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.