for savant children. Danny, the main character is seemingly normal in every way...except that he is anything but normal even among his family, the Norths (or more precisely the Norse Gods). From beginning to end you are captured by the precocious nature of Danny North and his adventure through discovering his "affinity". When you are the child of a family of gods and two particularly strong ones much is expected...Danny delivers against all indications to the contrary. That is the magic of this great book.

Part of this book is a parallel story of a character named Wad of Dough...yup you read that right. Wad is a very unique character with immense purpose in the grander portrait that Card is setting up for the series of novels. Our first contact with him is as he emerges from an ancient oak tree. From that point you follow him as he grows from half-man/boy to mostly man and as he inserts himself into a complicated web of deceit of a kingdom struggling to overcome its decline.

The moral struggles of Danny, Wad, and other characters is fascinating and telling all at once. Despite many of the main characters being capricious gods (much like the Greek and Roman gods of lore) they have the characteristics of being very human and how they make decisions mirror ours in ways that are unexpected. Card makes the human condition apply to even the gods and in doing so he gives them a identity that you are certain to connect with.

I recommend this book to anyone who is into fantasy. I advise parents of young adults to read this before introducing it to your kids. There is certainly some adult content though not particularly tasteless or explicit and certainly not anything that wouldn't be seen on network TV in prime-time. That said it is a great book for teens. It identifies their struggles with everything from the opposite sex, to peer pressure, to dealings with adults/parents. Please don't hesitate to use the Amazon link to purchase your copy today. You won't be disappointed.

Book review: The Entrepreneur Equation

I was on Google+ today and read something by Carol Roth. While reading I was reminded of her book that I received as a gift from Erika Napoletano (redheadwriting.com). The Entrepreneur Equation was a great read and a really hard read for exactly the same reasons.

I was extremely excited to get this book from Erika because I've been thinking of getting my own business started and I thought this would give me insight into the process. I was right, but I'm afraid I'm not encouraged by the insight. Carol opened my eyes to what it means to be a business owner. The American Dream has been fed to us since we were little and no one ever tells you that 80% of people fail at the American Dream. They only tell you how this guy they know made it big selling widgets and now he lives in Tahiti or some exotic place all because he took a chance and now he's living the American Dream. It's just like magic...except it's not.

Carol opened my eyes to the impossibility of being a business owner and that those lucky enough to become successful are the exception and not the rule. There are few people who ever go into business with their eyes wide open. After reading The Entrepreneur Equation you won't have the luxury of closing your eyes ever again.

I won't go into the details. I will say that if you are serious about getting into business and think you have thought of everything you had better pick this book up and give it a good read. Do the thinking/decision exercises at the end of each chapter and then before you quit that day job read it again and if you still feel strongly about your idea then go for it...but plan on failing along the way...if you plan for it in advance you may just have a chance in the long run.

Pioneer week Challenge: Wrap Up

This post is about two weeks late but at least I'm getting to it now. If you didn't read my original post on the Pioneer Week Challenge now may be a good time to do that so that you understand what I'm talking about.
http://goo.gl/hrwri

Report

During the week we had planned to try some traditional Pioneer games. The kids were excited for the chance to try out some of those games (Marbles was a big hit). In addition to those games we played some of our board games and had a great time re-learning dusty games from our coat closet.

We also tried to eat meals that were more rustic. We cooked a couple of meals in Dutch Ovens and one meal on the grill. We also made our own butter. The kids really enjoyed shaking the heavy cream and were excited to try the butter on their homemade rolls. In fact we've found that if you buy your heavy cream at a reasonable price you can make your own butter for less than it sells in the stores. The added benefit being that you also have buttermilk as a byproduct for pancakes, scones, muffins etc.

I tried really hard to keep a pen and paper journal for the week. I didn't
do nearly as well as my wife (3 days to her 7) but it was interesting to see that my handwriting isn't nearly so bad as I had suspected it would be given how infrequently I write things down. I also tried to read more and finished a good book The Entrepreneur Equation by Carol Roth (review to follow).

We expected a lot of free time through the week and found that we didn't have near as much as we had planned. Which turned out to be a good thing. Below you'll find my thoughts on the results of the week as opposed to the activities.

Success

How does one judge success on something like a week without technology? "By their fruits shall ye know them". The fruit of our week without tech was promising. It showed me that my family is truly an Eternal Family. I saw my kids being more kind. I saw myself being more helpful to my wife. I saw my wife being happier. I saw my motivation to be better improved. In the end I feel like this is worthwhile and I would encourage everyone (with families or single) to try this Challenge.

FAIL

My participation in the Pioneer Week Challenge was limited. This means that I was able to access and attend to my technology habit at work. I was able to check email, Facebook, G+, Twitter, etc...and generally be connected to the world for the eight hours a day that I was at work. When the work day was over I was forced to cut out the phone, internet, TV, etc and become part of my most important social network, my family. The only failure of the week is that I wish I had the chance to eliminate tech from my life for the entire week like my kids and wife did. I feel like it would have made the week all the more important to me and my family. I feel so strongly about this that I'm considering taking a week off for the next Pioneer Week Challenge so that I can join my family in their tech deprivation.

Conclusion

The thing that I took from the Pioneer Week Challenge that sticks with me the most is that we live our lives full of distractions. Some of those distractions are necessary and part of the journey through life. Others are choices that we make. In large part technology is one of those choices. I'm not suggesting we all throw our tech in the garbage and drag out the horse and buggy. I am suggesting we find the distractions that we choose and decide if they make any sense.

Our screensaver for the week

Monkey makin' butter

"Cars" on the TV!

Pioneer Week Challenge: Can you live without it?

I'm a geek. I love all things technology and new-and-shiny. If it has buttons, batteries, or does something I could have done with my own two hands then I want it. I have an eight year old son who complains of being bored unless he's watching a movie, or playing a game on my laptop or Android phone. Technology is integrated into our lives in such a way as to make us appear to be the first iteration of the Jetson's. The only thing we lack is a robot maid (my wife is waiting for one). We document our life in an almost exclusively digital manner. Analog is something that my kids will likely never understand.

Recently this addiction came to a head with my son (and myself) being at the receiving end of some serious talk from my wife. It seems we neglect Real Life when we stare at our glowing screens. Who would have thought there was life outside of Lego.com, Google+/Facebook/Twitter, and Angry Birds? So my wife said we were going to have an entire day without computer, TV, or cellphones. Being the "good husband" that I want my wife to believe I am I one upped (+1) her and said we should do a whole week without technology. Talk about putting your foot in your mouth. That taste will never leave. Sooooo here's the deal:

We will be shutting down our technology consumption from Pioneer Day (July 24th for those not aware of Latter Day Saint celebrations) and conclude on Saturday (which just happens to be our Ward Pioneer Day celebration). What does shutting down mean? Well this means that we will not have our cellphones, our TV, our computer, running for the entire week. This could result in some serious energy savings for our family. The lesson we'd like to learn from this is that there is more to life than 0's and 1's arranged for our entertainment. We may take this to a new level and even do as much of our cooking using less conventional methods (i.e. Dutch Oven, BBQ grill, solar oven etc.). We will either come closer together by weeks end or we will not see the week end. In either event I feel strongly that it's going to be quite the adventure.

So now the challenge to all who are willing. Join us. Take the Pioneer Week Challenge and turn off the digital world as much as possible. Take out the things that distract you from your family and focus on things that bring you together. If you survive then you just might be a Forever Family.

Are you going to take the challenge? Leave your ideas for "Pioneer activities" in the comments section and we'll try and do some of them during our experiment. When it's all over I'll post a blog about our experience.

NOTE: We are so digital that our only phones are cellular style so if you need to get hold of us during this week you'll need to come by and talk to us in person.