Sunday, June 13, 2010

Andrew Marvell - marvelous poems

The beauty of the English language never ceases to amaze. I came across the poems by Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) - even after so many years, see the power of the words...

From 'The Garden"

Meanwhile the Mind, from pleasure less,
Withdraws into its happiness:
The Mind, that Ocean where each kind
Does streight its own resemblance find;
Yet it creates, transcending these,
Far other Worlds, and other Seas;
Annihilating all that's made
To a green Thought in a green Shade.


From "To his coy mistress"

But at my back I always hear
Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found,
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song: then worms shall try
That long preserved virginity,
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust:
The grave's a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace.


Friday, June 4, 2010

Kindle is dead - Long live the iPad


After two months of using the iPad as an ebook reader, here is my conclusion - the iPad is definitely better than the Kindle for reading ebooks.

Reasons:

(a) Ease of use - flipping the pages is such an experience, that one would want to just keep doing that....
(b) Pictures and tables are hundred times better in the iPad - especially the ability to zoom; for technical books Kindle is such a pain
(c) Battery charge lasts long enough - though iPad battery does not last as long as the Kindle, over 10 hrs of use time from one charge is good enough
(d) Magazines in the iPad - wow!!!! Just try National Geographic in the iPad using software like Zinio - looks even better than the print edition

Now, if you consider the other uses of iPad as a tablet, why would anyone carry the Kindle when the iPad can do it all.

Btw, I own three Kindles - any buyers out there?