| A good number of Windows 8.1 based tablet devices, all running the 32 bit version of the OS. That’s about to change now that Dell has announced the launch of Venue 8 Pro and Venue 11 Pro tablet devices running 64 bit Windows 8.1. Both tablet versions will be on display at the upcoming Mobile World Congress and will be the first to offer 64 bit computing with Windows 8.1. The 64 bit enabled Windows tablets will generally cost more than their 32 bit counterparts and will be targeted more at the enterprise segment. While the 32 bit Dell Venue 11 Pro starts at around $500, the same with 64 bit of computational power will be priced no less than $800. Further, the Venue 11 Pro in the 64 bit mode sports an Intel Haswell chip, which has made the tablet a tad thicker and heavier than one running 32 bit Windows based on the Intel Bay Trail chip. However, Intel has stated that would change as efforts are already underway to have Intel Bay Trail chips power 64 bit Windows tablets in the future. Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64 explained: “Sixty-four-bit connected standby drivers were prioritized toward the end of the list last year with other things that were going inside Intel and Microsoft. That was the main sticking point. A tablet without connected standby has some pretty awful consequences on battery life.” Brookwood also explained the reason for 64 bit, saying it allows more memory at one's disposal, thereby providing a performance boost to the device. "The pressure for 64-bit, even in tablets that might not have 4GB of DRAM, is pretty strong because IT organizations want to standardize on 64-bit images and 64-bit apps,” further added Brookwood. Also another strong reason for Microsoft to really push for 64 bit is that Apple has already taken the lead on this. All the current generation iPads, iPad Minis, and iPhone 5s now offer 64 bit computing, reason enough for Microsoft to offer a 64 bit option.
Dell First to Offer 64 Bit Windows 8.1 Running Venue 8 Pro and Venue 11 Pro Tablet is a post from: E-Reader News |
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Dell First to Offer 64 Bit Windows 8.1 Running Venue 8 Pro and Venue 11 Pro Tablet
Daily Deals & Freebies – February 13
| Kindle Daily Deals Buying In by Laura Hemphill Bright, ambitious Sophie Landgraf has landed a job as a Wall Street analyst. The small-town girl finally has her ticket to the American elite, but she doesn't realize the toll it will take—on her boyfriend, on her family, and on her. It isn't long before Sophie is […] |
More on Raspberry Pi in Africa
| One of the biggest (and nicest) surprises for us over the last two years has been the Raspberry Pi project’s popularity outside the UK. Over three quarters of our sales are now to overseas customers, and while the US and mainland Europe are our largest markets (with honorable mentions to Australia, New Zealand and Japan), there’s also been a lot of interest from the developing world. Robotics with Raspberry Pi at Kids Hacker Camp, iHub Nairobi. “Resistors are like parents”! We’ve already posted about Frederik and Ernest’s epic Pi-powered journey from the UK to South Africa. Alongside this, over the last six months Graham Schwikkard has been working to get supplies of Raspberry Pis into hackspaces across sub-Saharan Africa.  Programming in Scratch on a Raspberry Pi, Co-creation Hub, Nigeria It’s a testament to the rapid pace of development in countries like Kenya and Nigeria that most of these engagements are commercial rather than charitable. While the first batch of Raspberry Pis sent to each location are free, the end goal is to enable local entrepreneurs to set themselves up as value-added resellers (VARs) and to build profitable businesses around the Pi. It’s early days yet, but as you can see from these photos and videos we’re finding boundless enthusiasm for our little computer a long way from home. |
5 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do With Your Smartphone
Free apps that are making smartphones capable of doing more than ever before.  |
Reimagining the Personal Library
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With articles like that of Christopher John Farley’s for the WallStreetJournal.com SepakEasy section that accurately asks if we even need libraries anymore, public perception of the dusty old print volumes stored Dewey Decimal-style in a “silence only” moldy building may be the norm for too many people. At the same time, a committee formed by Connecticut special law has now officially recommended that the state take almost no action at this time to boost digital lending in state libraries, recommending instead that they observe the digital publishing industry for now. But as libraries work to reimagine their roles in communities and demonstrate their worth, perhaps it is the concept of library patrons that needs some clarification as well. A Pew Internet report last year found that slightly more than half of respondents had visited a library or library website in the past year, down to 54% from 59% the year before. Yet, 90% of those same respondents stated that libraries are vital to the overall health of communities. Which is it? Do consumers really want libraries in their communities that they don’t intend to use? And if so, why? One possible explanation is the increasing awareness that libraries serve a very important role in maintaining the fabric of society, especially for underserved demographics of the population. It’s almost as if citizens liken libraries to a homeless shelter or soup kitchen; they adamantly agree that their towns should definitely have one, even if they themselves do not plan to ever need the services. With more consumers building their own private libraries of digital books, music, movies, and audiobooks on their devices, the need to borrow someone else’s content may have diminished. Have most public library patrons become too wealthy to need a library? Or has the price of books and content come down to the point that it is easier, more convenient, and affordable enough for most people to just press the buy button instead of waiting to borrow a title? If that’s actually the case, then consumers have demonstrated the real power of libraries, which is access to books, disruptive thought, and literacy for all of society. It’s astounding that voters would support libraries that they don’t intend to use, and speaks to the need and the desire to provide even more funding for these institutions to ensure that they can continue in the role that citizens have put them in, at least until ongoing efforts are successful to change the common perception of a library in the minds of its non-users.
Reimagining the Personal Library is a post from: E-Reader News |
Students “obsessed” with e-reading in Pleasant Valley School District
| Pleasant Valley School District in California launched their digital library through OverDrive at the end of January this year. Since its opening, the administrators have seen phenomenal response from their staff, students and parents as they learn how to borrow and engage with eBooks and audiobooks. "Our experience with OverDrive has been nothing short of excellent," said Jay Greenlinger, Director of Instructional Technology at Pleasant Valley School District. "From the quality of the product to the high standard of customer service, we are very pleased. Unsolicited feedback from the school district's digital library users include statements from parents, such as this one: "I also have to tell you that the digital library is amazing. My third grader is not the biggest reader, but now he's obsessed with doing it on his iPad. Great program." Additionally, Pleasant Valley teachers have tweeted about the OverDrive program:   
OverDrive spoke with Greenlinger to find out more about Pleasant Valley School District's experience with their new eBook service. Since implementing your OverDrive eBook service, what has the experience been like for your staff, students and parents? We have had a very positive reception from staff, students and parents. In the two weeks since we opened our library to our District, we have had hundreds of students and staff checking out books, making requests for new books to be purchased, and – most importantly – reading eBooks. From the initial conversations with the sales team to the ongoing work we do with our account representative, every interaction with OverDrive has been positive. How have you gotten the word out about eBooks in your schools? We are using many forms of promotion. Our schools and teachers are placing information in their email newsletters. The district has used its social media outlets to promote the site as well. We use our Facebook page and Twitter handle, along with our district website, which has an easy-to-find icon that links to our OverDrive collection. On February 18th, we will be welcoming the Digital Bookmobile to one of our campuses, which will also allow us to promote the OverDrive library in a hands-on way for parents and students. How did you train your staff to use OverDrive eBooks? As part of our Common Core trainings, we are holding grade level release days. We are training teachers on a number of digital tools, and OverDrive is one of the tools most appreciated by teachers. In fact, we plan time into each of these days for teachers to explore the digital library, search for books they want to use in their classroom, and to make requests. What impact have you seen on student engagement with your school library? We have immediately seen an interest from students, and we receive feedback from students, teachers, and parents that convince us this was a great decision.
If you'd like to learn more about best practices for implementing, promoting and maintaining your school digital library collection, keep up with the OverDrive School blog, or get great title list suggestions from our Collection Development blog. Check out our Partner Portal for an abundance of marketing materials, service enhancements and information from our Learning Center.
Heather Tunstall is the Public Relations Specialist at OverDrive.
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Putting users first
| At Digipalooza '13, Support Services Manager, Drew Small's presentation was on how we are delivering on the promise of putting the users first. During the presentation, he mentioned the ratio of support cases per 1,000 checkouts – at the time it was 1.20 cases per 1,000 checkouts. To provide an update the year ended at 1.06 cases per 1,000 checkouts with December and January at .67 and .64 cases per 1,000 checkouts. That's almost 1 support case for every 1,500 checkouts! How did we get here? By providing more resources to you and your users, allowing them to resolve common issues, streamlining websites and mobile apps with emphasis on user experience, and inviting feedback. I've talked about some of these things in past blog posts, but I'd like to briefly mention them again here.
As we continue to improve our services, we have one focus in mind – the user. As always, we welcome feedback from you and your users as we strive to offer the best digital library experience.
Justin Noszek is a Support Services Specialist at OverDrive.
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eHighlights: Your Guide to What’s New at OverDrive – Children’s & YA Edition
Happy February! With the last full month of winter in full swing, keep your children and young adult audience engaged with content for all those snow days! This week's list has some wonderful YA titles in the incredibly popular dystopian literature genre—like the last installment in the Under the Never Sky series, Into the Still Blue, and titles like Ignite Me, Scarlet, and Landry Park. Delightful children's titles include a new picture book from Il Sung Na A Book of Babies, two cute titles for girls, I Heart Band and Wedding Wings, and two bestselling heartbreaking, yet heartwarming titles in This Star Won't Go Out and Wonder. Happy Reading!
Fiction Esther Earl – This Star Won't Go Out
Bethany Hagan – Landry Park
Tahereh Mafi – Ignite Me
Marissa Meyer– Scarlet
R. J. Palacio – Wonder
Il Sung Na – A Book of Babies
Veronica Rossi – Into the Still Blue
Michelle Shusterman & Genevieve Kote – I Heart Band
Elizabeth Scott – Heartbeat
Kiki Thorpe & Jana Christy – Wedding Wings
To easily order any of the titles listed here, please go to:
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Commentary – If I was in Charge of Nook Media
| The Barnes and Noble Nook division is one of the most longstanding and successful brands in the e-reader and tablet sector. The bookseller jumped into the eBook revolution in 2009 with an online store and their own flagship device. Their first few devices sold like wildfire, but sales have tapered off with each subsequent release. Nook Media has been losing money each quarter for over a year and most of their executives in charge of books, hardware and accessories have all left the company. What if they hired me to run the show? Here is my game plan to turn Nook around. Enhancing the Retail Experience The average Barnes and Noble bookstore is around 26,000 square-feet in size. The Nook retail area, where devices are showcased are normally 1,000 sq ft, and larger stores have 2,000 sq ft. This is a solid amount of space to showcase the Nook Glowlight, Nook HD and Nook HD+, which is the current generation lineup. Not to mention accessories, such as cases, and screen protectors. The Nook display section has no consistency in overall design and customer experience. The flagship Union Square location looks way better than the store in Las Vegas. Once you start going to more rural bookstores, in smaller markets the Nook display section lacks. I have walked into bookstores and saw nothing more than a wooden table, with a blue sheet and stuff piled all over it. If I was in charge of Nook Retail I would create a blueprint and template that all stores would have to abide by. I would mandate that all Nook areas would be close to the front entrance and by the window. It would feature a clean white overall design, with vibrant color coded areas where you would find devices, accessories and a Nook Kiosk. Having street traffic seeing a cool, hi-tech area would prompt them to come in the store. It is important to build a consistent experience, walking into a big store in New York, would be the same as walking into one in Seattle. The Nook Kiosk would be another hardware innovation that all stores would get. It would allow customers to browse the Nook library of eBooks. They would be able to buy and send the books right to their devices, or pre-order ones that have not come out yet. If a new e-Reader or tablet is announced, customers would be able to order them in the Nook area, and make sure they are on the list. This would all be fed to a centralized Nook admin server, where stores could get extra allocated units. This would save time from the retail staff having to this manually, which is the only way to currently do it. The average Barnes and Noble bookstore does not have an army of employes. I have witnessed that many in the store wear different hats, whether its inventory, cash, restocking or helping customers. The people in the Nook area, often are not dedicated and feature a revolving cadre of characters. I would mandate that every store location needs 3 trained people for the Nook area, two of which are full time and another that works when one the core people are sick, or on vacation. There would be regional trainers who would be responsible for each State, and would bring people into that State’s flagship store for a week of training. They need to be Nook Certified. Accessories, Accessories, Accessories Barnes and Noble has a line of accessories for their line of tablets and e-readers, none of which are really compelling. Sure you have the ubiquitous cases, screen protectors, charging cables and even a pair of Nook headphones. They need to solve this situation to make the Barnes and Noble accessories line, more modern and current. If I ran the accessories division at Barnes and Noble, the first thing I would do is buyout a company called DecalGirl. They make custom art and designs for the back of Barnes and Noble e-readers and tablets. You can buy a vinyl decal and attach it yourself. You can also elect to buy custom cases with hundreds of funky designs. If a customer has their own vision of what they want their device to look like, they can use the automated online tools to customize their own and have it shipped out. This is the exact type of service and design strategy that Barnes and Noble has to employ. Amazon is the only other company to offer something like this, but they don’t have a retail environment to put these in customers hands and showcase the product in a compelling fashion. Barnes and Noble has to stop developing their own headphones and other accessories. The product line is really outdated and no new designs have been made in a number of years. Instead I would reach out to Pebble, Jawbone, Qualcomm, Fitbit, Beats by Dr. Dre and other smart accessory companies that make things like rings and necklaces. There is no denying that more people are buying these types of things from electronics stores, or companies like Best Buy. It would serve Barnes and Nobles interests to enhance their stores image with carrying an ultra modern line of accessories people are buying now in droves and will be buying in the near future. They likely would cannibalize their own accessory sales by doing this, but in the long-term they would make more money selling Beats headphones with a cool book design on it. Nook Services Barnes and Noble has their own app store, but it is only compatible for users living in the USA and UK. Barnes and Noble has a movie and video area, but again is only good for those two countries. The inclusion of Google Play suddenly made Nook accessible to more people, in more countries. Many avid Nook users claim the Barnes and Noble App Store is woeful and does not feature a great selection of apps. The staff who is charge of curation and business development are under funded and short of brilliant minds. If I ran Nook Services, I would kill the App Store and Kill the television and movie rental business. My intention is to remove all of the barriers that would hinder more international adoption of the Nook Tablet line. There is nothing worse than buying a new device and finding out nothing works in your country, and there is no way to uninstall it. It would free up internal resources to focus on more critical aspects of the business. Honestly, now that Google Play Services is on the Nook tablet, my bet is the metrics say more customers are downloading apps from Google, rather than Barnes and Noble now. The goal is to find identity with Nook Services. Is the priority your own app store and television system or is relying on Google. You cannot do both and it is a waste of resources, management and time to do two things at once. Its one or the other, and I would bet on Google as a content distribution system. The Synergy between Nook Press and Indie Titles in Bookstores If there was one oportonity that Barnes and Noble is missing, more than anything else, is the synergy between Nook Press and their bookstores. Nook Press is the companies self-publishing program and is a direct follow-up to PUBIT! The platform itself pales in comparison to competitors programs like Amazon and Kobo. Heck, UK authors cannot even use Nook Press to publish in the US and UK. If i was in charge of Nook Press and displaced Teresa Horner the first thing I would do is partner up with a service like Ingram Lightning Source. US authors would be able to self-publish books digitally and make them available for the retail stores to purchase. Ingram basically runs a giant print on demand system, where authors can have copies of their books printed, if someone places an order. This method proves to be quite popular with competitors. There are obvious benefits of partnering with Ingram, rather then investing in a POD system from the ground up. It would save a massive amount of time and money to just bite the bullet and get in bed with Ingram. Eventually, once you figure out the logistics of the entire POD process, you can slowly roll-out your in-house alternative. I have been following the entire eBook and e-reader industry since one year after the original Kindle came out. I have seen many major booksellers go bankrupt, some taking chances, some taking none at all. The most squandered opportunity that Barnes and Noble has missed in the last five years is getting self-published titles in their store, from their own authors. Barnes and Noble sorely needs a self-publishing super-star to carry the torch and be a walking banner for their services. They cant do that without Nook Press POD. One of the big hindrances of Barnes and Noble international expansion for the Nook in general, is the complex publishing rights to books, magazines and other digital content. Since self-publishing does not abide by these same restrictions, Barnes and noble is in a position to expand their print on demand service and digital titles on a worldwide basis. Nook Press would be a viable way to expand the Nook bookstore into other markets and launch with self-published titles and then make inroads with local publishers. The start of international expansion would be indie titles. Expand or Die Nook Media is at a cross-roads when it comes to their entire line of e-readers and tablets. The USA market, which is their core, is woefully saturated with offerings by Acer, Asus, Kindle, Samsung, LG, and a slew of others. How many quarterly loses of hardware sales do you need before you have that pivotal wake-up call. If I was in charge of Nook Hardware, the overall emphasis would be international distribution and what do we have to do to make this a reality. Latin America, South Africa, China, Russia, Netherlands, Australia are all growing markets. Nook has to expand, there is no way the product line can continue if they dont. The first thing I would do is make the tablets and e-readers as internationally friendly as possible. They are all running Android, it is quite easily to localize them to a foreign language. The Google Play store makes it relevant in almost every country and putting a priority on reading, is the name of the game. The second, would require moving into Germany, Spain, and France, first. These are the markets that are most mature digitally and is a natural land crossing from the UK. I would hire someone with a decade of publishing experience to open a satellite office . Next, they would be able to say what stores would make sense to carry the devices. I would select bookstores, because that is where the readers are, you don’t want tech shops. Next, the agent would hire a small team of publishing veterans to make deals with anyone who made a deal with Kobo or Amazon to get their digital content in the localized store. The store, would only be on the tablets and e-readers to start and later the website. This is the blueprint to expansion on a superficial level. This move for localized content would keep the Microsoft overlords happy, because they would be able to market more books on Windows 8. Does anyone really wonder why Sony abandoned the USA with e-Readers and Why Kobo did too? Why did Pocketbook pull out of North America all together and most companies bypassed it? It is because its a lost cause. If you are USA-centric with your hardware, you are neglecting all of the markets that have not been the focus of other companies international strategies. Pure Google tablets are boring, everyone who has one, has one already. People want something more compelling, a device to read technical PDF documents, to read books, to read a newspaper. Nook is all of these things at heart. Wrap Up This article is not meant to talk about, if Barnes and Noble should get out of the e-reader/tablet game. For better or worse, they are basically committed to it for the long-haul. Making device recommendations is a fools errand, because technology changes so fast. Nook has spent a copious amount of money on making devices, making bookstore, a self-publishing program, an app-store, movie/tv services and building accessories. There are too many things on the go, with little development happening on any one thing. Ditching the App Store, movies and television services would free up capital, talent and assets. It is important to make partnerships to get self-published books in all Barnes and Noble bookstores and give the book buyers recommended options for the stars of Nook Press. Put the authors on a bookstore tour and build momentum. Get in newspapers, blogs and websites. Draw attention to Nook Press, make indie authors believe this is the best Amazon alternative. Many bookstore chains are fiercely anti-Amazon and are always looking for alternatives. This has been the key to Kobo’s success, an upstart company who built a template on expansion and duplicated it many times. There is nothing holding Barnes and Noble back from doing this, other than just hard work and the will to persevere. I fear, the old management who has all left were just complacent. Living off past accomplishments, like a high-school football player dreaming of that big play they made, once. Nook is a basically a 30 something year old former football player, living off their past glories, and lost for a personal identity. Commentary – If I was in Charge of Nook Media is a post from: E-Reader News |
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Amazon: Game Changer or Whipping Boy?
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There’s no need to go into detail on an article that would actually qualify as a Kindle Single (editor-in-chief David Blum could consider it for publication if his name wasn’t dragged through the mud in the piece), and the primary reason for skipping the details is the author decided he could skip crucial details, too…like the names of all the so-called sources who gave him insider information into Amazon’s evil ways, some of which border on allegations of criminal activity. Of course, the number of times the author had to state that his facts had been denied by one party or another was almost laughable. The short and skinny of the piece–from what I could gather amidst all of the veiled-truths and unfounded statements, including assertions that Amazon is struggling to even make a profit while posting a net income of $239 million last quarter–is that Amazon is a book killer, hellbent on duping greedy consumers into pressing that Buy It Now button before sitting back and waiting for a drone (one that didn’t have to have fair wages or air conditioning in its warehouse) to deliver their goods. The reality? By their own admission, sources in the article have stated that Amazon saved the book industry, saved the publishing houses, made reading reach new levels of consumer engagement, gave authors who’d been spit on by the publishing industry a home for their works, and created a whole new climate of reader engagement. According to the article, the company takes advantage of its warehouse employees by paying them a shocking $4US per hour over the current minimum wage; incidentally, Amazon also has a program in place to hire US military veterans upon returning home from war, with a special emphasis on providing jobs for disabled veterans and their spouses. Yes, Amazon has grown both horizontally and vertically, branching out into unheard of and unrelated industries. And despite the allegation that Jeff Bezos never cared at all about books, choosing to focus on those initially because they were hard to damage in shipping, the man has almost single-handedly revived a culture of reading and writing that was floundering, to say the least. As for the publishers cited (or not cited, as very few real names were revealed) who are terrified of upsetting Amazon? Grow a back bone and sever ties with the world’s largest retailer if you can do it better on your own. Or, alternately, stop complaining about the company that puts your books in front of more consumers than any other retailer on the planet. Any author who wishes to criticize the company that is arguably selling more of his books than anyone else should remove his titles immediately, at the risk of being a hypocrite. To say that Amazon is destroying the industry while cashing a royalty check takes a certain level or nerve.
Amazon: Game Changer or Whipping Boy? is a post from: E-Reader News |
Kobo, Bella Andre Launch Three-Month Exclusive Book Deal
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According to a press release from Kobo, “The first title, The Wedding Gift (Le Cadeau), is now available, with the other titles launching throughout the year. From now until February 15th customers who purchase any Kobo eReader model at any Kobo retailer in France will receive a copy of Le Cadeau and three other eBook titles for free. The translation, a collaboration between Kobo and Lucy Kevin, is a part of a Kobo Writing Life initiative to bring self-published authors to new non-English markets.” Andre, who also writes the bestselling Sullivans series, told Good e-Reader yesterday that this promotion is exactly the kind of opportunity that authors need to take advantage of, especially as it relates to providing their fans with content in a timely way. “Writing the next great book is always the most important thing you can do for your career, whether you are just starting out or consistently hit the NYT bestseller list. I have consistently released a book about The Sullivans once a quarter since 2011, and once I hit book five in my series about The Sullivans, my career jumped to an entirely new level! Now that I’m about to release Book 12 (JUST TO BE WITH YOU) in early March 2014, the number one thing my readers say on Facebook and Twitter and in emails is that they hope I never stop writing about The Sullivans because they want to read stories about this family forever.” Kobo’s Writing Life platform has allowed self-published authors to make their books available globally, and translation efforts like Andre’s help ensure that content reaches viable reading markets. Kobo currently has an ebook and e-reader retail presence in over 190 countries.
Kobo, Bella Andre Launch Three-Month Exclusive Book Deal is a post from: E-Reader News |
Oyster Launches New Kids Section – Signs Deal with Disney
| Oyster, better known as the Netflix of eBooks, has just launched a new childrens section today, which should give parents another reason to sign up for the service. The bulk of the titles are stemming from a new relationship with Disney Publishing. The eBook subscription site launched last September and current has a library of 100,000 titles. Oyster charges $9.95 a month to read as many backlist titles as you want, on the iPad or iPhone. The kids section is mainly populated by titles garnered by the new Disney deal. Of course, you have the main characters such as Mickey, Donald and Goofy, but also Toy Story, Cars and the Disney Princesses. One of the big benefits of this category is putting content in there that used to be in the YA area. Parents be warned, the vast majority of the Disney titles on Oyster are not picture books, but they are short novels. Oyster Launches New Kids Section – Signs Deal with Disney is a post from: E-Reader News |
Google Accused of Dodging Taxes in South Africa
| Close on the heels of Google having to deal with some uncomfortable tax evading accusations in Europe, the search giant is facing a somewhat similar scenario in South Africa as well. Google has drawn the ire of the local media company Naspers, which has accused the company of following unscrupulous business practices in the African nation by not only denying the country its rightful share of taxes but also making it difficult for the domestic publishing industry to remain competitive. “Google clearly has a dominant position in the South African market and local digital publishers would benefit if the playing fields were leveled, making global companies abide by the same rules, price structures and economics faced by smaller local businesses. In the digital age, we accept that we compete with businesses from all over the world. However, it is clearly wrong that, as we invest in building a taxpaying business employing hundreds of South Africans, we are competitively disadvantaged through aggressive tax-planning strategies of global businesses,” says 24.com CEO Geoff Cohen. Google is estimated to have caused the national exchequer a loss of R140 million per year in corporate taxes. Rough estimates put the loss to another R100 million in PAYE. Google has denied the allegation, saying it follows South Africa’s tax laws and those of every other country else it has set up operations. The company further argued that the onus is on its advertisers to report and remit value-added tax (VAT). While current laws cannot hold Google accountable for reporting VAT, that is set to change April 1 as digital goods suppliers and services will be brought under the reach of VAT. Google further stated it also helps the domestic publishing industry to grow by driving traffic to their sites via organic search results, as well as through Google news. 24.com, which happens to be Nasper’s online publishing arm, is not convinced and is seeking changes in the current tax system to make companies like Google accountable. “Considering the rapid growth rate of digital advertising, it remains to be seen whether, and if, South African tax legislation will be amended quickly enough to adapt to this critical issue,” said 24.com sources. However, it will be interesting to note that this isn't the first time that Nesper has hurled allegations against Google. The South Africa-based media company had earlier taken Google to court in Poland and Brazil on similar charges. The matter is sub-judice in Brazi,l even though Google won the first round there.
Google Accused of Dodging Taxes in South Africa is a post from: E-Reader News |
Hachette Reports Good Sales in 2013
| The France-based publishing company Lagardère revealed it has had a profitable year in 2013, reporting positive growth in sales in both the US and UK. The company's revenue went up 1.9 percent in 2013, which is in spite of a slight hiccup that the company had to deal with in the final quarter of 2012 owning to a strong Euro. However, Lagardère revealed ebooks have grown to 10.4 percent of its total sales in 2013. This marks a growth over the 7.8 percent that ebooks made for the publisher's total sales in 2012. The publisher further revealed its digital growth is largely limited to the US and UK markets. France has reported good results though the same could not be said of Spain, yet to come out of the financial mess it is embroiled in. “Hachette Book Group had a very strong year in 2013, with continued digital growth, the acquisition of Hyperion, and more bestsellers than ever before, including 10 of Bookscan's top 25 hardcover fiction titles,” said Michael Pietsch, CEO HBG while declaring the results. The publisher also reported brisk sales of Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography, which sold 1.4 million copies so far, thereby contributing to the publisher's good performance. As for Hachette’s performance in the UK, the firm revealed its proceeds from digital sales stands at £70 million in 2013. Tim Hely Hutchinson, Hachette UK CEO, said: “2013 was another stand out year for Hachette UK, in fact it was one of our best years ever. We estimate that our combined e and p sales give us a UK market share of 15% in 2013. We are the leading e-book publisher by some margin and January 2014 is our best month ever for digital sales.”
Hachette Reports Good Sales in 2013 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Catch the “low-hanging fruit” of marketing ideas
| I am a big fan of the "low hanging fruit" philosophy where you take a course of action that can be undertaken quickly and easily as part of a wider range of changes or solutions to a problem. Today specifically, I am applying this philosophy to marketing your school's digital collection. Here's my list of the top five quick and simple marketing ideas to get you started:
If you have already checked those five activities off your list – excellent! Now it is time to take it up to the next level. Try organizing a digital book club, exploring social media promotion, connecting with teachers to find ways to incorporate eBooks into the classroom, and more! Check back on our blog frequently for new marketing ideas and reference our Partner Portal for existing resources.
Cassie Renner is a Marketing Specialist with OverDrive.
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Top 25 love stories of all time
You know Valentine's Day is coming soon, love is in the air, and we just happen to have a handy list of a few of the best love stories of all time. You may be surprised by some of the titles, but we hope you're intrigued too. You can find the complete lists of one copy/one user titles and metered access titles here: Top Love Stories: One Copy/One User Top Love Stories: Metered Access
The timing couldn't be better, because we also have a great big February Romance sale going on right now through the end of the month. Romance titles 30-50% off! This is a chance for you to get two titles for the price of one and dramatically increase your content in the genre that circulates the most. Disagree with our list? What did we leave out? Please feel free to comment! *Geographical rights may vary by title.
Cindy Orr is a Digital Collection Advisor at OverDrive.
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Getting started with Streaming Video
| I do not have cable. There. I said it. Like many Millennials, I have grown up with the convenience wonder that is simply logging on to the Internet and being able to watch almost anything I'd like. This instant gratification is an amazing thing, and the phenomenon of watching TV online isn't just a temporary fascination, either. I was clued into this when my father started sending me YouTube videos of water-powered jetpack stunts. However, there are times when I would like to actually sit down and watch a film that doesn't have to do with cats (no offense to cats intended). I want to do yoga in the quiet of my own room without having to slog a mat through the snowy, Cleveland streets. Even more so, I want to be able to get Streaming Video from my local library. Why? Because that's why it's there.
Our Collection Development team has streamlined (pun intended) the process of getting started. Simply pick some awesome titles from our ever-growing catalog, or to make things super easy, try our Streaming Video Starter Kit – a hand-curated list of our favorites. If you would like additional collection lists, email your Collection Development specialist. Once you submit your order, your Account Specialist will be in touch about updating your site to support the Streaming Video for your users. Check it out! Because, you know, you can do that now – in your pajamas. Just like I will be. Kate Seivertson is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.
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Amazon Publishing Wins Auction of Self-Published Author’s New Thriller
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A couple of interesting aspects of the deal, notably Amazon’s snagging of multiple rights to publish it in both English and German, point to the publishing house’s intention to remain a force in the industry, despite performance so far. Like more and more publishers, Amazon Publishing is taking a gamble on authors who’ve already enjoyed self-publishing success, a far cry from only a handful of years ago when a history of self-publishing pretty much sealed an author’s fate as far as traditional publishers and literary agents were concerned. Apart from the significant advance, this deal also offers the author Amazon’s typically lofty royalty percentage, something that more authors have been able to negotiate in their contracts. Authors, especially those who’ve already sold well over one hundred thousand books through self-publishing like Quinn has, are in a better position to negotiate because they already know what they can achieve on their own. Several authors have spoken out recently on their refusal to accept traditional deals due to their own confidence in their ability to sell books and retain up to seventy percent royalty, as opposed to the seven to twenty-five percent that is typical of the industry. One obvious area where self-published authors still benefit from traditional publishers is in international rights’ deals such as this one. While not impossible for authors to market and sell their own titles outside of their home countries, many authors have negotiated deals with publishers strictly for these international rights. This particular deal also demonstrates Amazon Publishing’s interest in building their presence in Germany.
Amazon Publishing Wins Auction of Self-Published Author’s New Thriller is a post from: E-Reader News |
Talking Book and Braille Center Offering Free Home Delivery of Reading Material
| The South Brunswick Public Library (SBPL) has teamed up with the New Jersey State Library Talking Book and Braille Center (TBBC) to offer free home delivery of reading materials to the residents of South Brunswick, New Jersey. The services include audio books and magazines, audiobook players, and Braille books. In addition, patrons also have the option to download audiobooks and magazines. The library also offers the BARD mobile app and news-reading services available 24/7. The audiobook players and audiobooks are made available by the Library of Congress. “The Talking Book and Braille Center provides wonderful services for our patrons and residents throughout New Jersey who need assistive means to read,” said Chris Carbone, director of the SBPL. “South Brunswick librarians are on hand to help introduce those in need of these services to what TBBC can offer and help them connect to this very important partner in reading.” The move to offer books right to the doorsteps at no extra cost will be of immense help to people with visual impairments or other forms of reading disabilities.
Talking Book and Braille Center Offering Free Home Delivery of Reading Material is a post from: E-Reader News |
Daily Deals & Freebies – February 12
| Kindle Daily Deals Middle Men by Jim Gavin In this widely acclaimed story collection, Jim Gavin delivers a hilarious and panoramic vision of California, in which a number of down-on-their-luck men, from young dreamers to old vets, make valiant forays into middle-class respectability. Each of the men in Gavin's stories is stuck somewhere in the […] |