LeanneBennett.com

I've written before about my iPhone and my iPad and how much I love both. I know some people will think that makes me a geek, but to me it's about how much both things give me. Not just for themselves, but for the part they play, not only in my entertainment but also in making my life better overall.

One way in which they do both is with the book reading apps iBooks and Kindle. Of course they allow me to read, which is the point, but they also give me a nudge on increasing my vocabulary.

I don't know about you, but I could easily count (actually on zero hands!) the number of times I've stopped reading a paperback book to pick up a dictionary. Now this hasn't been all bad because I've become quite good at figuring out the meanings of words from context. However there are definitely times I can't pick up the meaning by just reading the word in a sentence.

Both iBooks and Kindle have a built-in dictionary that makes it so easy to look up words (just by touching the word on the page) without even losing my place. So why wouldn't I?! I now find myself looking up many words (sometimes just to see if I'm right!) all the time. Plus, in addition to the definitions of words, I can easily get the pronunciation as well, which I clearly can't pick up from context. And when iBooks/Kindle don't know the word, they give me the option to search Google or Wikipedia for the term instead.

I also love the PDF function in iBooks. When I get a PDF document in email, or if I save one from the Internet, I have the option to open it in iBooks. Not only does this let me view my PDFs on the go, it saves a copy to my personal iBooks Library so I always have it with me. I've used this for everything from a manual for my printer to my daughter's school lunch menu. It's really handy!

Years ago, I was such a die-hard paperback fan and a staunch believer that an e-reader would never be something I'd want (much less come to love) that I now hardly recognise myself in this area. It's easy to talk about the feel of paper and the sound a book makes, but my reality is that everything I gain -- total mobility, a complete library that I can go back and read again whenever I want, ease of purchasing books, a record of all the books I've purchased, a place to store and access all of my PDFs -- so far outweighs any touch or sound I might have once been excited about.

I know there are people who will always want paper, and I'm fine with that. But I think there are also a great number of people who want paper now but, like the me of years ago, just haven't yet tried an e-reader. They’re definitely not going to bring about world peace or solve the economic crisis, but IBooks/Kindle have made reading an easy joy for me.  Maybe, if you haven't yet tried it, they could do so, for you too.

Due to their strong feelings against the SOPA and PIPA bills being discussed in the US Congress, both Wikipedia and reddit, as well as many other sites, are participating in a 24 hour blackout.  Both bills are aimed at copyright infringement, but many people believe the bills will cause more harm than good. You can read about the details on a very good synopsis page – one of the few pages Wiki has up today – here.

Having read about these bills and considered the possible outcomes of them, I agree with the stance against both of these bills and truly hope they will never become US law.

The shadow cast by the blackout, especially of Wikipedia has been very long indeed. All day long I’ve seen and heard comments about the blackout on the Internet, from colleagues at work and even from the DJ on the radio. It seems to be one of the most popular topics of conversation today, and that’s easily understandable.

I must admit, I’m a newcomer to reddit. I should have been reading this site for years, I readily confess, but I didn’t ‘get it’ in the beginning. Since then my son has introduced me to Alien Blue on my iPhone, and I’m now a happy reddit camper! (when they’re not participating in a blackout, of course)

But Wikipedia, for me, has been a really, really longterm friend. I remember Wikipedia in the very early days.  You know, back before they had to lock down so many pages due to abuse and nonsensical information that some bright sparks would put up just to have a laugh. Wikipedia has really grown into an amazing entity with information on just about everything. And given just how much information there is on Wiki, it’s usually my first port of call when I need to understand, well, almost anything!

My day without Wiki has been extremely quiet. And several times today I couldn’t find information elsewhere or had to look several places to find what would normally be in the first place I’d look: Wikipedia.

My hat’s off to you, Wiki. You really couldn’t have drawn more attention to your cause in any other way. And I heartily support your decision to oppose SAPO and PIPA in such a public way.

But hurry back tomorrow. I miss you!