TECHNOLOGY: Amazon Alexa Tablet?

Thursday, October 8, 2026

https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/goodbye-fire-tablet-amazons-new-alexa-tablet-is-a-flashy-portable-entertainment-hub/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=insider&zdee=%5BContact.email_zdee%5D

Goodbye, Fire Tablet: Amazon’s New Alexa Tablet Is a Flashy Portable Entertainment Hub

The new tablets tie together the Amazon media ecosystem so you can pick up where you left off from just about anywhere.
Tyler Graham

Writer
Tyler is a writer for CNET covering laptops and video games.… Read full bio

October 8, 2026, 11:12 am ET

*** begin quote ***

A new lineup of Amazon tablets has been announced, and the devices are designed for both work and play. Amazon Alexa Tablets combine cloud-based device syncing functionality, onboard AI capabilities and the entirety of Amazon’s media catalog, making them something akin to on-the-go entertainment hubs.

*** and ***

Pogo pin connection with new keyboard ($150) and USI 2.0 pen accessory ($90) turn the tablet into a small work laptop or creative device

*** end quote ***

I noticed that the (apparently) don’t support keyboards.  I also don’t see any reference to connectivity specs or bluetooth.

Sounds like you’re buying a technology that is an “island”.  No mention of printer support?  But it has to be there.

I’ve been burned before by Amazon “tablets” and kindle.  SO I’d wait and see the device in real use with hard hitting reviews before I’d even consider it.

Your call; mine is “you’re out”!

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DISCOURAGING: Amazon resellers of batteries … … 

Monday, September 7, 2026

Anyone else “upset” with Amazon resellers of batteries?

It feels like they are most old and poor quality.  Often repackaged.  In different languages.

So, no more, will I buy batteries from Amazon.  Home Depot, Lowes, Target, even the Publix grocery store.

They have to be better!

Argh!

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DISCOURAGING: I don’t want my orders sent by USPS

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

A chat with amazon

*** begin quote ***

ME: USPS deliveries are inconvenient and always seem delayed. Can I specify I don’t want my orders sent by USPS?

REP: understand your concern.
I can take this as a feedback so that our team will check the details and will try our best to deliver the items directly

*** end quote ***

Have to tell Puritan’s Pride the same thing. 

If they can’t deliver with UPS or FEDEX 0r something similar, then I have to take my business elsewhere.

Argh!

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TECHNOLOGY: Forcing people to pay again for what they originally had

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

https://cordcuttersnews.com/bad-news-for-babylon-5-fans/

Bad News For Babylon 5 Fans
By Luke Bouma on April 11, 2026

*** begin quote ***

Fans of the groundbreaking science fiction television series Babylon 5 received disappointing news recently as the show disappeared from major free streaming platforms in the United States. Amazon’s MGM, which holds distribution rights, has pulled the series from ad-supported services including The Roku Channel and Tubi. Viewers who once enjoyed legal access to all five seasons without a subscription or purchase now find themselves without that option. The move forces enthusiasts to either buy digital episodes, invest in physical media, or seek out paid subscription services where the show might be available.

*** and ***

The removal from free platforms highlights the challenges in preserving access to older catalog titles. While physical Blu-ray releases offer high-quality remastered versions for collectors, and digital purchase options exist on various storefronts, the lack of free availability may deter younger viewers or those on tight budgets. Industry observers note that such decisions often stem from efforts to maximize revenue through exclusive deals or bundled content libraries. Amazon’s MGM appears to be repositioning the property, possibly in preparation for new distribution strategies or integration with other services.

For dedicated fans, the situation underscores the importance of owning physical copies or supporting official releases.

*** end quote ***

I’ve often ranted about technology shifts that force people to pay again for what they originally had.  This is just another instance of that same gripe.

I used to have an extensive collection of self-help cassette tapes.  When the “Big Publishers” shifted to compact disks they expected me to re-buy all that content.  Not only couldn’t I afford it at the time but I refused to do it. Argh!

I wonder where in the Universe all that content is store for the eventual copyright expiration date?  

Or is it lost forever.

Argh!

Gooferment diktats like “copyright laws” really are misguided at best and the result of political “contributions” to politicians by Big Publishing!

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GRAVEYARD: Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported — off to the Microsoft Mothball Vault

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

FROM AN EMAIL BY MSFT

*** begin quote ***

Beginning 10/1/2026, Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported as part of Microsoft 365. Many common Publisher scenarios are available in other Microsoft 365 apps, including Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.

*** end quote ***

Microsoft is killing Microsoft Publisher just like it did with its ChromeOS competitor.  Off to the “Microsoft Mothball Vault”.

Of course there’s no reduction in price. Argh! Call it what it is “shrinkflation”. They give it the FU treatment and  “deprecate” it. Or whatever you want to call it — “sunsetting”!

Unlike when Google  SHERLOCKED (i.e., copy a successful product and give it away for free) like BITLY, they “deprecated” it like so many other GOOGLE “products and services”.

So to recap, we have seen: the #Google Graveyard, #AT&T_ashcan;  IoT products to their own graveyard; #DROPBOX  dustbin; Amazon has “sunset”; and … … … …

 … … … … the worst of all Google introduced “End of Life” to Chromebooks when I thought that Google had created the computer that was closest to an appliance like a toaster. But they threw in the EOL as planned obsolesce!

At least a toaster just sits there are works, unlike all this other <synonym for excrement>!

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NOTRECOMMENDED: Any KINDLE or ebook “purchased” from AMAZON

Monday, October 6, 2025

https://www.androidauthority.com/amazon-kindle-e-books-drm-harder-to-backup-3601341/

Your Kindle e-books just got locked down even tighter
With stricter DRM in place, your Kindle library is now even harder to back up.
By Matt Horne aka @SalvaCash
September 25, 2025

*** begin quote ***

For Kindle owners, this continues a pattern of losing personal control over purchased books. Earlier this year, Amazon removed the ability to download titles for local transfer via USB. Old versions of the Kindle Android app also no longer support downloads, which cut off another method people used for saving e-books. With this latest move, the company has tightened its grip on Kindle e-books even further.

*** end quote ***

As much as I linked my old Kindle, which I have misplaced, I can’t understand why AMAZON has locked it down even more.

Until the Gooferment cracks down on AMAZON for its FRAUDULENT practice of “SELLING” books when it’s really just delivering a “LICENSE” to you, we’re stuck with a BIG BROTHER “librarian”.

I’m tired of what I call “CONTENT FRAUD”.  I don’t know how many times in the past I’ve had to rebuy content.  Paper books, books on cassette tapes, books on CDs, and “audio” books are all the same content that we’re stuck buying and rebuying,

Never mind that Disney and Amazon do a big business in “SELLING” streaming content that you don’t have control over.

Maybe I’m just an old curmudgeon, but I’m now at the point where I’m not BUYING content where I don’t control the MEDIA that I’ve purchased.

I want my CONTENT without DRM so I can put it in CALIBRE and enjoy it anywhere anytime.  I want to burn that into a MEDIA that is virtually eternal and that I control.

Sorry, but I’m not LICENSING anything anymore.

# – # – # – # – #

P.S.: While on the topic of really free “BOOKS” I use:

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MEME: Jeff Bezos circa 1999

Monday, September 29, 2025

Image

“Sometimes what seems possible is impossible. The whizdom comes from knowing when to quit.”

IN RESPONSE TO

“Never let someone tell you what’s possible. “https://tinyurl.com/y2yuweao —Jason Stapleton @Jason_Stapleton

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TECHNOLOGY: Amazon has “sunset” Freevee — like the Google Graveyard

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

https://www.androidauthority.com/amazon-freevee-app-shut-down-august-3573688/

Amazon’s Freevee app gets an expiry date, but here’s how to keep watching for free

Prime Video is the new home for all of Freevee’s ad-supported content.

By Pranob Mehrotra

July 3, 2025

*** begin quote ***

  •     Amazon confirmed plans to sunset its free streaming service, Freevee, late last year.
  •     The company has now notified users that the Freevee app will be shut down in August 2025.
  •     Freevee’s extensive library of movies, TV shows, and live TV will be available through Prime Video.

After announcing plans to wind down its free video streaming service late last year, Amazon has now confirmed that the Freevee app will finally be shut down in August. But there’s some good news for those who enjoy Freevee’s vast library of TV shows, movies, and live TV.

*** end quote ***

Remember if it’s “free”, then you are the product!

Now like the Google Graveyard, we have an “Amazon sunset”!

Amazon’s Dash buttons are no more. Remember the “Tide button”, and other product buttons to make reordering easy?  I don’t remember Amazon “sunseting” other things.  And certainly not as frequently as Google does.

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MONEY: Walmart and Amazon are going to “mint” Stablecoins

Thursday, June 19, 2025

https://www.wsj.com/finance/banking/walmart-amazon-stablecoin-07de2fdd?st=Uj2rA8&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink&utm_source=tldrnewsletter

Walmart and Amazon Are Exploring Issuing Their Own Stablecoins

  • Corporate coins could take payments activity away from banks and the traditional financial system

By Gina Heeb, AnnaMaria Andriotis, Josh Dawsey
Updated June 13, 2025 4:51 pm ET

# – # – # – # – # 

FROM TLDR 2025-06-16

*** begin quote ***

Walmart and Amazon Are Exploring Issuing Their Own Stablecoins

Several multinational giants, including Walmart and Amazon, are discussing potential efforts to issue stablecoins. Whether these initiatives will go ahead depends on a bill still yet to clear the Senate and House called the Genius Act, which establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Stablecoins could allow merchants to bypass traditional payment rails, which cost them billions of dollars in fees each year. A regulatory framework for stablecoins would enable an alternative payment type for merchants that could significantly lower their expenses and create competition against Visa and Mastercard. 

*** end quote ***

# – # – # – # – # 

To me this is BIG (<synonym for the act of procreation in real time>) deal.

I never understood why Walmart was allowed to establish its own bank.  The politicians and bureaucrats are always whining about the “poor unbanked”.  But Walmart could solve that problem quickly, cheaply, and easily.  So could Amazon.

Stablecoins by either of them could serve the same purpose as a bank without the regulatory hassle.

Let’s wait and see.  Competition in the “traditional financial system” for JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Visa, and Mastercard could certainly be good for the consumers.

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RANT: “Hard Back Press” and Amazon are selling old scanned books; who has the copyright?

Friday, May 23, 2025

https://www.amazon.com/Line-Mans-Bible-Foot-Ball-Instruction/dp/0371724171?&linkCode=sl1&tag=stucosuccess-20&linkId=bc86c9a014f89e03bf2127d551eb5a42&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

The Line Man’s Bible: a Foot-Ball Text Book of Detailed Instruction Paperback – August 12, 2021

by Ernest Graves (Author)

# – # – # – # – # 

FROM AMAZON

This is a copy of the original book. In this series, we are bringing old books back into print using our own state-of-the-art techniques. Generally, these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way that the author intended. However, as we are working with old material, so occasionally there may be certain imperfections within the text. We are so pleased to ensure these classics are available again for generations to come. 

# – # – # – # – # 

Copyright by Ernest Graves in 1921

# – # – # – # – # 

By my understanding, this should now be in the Public Domain.

Yet, “Hard Back Press” and Amazon are selling it.

Are they asserting a copyright?

I’m confused.  Can I take old out of copyright books and sell them as well?

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