So what does the multitool.org member read?

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

You obviously aren't reading fast enough!  I switched to ebooks because I couldn't afford bookshelves at the speed I was reading paperbacks!

Def

Well I can usually read a 300 odd page paperback in about 4-5 days, if I read them any faster it start costing more money ;D

[Grant Lamontagne]

That's why I got into ebooks...

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

That's why I got into ebooks...

Def

I'm not sure if that's for me as I don't have a laptop, pda or a palm top pc and it'd be a bit of a bugger taking my pc with me everywhere I went

[Grant Lamontagne]

That's easily remedied... if all you want is ebooks, you can pick up a second hand PPC for very little.  Go to your local pawnbroker and ask to see the "stolen electronics" section...

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

That's easily remedied... if all you want is ebooks, you can pick up a second hand PPC for very little.  Go to your local pawnbroker and ask to see the "stolen electronics" section...

Def

Don't really have pawnbrokers as such over here any more, there is a chain of shop's called ''cashconverters'' but they are robbing b*****ds

It's something for me to think about though, my brother builds pc for FUN( ) so I might see what he can come up with

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm sure Jock can let you know of a few places to try!

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I'm sure Jock can let you know of a few places to try!

Def

He's probably got a shed full of dodgy ones ;D

Not that the members of her majestys constabulary are even slightly dodgy of course me lud ;D

[Grant Lamontagne]

Of course not.  But I am certain they know who is, having their fingers on the pulse and all!

How do you think security guards get by on such low pay?  They know where all the sales of merchandise that falls off trucks are!

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Next time (first time ) I'm in canada you'll have to point me in the right direction ;D

[Grant Lamontagne]

No problem... slim pickins around here, but in Toronto I can get you all kinds of stuff!  That was the great thing about working both the streets and the jails....

Def

[eodtech]

#1. Mystery novels
#2. Local history ( Florida panhandle )
#3. Magazines - Trucks / Handguns / Knives / Model Trains / Treasure Hunting.

BOOKS:
Just finished - ""Rolex sport watches"" - a history of Rolex watches
Currently reading " Ruger and his guns " - history of Ruger firearms, company and founder.
Next - Harry Potter series

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

#1. Mystery novels
#2. Local history ( Florida panhandle )
#3. Magazines - Trucks / Handguns / Knives / Model Trains / Treasure Hunting.
Currently reading " Ruger and his guns " - history of Ruger firearms, company and founder.
Next - Harry Potter series

What kind of mystery novels mate

[eodtech]

"What kind of mystery novels mate ?""

#1. William G. Tapply ( I went to high school with Bill  1960 in Lexington, Mass ) - Main character is a Boston Attorney / detective.

#2. Hugh Holton ( Captain when I met him, on the Chicago PD - met him on a criuise which was also a seminar for 100+ mystery writers ) - writes about Chicago PD

#3. John Appleyard ( local Pensacola , FL writer whom I have met several times at our local Treasure Hunting group meetings ( we wave metal detectors around like crazy on the local beaches looking for coins - jewelry - gold + silver Pieces of Eight and Doubloons - pull tabs - etc.) - writes short stories / mystery novels about late 1800's and the Pensacola, FL Police Department (  I am involved with on a regular basis (PPD) ).

[Grant Lamontagne]

I think you'll like the Harry Potter series.  They may have been for kids, but they aren't "dumbed down" for kids.  It's actually a very rich and well written series, and the great thing is, they tend to "grow up" as Harry does.  The books get more serious, and more adult as he grows and becomes more of an adult.

That amuses me about the folks who care so much about what their kids are subjected to in movies, yet obviously never bothered to find out that their kids have been reading about the violence, explosions and death for years!

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

"What kind of mystery novels mate ?""

#1. William G. Tapply ( I went to high school with Bill  1960 in Lexington, Mass ) - Main character is a Boston Attorney / detective.

#2. Hugh Holton ( Captain when I met him, on the Chicago PD - met him on a criuise which was also a seminar for 100+ mystery writers ) - writes about Chicago PD

#3. John Appleyard ( local Pensacola , FL writer whom I have met several times at our local treasure Hunting group meetings ) - writes short stories / mystery novels about late 1800's and the Pensacola, FL Police Department.

You move in much better circle's than I do then mate ;D, I can't say I've seen them on these shore's, It's mainly Tess Geritson and P D James over here for that sort of thing

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I think you'll like the Harry Potter series.  They may have been for kids, but they aren't "dumbed down" for kids.  It's actually a very rich and well written series, and the great thing is, they tend to "grow up" as Harry does.  The books get more serious, and more adult as he grows and becomes more of an adult.

That amuses me about the folks who care so much about what their kids are subjected to in movies, yet obviously never bothered to find out that their kids have been reading about the violence, explosions and death for years!

Def

Kid's books these days are a world away from the dross we all had when we were kids I think that's why we all stole are dad's stephen kings and sven hassels

[Grant Lamontagne]

It's funny- my folks had Clive Cussler's books lying around all the time but I never paid much attention to them.  Then, last year I decided to read Sahara after enjoying the movie, and I spent the next couple of months reading nothing but Clive Cussler!

Lots of SAK use in there! 

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

It's funny- my folks had Clive Cussler's books lying around all the time but I never paid much attention to them.  Then, last year I decided to read Sahara after enjoying the movie, and I spent the next couple of months reading nothing but Clive Cussler!

Lots of SAK use in there! 

Def

Don't they fall in to two catogories, the one's with Dirk Pitt and those that don't

I've only read one of his (can't remember which) and I liked it

[hawkchucker]

HUGE CUSSLER FAN here>>>> So much I even had to go to the real NUMA office to get my pic taken there. (he has a salvage company actually named numa)

If ya like Cussler try Mathew Reily. I feel you wont be disapointed. Especially Contest, Read this book first. It will be made into a movie this year.

[Grant Lamontagne]

If those are the two categories, then I think there's only one book in the second!

I actually spoke to his son, Dirk Cussler about trying to get an interview, or at least a few words from him for SOSAKOnline last year, but didn't even get a polite PFO letter.  All I got was a "I'll ask him and see" email, then nothing.

And, while I enjoyed his books, I really didn't care for the Dirk Pitt character.  I mean as a person, Dirk Pitt was cool (he was supposed to be!) but he was just too unbelievable to really get into.  At least with Superman or Luke Skywalker, you know they are more than the average guy going in.  With James Bond, you know it's all cheese.  Dirk Pitt seemed to be just an extraordinary ordinary guy, and the extraordinary was a little too much.  I think I would have preferred it if Al could have kept up a little more.

Of course, you can tell why he was so in love with Summer.  She was apparently his equal in everything, even to the point where they managed to extraordinarily have two kids despite never having had the opportunity for a romantic encounter.  Unless Dirk is amazingly quick on the draw, and did it while Summer's father's men were re-loading.

Def

[Benner]

That's easily remedied... if all you want is ebooks, you can pick up a second hand PPC for very little.  Go to your local pawnbroker and ask to see the "stolen electronics" section...

Def

I've looked into getting a PPC.  Are then any good though?  I would imagine that the programmes are limited in their function though I suppose?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Like any computer you can add whatever programs you like to get it to do what you like.  They usually come with word processing, basic email, spreadsheets, internet software, calendar functions etc, but the machines are powerful enough to run multimedia apps like movies, music etc.  Many of those programs are free downloads- The Core Media Player is perhaps the best free media player, and beats the small version of Windows Media that's installed, Adobe Acrobat can be downloaded free, as can readers like Microsoft Reader and E-Reader, which was formerly known as Palm Reader.

I have mine set up with a couple of games as well.  I have Bubble Breaker which is addictive, and standard on Windows machines, and I have Freecell, but I also have some more intensive games like Age Of Empires, although I rarely pay them.  I actually took AOE off my machine because I didn't play it much.

Add a wireless keyboard and you have almost a full features laptop in a fraction of the size.  Or, get a smartphone and have mobile internet in addition to an almost full featured laptop.

They are pretty well only limited by your budget, imagination and/or desires.

Def

[Benner]

Add a wireless keyboard and you have almost a full features laptop in a fraction of the size.  Or, get a smartphone and have mobile internet in addition to an almost full featured laptop.

They are pretty well only limited by your budget, imagination and/or desires.

Def

That was going to be my next question.

I always saw them as having say, Word, but it being very limited in it's function.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Without a folding keyboard, Word is limited.  You could try and bang off some documents with the stylus, but it would be a real pain in the bum.  For small edits and reading documents it's fine- same with short email responses and the odd post on a forum.

There's all kinds of software available.  Two sites I get stuff from all the time are www.downloads.com and www.handango.com.  Downloads.com is from C-Net so there's software for everything there- PPC, desktop, Linux, Mac, Palm etc.  Have a look around there and you'll see you can use it to track your diet, shipping and receiving info, your mensies, fuel consumption, credit card info, even use it as a remote for your TV... all kinds of stuff.

I also use mine to view pictures I've just taken when away from my computer.  Just pop the memory card out of my camera and into the PPC.  Admittedly the 3.5 inch screen isn't much better than the 1.8 inch screen on my camera, but there's a variety of options that the camera doesn't have.  I can also watch any videos I've taken with sound to see if I should re-shoot them before going back to the computer.

That also means I can take a variety of pictures and home movies with me wherever I go, or read the newspaper, a book or watch a movie while in a doctor's office or other waiting room instead of reading magazines with titles like "Y2K- Are you Prepared?"

Def

[Benner]

   They sound quite cool.  Will have a look into them  Any you would recommend?

[Grant Lamontagne]

If you want to go with a SmartPhone, I really can't help much, but there are some nice ones available in the UK judging from the UK PDA magazine I got last week.

Get a Windows machine- WinMobile 6 just came out, but WM5 is good enough for just about anything- at least I haven't found many limitations.  Palm OS is better, but it's pretty well been slaughtered by Microsoft.

If you are going for a straight PDA instead of a SmartPhone, about the only current issue options are HP's iPAQ series and a couple from ASUS.  Both are good machines- my last one was an ASUS, and Mikey has an ASUS and he seems happy enough with it.  I have an iPAQ and it works beautifully.  For used machines, look for the same names you look for in computers- HP, ASUS, Casio, Toshiba etc.  They should all work well enough for whatever you want to do, although being older they may not run apps as smoothly as newer, faster machines are.

Dell also had some nice machines- the x-51 was quite popular and a decent price, but they were discontinued recently.  You may be able to get a good price on one as companies deplete their stock.

Def

[Dunc]

Def I'm reading a book called Quarterdeck by Julian Stockman . Its set in the late 18th century about a Navy Officer onboard HMS Tenacious and alot of it is set in Nova Scotia and Halifax .I cant put it down and thought Id give you a heads up .Its packed with fascinating period detail and little known facts .http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quarterdeck-Julian-Stockwin/dp/0340832193

Dunc

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Def I'm reading a book called Quarterdeck by Julian Stockman . Its set in the late 18th century about a Navy Officer onboard HMS Tenacious and alot of it is set in Nova Scotia and Halifax .I cant put it down and thought Id give you a heads up .Its packed with fascinating period detail and little known facts .http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quarterdeck-Julian-Stockwin/dp/0340832193

Dunc

We sell quite a good few of his books at work, and they definatly seem well writen , I'm still in my Warhammer phase, but I can see myself reading one before too much longer

If you like that sorta thing, have you tried Alexander Kent, or Douglas Reeman? (there the same bloke)

[Dunc]

Def I'm reading a book called Quarterdeck by Julian Stockman . Its set in the late 18th century about a Navy Officer onboard HMS Tenacious and alot of it is set in Nova Scotia and Halifax .I cant put it down and thought Id give you a heads up .Its packed with fascinating period detail and little known facts .http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quarterdeck-Julian-Stockwin/dp/0340832193

Dunc

We sell quite a good few of his books at work, and they definatly seem well writen , I'm still in my Warhammer phase, but I can see myself reading one before too much longer

If you like that sorta thing, have you tried Alexander Kent, or Douglas Reeman? (there the same bloke)

Micky this is the first book of that kind I've started reading and its something that has started to interest me a great deal . Next stop is learning all about Nelson . I ashamed to say I know very little about him especially considering he's a local hero    So 2008 will be spent learning about Naval history and the high seas .And guess what ?  Pirates slide into that catogry quite nicely 


Dunc

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Def I'm reading a book called Quarterdeck by Julian Stockman . Its set in the late 18th century about a Navy Officer onboard HMS Tenacious and alot of it is set in Nova Scotia and Halifax .I cant put it down and thought Id give you a heads up .Its packed with fascinating period detail and little known facts .http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quarterdeck-Julian-Stockwin/dp/0340832193

Dunc

We sell quite a good few of his books at work, and they definatly seem well writen , I'm still in my Warhammer phase, but I can see myself reading one before too much longer

If you like that sorta thing, have you tried Alexander Kent, or Douglas Reeman? (there the same bloke)

Micky this is the first book of that kind I've started reading and its something that has started to interest me a great deal . Next stop is learning all about Nelson . I ashamed to say I know very little about him especially considering he's a local hero    So 2008 will be spent learning about Naval history and the high seas .And guess what ?  Pirates slide into that catogry quite nicely 


Dunc

You won't be disapointed reading about Nelson, the guy was a hero in every sence of the word , his early career was spectacular to say the least