| The Atavist publishes a monthly magazine and has a self-publishing portal where tens of thousands of storytellers, from giant companies to small nonprofits create their own branded magazines every month. Today, Atavist has confirmed that they are ditching their mobile apps and focusing on web content. Many people have not really heard of Atavist before, unless you have self-published long form articles. The company has been around for over five years and they publish their own original content. Atavist juxtaposes various digital forms that lies in the space between long narrative magazine articles and traditional books and e-books — a bit like music singles in iTunes — Atavist presents stories longer and in more depth than typical magazines, less expensive and more dynamic than traditional books. Today, the founders of Atavist have confirmed that they are abandoning app developed and instead focusing on the web. “Five years ago, a native app seemed like the best way to design and showcase their stories. But since then, they say, "the web caught up." "Not only was there very little we could do in a native app that we couldn't do on the web, but the structures of the native app environment made it nearly impossible to design well for both," they write. Atavist's decision to move away from a native app is consistent with what's happened to some other digital first upstarts that have tried to launch an iPad magazine or app. The aptly named The Magazine, an experiment on iOS, folded. Circa, a news app on Android and iOS, shut down earlier this year. The Daily, an iPad-only magazine created by News Corp, didn't last two years. Apple itself shuttered its Newsstand app with the advent of iOS 9, and petitioned all of their former Newsstand publishers to gravitate towards the new platform. Nowadays stories are shared via social media and can gain some heavy traction when featured on Hackernews or Reditt. The Atavist found having a reliance on apps made it impossible for their stories to gain any meaningful traction. Now that they are focusing on the web, things hopefully will improve for them. |
Friday, September 25, 2015
The Atavist is Closing their Mobile App
Kobo Glo HD and Kobo Touch 2.0 Covers and Cases Roundup
| This year Kobo has released two new ebook readers, the Kobo Glo HD with its 300 ppi screen and the entry-level Kobo Touch 2.0. The good thing about both of them is they share the exact same dimensions, so covers and cases are interchangeable between the two different models—that’s something that rarely happens. If you […] |
Facebook Launches New Tools to Appeal to Bloggers
| Facebook has just released a new set of tools that will appeal to people who are writing original content for the social media network. The new update you can add a cover photo that represents what your note is all about. You can caption and resize photos, and format your text into headers, quotes or bullets. To see notes your friends have written or write your own, visit Facebook.com/notes or search "notes" on mobile. |
Oaxis Announces inkCase i6 e-Ink Screen for the iPhone
| Oaxis has announced a brand new product that will make long reading sessions on your iPhone extremely viable. The inkCase i6 adds an 4.3 inch E Ink display to your iPhone 6, adding conveniences and better readability. inkCase i6 connects wirelessly to your iPhone 6 through Bluetooth. Reading on inkCase makes your reading more enjoyable with the paper like display quality and helps you conserve your iPhone's battery. Not only can you read books on the secondary screen but you can also access push notifications, weather updates and email. The always on display ensure you will not miss another important notification; messages, news and other notifications. The case is available for preorder for $99 and will start shipping this November. Once its available for the masses the price will increase to $129. Display Size 4.3″ E Ink Display Resolution 480 x 800 Pixel 217 dpi Connectivity Bluetooth Low Energy (4.0) Built In Memory 128 MB Built In Battery 460mAh Physical Dimensions (attached to iPhone 6) 140.7 x 69.5 x 11mm / 5.54″ x 2.74″ x 0.43″ |
HarperCollins Just Released an Audiobook App
| Findaway has partnered with HarperCollins to enable Harper customers to purchase any of the more than 6,100 audiobooks published by HarperCollins directly on www.hc.com and playback the content on any iOS or Android device through the HC Audio app. HC Audio is powered by Findaway's audiobook distribution platform AudioEngine. "We are uniquely positioned to serve HarperCollins as a technology partner," said Mitch Kroll, Co-Founder & CEO of Findaway. "We are proud to deepen our long-standing partnership with HarperCollins as they expand the market to directly serve audiobook listeners worldwide with their new offering." |
Windows 10 Core Starter Pack for Raspberry Pi 2
| When we released Raspberry Pi 2 in February this year, we announced that Microsoft’s Windows 10 IoT Core, a version of Windows 10 for small Internet-of-Things devices that may or may not have a screen, would be available for the device. Since the Windows Insider release of Windows 10 Core in August, we’ve found that lots of people looking for a Pi 2 are arriving at sellers’ websites from sites catering for Windows developers. Many Windows developers are coming to Raspberry Pi for the first time; we couldn’t be more pleased to welcome them, and we hope they’ll encounter much success and plenty of fun building with Raspberry Pi. Yesterday, Microsoft and Adafruit announced the release of a new Windows 10 Core Starter Pack for Raspberry Pi 2.
The pack is available with a Pi 2 for people who are are new to Raspberry Pi or who’d like a dedicated device for their projects, or without one for those who’ll be using a Pi they already own. The box contains an SD card with Windows 10 Core and a case, power supply, wifi module and Ethernet cable for your Pi; a breadboard, jumper wires and components including LEDs, potentiometers and switches; and sensors for light, colour, temperature and pressure. There’s everything you need to start building. The Windows 10 Core Starter Pack website provides very clear directions for setting up your PC and programming environment and your Raspberry Pi. It also has links to tutorials for four carefully chosen projects to get you up and running on hackster.io. You can buy the Windows 10 Core Starter Pack from Adafruit, and Microsoft will be showing it off at a demo area in the Maker Shed at World Maker Faire in New York this weekend, where there will also be packs available to purchase. The post Windows 10 Core Starter Pack for Raspberry Pi 2 appeared first on Raspberry Pi. |
Lets celebrate #BannedBooksWeek!
| By Sheila Henline, a librarian and Collection Development Analyst with OverDrive. (ED. Note: for optimal enjoyment press play before reading…)
Every year libraries and librarians, booksellers, publishers and authors become involved in #BannedBooksWeek, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. The importance of choice is crucial when accessing information and reading. This year Banned Books Week celebrates Young Adult Books! "Young Adult books are challenged more frequently than any other type of book" said Judith Platt, chair of the Banned Books Week National Committee. She states: "These are the books that speak most immediately to young people, dealing with many of the difficult issues that arise in their own lives, or in the lives of their friends. These are the books that give young readers the ability to safely explore the sometimes scary real world. This Banned Books Week is a call to action, to remind everyone that young people need to be allowed the freedom to read widely, to read books that are relevant for them, and to be able to make their own reading choices." One such example this year is the book Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers. A South Carolina high school pulled this title from their summer reading list after a parent complained about references to a drug deal, drug use and sexual assault/attempted rape. The Charleston (SC) County Public Library received 1,000 copies of this book, donated by an online donation drive at BookRiot. Students asking for a copy at this library, receive one to keep for free! As we observe Banned Book Week, take time to reflect on the many titles that have been questioned and even censored in some communities. OverDrive contains a wide variety of books that have fought to stay on the bookshelves. As for me, I plan on eReading Some Girls Are and then I'll settle in with an eBook of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Be sure to check a banned book out today!
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