There is a stark contrast between hardcore and casual readers, in the respect of how many books a year they read. Buying a dedicated e-reader allows you to buy more books, because they are much more affordable than buying real ones. Elderly people are starting to gravitate to them in record numbers, due to the fact you can enlarge the fronts, instead of having to buy pricey large print books. Lets face it, if you are a serious reader, you have an e-reader. A new study by Quick Reads looked into why people gravitate towards an e-reader. According to the report 48% of UK adults who use e-readers say the technology allows them to read more. In addition to that, 41% reported that being able to look up words they don't know makes reading easier, and over 50% were enamored with changing the font types and sizes. One of the ways e-readers help you read more, is being able to easily purchase the next book in a series, after you read the first one. The Game of Thrones television show may have got your attention, and it is quite easy to purchase the first eBook on a whim, and then immediately purchase each subsequent edition. e-Readers are also getting quite popular with readers who juggle genres and have their guilty pleasures. Its quite easy to amass a digital collection of trashy romance or fantasy books and not have them take up valuable shelf-space. Many voracious readers have reported that they are now more discerning on what books they physically buy, and showcase to the circle of friends. They also have an anonymity factor, you can read more books in public, without looking conspicuous. Have e-readers changed the reading habits of the general public? Is this study valid? I have always surmised that people either receive e-readers as gifts, and never use them, or by the very hardcore reader. e-Reader Owners Tend to Read More is a post from: Good e-Reader |
A Semi-automated Technology Roundup Provided by Linebaugh Public Library IT Staff | techblog.linebaugh.org
Thursday, March 27, 2014
e-Reader Owners Tend to Read More
Comedienne Amy Pohler to Host World Book Night
“World Book Night is about giving books and encouraging reading in those who don't regularly do so. But it is also about more than that: It's about people, communities and connections, about reaching out to others and touching lives in the simplest of ways—through the sharing of stories.” Relying heavily on donations and on the support of people who share the news, World Book Night 2014–slated, as always, for April 23rd–received a huge publicity boost with the announcement that actress and comedienne Amy Pohler will host this year’s event. In addition to the volunteers both famous and unknown, Good e-Reader will be delivering books for the third year in a row, showing the community as a whole its support for reading. Past titles that our staffers have delivered include The Book Thief and Fahrenheit 451, both classics in their own right. This year, staffers will be delivering the current favorite Sunrise Over Fallujah, by Walter Dean Myers, to inmates incarcerated in a local correctional facility. The choice of location is especially poignant considering the recent proposals in certain countries to block inmates’ access to books.
Comedienne Amy Pohler to Host World Book Night is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Dora the Explorer and 250 Nickelodeon eBooks Available at Kobo
Kobo has inked a deal with Nickelodeon Publishing to bring popular properties into a digital format. More than 250 top eBook titles from iconic children's series including Bubble Guppies, Blue's Clues, The Backyardigans, Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are now available via Kobo. Kobo launched their Kids store late last year. It currently has over 100,000 titles primary aimed at young-adults and children. They have the latest bestselling series, Read Along books, and colourful picture-books. Kobo offers parents the ability to set up dedicated accounts for their kids so that they can safely explore the the Kobo eBookstore. Kobo gives parents the ability to set spending allowances for their kids, pre-select eBooks, and adjust search settings to keep their kids reading safely.I like the fact parents can set up reading goals to keep everyone engaged and to offer a reward for reading. "Kids' books are an integral and important part of the Kobo catalogue, and we're excited to be growing the category by adding top-rated Nickelodeon titles," said Michael Tamblyn, President and Chief Content Officer, Kobo. "Nickelodeon has a strong history of igniting the imaginations of children and creating characters that become like favourite friends and we are happy to be a part of their cross-platform storytelling world, bringing their books to more children globally." "Given the global popularity of their reading devices, we are excited to launch Nickelodeon eBooks on Kobo," said Paula Allen, Senior Vice President of Global Publishing, Nickelodeon. "At Nickelodeon, our books extend the storytelling and educational curriculum featured in our award-winning programming. We’re delighted that kids and parents can enjoy reading and learning together on Kobo devices.” Dora the Explorer and 250 Nickelodeon eBooks Available at Kobo is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Sony Announces 13.3 Inch e-Reader to Launch in the USA this May
The Sony 13.3 inch e-reader is coming to the United States this May, which falls inline with information we were told in November. The company intends on rebranding the device as the Sony Digital Paper. It will only be sold through Worldoc, a U.S.-based company specializing in document management for legal professionals. The cost? A staggering $1,100. The Sony Digital Paper features a 13.3 inch screen and a resolution of 1200×1600 with 150 PPI. The screen uses new E Ink technology dubbed Mobius by E Ink. The main attraction is using the active digitizer and interacting with complex PDF documents. You can edit documents by jotting down your own handwritten notes, or even highlight passages to go back to later. The large screen display will simply give you the best PDF experience you have ever had on an e-reader. I have personally reviewed over 83 different e-readers since launching Good e-Reader in 2009, and this was the first one to give me a quality PDF experience. Oh yeah, it weighs half the weight of the iPad Air. This e-reader is meant to just be a dedicated PDF reader, it does not have any support for eBook formats such as Mobi, EPUB or RTF. The essence of the Digital Paper is for professionals that need a solid A7 screen and being able to jot down notes. We will be getting this in our labs in the next few months, so keep checking back for a comprehensive hands on review. Sony Announces 13.3 Inch e-Reader to Launch in the USA this May is a post from: Good e-Reader |
8″ Cybook Ocean eReader Specs and Videos
Bookeen had their latest ebook reader, the Cybook Ocean, on display last weekend at the Paris Book Fair. The device showed up in a few YouTube videos and on some European blogs for the first time since it was announced last year. The release of the Cybook Ocean has been delayed over the past few […] |
URL: http://feeds.the-ebook-reader.com/~r/feedburner/cmWU/~3/ZgL90MLZZV0/
13″ Sony DPT-S1 PDF Reader Coming to U.S. in May
Sony may have closed the door on selling ebooks and ebook readers in the United States, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve seen the last of Sony in the electronic paper industry. A German ebook blog has turned up a press release of an upcoming U.S. release. Sony first introduced their 13.3″ E Ink Mobius […] |
URL: http://feeds.the-ebook-reader.com/~r/feedburner/cmWU/~3/XggxXYM5asQ/
Weekly eHighlights: Australia/New Zealand Edition
URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DigitalDistributionBlogOverdrive/~3/KQFwFOPFbqk/
Microsoft Office Makes Its iPad Debut
Finally, Microsoft has launched its Office software suite for the iPad which brings to an end the years of speculations and rumors. Thankfully, the Office for iPad is a mature application compared to the almost half-hearted attempt that the Office for iPhone was. Users will have at their disposal many advanced features lacking in the iPhone app, such as the ability to add rows or columns in an Excel spreadsheet thanks to the iPad’s larger screen. Users will also get to choose from almost the entire range of fonts andformatting options as well. The Office app – which offers Word, Excel and Powerpoint – though free, will require a subscription to use the advanced editing options. Right now, users are free to open and view documents but are required to have an active Office 365 subscription to edit or create a document from scratch. Microsoft is also offering a free 30 day trial of the Office app. Overall, the launch of the Office app for iPad is long due, and it’s the first major move since the changing of guard at Microsoft. Now what remains to be seen is whether the Office app will be able to hold its own in the face of Apple's iWorks app, which offers an array of features and most important of all, is free.
Microsoft Office Makes Its iPad Debut is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Diesel eBook Store is Closing
The Sony Reader Store isn’t the only ebook vendor shutting down business this month. Diesel eBooks has also announced that they will cease operations at the end of March. In fact they’ve already stopped selling ebooks and have placed a notice on their homepage telling customers that they have until the end of the month […] |
URL: http://feeds.the-ebook-reader.com/~r/feedburner/cmWU/~3/k41ylStTqzQ/
Learning Python with Raspberry Pi
If you’ve been round here for any length of time, you’ve probably heard mention of Alex Bradbury. Alex is currently polishing off his PhD thesis at the Computer Lab at the University of Cambridge, and he’s been involved with the Raspberry Pi project as a volunteer from our very early days, back when all we had was alpha development boards. Alex is responsible for building and releasing Raspberry Pi’s Raspbian OS images, and maintaining our Debian repository in his (limited) spare time. He’s somehow also found the time to write a book with Linux Voice‘s Ben Everard. Learning Python with Raspberry Pi doesn’t presuppose any computing knowledge, and takes you from a standing start through variables, loops and functions, 3D graphical programming, building games, networking, scripting, interfacing with hardware…and, of course, Minecraft. There’s much more besides: if you work your way through the whole book you’ll be building robots and alarm systems; manipulating sound and video; and learning how to test and debug the Bradbury and Gregory way. As well as what you’ll find in the book, Alex and Ben have made a large code repository available to complement the information and instructions in Learning Python with Raspberry Pi: you’ll be able to download them free of charge. Alex says: Ever since the introduction of the Raspberry Pi, Python has been touted (with good reason) as the language of choice for anyone wanting to program on the device. Reasonable people can disagree on the ultimate reasons for Python’s success, but I think we can all recognise what an asset its large and friendly community is, as well as the value of its extensive collection of high quality libraries for helping to solve almost any programming task. Learning Python with Raspberry Pi aims to teach the reader the Python they need to make their Raspberry Pi project ideas a reality. We give lots of examples in the sort of areas likely to be of interest to the Pi community – including physical computing, audio and video, 3d graphics, Minecraft programming, and games. Another important aspect for us is that every chapter ends with a whole host of ideas and pointers on what you’re now able to do given what you’ve just learnt. Python is the single most useful language to know for the Raspberry Pi, and I like to think that with Learning Python with Raspberry Pi, we’ve managed to produce an entertaining and educational introduction to it. Hopefully you agree! Learning Python with Raspberry Pi is available from Amazon, and from a good book shop near you: we hope to be stocking it in the Swag Store soon too.
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Four great resources to help you with your grammar
Get a refresher on your grammar with the four resources covered here. |
URL: http://blog.gcflearnfree.org/2014/03/27/four-great-resources-to-help-brush-up-on-your-grammar/
BlackBerry Takes Legal Action Against a Leaker
Companies certainly don't like the idea of outsiders having early access to sensitive or proprietary information. Not only can it provide competitors with an inkling of what they’re up to, inadvertent leaks also have the potential to damage the product’s and the company's future prospects as well. BlackBerry is the latest company to find itself facing this problem; CEO John Chen is infuriated and has stated they will be legally pursuing the matter. “This is why I want to make you aware that, right now, we are pursuing legal action against a party who stole confidential information about a future BlackBerry product and made that information public. This person falsely posed as an employee of one of our carrier partners to obtain access to secured networks,” revealed Chen in a company blog post. Needless to say, it is these very leaks and speculations that outsiders depend on to have an early insight into the latest happenings within the company. The problem is such acts can prove to be risky if the line is crossed. Microsoft is another company that is reported to be considering legal action against one of its ex-employees for having leaked secrets pertaining to Windows 8.
BlackBerry Takes Legal Action Against a Leaker is a post from: Good e-Reader |
HTC BlinkFeed Makes Play Store Debut
HTC is making several of its apps available, including Blinkfeed, in the Google Play Store. This is a positive move considering rolling out updates will be much easier now that the company won't have to wait for a major Android update to include updates to its own apps. Motorola has adopted a similar strategy with several of its key apps, including Touchless Control and Motorola Camera. This will also enable other non-HTC users to download and install BlinkFeed on their devices. The app is a type of news reader that was launched with the HTC One last year, and it adopts a similar layout as Windows 8 apps, with tiles representing different news items. Users also have the option of offline reading. HTC said they hit upon the idea of making BlinkFeed open to all Android users given the popularity of the app with HTC users.
HTC BlinkFeed Makes Play Store Debut is a post from: Good e-Reader |