| The 2013 edition of the Google I/O Conference may not have been about fancy hardware launches or even a new iteration of Android (both of which were hotly anticipated), but that does not mean there weren’t any important or interesting announcements made. There is the very interesting new feature that Google launched aimed primarily at the educational sector. Google Play for Education marks an entirely new addition to the Google Play Store and comprises of apps aimed at making learning a fun filled experience for the kids. Not surprisingly, the Google Play for Education section also integrates Google+ groups, and the inherent benefit is that a teacher can push a single app to all their students to form a particular group in a single push. As long as the teachers create the groups and direct the apps, Google will have the app delivered to all the devices in that group. Google stated that the apps that have been included are those that have been recommended by teachers, which adds a lot of pedigree to the Play for Education section. It also allows the apps to be purchased via the school's (or even a school system's) billing account rather than via a single person's credit card. That does make a lot of sense, considering any apps purchased will be paid for by the school authorities rather than having to use an individual's credit card and reimbursing them later, thus saving a lot of hassle. Lastly, Google also has stated the new Education segment won't just be limited to apps, but will also comprise of books and videos as well. All of which will be organized by genre and the intended age group. Overall, it’s a nice move that will help students and teachers make the best of digital tools in furthering the cause of education.
Google Play for Education Launched is a post from: E-Reader News |
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Google Play for Education Launched
Google Play for Education Launched
| The 2013 edition of the Google I/O Conference may not have been about fancy hardware launches or even a new iteration of Android (both of which were hotly anticipated), but that does not mean there weren’t any important or interesting announcements made. There is the very interesting new feature that Google launched aimed primarily at the educational sector. Google Play for Education marks an entirely new addition to the Google Play Store and comprises of apps aimed at making learning a fun filled experience for the kids. Not surprisingly, the Google Play for Education section also integrates Google+ groups, and the inherent benefit is that a teacher can push a single app to all their students to form a particular group in a single push. As long as the teachers create the groups and direct the apps, Google will have the app delivered to all the devices in that group. Google stated that the apps that have been included are those that have been recommended by teachers, which adds a lot of pedigree to the Play for Education section. It also allows the apps to be purchased via the school's (or even a school system's) billing account rather than via a single person's credit card. That does make a lot of sense, considering any apps purchased will be paid for by the school authorities rather than having to use an individual's credit card and reimbursing them later, thus saving a lot of hassle. Lastly, Google also has stated the new Education segment won't just be limited to apps, but will also comprise of books and videos as well. All of which will be organized by genre and the intended age group. Overall, it’s a nice move that will help students and teachers make the best of digital tools in furthering the cause of education.
Google Play for Education Launched is a post from: E-Reader News |
Google Play Books Update Allows eBook Uploads in EPUB and PDF
| Google Play Books has just released a new update today for iOS and Android that will greatly enhance its relevance. Google now allows users to upload their own ebooks in EPUB or PDF format into Google Drive or via their new Uploading Tool. Once the books are stored in the cloud, you can read your books within the main Google Books app. Google has adopted a new strategy to open up its book ecosystem to users who have their own ebooks (without DRM) to read. You can download books from anywhere on the internet and upload them to your Google account. You can then make notes, annotations, and sync all of your data. This is very useful to people who have adopted smartphones and tablets in their lifestyle. The new Google Play Books app is available via the Good e-Reader APP store and iTunes. Google Play Books Update Allows eBook Uploads in EPUB and PDF is a post from: E-Reader News |
Google Play Books Update Allows eBook Uploads in EPUB and PDF
| Google Play Books has just released a new update today for iOS and Android that will greatly enhance its relevance. Google now allows users to upload their own ebooks in EPUB or PDF format into Google Drive or via their new Uploading Tool. Once the books are stored in the cloud, you can read your books within the main Google Books app. Google has adopted a new strategy to open up its book ecosystem to users who have their own ebooks (without DRM) to read. You can download books from anywhere on the internet and upload them to your Google account. You can then make notes, annotations, and sync all of your data. This is very useful to people who have adopted smartphones and tablets in their lifestyle. The new Google Play Books app is available via the Good e-Reader APP store and iTunes. Google Play Books Update Allows eBook Uploads in EPUB and PDF is a post from: E-Reader News |
ProQuest Completes the Acquisition of EBL and Explains What It All Means
| Proquest has officially acquired Ebook Library and this new acquisition greatly enhances the the ability for Proquest to expand its digital offerings in Academia. The acquisition supports ProQuest's overall goal of enhancing the research experience through seamless discovery of content across multiple formats, including books, journals, dissertations, newspapers, and video. Not that many people might be familiar with Proquest and what the company actually does. I spoke with Kevin Sayar, Senior Vice President of Workflow Solutions, and we discussed what the acquisition means and what Proquest is doing on the digital book front. Kevin originally joined Proquest when his company, Ebrary, was acquired by Proquest in early 2011. At the time, Proquest did not really have any sort of stake in digital books and the deal with Ebrary solved that issue. With the new deal for EBL, it adds a copious amount of books into its digital portfolio. Right now, Proquest has over one million academic titles and deals with over 600 publishers. Proquest currently does business with schools, government, libraries, and private academic businesses. Its entire business model is centered around textbooks and e-textbooks. 60% of its current business operations are focused on the US, but they do have a heavy presence in Canada too. The EBL deal opens up a number of territories and business dealings in Japan, Australia, and Europe. Going forward, Proquest is focusing hard on Germany. What exactly is involved in opening up a new market for Proquest and e-textbooks in general? It often begins with talking to local publishers who are in the business of serving their own markets. Often, they do not have any sort of digital presence and Proquest helps to digitize their existing assets. Kevin cited Germany as a specific example of how his team leverages the large company and bundles a copious amount of English content alongside German content that traditionally is only available in the printed format. Proquest then markets its growing library to schools, libraries and other businesses within Germany. Overdrive, 3M, and Baker and Taylor have become synonymous when we think of borrowing ebooks from the library. Often, these companies only deal with consumer trade for fiction and nonfiction titles. When it comes to academic books, we often don’t hear much about what companies libraries often deal with. Kevin mentioned that Proquest currently deals with over 4,000 libraries and provides them the type of electronic academic books needed to assist students and the public for research. Normally, when we hear about companies getting bought out, they often get absorbed into the parent company. Proquest operates quite differently and allows its business units to have a large degree of autonomy. This is because the businesses purchased are very specialized and all of them bring something new to the table. Obviously milestones, goals, and other incentives make the subsidiaries try to maximize profits, but it’s good to know the key management and technologies are operated by the people who know them best. This also ensures that clients and businesses are still dealing with the same reps and the only thing that changes is the amount of money they have to invest in marketing, leveraging, and developing new products and services. What is next for Proquest? Now that the acquisition is over, the company is working on a massive new portal solution for schools, libraries, and corporate clients to easily manage buying and monitoring existing content. It will allow people to track library loans, circulation figures, and essential metrics. ProQuest Completes the Acquisition of EBL and Explains What It All Means is a post from: E-Reader News |
ProQuest Completes the Acquisition of EBL and Explains What It All Means
| Proquest has officially acquired Ebook Library and this new acquisition greatly enhances the the ability for Proquest to expand its digital offerings in Academia. The acquisition supports ProQuest's overall goal of enhancing the research experience through seamless discovery of content across multiple formats, including books, journals, dissertations, newspapers, and video. Not that many people might be familiar with Proquest and what the company actually does. I spoke with Kevin Sayar, Senior Vice President of Workflow Solutions, and we discussed what the acquisition means and what Proquest is doing on the digital book front. Kevin originally joined Proquest when his company, Ebrary, was acquired by Proquest in early 2011. At the time, Proquest did not really have any sort of stake in digital books and the deal with Ebrary solved that issue. With the new deal for EBL, it adds a copious amount of books into its digital portfolio. Right now, Proquest has over one million academic titles and deals with over 600 publishers. Proquest currently does business with schools, government, libraries, and private academic businesses. Its entire business model is centered around textbooks and e-textbooks. 60% of its current business operations are focused on the US, but they do have a heavy presence in Canada too. The EBL deal opens up a number of territories and business dealings in Japan, Australia, and Europe. Going forward, Proquest is focusing hard on Germany. What exactly is involved in opening up a new market for Proquest and e-textbooks in general? It often begins with talking to local publishers who are in the business of serving their own markets. Often, they do not have any sort of digital presence and Proquest helps to digitize their existing assets. Kevin cited Germany as a specific example of how his team leverages the large company and bundles a copious amount of English content alongside German content that traditionally is only available in the printed format. Proquest then markets its growing library to schools, libraries and other businesses within Germany. Overdrive, 3M, and Baker and Taylor have become synonymous when we think of borrowing ebooks from the library. Often, these companies only deal with consumer trade for fiction and nonfiction titles. When it comes to academic books, we often don’t hear much about what companies libraries often deal with. Kevin mentioned that Proquest currently deals with over 4,000 libraries and provides them the type of electronic academic books needed to assist students and the public for research. Normally, when we hear about companies getting bought out, they often get absorbed into the parent company. Proquest operates quite differently and allows its business units to have a large degree of autonomy. This is because the businesses purchased are very specialized and all of them bring something new to the table. Obviously milestones, goals, and other incentives make the subsidiaries try to maximize profits, but it’s good to know the key management and technologies are operated by the people who know them best. This also ensures that clients and businesses are still dealing with the same reps and the only thing that changes is the amount of money they have to invest in marketing, leveraging, and developing new products and services. What is next for Proquest? Now that the acquisition is over, the company is working on a massive new portal solution for schools, libraries, and corporate clients to easily manage buying and monitoring existing content. It will allow people to track library loans, circulation figures, and essential metrics. ProQuest Completes the Acquisition of EBL and Explains What It All Means is a post from: E-Reader News |
Welcome to the Swag Shop!
| You may have noticed that a little while ago, we quietly withdrew Raspberry Pi branded t-shirts from sale. Since then, we’ve been working on a reboot of the store. Shirts have been totally redesigned, and are now screen-printed rather than transfer-printed, which gives a much higher-quality and tougher finish; we’ve also listened to your requests for more colours and thicker material. [Edit to add: a few of you have asked about the larger sizes. At the moment they're available in black (up to 3XL), and chocolate (Eben's favourite), red and sport grey (2XL). We'll add more if the demand's there, so please let us know what you want.] Every purchase you make goes to fund the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s educational activities, so you’re not just making yourself look swanky; you’re directly helping kids.  T-shirts, just calling out for you to buy them so they can escape their cruel imprisonment in plastic crates. So today we’re relaunching the shop, under a new name, with new management (things are being run by our friends at Pimoroni), and new goodies for you to buy.  Babbage the bear needs a home. Shirts (for ladies, men and kids) aren’t the only thing we’ve got in stock: you can now buy your very own Babbage the bear, and we also have Raspberry Pi mugs, bags, and travelcard holders for you to sip from, carry things in, and wave at turnstiles proudly.  A holder for your Oyster card (or your library card, bus pass or ID). Thanks to TfL for allowing us to mess with their map, and to Paul Beech for the design.  A tough drawstring bag for your hacking tools, about twelve Babbages or your overnight gear.  It’s a mug. You put coffee in it. We’ll be introducing more goodies to the store as time goes on, and announcing them here when we do. We hope you like it! Please get buying – every penny of profit we make goes straight back into the Raspberry Pi Foundation, where it’s used directly to help educate kids in computer science.
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Welcome to the Swag Shop!
| You may have noticed that a little while ago, we quietly withdrew Raspberry Pi branded t-shirts from sale. Since then, we’ve been working on a reboot of the store. Shirts have been totally redesigned, and are now screen-printed rather than transfer-printed, which gives a much higher-quality and tougher finish; we’ve also listened to your requests for more colours and thicker material. [Edit to add: a few of you have asked about the larger sizes. At the moment they're available in black (up to 3XL), and chocolate (Eben's favourite), red and sport grey (2XL). We'll add more if the demand's there, so please let us know what you want.] Every purchase you make goes to fund the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s educational activities, so you’re not just making yourself look swanky; you’re directly helping kids. T-shirts, just calling out for you to buy them so they can escape their cruel imprisonment in plastic crates. So today we’re relaunching the shop, under a new name, with new management (things are being run by our friends at Pimoroni), and new goodies for you to buy. Babbage the bear needs a home. Shirts (for ladies, men and kids) aren’t the only thing we’ve got in stock: you can now buy your very own Babbage the bear, and we also have Raspberry Pi mugs, bags, and travelcard holders for you to sip from, carry things in, and wave at turnstiles proudly. A holder for your Oyster card (or your library card, bus pass or ID). Thanks to TfL for allowing us to mess with their map, and to Paul Beech for the design. A tough drawstring bag for your hacking tools, about twelve Babbages or your overnight gear. It’s a mug. You put coffee in it. We’ll be introducing more goodies to the store as time goes on, and announcing them here when we do. We hope you like it! Please get buying – every penny of profit we make goes straight back into the Raspberry Pi Foundation, where it’s used directly to help educate kids in computer science.
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eBooks Account for 20% of All Book Sales in the United States
| eBooks are on the rise for the entire trade publishing sector, and they tend to net the entire publishing industry with stable growth. A recent survey conducted by Bookstats has stated that ebooks now account for 20% of all books sold in the US in 2012, and in 2011 they accounted for 15%. This equates to around three billion dollars in revenue for the entire digital industry, which is up 44% in 2011. Overall, the entire US publishing industry is thought to have generated $15 billion dollars in 2012. One of the drawbacks of digital is at the obvious expense of printed books. Over the course of the last few years, publishers have adopted a same day digital edition when the printed version comes out. This has not directly influenced hardcover sales, but trade paperback books are on the decline. When paperback books are sold, they are often at supermarkets or drugstores. It is easier these days to just get the ebook months before the paperback version is released, at a cheaper price. Audiobooks also saw nice gains in 2012. Revenue was up 21.8% year-over-year to $241 million. This is primary due to large marketing campaigns by Audible and Overdrive and the ability for authors to now self-publish their own audiobooks. According to BookStats, sales through online retailers rose 21.3% in 2012, to $6.93 billion, while sales through brick and mortar outlets fell 7.0% to $7.47 billion. Obviously, on the retail level there are a lot of indie bookstores closing, and with Borders going out of business, there is a lack of availability in your average small town. Most customers are either borrowing digital editions from the library or via online retailers. eBooks Account for 20% of All Book Sales in the United States is a post from: E-Reader News |
eBooks Account for 20% of All Book Sales in the United States
| eBooks are on the rise for the entire trade publishing sector, and they tend to net the entire publishing industry with stable growth. A recent survey conducted by Bookstats has stated that ebooks now account for 20% of all books sold in the US in 2012, and in 2011 they accounted for 15%. This equates to around three billion dollars in revenue for the entire digital industry, which is up 44% in 2011. Overall, the entire US publishing industry is thought to have generated $15 billion dollars in 2012. One of the drawbacks of digital is at the obvious expense of printed books. Over the course of the last few years, publishers have adopted a same day digital edition when the printed version comes out. This has not directly influenced hardcover sales, but trade paperback books are on the decline. When paperback books are sold, they are often at supermarkets or drugstores. It is easier these days to just get the ebook months before the paperback version is released, at a cheaper price. Audiobooks also saw nice gains in 2012. Revenue was up 21.8% year-over-year to $241 million. This is primary due to large marketing campaigns by Audible and Overdrive and the ability for authors to now self-publish their own audiobooks. According to BookStats, sales through online retailers rose 21.3% in 2012, to $6.93 billion, while sales through brick and mortar outlets fell 7.0% to $7.47 billion. Obviously, on the retail level there are a lot of indie bookstores closing, and with Borders going out of business, there is a lack of availability in your average small town. Most customers are either borrowing digital editions from the library or via online retailers. eBooks Account for 20% of All Book Sales in the United States is a post from: E-Reader News |
Amazon Buys Color Screen Tech Company – Color Kindles in The Near Future?
| This past week Amazon purchased a company called Liquavista that specializes in an alternative type of display technology called electrowetting. Electrowetting displays are similar to E Ink displays used on current Kindles (Kindle ebook readers, not Kindle tablets) in that they are more energy efficient than traditional LCD displays and unlike LCD they are readable [...] |
Amazon Buys Color Screen Tech Company – Color Kindles in The Near Future?
| This past week Amazon purchased a company called Liquavista that specializes in an alternative type of display technology called electrowetting. Electrowetting displays are similar to E Ink displays used on current Kindles (Kindle ebook readers, not Kindle tablets) in that they are more energy efficient than traditional LCD displays and unlike LCD they are readable [...] |
Big Library Read is Here!
| Today is the rollout of the Big Library Read pilot. This pilot program allows millions of patrons from more than 7,500 participating libraries to simultaneously read Michael Malone's critically-acclaimed 'Four Corners of the Sky' in OverDrive Read, Kindle and EPUB formats. Big Library Read enables users from 10 different countries on five different continents to join in one of the largest global reading events ever to occur. From now until June 1st, users will be able to log in to their digital library website and check out this wonderful tale about love, secrets and the mysterious bonds only families can form.
Sourcebooks, will host a live Facebook chat with author Michael Malone, enabling readers to have their questions answered in real time. More details will be coming soon.
If your library has not yet signed up to participate in Big Library Read, contact your Account Specialist today. There's still time to join!
Adam Sockel is a Marketing Specialist at OverDrive  |
Big Library Read is Here!
| Today is the rollout of the Big Library Read pilot. This pilot program allows millions of patrons from more than 7,500 participating libraries to simultaneously read Michael Malone's critically-acclaimed 'Four Corners of the Sky' in OverDrive Read, Kindle and EPUB formats. Big Library Read enables users from 10 different countries on five different continents to join in one of the largest global reading events ever to occur. From now until June 1st, users will be able to log in to their digital library website and check out this wonderful tale about love, secrets and the mysterious bonds only families can form.
Sourcebooks, will host a live Facebook chat with author Michael Malone, enabling readers to have their questions answered in real time. More details will be coming soon.
If your library has not yet signed up to participate in Big Library Read, contact your Account Specialist today. There's still time to join!
Adam Sockel is a Marketing Specialist at OverDrive |
New 13.3″ Flexible E Ink Mobius Displays Introduced
| E Ink has announced that they have co-developed a new large format epaper display technology with Sony called Mobius that is going to start being mass producing later this year. Mobius displays measure in at 13.3 inches, and have a resolution of 1200×1600. The size is meant to correspond with a typical A4 size sheet [...] |
New 13.3″ Flexible E Ink Mobius Displays Introduced
| E Ink has announced that they have co-developed a new large format epaper display technology with Sony called Mobius that is going to start being mass producing later this year. Mobius displays measure in at 13.3 inches, and have a resolution of 1200×1600. The size is meant to correspond with a typical A4 size sheet [...] |
Dictionary of Numbers
| I don’t like large numbers without context. Phrases like “they called for a $21 billion budget cut” or “the probe will travel 60 billion miles” or “a 150,000-ton ship ran aground” don’t mean very much to me on their own. Is that a large ship? Does 60 billion miles take you outside the Solar System? How much is $21 billion compared to the overall budget? (That last question is why I made my money chart.) A friend of mine, Glen Chiacchieri, has created a Chrome extension to help solve this problem: Dictionary of Numbers. It searches the text in your browser for quantities it understands and inserts contextual statements in brackets. It might turn the phrase “315 million people” into “315 million people [≈ the population of the United States]“. As Glen explains, he once read an article about US wildfires which mentioned that the largest fire of the year had burned “300,000 acres.” This didn’t mean much to Glen:
Dictionary of Numbers helpfully informs me that 300,000 acres is about the area of LA or Hong Kong. Wolfram|Alpha provides a lookup service like this, but you have to load the site and type in the quantity you’re curious about, which I never remember to do. (It’s also often short on good points of comparison.) Dictionary of Numbers is a new project, so it’s got its share of glitches and rendering hiccups; it’s very much a work in progress. You can submit bug reports, feedback, and suggestions for data sources via a link on the project’s website. I think these kinds of tools are a great idea, and I want to encourage them. Intelligence is all about context, and when computers get better at providing it, they make us smarter. The extension can even be surprisingly funny, like when it seems to be making an oblique suggestion for how to solve a problem—e.g. “The telescope has been criticized for its budget of $200 million [≈ Mitt Romney net worth].” It can also come across as unexpectedly judgmental. Glen told me about complaint he got from a user: “I installed your extension and then forgot about it … until I logged into my bank account. Apparently my total balance is equal to the cost of a low-end bicycle. Thanks.” You can get Dictionary of Numbers here. |
Dictionary of Numbers
| I don’t like large numbers without context. Phrases like “they called for a $21 billion budget cut” or “the probe will travel 60 billion miles” or “a 150,000-ton ship ran aground” don’t mean very much to me on their own. Is that a large ship? Does 60 billion miles take you outside the Solar System? How much is $21 billion compared to the overall budget? (That last question is why I made my money chart.) A friend of mine, Glen Chiacchieri, has created a Chrome extension to help solve this problem: Dictionary of Numbers. It searches the text in your browser for quantities it understands and inserts contextual statements in brackets. It might turn the phrase “315 million people” into “315 million people [≈ the population of the United States]“. As Glen explains, he once read an article about US wildfires which mentioned that the largest fire of the year had burned “300,000 acres.” This didn’t mean much to Glen:
Dictionary of Numbers helpfully informs me that 300,000 acres is about the area of LA or Hong Kong. Wolfram|Alpha provides a lookup service like this, but you have to load the site and type in the quantity you’re curious about, which I never remember to do. (It’s also often short on good points of comparison.) Dictionary of Numbers is a new project, so it’s got its share of glitches and rendering hiccups; it’s very much a work in progress. You can submit bug reports, feedback, and suggestions for data sources via a link on the project’s website. I think these kinds of tools are a great idea, and I want to encourage them. Intelligence is all about context, and when computers get better at providing it, they make us smarter. The extension can even be surprisingly funny, like when it seems to be making an oblique suggestion for how to solve a problem—e.g. “The telescope has been criticized for its budget of $200 million [≈ Mitt Romney net worth].” It can also come across as unexpectedly judgmental. Glen told me about complaint he got from a user: “I installed your extension and then forgot about it … until I logged into my bank account. Apparently my total balance is equal to the cost of a low-end bicycle. Thanks.” You can get Dictionary of Numbers here. |