I mostly agree with you and yes, it is depressing but I think there is another reason pushing people onto these locked down devices and it's simply that Microsoft still haven't worked out how to protect their systems from malware & viruses. Now before everyone jumps in and says this isn't just a MS problem, malware attacks 3rd party software too - I know that and I'll gladly put Java and Adobe in the same sin bin.
Let's say that Average Joe buys a nice shiny Windows laptop for $2000 - it's his machine, he can install whatever software he likes and there's no lock down right? But even on day one there is crapware installed by the laptop vendor that has started to slow his machine down (preinstalled AV "trials", desktop gadgets, Troubleshooting "assistants" and of course add-on toolbars). Now lets move on 6 months, the shiny laptop that was pretty fast on day one is now crawling - he's probably got a virus or some other malware by this stage (possibly because his OS updates didn't force 3rd party updates) and to combat this he's now got 2 or 3 always active anti-virus/anti-malware scanners running. It's possible he's also got malware masquerading as Antivirus running too and all these applications are fighting with the system and each other for resources.
But look over there, someone with a crappy netbook isn't having these problems because it's running Linux, or there's someone else with an Apple iThing (which they religiously keep updated and haven't been hit by any unfortunate 0-day exploits) and finally there's someone with a Chromebook who again have no need for multiple AV programs.
I hate that people opt for locked down systems over Linux but I think I hate more being called out to try and fix the crappy mess that Windows has left someone with when they mistakenly clicked that dodgy link on the web.
Where did you get your UK knowledge from?
Sort out the United Kingdom, it is easy, just sort out Ireland, Schotland, Wales and Brittain
The United Kingdom comprises England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The rest of Ireland is the Republic of Ireland (or Eire) and it is not part of the UK; though it could contentiously be included as part of the British Isles. And that's where the trouble starts, so instead of Great Britain it is now the United Kingdom with the Republic of Ireland as a completely seperate entity.
But I'm just being pedantic, there are, as you say, many issues to sort out among these friendly countries before we can even start to hammer out peace in the Middle East.
You stated reading as your primary goal so the only answer is an e-ink e-reader. Tablets are capable of providing reading apps but none of them provide anything like a "printed page" experience. An e-ink e-reader looks and reacts like a printed page; it is non-reflective, non-glossy, non-backlit. The lack of back lighting is a plus not a negative because the lights used to illuminate most tablet screens are in the spectrum that triggers your brain into the "wake up, wake up, dawn is here" state. That's not so good for reading at bedtime. Step outside with a tablet and it's unreadable; you end up looking at a mirror (with smeared fingerprints). Step outside with an e-ink e-reader and you can read naturally.
I've been careful not to push you to a particular brand of e-ink e-reader but I would push for one that supports as many formats as possible especially those that are DRM free. If you get tied down now to Amazon formatted material you may find you regret it in the long run; some of their practices have been Orwellian.
Say one, perhaps gold in colour with a slightly annoying, camp voice, that's humanoid and another that's really the brains of the operation in a tri-wheeled body that communicates with a series of clicks & beeps (it's also got a useful rotary arm for shutting off that valve).
It would make for a more entertaining video at the end of the competition.
Woah! I was getting a bit creeped out by some of the more paranoid comments from our brethren and just at the right/wrong moment a junior spider abseils off my ceiling light across the room and onto my keyboard. The slightest movement of my hand makes it scurry in and under the ] (right angle bracket) key. It shall feast well tonight!
And my comment... don't use Xbox it's Microsoft shit. Easy.
"No matter where you go, there you are..." -- Buckaroo Banzai