Zinio (a brilliant idea)

Since 1999, I try hard not to use paper. Back then, I bought a Compaq iPaq that serves for nothing, but reading novels, in formats like LIT, PDB, RB and TXT. The iPaq can also handle technical books, but it isn't practical for heavy graphics. Although available software, like Acrobat Reader for Pocket PC (PPC), can indeed open any PDF document, the fact is that it is not comfortable to zoom for charts and scroll to some regions, due to the limited speed and graphical resolution (320x240) of that handheld device – these limitations are transversal to all PPCs.

This means that PPCs also aren't a good solution to read magazines. On the other side of the spectrum, desktop computers have no trouble with any files, but most people simply aren't pleased with reading on them. Is there a middle point? There is: tablet PCs (TPCs).

But beware of Tablet PCs! There are many devices, on the TPC category, that aren't more than regular laptops, with a display that also supports pen writing input. The TPCs that matter to me are bare devices, the lighter the better. The more “strictly screen”, the better! So I bought a Compaq TC1100, which seems the best solution for what I want: to read anything, anywhere, including on bed, my favorite spot.

But the hardware is only half of the problem. Where do you get the digital magazines? Zinio is the answer! There are other answers, such as newsstand.com, but Zinio has the best prices, the best file format and a nice diversity, delivering from “Business Week” to “Computer Arts”.

The only problem with Zinio is that each file you pay for and download, must be authorized, prior to reading. The authorization request is a one time event, per computer, but if you download on a desktop and then copy the magazine to, say, a Tablet PC, the TPC too will have to have an Internet connection, for the very first file access. Unless you read below…

Zinio technology is Adobe and ContentGuard based. It won't take much effort to find out that the authorization consists in downloading one XML license per magazine. The Zinio Reader software (free) would be nearly perfect if it would allow exporting the licenses, in order to simplify reading on a second computer.

As it currently is, Zinio Reader doesn't feature such option. In fact, version 1.6 seemed a step back from version 1.5, giving me extra trouble in accepting copied magazines + their corresponding XML files.

Still, Zinio is the best digital magazines service provider I know of. The prices are much, *much* lower, than the paper editions. Digital reading has not a single disadvantage. Everything you can do on paper, you can do with Zinio, and more!

Highly recommended!

You can buy this and/or related products here.

for all costumers: http://www.zinio.com