Just a quick thought simply because I haven't seen much in the way mentioned about such:
An eReader can be an invaluable survival or teaching tool.
You are talking about a device that can hold the equivalent of upwards around 2000 books (and that's just in the main memory)
Mine is loaded with around 20 survival, edible plant, poisonous plants, mushroom collecting, etc, books.
with a bit of care they can be made extremely stable to transport.:
For mine I purchases a Patagonia case and lined it with close density foam. Before it goes in my bag it is wrapped it a water tight bag.
I've heard the argument about battery life:
Well some of the black and white models have a battery life of up to two weeks, and with the purchase of a cheap solar charger that quickly becomes indefinite. They can be found as cheaply as six dollars, though I would invest i something a bit better myself.
Most will read any form of PDF file so there are literally millions of books at your disposal and any book from your own library which you scan into PDF format.
Let your imagination run wild. You can even find guides tailored to your specific area.
Just remember that the full color versions, though nice to look at, do not have nearly the battery life. we're talking hours compared to weeks.
FYI: for Cellphones such as android or Iphones you can also download either the NOOK or the Kindle software right from their web sights, though again you run into the situation of battery life.
An eReader can be an invaluable survival or teaching tool.
You are talking about a device that can hold the equivalent of upwards around 2000 books (and that's just in the main memory)
Mine is loaded with around 20 survival, edible plant, poisonous plants, mushroom collecting, etc, books.
with a bit of care they can be made extremely stable to transport.:
For mine I purchases a Patagonia case and lined it with close density foam. Before it goes in my bag it is wrapped it a water tight bag.
I've heard the argument about battery life:
Well some of the black and white models have a battery life of up to two weeks, and with the purchase of a cheap solar charger that quickly becomes indefinite. They can be found as cheaply as six dollars, though I would invest i something a bit better myself.
Most will read any form of PDF file so there are literally millions of books at your disposal and any book from your own library which you scan into PDF format.
Let your imagination run wild. You can even find guides tailored to your specific area.
Just remember that the full color versions, though nice to look at, do not have nearly the battery life. we're talking hours compared to weeks.
FYI: for Cellphones such as android or Iphones you can also download either the NOOK or the Kindle software right from their web sights, though again you run into the situation of battery life.
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E-readers can hold a lot of books - Mine can hold 32GB, which is a shedload (actually more like a barnfull), and can run for 2-4 weeks on a charge, so is low maintenance.
Don't forget to pack one of those solar cell/rechargable battery things if you're likely to run your e-reader down. You can buy them reasonably cheaply and thus can stay off grid indefinitely, at least as far as your reading goes. There's probably an Instructable on how to make one somewhere. Do be careful to buy/make one that has a solar array that at least offers a realistic chance of recharging the battery - Some of them are effectively just mains tethered battery packs with some decorative solar cells stuck on the outside that would take weeks of bright sunlight to accumulate even the modest charge that an e-reader takes.
Oh, nice Instructable, even if you should probably have said "epub" instead of PDF. :)
PDF is a page description format, whereas EPUB is a text flowing format, which is why PDFs aren't much good on e-readers, although some ebook sites will create a special PDF for you if your e-reader is one of their supported formats. These are still often not great, but are a lot better than US Letter or A4 PDFs.
Not sure I could survive long without music and you can download all your music into it as well!
My Kindle is DEFINATELY in my survival bag!
My objection is more to do with their business practices, in truth.
I find that with Sigil and Calibre there isn't much, except for PDFs, that I can't usefully put on my PRS600. I prefer epub because I can enlarge the font without having to pan around the page to read it, or get out my reading glasses.
That said, in the UK taking to the hills is not really a viable proposition - It would probably be the best way to get yourself shot :(
If you have a solar charger for your e-reader, does it matter so much that you can only get several hours out of it? In a survival situation, I'd believe you would have enough time to get useful information, then allow for recharging while you're doing other things.
It's fascinating that one can carry a whole library, along with movies (maybe demonstrating survival techniques), games to keep one's mind fresh, music to help keep calm, a compass app, and so much more. All this comes for just the weight and size of the e-reader device, solar charger, and cable - a real bargain for what you can actually be carrying around.
This is kind of like the beginning of the tricorder era. LOVE IT!!
The other thing to consider is that most color readers have a glossy screen which makes them near impossible to read in sunlight, whereas most black and white readers can be read in direct sunlight.
And the last reason I decided on the black and white is because of cost. You can now find the first generation NOOK on Ebay of around $30. Not too bad a cost when you consider the hardships that may befall the reader on the trail. If something where to happen to it $30 is not a huge a loss compared to upward around $160 to $250.
These where the reasons I decided on the black and white, but the color ones are very attractive as well.
Just glad I could help.
I would have appreciated some links for the survival, mushrooms, poisonous plant etc. books.
http://www.scribd.com/
Scribd is nice because it's inexpensive, plus you get a 24 hour pass for uploading a document.
You didn't mention "Calibre" (http://calibre-ebook.com/). This is available for at least Windows, Mac, and Linux, and seems to be the best library management and book conversion application around.
For those who are ethically flexible there are also some third-party utilities for it that will do things like remove the DRM from most formats, amongst other dubious things. If anyone is tempted to use these - Remember that authors need to eat too...
I do agree with you about Scribd having copywrited material but hey do also have non-copwrited materials.
Amazon just recently made new Kindle firmware available. Some things I had added to my Kindle Touch, particularly a calendar, had cut battery life from almost six weeks to one week. The new firmware extended it to three weeks and more. In a short time the new firmware will automatically download to Kindles everywhere, or you can go to the Kindle section at Amazon and manually download the new firmware. You will also need to install it manually if you download it manually.
I'm currently working on a survival database system to catalogue wild foods for use on an android system. I figure a lot of people who are interested in this kind of thing could take an epad and via GPS it can tell them what kind of wild foods are available in that area. They can then learn about diferent areas and eventually not need to rely on the e-pad. I have a ridiculous amount of material, so will be starting with a UK version, but eventually a worldwide add-ons including shelter building and campcraft sections.
The E-reader is a great tool for all kinds of activities, thanks for sharing your idea.
Do you wrap the ebook in plastic inside the case or on the outside of the case? I was thinking that the latter might develop pinholes more easily.
What are some of your favorite selections for this purpose?
Do you have a light to go with it in case you need your info at night?
Best wishes,
Patrick
Hawke's Special Forces Survival Guide (it lays out very well in eBook form)
Bear Grylls Living World
FM 21-76 Army Survival Manuel
Outdoor Survival Book - Ray Mears
Wilderness Survival for Dummies (lol)
Common Edible and Useful Plants - Murial Sweet
Hallucinogenic and Poisonous Mushrooms - Gar P. Menser
And the first two are the only one that I wasn't able to find free online. (with a bit of searching)
I also copied and pasted edible plant information that I got online into Open Office and save it as a PDF. it reads perfectly on the NOOK. I imagine it will work the same on a Kindle.
Try: http://www.scribd.com/ To start. there is a ton of relevant books there including the PDF I was taking about that I made:
1Edible-Wild-Plants - Janie Plumpton
I usually put the whole thing i plastic so the case doesn't get wet but you make a valid point, perhaps a safer option. I was thinking also that it wouldn't hurt to put a packet of silicate beads in the bag as well to ward off moisture.
Thanks
Sorry I can't be of more help than that but I do hope one of those four fit the bill for you.