Tech is Hard and You’re No Dummy
February 5, 2012Technology is creeping into our lives in ways we would have never imagined a few years ago. Take a look through any room in your house and you’re likely to find one or more tech gadgets. Kitchen appliances are controlled with computerized panels, laundry appliances are computerized, our entertainment systems consist of a mish-mash of high-tech equipment. Even reading books is now a technical endeavor.
All of this technology is a mixed bag. We welcome the fact that we can access an entire library of books no matter where we are. Devices like the Kindle Fire make it easy to consume Internet content, and being able to carry such a remarkable device everywhere is nothing short of miraculous. However, we also experience a degree of frustration because the technology is sometimes hard. It’s true. Tech is hard.
If you find it tough to figure out all of these technical devices, it’s not because you’re a dummy. It’s because tech is hard. These devices are designed by engineers, and what makes sense to an engineer doesn’t often make sense to everyone else. If you find yourself frustrated when trying to figure out technology, it’s not because you’re a dummy. It’s because the engineers didn’t make this stuff easy enough to figure out.
Entire brands have been built around the fact that technology makes people feel dumb. People swarm to book titles that call them “Dummies” or “Idiots”, and these types of books make certain assumptions based on the premise that you might not be smart enough to “get it”. The end result is that you’re treated like a “dummy” or “idiot”; a lot of information is left out because you’re simply not smart enough to understand.
Many years ago I was working in technical support for a popular web design product. I was a technical lead for the product and our frontline engineers sent a customer to me because he was, according to them, ”too dumb to understand web design.” As I was talking to the customer, I asked him about his web site. It turns out that he was a theoretical physicist, and he was creating a web site to accompany a presentation he was making at a large university. In his presentation, he was refuting theories proposed by Stephen Hawking. This customer was smarter than all of us combined. He was having trouble because web design is hard, not because he was a dummy.
When I set out to write My Kindle Fire, I started with a basic premise; technology is hard and you’re no dummy. What that means to me is that you want to learn everything the device can do, but you want to learn it in a clear and non-tech way. You don’t want me to leave out explaining some of the Kindle Fire’s functionality because I think you’re too dumb to “get it”.
The end result of this approach is a guide for your Kindle Fire that covers the entire device, and it does in a way that is approachable, understandable, and doesn’t talk down to you. You’re not a dummy. Tech is hard. That’s why I wrote My Kindle Fire, and my approach is why I’m certain that you’ll find My Kindle Fire to be the best and most comprehensive guide you can buy for your Kindle Fire.
You’re no dummy. When looking for a guide for your Kindle Fire, choose one that understands why you need a guide in the first place. Tech is hard. Choose My Kindle Fire.
Update: I just read a review from one of the other Kindle Fire guides. The reviewer was disappointed in the quality of the screen shots and said that he couldn’t even make out which icon was which. I noticed the same thing in the guide this reviewer was reading (I purchased it as well to check it out), and I have to say that the screen shots are one of many areas where My Kindle Fire shines!
The screen shots in my book are big and crystal clear, whether you are reading the Kindle edition or the paperback, and that’s no accident. We realize that if you’re trying to look at a screen shot to learn a concept, that screen shot needs to be clear and high quality. (It also needs to be in color and not black and white.) It was important to us because we knew it would be important to you. It’s just one more reason why My Kindle Fire is the best guide you can get for your Kindle Fire.
But don’t take my word for it. Go to the book’s page on Amazon and click the Look Inside link. Compare the table of contents for My Kindle Fire to the other guides. Compare the layout of the book and the quality of the printing. I know you’ll agree with me.
- Jim
Your book has been a great help however I am still not able to open email attachments. When I try it says downloading in progress but nothing ever happens so I’m missing something and your section on emails so far hasn’t helped me. Hopefully the light will come on and I’ll be able to figure out the problem.
Gene.
Hi, Gene. I assume that you mean that you are seeing the dialog that asks if you want to open or download the attachment. Once you click one or the other, it says it’s downloading and then never completes.
If you tap in the notification indicator, it should show you a progress indicator. What does that show you? What kind of file is the attachment?
Did you follow the steps and info on page 218? It also includes information on where the Kindle Fire saves attachments and how you can access them directly on the device.
Let me know! I’ll be happy to help if I can.
Jim
Hello, My name is Shirley. I ask for and received the Kindle Fire as a gift at Christmas. A friend of mine has an I-Pad and was showing me how he could read study literature ture and can highlight, make notes, look up words in the dictionary and even in our case (we are Jehovah Witness) click on a noted scripture and it will show me what the scripture is. This would be and EPUB from what I understand. I know my Kindle Fire can’t match is I-Pad but I really wanted to be able to highlight, make notes and look up scriptures. For and example of the literature I am speaking of you may view some on jw.org and look at the magazines and the bible. I have tried Aldiko, ES file Exporter, EZPDF reader and tried Calibre on my laptop and transfer to my Kindle Fire. Can you tell me what I am doing wrong or is highlighting, making notes and interaction with literature just not something I can do on the Kindle Fire. I bought you book My Kindle Fire and it indicates I can read EPUBs. Thank you in advance for any assistance you might give me
Shirley Lowe
Loweshirley676@yahoo.com Kindle email
Hi, Shirley. Yes, you can highlight and make notes easily with the Kindle Fire. See the “Using Notes” section in Chapter 3 (page 70) for information on making notes. See “Working with Highlights” in Chapter 3 (page 75) for information on using highlighting. (There are 5 pages on notes; I show you how to create notes, view notes, edit notes, delete notes, etc.)
As for looking up Scripture passages, you’d probably have the best luck by searching the Internet from your book. You can do that by following the walkthrough on page 89 entitled “Searching Wikipedia or Google from Books.”
I suspect that your friend is using an app especially designed to do what he’s doing. You may want to check into an app for your Kindle Fire as well, keeping in mind that the Kindle Fire is new and some apps won’t be available for it yet. Try writing the developer of the app your friend uses and ask him to develop it for the Kindle Fire.
Hope that helps.
Jim
Guess I’m confused!
Loweshirley676@yahoo.com says: “:Hello, My name is Shirley. I ask for and received the Kindle Fire as a gift at Christmas. A friend of mine has an I-Pad and was showing me how he could read study literature ture and can highlight, make notes, look up words in the dictionary and even in our case (we are Jehovah Witness) click on a noted scripture and it will show me what the scripture is” — So which is it, Shirley? Are you a Jehovah’s Witness or do you celebrate Christmas? It’s one or the other – not both.
Shirley,
I neglected to address your question about EPUB. If you look in Chapter 5, specifically the section called “Transferring the eBook to Your Kindle Fire” on page 121, you’ll find full details on how you can easily convert EPUB books to the correct format for your Kindle Fire and then transfer them all in one step using Calibre, a free application for Mac or Windows.
Jim
Ya, JW’s don’t celebrate xmas because it happens to be of pagan origin etc. Shirley said she got it for xmas, so, she aint no JW!