The History of Kindle - The Device Which Revolutionized the EBooks' Market

By launching Kindle in 2007, Amazon has at the same time established for good the ebooks' market. Kindle ebook reader is the most sold product in the world within this category. If the idea came from Jeff Bezos himself, the implementation of the project was made possible by a number of innovations between 1970 and 2000. Since then, Kindle has had three successful versions.

How was Kindle born? First of all, Kindle was simple idea, made possible by the creation of the ebook, of electronic ink and by the emergence of electronic readers. Jeff Bezos, Amazon's CEO made the connection between his personal and professional interest for books and the fact that the book was the last bastion which hadn't been switched to digital. Kindle's starting point lies in this issue and in a strong personal conviction.

But the Kindle project was only possible because other players have made the concept feasible. First, there is the invention of the ebook as a scanned file. The first file of this type was produced by Michael Hart for the Gutenberg Project. It was a scan of the Declaration of Independence and this is considered the moment electronic ink readers were born. The electronic ink has been studied since the 70s by Xerox, and the company E-Ink was founded in 1997, thus marking another turning point for the reading field.

Kindle's first version is available for sale for on November 19, 2007 and it is priced at 399 dollar. The success is huge ever since its launch and the entire stock is up in less than five hours. The success was ensured by the outset by a few things that other competing products do not have: free 3G, greater speed, the ability to access the Kindle store directly from the device, a comprehensive catalog. Indeed the first Kindle catalog included over 88.000 titles and the number will reach 500.000 in 2010 and is currently getting close go the million.

Besides increasing the number of titles available in store, each version came with more modern and rounder design, a lighter, more refined and faster device and a longer lasting battery. The third version is now equipped with the new Pearl screen. The highlight of the drive is not only its performance but also its price. Wi-fi version (no 3G) of the new device was put on sales at a highly competitive price making sales explode.

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The Internet has Revolutionized Undergrad Film Classes

Film schools, liberal arts colleges, and universities all over America are building systems by which their students can watch free full movies online.

Having films online is a great way to make the curriculum content available to students. If you missed a school screening in the past you had to track the DVD down and watch it yourself. In a remote college town with only one copy of the film in the library this could be a problem. Increasingly schools are posting the films in their curriculum online.

Although some copy write issues can emerge most film distributors are ok with (or at least don't go after) schools that make movies available to students online. As long as the films are password protected and used exclusively for education purposes problems do not arise.

Watching free new movies online has also made it easier for students to see obscure films. Certain short films which may only be available in rolls of film are being digitized and put online. At the same time school libraries are coming together to create student databases for short films online. That means instead of putting a request in your schools library, having it go to another school and waiting for the roll of film to arrive by mail, all you need to do is log onto your school library's website.

This also makes life easier for professors. They would have to go through the same arduous process if they wanted to get a roll of film to show their class. They would also have to contend with setting up a projector for a screening. With many schools using digital projectors that connect to a professor's laptop any film is a click away.

There are some drawbacks, however. Critics point to the communal nature of film and how that is lost when people watch free full movies online. I don't think that laptop viewing will replace traditional screening but it certainly affects attendance. If you know you can watch a movie online whenever you want, it can be hard to go to sometimes inconveniently scheduled screenings.

In all, the availability of free documentaries online (as well as other films) is a good thing. Research that used to take weeks can be done in one day. Sharing a film with fellow students is a matter of copying and pasting a link into an email. It is a good time to study film (unless you want to find a job after you graduate).

Festival of Films is a website offering free movies online. From classic comedies to viral videos to gripping documentaries, you can enjoy completely legal, free full movies online at your convenience.

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