Topic: Am I the only one?

You can get them for free on your iPod, iPhone, Kindle, laptop, desktop, or any public computer. You can download them for your PSP even. You can download the whole book, view it page-by-page online, or get a chunk sent to your email every day. All for free. Yes, there is everything wrong with charging money for stuff that's free. Want me to sell you some air to breathe?

The "Brain Training" does not improve intelligence. It's a stupid fad like those Baby Einstein vids.

You can get them for free on your iPod, iPhone, Kindle, laptop, desktop, or any public computer.

Understood, but reading a novel on a computer is horribly unappealing to most, myself included, and as for your other three:

Kindle - do not own, but have considered purchasing, for the ability it has to download international publications for a whole lot cheaper per issue than it would be for me to import them the usual way.

iPod / iPhone - I have only a nano, and don't care for the bigger ones for many reasons that are off-topic.

PSP - no inclination to purchase one of these, my handheld gaming needs are more than met.

Anyhow, as Chicken said, sometimes you're going somewhere and you'll only want to bring your DSi, not several devices, and it might be handy to have these available on it to encourage you to give one of the books a try, during a lapse in your vacation trip or whatnot. It's really not that hard to understand the use of it for some customers, and if the menus / navigation / browsing are handled well, it'll be far more enticing to flip through and pick out a book than it might be elsewhere on the web. Plus, the nifty book-like form of the DS/i when held sideways is perfect for this.

The "Brain Training" does not improve intelligence. It's a stupid fad like those Baby Einstein vids.

They don't magically improve intelligence, sure, but encouraging people to sit for a few minutes, focus, and complete a few varied tasks that use a little math, a little memory, some word games, and so forth is not a bad thing at all, and is helpful in its own small way. The objective, however, is really just to have fun, and you give those who buy the game too little credit; they are not just sold on this notion of instant mental improvement so much as you may believe. In fact, it sort of intersects with the demographic of those that are obsessed with playing Sudoku, little puzzles in the paper, crosswords, etc, and most enthusiasts of these kinds of games know perfectly well that it isn't a magic bullet for intelligence, yet they simply enjoy it anyway, and framing the whole thing in terms of "brain training" is just a nice way to make it into a total package.

It's not that the books have no value on the DS but that it's a rip-off having to pay for it on one device when every other portable electronic device imaginable will let you view it for free. If you only have a DS and this appeals to you, I'm sure it is worthwhile. But it doesn't change the fact that it's a bit money grubbing to ask for money in the first place.

You should focus your anger on people who own Apple-everything, or who turn at an intersection without signalling.

You can view them for free on the DSi if you want. It has a web browser, after all, and even has some options on there that are very well suited to reading (single-column mode). I read several sites (which have some lengthy politics articles, like fivethirtyeight ) exclusively on my DSi now, due to the convenience. I know that I could search and find some novels to read that way as well.

However, I like the idea of a cart that offers all of this in one neat package, particularly all those Shakespeare plays. I believe you're both missing this point: bringing a collection of any kind together in a nice, browsable, streamlined package can often be a way to make the entire experience far more enjoyable, encouraging further use than you give it otherwise, and paying for it is not so unusual. It happens plenty in the world of physical publishing as well.

Holy non sequitur, badman. What did I do to deserve this?

At least Apple doesn't make you pay to own 100 free books.

Well then it is an absolute, unabashed rip-off. I don't see how things could be brought into any nicer of a package then getting EVERY SINGLE BOOK, PLAY, OR POEM that's over 50/100 years old for free.

And from what I understand, this application makes things harder to read and can cause eyestrain and is an inconvenient format. The free apps on the iPod/iPhone and on the internet have many different options to reduce eyestrain, enlarge text, or change font colour and background, and have sharper resolution.

The unabridged copy I've got has 1462 pages... sounds like someone cut some material from your copy already. As for 'too much', bite your tongue! Every last detail of The Count of Monte Cristo is absolutely fabulous and deserves to be read.

But what you need to understand is on the DS it's in a nice little package that's easy to carry around. I've always got my DSi with me now, just as I always used to carry around a big novel. The DS is smaller, and holds more than just a book - I've got all my games as well. So what if those books are available on the internet ... I'm not lugging my computer around with me every where I go. And I too have several of the books on the game in paperback format. But there are a lot of them I don't have. It's just a nice way to read a book. To be honest, the only real drawback to it is you can't read it in the bath!

chalk that up to font, and page size it's all there.

Clickety Click - I am wondering who on earth gave you the right to assess the value of something someone else buys.

I consider 100 classic books a worthy purchase. I enjoy it. Its existence is therefore justified in my eyes.

I'm all for everyone having an opinion, but my opinion of someone who makes grandoise statements like "there is everything wrong with charging for something that is free" like they are some kind of authority is quite low.

Especially when we are talking about videogames, which are essentially a passive waste of money.

RE: the language coach. I had my partner look at it, and yes, there are mistakes. But my Japanese has improved, and the "game" has helped. So I reiterate - it's a useful and entertaining tool, assuming you're not treating it like an almighty bible of language.

As do I. I just finished my 3rd story and have started another one. I finished reading Little Lord Fauntleroy, which I rather enjoyed. It's not something I would have ever thought about reading ... I was only vaguely aware of the book's title before I read it. And it's not really something I would have picked up from the public library. But it was a good story, and I'd recommend it.

Brain Age is great, I find myself taking a brain test everyday. 100 classic book collection seems interesting, I'm gonna have to check it out. I'm also gonna try My Japanese Coach again.

No you're not the only one! While we don't have those titles in the U.S. (and I don't know why) the classic 100 book title for instance... I would love to use mine with such apps! Please bring the Classic 100 Books title to the U.S. Nintendo!!

I tried the demo of Brain Age and it said my brain is in its 50s...I know I'm slow at math but gosh...and I thought Rhythm Heaven's "Just OK" was an insult!