Sunday, March 16, 2014

Tip o’ the hat to Irish authors

Today is a great day to be Irish. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we made a list of some of our favorite Irish authors. James Joyce, Frank Delaney, Maeve Binchy, Colum McCann, and Declan Burke are just a few of the names you will see when you click on the link below. These wonderful stories will transport you into the world of Irish culture and history which can bring new meaning to the celebrations and festivities happening today. Between pints of Guinness and corned beef sandwiches, share these with your loved ones and patrons in tribute of the great Irish writers of our time and before.

Irish Authors

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Do you have any other favorites that we left off the list? How about any fun plans or library programming you are doing in honor of St. Patrick's Day?

Sláinte!

*Some titles may have limited regional or platform availability.

 

Rachel Somerville is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.

 

Leaked iOS 8 Screenshots Reveals New Healthbook App

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Apple is tipped to launch iOS 8 at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) scheduled this June though there already is a sneak peek of what's in store with the next upgrade thanks to a leak from Chinese site Weibo. As revealed in the leaked screenshots, there is going to be at least two new OSX apps – Preview and TextEdit – that will make its debut in the mobile OS. Both of these apps though will offer limited functionality as these are purported to allow users to view files created by the desktop app and stored in iCloud. These are unlikely to offer any editing capabilities.

Another app that has appeared in the leaked screen shot of what is believed to be that of the next iOS iteration is Healthbook. This app is already being touted to emerge as the biggest USP of iOS 8 in the coming days and will give shape to the renewed focus that Apple is expected to assign to health and fitness aspects. Not to mention, the Healthbook app will also provide easy integration with the iWatch with built-in health tracking features that the Californian company is expected to come up with in the coming days.

Popular site dealing with Apple devices, 9to5Mac has confirmed the legitimacy of the leaked screenshots with help from Apple sources.

Leaked iOS 8 Screenshots Reveals New Healthbook App is a post from: Good e-Reader

Libri, Bookline.hu Merger in Hungary Strengthens Bookselling Industry

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US bookstores aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch of lower prices and convenient shipping options luring their customers away in favor of online shopping, although the situation has gotten so dire–especially since the advent of “showrooming” and apps that make the practice even easier–that some industry publications actually keep a running announcement of bookstores that are closing their doors. But a new merger coming from Hungary is aimed at keeping consumers happy while still further strengthening one of the country’s iconic brick-and-mortar chains.

Online bookseller Bookline.hu and Libri have teamed up to give consumers convenience and choice, while still working to not serve as competition for each other given their vastly different functions. Bookline claims to have a user base of better than one in ten of the country’s population, with just over one-and-a-half million users in a country with slightly less than ten million residents. As for Libri, it operates fourteen physical stores in the capital city alone, with more than a dozen other stores scattered around the country.

The biggest thing going for the merger will be the ability to leverage their marketing and promotion dollars, which only makes sense since they sell virtually the same product. Bookline has been experiencing some painful financial losses lately, and hopes the merger will boost brand recognition and profits.

Libri, Bookline.hu Merger in Hungary Strengthens Bookselling Industry is a post from: Good e-Reader

FireFox For Windows 8 Project Axed Due to Low Demand

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Mozilla has announced they have put an end to the Firefox for Windows 8 project just weeks of launching the beta version because there just aren't enough testers who volunteered to test the new touch-friendly Metro avatar of Firefox. Mozilla also stated they are not going to risk launching what could be a buggy version of the browser. This applies to only the touch screen version of the popular browser, though the traditional desktop version continues to be available.

“In the months since, as the team built and tested and refined the product, we've been watching Metro's adoption,” revealed Firefox VP Johnathan Nightingale in a blog post. “From what we can see, it's pretty flat. On any given day we have, for instance, millions of people testing pre-release versions of Firefox desktop, but we've never seen more than 1000 active daily users in the Metro environment.”

The touch-friendly version of Firefox was scheduled to be launched on March 18, but that obviously isn't relevant any more. Mozilla stated they aren't ruling out the browser in future and will be back in development once demand picks up.

FireFox For Windows 8 Project Axed Due to Low Demand is a post from: Good e-Reader

Amazon Issues New Update For its Kindle App For Android

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Amazon has come up with an update to its Kindle app for Android. The update doesn’t introduce any new fancy features but brings about some interesting enhancements to the existing set up. The changes include the introduction of several new fonts to choose from, along with easy access to the table of contents when reading a particular book. The update also promises faster cover loading along with automatic brightness control. The issue of using the volume buttons for page turning has also been overhauled so that it now allows for better and more refined control.

Overall, it’s a minor update, but it no doubt will allow for a better reading experience using the Kindle app.

Amazon Issues New Update For its Kindle App For Android is a post from: Good e-Reader