trios kindle users guide (25-09-2010) -...

triOSCollegeKindleDXUsersGuideThetriOSCollegeNetworkEngineerprogramuses18setsoftextbookswithover7000pagesperstudent.ByusingeBooksandeBookreadersintheclassroom,1000NetworkEngineerstudentssave840treesandthousandsoflitresofgasolineforshipping‐dramaticallycuttingdownonenvironmentalimpact.Wecareabouttheenvironment.

TABLEOFCONTENTS

Section1:BackgroundInformation

1.1WhatareeBooks?1.2WhatisaneBookreader?1.3WhatistheKindleDX?1.4WhyshouldcollegesmovetoeBooks?1.5UnderstandingeBookFormats

Section2:TheeBookExperience

2.1UnpackingandsettingupyourKindle2.2Obtainingyourtextbooks2.3CopyingtextbookstoyourKindle2.4NavigatingyourKindleintheclassroom2.5NavigatingyourKindleathome2.6UsingyourKindleforleisurereading2.7KindleDXkeyboardshortcuts

1.1WhatareeBooks?Electronicbooks(eBooks)aredigitalbooksthatarereadonelectronicdevicessuchascomputers,smartphones,PDAs,oreBookreaders.

1.2WhatisaneBookreader?AneBookreaderisadevicethatusesanelectronicink(e‐ink)display.UnlikeLCDscreensoncomputers,e‐inkdisplayssimulatethelookofpaperandcanbereadinallnormallightconditions(evenoutside,sunglarepreventstheuseofanLCDdisplayonalaptopcomputer).Inaddition,e‐inkdoesnotrequireelectricitytoholdanimageonthescreen.E‐inkonlyusesasmallamountofelectricitytopaintandrepaintimagesonthescreenfortheusertoread(i.e.turningthepage).ThismakeseBookreadersthemostenergy‐efficientmethodofreadingeBooks.MosteBookreaderscanturnmanythousandsofpagesonasinglebatterycharge.NOTE:TherearesomedevicesonthemarkettodaythatusecolourLCD/LEDbacklitdisplaysinsteadofe‐inkdisplays,suchastheAppleiPad.Inmostcases,themanufacturersofthesedevicesadvertisethemaseBookreaders.However,unlikee‐inkdisplays,LCD/LEDdisplaysdonotreplicatethelookofprintedbooksinanylightcondition,andoftenproduceaglareorrefreshratethatgivesreadersaheadacheandwateryeyesafterashorttimeofreading.ThisisbecauseLCD/LEDbacklitdisplaysaredesignedforbrowsingtheInternet,playinggamesandworkingwithdocuments–allofwhichdonotrequiretheconstanteyefocusandrepetitionthatisnormallyneededwhenreadingabookortextbook.Asaresult,werecommendthatyouavoidusingthesedevicestoreadeBooksandinsteaduseagreyscalee‐inkdisplay(coloure‐inkdisplayswilleventuallybedevelopedinthecomingyears).

1.3WhatistheKindleDX?TheKindleDXisAmazon’slarge‐screeneBookreaderdevice.Itboastsahigh‐resolution9.7”e‐inkdisplay.AmazonhaspioneeredtheeBookreadermarket;asaresult,theKindleholdsaverydominantpositioninthismarketsimilartothewaythattheiPodholdsadominantpositionintheMP3playermarket.ForresterResearchpegsAmazon'sshareofthemarkettodayatover60%.

1.4WhyshouldcollegesmovetoeBooks?ThereareseveralreasonswhyeBooksshouldplayanimportantroleinthefutureforeducationalinstitutions:• eBooksdramaticallycutdownonenvironmentalimpact.ThetriOSCollegeNetwork

Engineerprogramaloneuses18setsoftextbooksandcoursewaretotalingwellover7000pagesperstudent.AssuminganaveragepapersizeofA4(letter),1000NetworkEngineerstudentswouldsaveover840trees(24trees/tonne,200,000sheetsofA4/tonne)andmanythousandsoflitresofgasoline(usedtoshipthebooks)byusingeBooks.

• eBookscutdownonproblemsrelatedtobookdistribution.ShippingdelayscausedattheU.S.‐Canadaborderwon’taffecteBookdelivery,andyouonlyneedtovisitthebookstoreoncetopickupyourKindle.AlleBooksaredistributedviathetriOSStudentWeb.

• eBookreaderscanalsobeusedtodisplayclasshandouts.Thiscutsdownonclassphotocopyingandprinting,time,andassociatedenvironmentalimpact.

ManyeducationalinstitutionshavealreadystartedusingeBookswithintheircurriculum.ThemostnotableoftheseisPrincetonUniversity,whostartedaKindlepilotprograminSeptember2009withthegoalofeliminatingpaperwithintheclassroom.InOntario,triOSCollegewasthefirstcollegetopilotagreenprogramusingtheAmazonKindleDXeBookreader.FollowingisapictureoftheveryfirstpilotgroupatthetriOSKitchenerCampus:

1.5UnderstandingeBookFormatsUnderstandingthedifferenteBookformatsthatareavailable,willallowyoutomaximizetheuseofyourKindlebothwithintheclassroomandoutsidetheclassroom.• Mobipocket(*.mobior*.prc)

TheMobipocketformatisapowerfulopeneBookstandardthatisbasedonXHTML.ItsupportsJavaScript,frames(tables),andembeddedSQLqueriesforusewithdatabases.TheKindlenativelysupportsMobipocketformat.

• Kindleformat(*.azw)ThisformatisessentiallyaMobiPocketformatwiththehighcompressionsettingand(optionally)Amazon’sDigitalRightsManagement(DRM).DRMontheKindleisassociatedwiththeDeviceIDoftheKindle.YoucanassociatemultipleKindleDeviceIDswithyourAmazon.comaccountname,whichallowsyoutoreadKindleeBookswithDRMonmultipleKindledevicesassociatedwithyourAmazon.comaccount.

ItisimportanttonotethatKindleformatdoesnotneedtoincludeDRM.WithoutDRM,Kindle*.azwfilescansimplyberenamedwiththe*.mobior*.prcextensionandbeusedbyotherdevicesorconvertedtootherformats.

Additionally,youcanalsoinstallKindleeBookreadersonyourPC,Mac,BlackBerryoriPhone,associatethemwithyourAmazon.comaccount,andreadyourKindleDRM‐protectedfiles.

• PlainText(*.txtor*.rtf)Thisistheeasiestformattodisplayanydocument,butdoesn’tsupportforDRM,differentfontsorgraphics.AlleBookreaderssupportthisformatnatively.

• HTML(*.html)Thisformatcanbeusedtodisplaydifferentfontsizes,pageelements(i.e.tables)andgraphicsasdoesanyWebpage,however,DRMisnotsupported.MosteBookreaderssupportHTMLnatively,buttheactuallookofthecontentwillvary.

• InternationalDigital(*.epub)ThisisarelativelyneweBookformatbasedonXMLthathassimilarfeaturestoMobipocketandhassupportforDRM.Mostnon‐KindleeBookreaders(suchastheSonyeBookReader)havenativesupportforepubfiles.AlthoughtheKindledoesnotsupportepubfilesnatively,youcanstillobtainnon‐DRM*.epubfilesandconvertthemforfreetoKindleformatusinganopensourceprogramcalledCalibre.

CalibreisfreelyavailableforWindows,Macintosh,andLinuxplatformsfromhttp://calibre‐ebook.com/andcanbeusedtoconvertbetweendozensofdifferenteBookformats.

• AdobePortableDocument(*.pdf)PDFisthecurrentstandardusedforpublishingdocumentsofanytype.ItallowsforDRMaswellasembeddedfontsandpage/graphicalelements.Asaresult,PDFformattedfileslookthesamewhenviewedonanydevice.AlthoughtheKindle2containsarobustPDFreader,itonlysupportsnon‐DRMPDFs.

Wehavechosennon‐DRMPDFsasourpublishingformatforseveralreasons:• PDFisthede‐factostandardinthepublishingindustry• PDFeBookslookexactlyastheylookinprintedformat(includingtextbook

elementssuchasNotes,Warnings,Figures,andTables).eBooksinothereBookformatsareviewedinapage‐by‐pagefashion,buttheamountoftextdisplayedoneachpageisnotstaticallysetaswithPDFs.Instead,itisdeterminedbytheusersettings(textsizeandnumberofwordsdisplayedperline).Asaresult,itisdifficultforaninstructortoadvisestudentsto“turntopage42”whenusingnon‐PDFeBooks.WhenusingPDFeBooks,page42willalwayslookthesameregardlessofwhatisusedtodisplaythePDF.

• DRMisdesignedtoputbarriersthatpreventusersfromobtainingcontent(i.e.music,movies,text),typicallybyencryptingthecontentssothatpeoplewithdecryptiondevicescanaccessit.Today,mostDRMrequiresthatyouhaveInternetaccesstoobtainthedecryptionkeysforyourcontent,andeachDRMproviderusesaproprietarymethodtoperformDRM.TheuseofDRMiscontroversial,andinpractice,allwidely‐usedDRMsystemsareeventuallydefeatedorcircumvented.Inessence,DRMplacesrestrictionsonviewingbooksthatwouldhindertheuseofeBooksinanacademicenvironment.WewillonlypurchaseeBooksforstudentuseprovidedthattherearenousagerestrictionsandthecontentisavailableforuseforever(i.e.you’llstillbeabletoreadnon‐DRMPDFsin20years).

Althoughwewillusenon‐DRMPDFswithintheclassroomfortextbooks,youcanstillusepersonaleBooksonyourKindleinanyoftheformatslistedabove.Additionally,theuseofnon‐DRMeBooksdoesnotrestrictyoufromusingothereBookreaders,PCs,Macs,ormobiledevicestoviewtextbookcontent.

2.1UnpackingandsettingupyourKindleYourKindleDXcomesinacompactpackagethatincludestheactualKindleunitaswellasthefollowing: AUSBcablethatplugsintotheKindle(mini‐USB)andintothePC/Mac(USB) A2‐prongplugadapterthatconnectstotheUSBcableforquickchargingviaa

standardpoweroutlet

WhenyourKindleunitisshipped,itisnotcharged.ConnecttheUSBcableand2‐prongplugadaptertoyourKindleandstandardpoweroutletandallowittofullychargebeforeyourfirstuse(theledlightneartheUSBportontheKindlewillbeGREENwhenthechargeiscomplete).OnceyouhavefullychargedyourKindle,youcanturniton(usingtheslidebuttonatthetopoftheKindle)andnavigateitsinterface.LocatethefollowingkeysonyourKindleDX:

• HOME,whichbringsyoutotheHomescreenontheKindle

• 5‐wayjoystick,whichnavigatestheKindleinterfacelikeamouse(clickingthe5‐wayjoystickselectsanitem)

• NEXTPAGE,whichadvancestothenextpagewithinabookorthenextpageofbooksonyourHomescreen

• PREVPAGE,whichreturnstothepreviouspagewithinabookorthepreviouspageofbooksonyourHomescreen

• Aa,whichallowsyoutoselecttextsize,words‐per‐page,screenposition,andtext‐to‐speechoptions

• MENU,whichbringsupacontext‐sensitivemenudependingonyourcurrentselection

• BACK,whichreturnstothepreviousconfigurationiteminamenuscreenBydefault,yourKindlecomeswithasinglebook:theKindleUsersGuide.Usethe5‐wayjoysticktonavigatetothisbookonyourHomescreenandclickittostartreading.Whilereadingthisbook,experimentwiththekeysdescribedaboveatminimum.ReturntoyourHomescreenwhenfinished.

Next,youcanpersonalizeyourKindlebynavigatingtoMENUkey>Settingsasshowntotheright.ThefirstitemthatyouneedtoconfigureatthisscreenisyourKindleregistration.IfyourKindlewasalreadyregisteredtosomeoneelse,youmustfirstde‐registeryourKindlebeforeregisteringit.RegisteringyourKindleallowsyoutoattachyourKindletoafreeAmazonuseraccount(neededifyouwishtopurchasebooksfromtheAmazonbookstoreorbrowsetheWeb).IfyoudonothaveanAmazonuseraccount,youcancreateoneeasilyonyourKindleorbyvisitinghttp://www.amazon.com.

NOTE:IfyousetadevicepasswordattheSettingsscreenshownabove,youwillneedtosupplythispasswordeachtimeyouwishtouseyourKindle.Thisdelaymaybeahindrancewithintheclassroom–asaresult,werecommendthatyoudonotsetadevicepasswordonyourKindle.OnceyouhaveregisteredyourKindle,presstheNEXTPAGEbuttontoadvancetothenextpageofsettingsasshowntotheleft.Next,youcancustomizeyourKindledevice’sname,theemailaddressthatisattachedtoyourfreeAmazonaccountaswellasanypersonalinformation.

Finally,youshouldturnoffyourwirelessconnection(MENUkey>TurnWirelessOff)topreservebatterypower.Whenthewirelessconnectionison,thebatteryontheKindlelastsafewdayscomparedtoafewweeksifthewirelessconnectionisturnedon.WerecommendthatyouchargeyourKindleatleastonceperweekifyourwirelessconnectionisturnedoff.NOTE:YourKindleDXcomeswitha1‐yearwarrantythatisprovidedbyAmazon.IfyourKindleDXhasadefect(notcausedbydeviceabuse),simplycontactAmazonsupporttoarrangeforareplacement:

Web:http://amazon.com/kindlesupportEmail:kindle‐cs‐support@amazon.comPhone:1‐866‐321‐8851

IfyousupplyAmazonwithacreditcardnumber,areplacementKindleDXandpre‐paidreturnpackagingforthedefectiveKindlewillarriveatyourhomeinabout2‐3days.YourcreditcardisrefundedforallcostsonceAmazonreceivesthedefectiveKindle(2‐3daysafteryoushipthedefectiveKindlebackinthepre‐paidpackaging).Ifyoudonothaveacreditcardnumber,consultyourCampusDirectortoarrangeforawarrantyreturnviathecampus–however,thismethodmaytakeupto1week.WhilewaitingforareplacementKindleDX,youcanviewyoureBookPDFsonyourclassandhomePC/MacusingafreePDFreader.TwocommonfreePDFreadersinclude:

AdobeAcrobatReader(http://get.adobe.com/reader/)FoxITPDFReader(http://www.foxitsoftware.com/downloads/).

2.2ObtainingyourtextbooksToensureefficienttextbookdistribution,thetriOSStudentWebhasasectionthatallowsyoutoobtaintheeBooksforyourcourse.TheeBookforyourcoursewillbeavailablestartingtheFridaybeforethebeginningofthecourseandwillremainavailablefordownloaduntiltheendofthecourse.NOTE:YoucandownloadyoureBookupto3timesduringyourcourse.SimplylogintoyourtriOSStudentWeb(http://www.trioscollege.com/studentweb)andviewyourschedule.UnderneaththeappropriatecourseonyourscheduleisalinktodownloadtheeBookforyourcourseasshownbelow:

Whenyouclickthee‐BookDownloadlinkshownabove,youwillbepromptedtoacceptalicenseagreementbeforethedownloadbegins.AfterdownloadingyoureBook,wehighlyrecommendthatyoubackupyoureBookstoensurethattheyarenotlostintheeventofaharddiskfailureonyourPC/Mac.

2.3CopyingtextbookstoyourKindleYourKindleDXusesFlashstorageandisseenasastandardFlashdiskdrivewhenitispluggedintoanyPC/MacrunningWindows,Linux,UNIXorMacOSX.TotransferyourtextbookPDFstoyourKindleDX,simplyusetheUSBcable(withoutthe2‐prongplugadapter)toconnectyourKindletoyourPC/Mac,openthedriveiconthatrepresentsyourKindleandcopythePDFstothedocumentsfolderonthatdrive.Forexample,intheWindowsExplorerwindowshowntotheright,theKindleisrecognizedasH:(Hdrive).Asaresult,youwouldcopyyourtextbookPDFstotheH:\documentsfolder.Alternatively,ifyouhaveaMac,theKindlevolumeappearsundertheDEVICESnodeintheMacFinderasshownbelow.SimplycopyyourtextbookPDFstothedocumentsfolderonthisvolume.

Next,youcansafelyejectyourKindleasyouwouldanyotherFlashdiskdrive(Right‐click>Eject)andthendisconnectitfromyourPC/Mac.YourtextbookswillbeavailableimmediatelyonyourKindleHomescreen.

2.4NavigatingyourKindleintheclassroomAswithanytechnology,thebenefitsofyourKindleareonlyeffectiveifyouuseitcorrectlyforitspurpose(whichistoreplaceprintedtextbooks).Asaresult,keeptothefollowingguidelineswhenusingyourKindle:1)DonotuseyourKindletobrowsetheWeb.E‐inkdisplaysarenotdesignedforWebbrowsingastheirrefreshrateistooslow–usetheWebbrowseronyourPCintheclassroominstead.2)DonotuseyourKindletoplayMP3sintheclassroom.Itisaninappropriatedistractionforotherswithintheclassroom.3)DoNOTusetheNEXTPAGE(>)andPREVPAGE(<)buttonstonavigatetoaspecificpageinyourtextbook.Instead,whenyourinstructorasksyoutonavigatetoaspecificpagenumber,simplyclicktheMenukeyonyourKindle,selectGoto,typeapagenumber(i.e.49),andthenchoosepageasshownbelow:

Alternatively,whenyouwishtosearchyourtextbookforaspecificterm(i.e.daemon),simplytypethetermatanytimeinyourtextbooktoopentheinteractivesearchdialogboxandchoosefindasshownbelow:

Iftherearemultipleoccurrencesoftheterminyourtextbook,youcannavigatetothenextandpreviousoccurrenceusingtheandkeysasshownbelow:

WhenyoureturntoyourHomescreen,yourKindleremembersthelastpageyouwerereadinginyourPDFandautomaticallyreturnstoitwhenyoure‐selectyourbook.

4)Uselandscapeviewifyouwishtoviewmoredetailonscreenshotsordiagrams.SimplyturnyourKindletolandscapepositiontoauto‐rotatethescreen.Alternatively,youcanadjustthezoomfeaturebypressingtheAakey.5)AddbookmarkstoimportantpagesofyoureBook.Thiswillallowyoutoeasilyreviewimportantpartsofyourtextbookatalatertime.Tobookmarkapage,simplypresstheMenukeyonyourKindleandselectAddaBookmark.YoucanthenlistandnavigatetoyourbookmarksbyselectingtheMenukeyagainandchoosingMyBookmarks.6)Whenperforminglabexercisesfromyourtextbook,youcanuseyourKindleoryoucancopyyourPDFstoyourclassroomPC.SimplyobtainthemfromthedocumentsfolderonyourKindleviayourUSBcable.ByviewingthePDFsonyourPCwhiledoinglabs,youarenotconstantlylookingfromyourcomputerscreentoyourKindlerepetitively.7)OrganizeyourPDFsintocollections.CollectionsactlikesubfoldersonyourHomescreen.Tocreateone,selectMENUkey>CreateNewCollectionfromtheHomescreenandsupplytheappropriatecollectionname.Next,youwillseeyourcollectiononyourHomescreen–simplyselectyourcollection,andthenclickMENUkey>Add/RemoveItemstoaddexistingtextbookstoyourcollection.TheexampletotherightisacollectioncalledBCSSCoursethatincludestwoPDFs.YoucanreturntotheHomescreenatanytimebypressingtheHOMEbuttontoseeallofyourcollectionsaswellasanybooksthatarenotwithinacollection.

2.5NavigatingyourKindleathomeUsingyourKindleathomeissimilartousingyourKindlewithintheclassroom.However,youdon’tneedtobeatacomputerorpowersourceinordertostudy.SimplyturnonyourKindleandnavigatetothepagesthatyourinstructorhasassignedforreading.YourKindle’se‐inkdisplaycanbereadinanylightcondition(outsideatthepark,inacoffeeshop,onabus,etc.)andthelongbatterylifemeansthatyoucanreadfordaysorweeksonasinglecharge(ifyourwirelessconnectionisturnedoff).

2.6UsingyourKindleforleisurereadingYourKindlecanalsobeusedforleisureeBookreadinginadditiontoreadingtextbooks.YoucanpurchasetextbookswithDRMformatfromtheAmazonstore(simplyturnonthewirelessconnectiononyourKindleandnavigatetoMENUkey>ShopinKindleStore),oryoucandownloadoneofseveralfreeeBooksfromtheInternet(suchasProjectGutenburg).NOTE:IfyoudownloadaneBookfromtheInternetthatisnotinMobipocket,KindleorPDFformat,werecommendusingtheCalibreprogramtoreformatitforyourKindledevice(CalibrewasdiscussedearlierinSection1.5).

TokeepyourpersonaleBooksseparatefromyourclasstextbooks,simplymakecollectionsforthem.TheexampleshowntotherightshowsseveralpersonaleBookcollectionsandtwopersonaleBooksontheHomescreen,inadditiontotheBCSSCoursecollectioncreatedearlier.

2.7KindleDXkeyboardshortcutsWhileattheHomescreen:Alt+Shift+m‐StartMinesweeperAtanyscreen:Alt+Shift+g‐Takescreenshot(storedinDocumentsfolder)Alt+Shift+.‐Showserialnumber&barcodeAlt+Shift+Spacebar‐Play/Pausemusic(ifyouhaveMP3sonyourKindle)Alt+f‐Skiptonexttrack(ifyouareplayinganMP3onyourKindle)Whileinabook:Alt+b‐Addbookmark(Youcanalsoaddnotes/bookmarksbyusingtheMenukey)Alt+PrevPage(<)‐SkiptopreviousbookmarkAlt+NextPage(>)‐SkiptonextbookmarkShift+SYM‐Start/stopvoicedictationWhileataHomescreentextsearchdialogbox(whileattheHomescreen,justtypesometextonthekeyboardtogetthisdialogbox):;dumpMessages‐DumpcurrentdebuglogintotheDocumentsfolder@time‐Printcurrenttime@dict‐Startbuilt‐indictionary@<word>‐SearchonlineAmazonstorefor<word>ifyourwirelessisturnedonWhileattheSettingsscreen(Menukey>Settings):Alt+311‐SwitchwirelessproviderAlt+411‐ShowdiagnosticsdataAlt+511‐RunloopbackcalltestAlt+611‐DiagnosticdataservicecallYoucanalsostorepicturesonyourKindle‐simplycreateafoldercalledpicturesintherootoftheKindledrivewhenitispluggedintoyourPC.Next,createasubfolderunderneaththepicturesfolderwithanameofyourchoice(thenameofthissubfolderwillbethenameofthepicturesfoldershownonyourHomescreen).Now,simplycopyyourpictures(JPG,PNG,GIF)tothesubfolderyoucreated.WhenyouunplugyourKindlefromyourPC,simplypressAlt‐ztorefreshyourHomescreenandyouwillseeyourpicturesfolder(andthepictureswithin).