Technology

iPad and Kindle...what are these new gadgets?  What do they have to do with Faith and Facts or Millennium?

In short, they are more ways for people to read  books- without paper.  I have to make a decision: do I pay to convert my books to an "EPUB" format so they can be sold and distributed directly to iPad and Kindle users?  Unlike paper, the answer is not black and white.

The Kindle and the iPad are handy and impressive.  The Kindle is essentially a document reader connected to the Internet so you can purchase books and read them on the spot.  The iPad is a little more like a small, flat, touch screen computer also connected to the Internet.  You can read books like the Kindle (and even "turn pages" with the touch screen), but you can also get on Facebook, Twitter, send email, watch video, listen to music, and other handy applications.

Will Faith and Facts and Millennium be available on the iPad and Kindle?  Actually, they already are!  You can download them in Adobe .PDF files, which are now able to be viewed on the Kindle with the latest software update, and the iPad with the new .PDF converter app that costs $.99.  Of course you can still download the books and view them the "old fashioned way" on a computer, or you can get a shiny new print copy sent right to your door.  There are 6 + billion people in the world that get mail; there are a billion computers in use around the world, and there are a few million Kindles and iPads out there, owned undoubtedly by folks who also have a computer at home.  I'm going to stick with the .PDF files for now.

Sometimes it is best to to hold off a bit and see where all the dust settles before rushing off to embrace the latest technology.  All the folks who bought Sony Beta VCR's and HD DVD's know what I'm talking about.