Seamus Byrne

Half a kilo is pretty significant. More than 35% of the weight of any other very light Ultrabook (typically around 1.3kg).

Your point is valid, but it speaks directly to the idea that we value performance specs over use of new materials or better engineering that doesn't necessarily translate to a direct 'work' benefit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?doc=/content/12333.htm

Hard to say, we haven't seen the Samsung for review. If it's using the same generation of DisplayLink technology, one could argue the same performance caveats would apply, with perhaps the display panel offering better colours. Still, I wouldn't want to be dragging an 18.5-inch monitor around with my laptop.

I'm sorry I missed this, you must've got in while I was on leave.

I'm not sure about the new e-reader; it's yet to be announced. I mean, there is one coming, but its availability to Australians is uncertain; given how long it took Sony to launch its readers here in the first place, I am afraid I can't tell you, but stay tuned - I expect to know more later today.

Also, there are delays on Sony readers; I'm afraid the only thing you can do is either preorder or wait it out.

That is my point, Gavin. These costs exist, which is why you won't pay a cheaper price for an ebook right off the bat. Once the publishing house has recouped the costs of getting the book on the market, it will drop the price; but the price does drop more on ebooks, generally, than it will on printed books.

My other point was that people seem to not realise that printing and distributing a book is only a small part of both the cost and the process.

So, maybe ebooks should be cheaper than they are; but until we know how much publishing a book costs, and how much it costs to run a publishing house, it's difficult to know how much they should be. And, after all, a publishing house is a business; if they want to continue to operate, they need to make a profit.

Hi turngold,

a) The Nook Color looks like it has a standard micro USB port, but in fact it will only recognise the charger supplied. And while most e-readers can be charged off your computer, this isn't the case with the Nook Color; you need to plug it in to the supplied AC adapter, which has US pins. So, short answer, yes, you will need a converter.

b) That is correct, Barnes & Noble doesn't ship to Australia. You will have to use a postal intermediary, or travel to the US, to get one.

c) Yes, it does.

d) The Nook Color has a back-lit LCD screen, so it's really just like a slightly lower-resolution iPad.

e) The Nook Color has a capacitive touchscreen, so you turn pages by swiping the screen.

The Nook Color is actually a low-end tablet, so perhaps you could take a look at what's actually available here first. While the Nook Color does sound decent, it's important to bear in mind that if anything goes wrong, you will have a hard time getting support.

Let us know if you have any more questions :)

Hi Alan,

The chief exec of the Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, Brendan Lyon (who is a member of the Federal Government's expert steering group on high-speed rail), has said that they are in the second phase of the study of high speed and they will "begin to assess the economic merit and fundability of individual High Speed Rail segments".

So at the moment, there doesn't seem to be much that you can do, as they're still doing studies on how to get it done correctly and "future proofing".

Thanks,
Irene

That has no right to be as amusing as it is ... and yet it is! Thanks for that Twigz :)

Wow, thanks for filling in a few blanks! Can you tell us more about this game?

Hi Foxiejohn,

The E7001 does have a colour display, a resistive touchscreen and weighs about 800g (quite heavy - most e-readers weigh under 300g). Bear in mind that the display is back-lit, which most people find quite stressing on the eyes (think a computer screen), so if it's for a sight-impaired person, you might want to check their preferences; a non-backlit E Ink display might be better for avoiding eye strain.

Let me know if you need more help.

Hi foxiejohn,

Unfortunately you won't be able to see the Kindle unless you know someone who has one; Amazon is based in the US and only sells out of there.

To see the Sony Readers, you can go into a Sony store. Kobo e-readers are sold at Angus & Robertson stores; I would recommend waiting until the newer, cheaper model is launched next month, though.

ABC shops also sell e-readers (be careful, though; they seem quite expensive there), and you can also check out electronics shops such as JB HiFi and Dick Smith for cheaper models. OfficeWorks also sells a back-lit LCD model.

Let me know if you need some more help :)

Hi Gregory,

Thanks for your reply! I hadn't picked up the Sony one. The Angus & Robertson and Borders apps I left alone because their future is uncertain; all Borders stores around Australia are closing, and Angus & Robertson, which is owned by the same parent company as Borders, is on very shaky ground.

At any rate, both apps are powered by Kobo, which I have included :)

RedGroup retail has assured us the online Borders store will remain in business; but you don't have to purchase your books from just one place if you have a Sony reader. You can open the reader as a storage device on your computer and simply drag and drop ebook files in, or use Adobe Digital Editions to manage your e-reader's library. Either way, you can bypass the Sony app.

According to their various vendors, these films haven't been released in Australia on Blu-ray.

I'm quite impartial to the one shown on Virgin Atlantic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDEPmqaJwpc

Hi Dani,

The decision on what brand to buy is totally up to you, as they both give quite a different shooting experience and ergonomics are quite different. Best way to tell? Go into a camera store and try both brands, the one that feels the most intuitive to you is the way to go.

As for models, the Canon 500D has been discontinued but as a result should be available for quite cheap now. The D90 is over 2 years old now and while great, you might find the D3100 is a bit lighter and more versatile with its video mode. The Nikon D3100 is a great camera, so too is the Canon 550D. I would probably look at those two first.

Accessories, you need to think about what you're photographing. If you shoot a lot of landscapes, long exposures and so on, a tripod might be a really good investment. The advantage of SLRs is that you can buy different lenses to suit your photographic style too. Also think about an external flash which will give you more control over your lighting for portraits, night and low-light photography, allowing you to direct the light more appropriately. That said, each camera has a built-in flash so you might not need to look at an external one. Then you can also consider filters for the front of your lens, again, this will depend on what you plan to shoot. A circular polariser is a must for photographing in bright, beachy and sunny situations!