| Welcome to another Good e-Reader Video Comparison! Today we look at the first Windows 8 tablet in the world that features a 8.1 inch screen running Windows 8, the Iconia W3 and the Apple iPad. Our video documents the hardware features and directly compares how the specs look on paper. Obviously, the specs are similarly aligned, and is really not that indicative to the overall performance. We put these devices through the paces under real world circumstances. We directly compare the app stores and cite different reasons why we feel that Windows 8, as an ecosystem has dramatically improved since it first launched. Also, when it comes to watching videos, screen resolution and speaker quality is very important. The iPad Mini we found, blows the Acer out of the water, when it comes to a solid audio experience. We also look at gaming and using them both as an e-Reader. Acer Iconia W3 VS the Apple iPad Mini is a post from: E-Reader News |
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Acer Iconia W3 VS the Apple iPad Mini
Final Fantasy Sound Composer to Release New eBook
| One of the things that has resonated with Final Fantasy fans is the sound composition. Almost every single game to date has been done by Nobuo Uematsu and he is releasing a new eBook this summer. The new eBook will have interactive features and be primarily driven by audio. It tells a story of a robot named "Blik-0," created by a reputable artificial intelligence scientist, Dr. Mabuse. As Blik-0 experiences the life with humans, he starts to struggle with feelings and emotions. This moving and inspirational story is accompanied by Nobuo Uematsu' 3 original music scores and Hiroki Ogawa's gentle and warm illustrations to enhance reader's experience! The eBook will be published by acttil, a fairly new publisher comprised of some former NIS America staff. Blik-0 1946 (pronounced “Buliko”) will be available for iBooks via the iTunes Store and Kindle. The Kindle version won’t include the music files, but the iTunes Store version will come with all three of Uematsu’s tracks. Final Fantasy Sound Composer to Release New eBook is a post from: E-Reader News |
Apple Developer Website Hacked
| Last Thursday iOS developers have been unable to login to Apple’s Developers Portal. Most people assumed it was maintenance or a simple website upgrade. As it would have it, hackers broke into the website and stole an indeterminate amount of data. Apple said in a statement “Last Thursday, an intruder attempted to secure personal information of our registered developers from our developer website. Sensitive personal information was encrypted and cannot be accessed, however, we have not been able to rule out the possibility that some developers' names, mailing addresses, and/or email addresses may have been accessed. In the spirit of transparency, we want to inform you of the issue. We took the site down immediately on Thursday and have been working around the clock since then.” “In order to prevent a security threat like this from happening again, we're completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software, and rebuilding our entire database. We apologize for the significant inconvenience that our downtime has caused you and we expect to have the developer website up again soon.” The online break-in did not effect account data, such as passwords, because they are hashed with encryption. But credit-cards are the big one you have to keep in plaintext. If you want to bill the card without asking for the number to be reentered, there’s no way to avoid storing the number and expiration date. PCI does mandate that you keep less than necessary to initiate a new charge, though: you are not allowed to store the 3-digit verification code from the back of the card. Names, Addresses and email addresses are also not encrypted and many users have been getting emails about password resets, as the hackers try and take over a massive amount of accounts. Techcrunch confirmed just now that “The hack only affected developer accounts; standard iTunes accounts were not compromised Credit card data was not compromised They waited three days to alert developers because they were trying to figure out exactly what data was exposed There is no time table yet for when the Dev Center will return” Apple Developer Website Hacked is a post from: E-Reader News |
Notes from the Cambridge Raspberry Jam
| On Saturday, the half of Cambridgeshire that wasn’t busy footling about in the sun descended on Cambridge Consultants’ offices, kindly lent to the Raspberry Jam folks for the afternoon, for a few hours’ Pi-wrangling. If you’d been there you’d have met a hearty slice of the Pi’s development team: JamesH (and his brother, which surprised and excited me because I’d always thought that James had hatched from an egg), Gert, James Adams, Eben and I were all hanging around and poking things. We had a great time, hooked up with some old friends and met some new ones. There’s already a report on the day’s footling and poking available from Jonathan Pallant, and I have stolen this photograph from him. Click the picture (or here) to visit his site to read about the Jam.  Ryan picks a winner in the annual Cambridge Dress Like a Lumberjack competition (I have also stolen Jonathan’s joke. I am not sorry. It’s better than any of mine.) Huge thanks to Recantha for his hard work organising the Jam; I was really chuffed that one of the things I got to footle with/poke was his homebrew Tricorder, now equipped with pretty much every measuring device known to homo sapiens apart from a Geiger counter. Thanks also to Cambridge Consultants for the use of their space, and to everyone who gave talks and brought projects to share. Please spread this Jam! You can find out where the Jams are every month in the MagPi, and on the events page of our forums; there’s also a calendar at the Raspberry Jams site (which Alan, the Raspberry Jambassador, promises me is due a makeover soon). If there isn’t one near you, why not try setting one up? There’s help available, and we can put you in touch with folk who will share their experiences and give you lots of advice on organising, publicising and all that good stuff. Leave a comment below, post in the forums, or mail me via the contact page if you’d like to be put in touch with Jam Central. Recantha expects the next Cambridge Jam to be in September. We’re looking forward to seeing even more of you there! |
Dark Horse to Publish Terminator: The Last Battle Digital Comic
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Dark Horse is poised to capitalize on the new Terminator movie set to launch in early 2015. The company announced Terminator: The Last Battle, which will be illustrated by Pete Woods and written by J. Michael Straczynski. The Last Battle is a direct followup to the movie Terminator Salvation and chronicles the development of Skynet from the moment it became self-aware in 1997. The complete story arc will comprise of 12 issues and will be released on a monthly basis. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, J. Michael Straczynski said, “The story that I’ve always wanted to see visualized, and that I think other fans of the movies have eagerly anticipated, is the battle that set all of the movies into motion: the assault on Skynet, the Terminators going through and what happens afterward on both sides of the timeline. So the events weave in and out of the tapestry of the Terminator, showing what we know or what we think we know, then turning the camera around to show us that what we thought we knew may not be exactly what happens. The only timeline in which you could set that story would be after Salvation.” Dark Horse to Publish Terminator: The Last Battle Digital Comic is a post from: E-Reader News |
Google eBooks Expanded into 13 European Countries This Past Month
| Google has been making strides to expand the reach of their ebookstore internationally of late. Last month Google Play Books launched in Portugal, Austria, Ireland, and Belgium, and now this past week Google added nine more European countries to the list: Czech Republic Denmark Finland Greece Hungary Netherlands Poland Romania Sweden That makes 26 total [...] |
eBook Review: Streak of Lightning by Clare O’Donohue
| Verdict: 5 Stars The delightful thing about O’Donohue’s book is not just the charming premise of a local girl-sleuth who solves crimes out of her grandmother’s quilt shop with the help of a motley band of elderly quilters. That’s certainly pleasant enough, as is the small Northern town of Archer’s Rest, where the Someday Quilts series of mysteries takes place. What makes Streak of Lightning–its name derived, like the other books in the series, from the quilt pattern main character Nell Fitzgerald is working on at the time–so fun is the way it was created. Plume, the division of Penguin who has published O’Donohue’s other titles, is releasing Streak of Lightning as a stand-alone ebook-only title, a short, fun read to tide fans over until the author’s next full-length mystery novel in the series is released mid-fall of this year. At only $2.99, it’s meant to pique readers’ curiosity about some of the town’s other characters, while still demonstrating Fitzgerald’s sleuthing skills and introducing other less developed story lines that just haven’t been presented in the longer works in the series. In this e-short, Fitzgerald and her boyfriend, police chief Jesse DeWalt, actually make it as far as Grand Central Station to ring in the New Year in New York City, only to be called back to Archer’s Rest the moment the train pulls in. Joe Proctor, the notoriously despised and nearly violent town bully, is dead. Not just dead, but dead in a jail cell back in Archer’s Rest, having been put there by DeWalt himself only hours ago for assault. The couple races back to a town that is all about pointing fingers, since practically the entire population of the rural town had been Joe’s victim at one time or another. Fitgerald rallies the ladies of the quilting community to investigate before the state can pin the crime on the only person with Joe at the time, the officer whom he had assaulted earlier that afternoon. Armed with bolts of fabric and massive chocolate cakes, the quilters-turned-detectives have to solve the case before Officer Greg’s future plan for a career with the FBI is ruined by the charges. As publishers begin to experiment with the many ways the digital publishing can increase reader base and offer a value-added experience for existing fans, hopefully more “side stories” such as this one will be released. Streak of Lightning will be available from major digital retailers next month and is available now for pre-order.
eBook Review: Streak of Lightning by Clare O’Donohue is a post from: E-Reader News |
