| Bridging the gap between ebooks and role-playing games leaves you with a new genre of app: gamebooks. Essentially adding another dimension, gamebooks immerse the reader into the narrative by allowing them to make choices that influence the outcome of the story. Many of you will remember this formula from the popular “Choose Your Own Adventure” books that have thrilled young readers for decades. Using the Inklewriter engine, Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! is available for your Android in a thrilling and unique way! Traditional role-playing games use strategy and skill to guide you through the story, but gamebooks are special because they employ your imagination. While the illustrations inside Sorcery! are gorgeous and elaborate, the words on each page paint the real picture. Written as a four-part fantasy adventure, Sorcery! presents users with thousands of choices –each of which serves to shape and personalize the story on the fly. Joyfully, these permutations change the timing (or even the existence) of fights, dialogue, and locations such that the outcome is truly unknown until you get there. To get the most out of your experience, pay close attention: you need to outwit monsters by learning their weaknesses and master a host of magic spells while you embark on a tremendous journey across a beautiful hand-drawn 3D map. If you love reading as much as you do adventure, download Sorcery! now for $5.50 CAD and let your imagination run away with itself.
Sorcery! App Merges Fantasy eBook with Interactive Mobile Game is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Monday, August 11, 2014
Sorcery! App Merges Fantasy eBook with Interactive Mobile Game
Amazon Starts Propaganda Website for Hachette eBook Dispute
| Amazon has started a new website that explains the nature of the Hachette eBook dispute and hopes to alleviate some concerns. It is aimed primarily at readers and how they will pay less money for their favorite digital titles. The full note is quite detailed and is available to read below. Dear Readers, Just ahead of World War II, there was a radical invention that shook the foundations of book publishing. It was the paperback book. This was a time when movie tickets cost 10 or 20 cents, and books cost $2.50. The new paperback cost 25 cents — it was ten times cheaper. Readers loved the paperback and millions of copies were sold in just the first year. With it being so inexpensive and with so many more people able to afford to buy and read books, you would think the literary establishment of the day would have celebrated the invention of the paperback, yes? Nope. Instead, they dug in and circled the wagons. They believed low cost paperbacks would destroy literary culture and harm the industry (not to mention their own bank accounts). Many bookstores refused to stock them, and the early paperback publishers had to use unconventional methods of distribution — places like newsstands and drugstores. The famous author George Orwell came out publicly and said about the new paperback format, if "publishers had any sense, they would combine against them and suppress them." Yes, George Orwell was suggesting collusion. Well… history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Fast forward to today, and it's the e-book's turn to be opposed by the literary establishment. Amazon and Hachette — a big US publisher and part of a $10 billion media conglomerate — are in the middle of a business dispute about e-books. We want lower e-book prices. Hachette does not. Many e-books are being released at $14.99 and even $19.99. That is unjustifiably high for an e-book. With an e-book, there's no printing, no over-printing, no need to forecast, no returns, no lost sales due to out of stock, no warehousing costs, no transportation costs, and there is no secondary market — e-books cannot be resold as used books. E-books can and should be less expensive. Perhaps channeling Orwell's decades old suggestion, Hachette has already been caught illegally colluding with its competitors to raise e-book prices. So far those parties have paid $166 million in penalties and restitution. Colluding with its competitors to raise prices wasn't only illegal, it was also highly disrespectful to Hachette's readers. The fact is many established incumbents in the industry have taken the position that lower e-book prices will "devalue books" and hurt "Arts and Letters." They're wrong. Just as paperbacks did not destroy book culture despite being ten times cheaper, neither will e-books. On the contrary, paperbacks ended up rejuvenating the book industry and making it stronger. The same will happen with e-books. Many inside the echo-chamber of the industry often draw the box too small. They think books only compete against books. But in reality, books compete against mobile games, television, movies, Facebook, blogs, free news sites and more. If we want a healthy reading culture, we have to work hard to be sure books actually are competitive against these other media types, and a big part of that is working hard to make books less expensive. Moreover, e-books are highly price elastic. This means that when the price goes down, customers buy much more. We've quantified the price elasticity of e-books from repeated measurements across many titles. For every copy an e-book would sell at $14.99, it would sell 1.74 copies if priced at $9.99. So, for example, if customers would buy 100,000 copies of a particular e-book at $14.99, then customers would buy 174,000 copies of that same e-book at $9.99. Total revenue at $14.99 would be $1,499,000. Total revenue at $9.99 is $1,738,000. The important thing to note here is that the lower price is good for all parties involved: the customer is paying 33% less and the author is getting a royalty check 16% larger and being read by an audience that's 74% larger. The pie is simply bigger. But when a thing has been done a certain way for a long time, resisting change can be a reflexive instinct, and the powerful interests of the status quo are hard to move. It was never in George Orwell's interest to suppress paperback books — he was wrong about that. And despite what some would have you believe, authors are not united on this issue. When the Authors Guild recently wrote on this, they titled their post: "Amazon-Hachette Debate Yields Diverse Opinions Among Authors" (the comments to this post are worth a read). A petition started by another group of authors and aimed at Hachette, titled "Stop Fighting Low Prices and Fair Wages," garnered over 7,600 signatures. And there are myriad articles and posts, by authors and readers alike, supporting us in our effort to keep prices low and build a healthy reading culture. Author David Gaughran's recent interview is another piece worth reading. We recognize that writers reasonably want to be left out of a dispute between large companies. Some have suggested that we "just talk." We tried that. Hachette spent three months stonewalling and only grudgingly began to even acknowledge our concerns when we took action to reduce sales of their titles in our store. Since then Amazon has made three separate offers to Hachette to take authors out of the middle. We first suggested that we (Amazon and Hachette) jointly make author royalties whole during the term of the dispute. Then we suggested that authors receive 100% of all sales of their titles until this dispute is resolved. Then we suggested that we would return to normal business operations if Amazon and Hachette's normal share of revenue went to a literacy charity. But Hachette, and their parent company Lagardere, have quickly and repeatedly dismissed these offers even though e-books represent 1% of their revenues and they could easily agree to do so. They believe they get leverage from keeping their authors in the middle. We will never give up our fight for reasonable e-book prices. We know making books more affordable is good for book culture. We'd like your help. Please email Hachette and copy us. Hachette CEO, Michael Pietsch: Michael.Pietsch@hbgusa.com Please consider including these points: – We have noted your illegal collusion. Please stop working so hard to overcharge for ebooks. They can and should be less expensive. Amazon Starts Propaganda Website for Hachette eBook Dispute is a post from: Good e-Reader |
T-Mobile Device Unlock App a Hopeful Sign
| Getting a smartphone unlocked has traditionally been a frustrating and tedious process that usually begins with a call to your carrier and ends with either a lengthy support call that involves delving deep into the settings on your device… or more often, a trip in to a store to have it done for you. Thankfully, T-Mobile is pioneering a new way of doing things: self-serve and simple by way of using an app on your smartphone. There aren’t a lot of details known yet regarding exactly how the app works, but the understanding is that you can request and apply an unlock code that can then be used directly on your device. It also appears that there are two types of unlocks: temporary (good for overseas trips) and permanent (available once your device is paid for in full). Getting excited for this app may be a bit premature as it only works on a limited number of T-Mobile phones, but try to think of it more as a proof of concept that is likely to be adopted by all carriers for all phones in time.
T-Mobile Device Unlock App a Hopeful Sign is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Facebook Messenger May Not Be Out To Get You
| Just about everybody uses Facebook, which means that just about everybody already knows that Facebook is migrating the Messenger functionality out of the core app and into a standalone Facebook Messenger app. What many hadn’t realized, is that the standalone app isn’t new –it’s been around for a couple of years. Part of the news surrounding the shift is a hefty dose of viral paranoia that is mostly out of date and not entirely accurate; many articles have asserted that Messenger is listening to every conversation you have as well as the music you are playing, all in an effort to better target you with advertising. The good news: Messenger doesn’t listen to your music. The bad news: the regular Facebook app does (so that you are able to share what you are listening to with your friends during the first 15 seconds of your next status update –luckily, disabling this feature is easy to do). So what got everybody all riled up? It is safe to say that the app’s terms and conditions did the trick: Knowing that Messenger may be recording your audio without confirmation reasonably makes a lot of people anxious, but it isn’t meant to be the root of all evil. Messenger allows for in-app calling and the sending of voice messages, and asking permission prior to each task would become monotonous and annoying –it isn’t as if the app is designed to record and share 24/7. It is good that people are paying attention to security and potential risks to their personal data. It is less good that misunderstood information can spread so quickly. If you haven’t yet installed Facebook Messenger for Android, and you don’t want to miss out on notes from all of the friends while you are using a mobile device, download it now for free.
Facebook Messenger May Not Be Out To Get You is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Freaking Math for Android is Freaking Addictive
| There are a lot of mobile games that compete for our attention, and for many of us that means finding a simple game that we can become addicted to –at least in waiting rooms. Freaking Math is unique, fast-paced, and infuriating… but I challenge you to put it down once you have given it a try! The premise of the game is simple: a math equation (always addition) pops up on your screen and you have 2 seconds to decide whether it is right or wrong (and try to get as many right as you can in a row). If you take too long to decide or you answer incorrectly, a buzzer sounds and the game is over (while you scream out loud at your device, tapping the answer violently that you meant to). It’s fun as you compete against yourself, it’s infuriating as you try to sync your brain and fingers, and it’s devastating the first time you say 2+2 is 5. For those who like to compete on a larger scale, the app also features a leaderboard that shows how you rate against those in your circles as well as the general public. Are you ready to do some rapid-fire calculations? Download Freaking Math for free now!
Freaking Math for Android is Freaking Addictive is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Dragon Quest IV Arrives On Android
| News that Square Enix has launched Dragon Quest IV for Android, an epic RPG from a familiar (and very successful) RPG franchise, is very exciting. Dubbed as the first installment in the Zenithian Trilogy, this adventure spans across 5 chapters with each one giving focus to a different cast of characters. Avid gamers will tell you that Dragon Quest is an advanced RPG, particularly as it relates to their party systems. Party talk allows you to speak with anybody in your party in real time –though you have no idea what they are going to say (it may be interesting, or they may just tell you to be quiet)! Other features of the game include the tried and true Casino that lets you try your luck at three fantastic games, battles that can be initiated automatically, and amazing 360-degree views in all of the towns and villages. It is no shock that this game is a home-run with a development team that includes the master creator Yuji Horii, music by Koichi Sugiyama, and artwork by master manga artist Akira Toriyama (from Dragonball fame). Don’t let the $14.99 price-tag scare you. It’s certainly on the pricier side of mobile gaming, but with over 40 hours of gameplay and no nagging in-app purchases required, it’s well worth the price of admission. If you are ready to give it a try, download Dragon Quest IV now.
Dragon Quest IV Arrives On Android is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Yahoo Adds Google Encryption to Email Service
| Following the implementation of an end-to-end encryption upgrade by Google to their Gmail service, Yahoo has announced that by 2015 their email offering will also use the same security enhancements. Yahoo’s Chief Information Security Officer, Alex Stamos, took the opportunity during his speech at the recent Black Hat conference to discuss these upgrades and note that increased security measures will help users of their email service to “communicate in an encrypted manner with other Yahoo Mail users, but also with Gmail users and eventually with other email systems that adopt similar methodologies.” Also of interest is the announcement that the source code for the upgrades will be available to the open source community, allowing for further refinement and testing. According to Google, future security enhancements will include Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption for Gmail –it is expected that Yahoo will follow suit with a similar offering. Between 425 million Gmail users and 273 million Yahoo Mail users –securing email traffic between these services is a significant improvement.
Yahoo Adds Google Encryption to Email Service is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Yota Devices Flees Russia into Canada to Circumvent Sanctions
| Yotadevices has announced they are fleeing Moscow and moving their global headquarters to Toronto. The main reason they are doing this is to tap into a number of former Blackberry engineers and to circumvent the growing number of US trade sanctions levied towards Russia. This company is mainly known for the YotaPhone, which employed some very unique design principles. It had a high resolution LCD full color touchscreen on the front and an e-ink panel on the back. Users got the best of both worlds, an e-reader and a fully featured phone. When we reviewed this device in our Good e-Reader Labs, I did not give it a very compelling rating or endorsement. The e-Ink screen frequently crashed and it needed to be interacted with via the D-Pad and physical buttons. Yota Devices plans to raise $100-million in capital within the next year, with the help of Toronto-based investment bank Jacob Securities, and potentially list the company on the Toronto Stock Exchange by 2015. They also are nearing a global rollout of their second generation Yotaphone with a touchscreen e-ink panel. Yota Devices Flees Russia into Canada to Circumvent Sanctions is a post from: Good e-Reader |
New Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Book Cover Polarizing Readers
| Penguin unveiled a brand new anniversary edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory last week. The Roald Dahl novel is eliciting a hefty amount of criticism from the entire reading community. The new book cover is eliciting a tremendous amount of negative press on Penguins official Facebook page, where the unveiling took place. Creepy, awful, Toddlers and Tiaras, Valley of the Dolls, A low point for Penguin covers, the image is dreadful, is that supposed to be Veruca Salt? Absolutely misleading. I wouldn’t buy a book with a cover like this for my child. It is a timeless classic and Penguin has ruined it. One Dahl fan summed up the reaction: 'Is there time for a reprint? You’re destroying my childhood.' But Penguin said it stressed “the light and the dark aspects” of Dahl’s work. “This design is in recognition of the book’s extraordinary cultural impact and is one of the few children’s books to be featured in the Penguin Modern Classics list. This new image for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory looks at the children at the centre of the story, and highlights the way Roald Dahl’s writing manages to embrace both the light and the dark aspects of life.” New Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Book Cover Polarizing Readers is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Hachette’s Deal For Perseus Falls Through
| The planned acquisition of Perseus Books Group by Hachette and Ingram has collapsed. The deal, which was announced in June, would have seen Perseus’ publishing imprints go to Hachette and its distribution business go to Ingram. Hachette, currently entangled in a long and very public battle with Amazon, relies heavily on fiction bestsellers. Perseus would have added a strong nonfiction backlist. Until the end of July, Perseus had been working primarily with Hachette. However, talks became more complicated when final discussions with Ingram heated up. Although no one would comment on the particulars, Perseus’s unique position in the book world could have made valuing the company difficult, especially the company’s distribution arm; there has not been a major sale of a distributor since the beginning of the digital book age. The broken deal is hurting Hachette’s chances of expanding their business past frontlist fiction. Perseus had over 6,000 backlist titles that were non-fiction and Hachette stood to benefit by more diversification in their books. HBG parent Lagardere had told investors in a presentation in late May it was their intention to growth their nonfiction line, and expand HBG USA overall: “It is necessary to be a bigger player in the USA than in the UK in order to secure enough primary rights,” they had said, also noting, “Size is, and will continue to be, a critical asset in the forthcoming years in this market.” Hachette’s Deal For Perseus Falls Through is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Amazon is being Malevolent towards Maleficent
| Amazon is playing hardball with Disney in ongoing contract negotiations. The Seattle based e-commerce giant has suspended pre-orders for all future DVD and Blu-Ray releases including two of the summers top hits, Captain America and Maleficent. These films combined earned over $700 million worldwide. The hardball tactics employed by Amazon is designed to get the new contract signed as soon as possible. The suspension of DVD and Blu-Ray pre-orders is meant to give Disney “motivation” to fast track the new contract. The elimination of pre-orders is nothing new for Amazon and has been standard business fare over the course of the past few years. Earlier this summer they did the same thing to Warner Bros before the new Lego Movie was slatted for a home release. Ultimately, the two sides reached an accord, and DVD and Blu-ray disc sales resumed. Customers are buying less DVD and Blu-Ray movies and instead have gravitated towards online streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and iTunes. Despite all of this, home video sales still continue to play an important role in underwriting the cost of the film. Amazons tactics with the film industry has certainly not garnered the type of press as their ongoing dispute with publishing giant Hachette. The two sides have been locked in a bitter contract dispute since May 2014. This is prompting many public statements released by Amazon, Hachette and Authors United. Authors United has taken out a full page ad in the sundays edition of the New York Times. They accuse the online retailer of slowing delivery of Hachette's books, refusing to discount its works, and saying its books are unavailable. The letter is backed by many big-name writers, including Stephen King and John Grisham. The letter says the authors are not choosing sides, but urges Amazon to stop "hurting authors" as part of the negotiations. Amazon is being Malevolent towards Maleficent is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Friday, August 8, 2014
Amazon Kindle DX vs. Sony Digital Paper (DPT-S1)
| The Amazon Kindle DX has been one of the most popular large screen commercial e-reader of all time. Its been out for a number of years, and has been getting a little bit long in the tooth. Today, we compare the DX against the brand new Sony Digital Paper (DPT-S1). The Sony Digital Paper is aimed exclusively at the business sector, partly due its its singular nature of reading and editing PDF documents. The DX on the other hand is your gateway to making eBook and digital magazine purchases from Amazon. The DX lacks a touchscreen, which makes you totally reliant on the D-Pad and keyboard shortcuts. The digital paper features a capacitive touchscreen and accompanied stylus really gives you a ton of versatility.
Amazon Kindle DX vs. Sony Digital Paper (DPT-S1) is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies Coming to iOS
| If the idea of playing a courtroom adventure game on your Apple device sounds appealing, stay tuned: Capcom Unity has released Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies into the Japanese App Store –and all expectations are that it will be delivered to North America and Europe very soon (and in full HD)! Originally released in the Nintendo eShop for their 3DS gaming system, Dual Destinies carries the zany tone and fun feel that Manga is famous for. Set primarily in the courthouse and detention centre, the game is packed full of goofy characters and villainous suspects. Led by familiar characters like Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice, each one adds a special quirk and twist that add interest and whimsy to the gameplay. While playing this game, you will be challenged to perform tasks like looking for discrepancies in behaviour (such as being happy when a bomb explodes) while trying to maintain a very dramatic feel. There are very few details right now, so we don’t know an exact release date or price –but we are expecting the initial download to include 5 cases, with an additional case available to buy separately.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies Coming to iOS is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Women Spending More Time and Money on Mobile Games
| According to a new study by Flurry, industry leaders when it comes to mobile analytics, females spent more time and money on mobile games than their male counterparts. To find their numbers, Flurry reviewed games that had an install base of 1.1 million devices or more participating in their ad platform. Based on those numbers, they learned that “women make 31% more In-App-Purchases than men. We also found that females spend 35% more time in gaming apps than males.” The study also showed that females are more loyal to the game that they play, with a 42% higher 7-day retention rate compared to males. Flurry bases their numbers on a worldwide basis, but they claim there was little difference in the statistics when they reviewed US audiences on their own. They also didn’t limit their studies to any particular genre of games, though initial feelings that women preferred particular categories proved wrong, the numbers were much the same across 19 types. Males remained dominant only in card/battle games, strategy, tower defense, sports, and action/RPG. These statistics are especially important to developers and innovators alike as they brainstorm and create the next generation of mobile games.
Women Spending More Time and Money on Mobile Games is a post from: Good e-Reader |
DISH Anywhere Gets Facelift and Feature Upgrades
| For DISH subscribers, the DISH Anywhere app has become indispensable. Using the app, you can watch every TV channel covered by your subscription on your Android devices –whether it is live or recorded, putting a full-featured DVR in the palm of your hands (literally). Thanks to an update, DISH Anywhere now looks even better on your tablet with a completely redesigned UI and new discovery features. The new features of the app let you see recommended programs personalized for you, based on the shows you like to watch. A Recents option lets you see and resume multiple videos you recently watched (which is very handy, especially when the last program watched may be somebody else under your account). Creation of a Watchlist lets you tune in quickly to your favourite programs, or check out What’s Hot in order to find a new must-see show. Perhaps most handy, is the new remote control that allows you to control your DISH receiver (as well as your TV if you happen to also be a Hopper customer). Other cable providers should pay close attention to the work DISH has done on this app –with the feature set they boast, it remains a solid reason to maintain a cable subscription to their service (instead of relying entirely on lower cost options like Netflix or Hulu Plus). If you are a DISH subscriber, but you haven’t yet grabbed this app, download DISH Anywhere for free now.
DISH Anywhere Gets Facelift and Feature Upgrades is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Readers in the UK own more Print Books Than eBooks
| Readers in the UK have not been swayed by the rise of eBooks to give up on their print collections. According to a new report 84% of UK adults have a bookshelf full of books with the average being 86 titles. When it comes to book ownership the largest collections were held by the 55-64 age group, with an average of 118 books, while the smallest were those of 16-24-year-olds, with an average of 50 books each. UK residents have not been embracing eBooks in great numbers, with average UK adults owning 19 digital editions. The largest number of eBooks were held by 45-54 year olds, who had an average of 22, while 16-24-year-olds had the smallest, at just 12. When book ownership reports like this are released, its important to note the types of books the average person has. The statistical average would include all those strange girls who post YouTube clips of how many books they bought that month, usually multi-volume series, as well as anyone who was counting all their leftover kid’s books from when they were learning to read. Add in e-books bought on impulse and the modal average is likely 30 titles. That’s not the same as reading anything much on a day-to-day basis. Remember, ‘books’ doesn’t mean novels, so Jamie Oliver and Gok Wan might be disproportionately represented in their libraries. Readers in the UK own more Print Books Than eBooks is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Read it and stream it
| Was the book really better than the movie? Let your patrons be the judge. Adding streaming video to your digital collection makes it easy for users to compare and contrast. They can simply read the eBook (or listen to the audiobook), then stream the film version. Our staff librarians have put together a list of eBooks and audiobooks, along with their corresponding streaming video film adaptations to get you started. To view the list in Marketplace, click here.  Read It & Stream It List Highlights Silver Linings Playbook | Starz Digital Media(streaming video, eBook, audiobook) Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jackie Weaver, Robert DeNiro, and Jennifer Lawrence After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
Killing Them Softly| Starz Digital Media (streaming video, eBook) Starring: Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, and Ray Liotta Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.
Sarah's Key | Starz Digital Media(streaming video, eBook, audiobook) Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Mélusine Mayance, Niels Arestrup, and Frédéric Pierrot In modern-day Paris, a journalist finds her life becoming entwined with a young girl whose family was torn apart during the notorious Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup in 1942.
Party Monster |Millennium Media Services, Inc.(streaming video, eBook) Starring: Seth Green, Macaulay Culkin, Diana Scarwid, and Chole Sevigny This is the true story of Michael Alig, a Club Kid party organizer whose life was sent spiraling down when he bragged on television about killing his drug dealer and roommate.
Hick | Phase 4 Films (USA), LLC(streaming video, eBook) Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Blake Lively, Eddie Redmayne and Rory Culkin. A Nebraska teen gets more than she bargained for when she sets out for the bright lights of Las Vegas.
If you would like more suggestions, your Collection Development Specialist is available to help create recommended lists. Email collectionteam@overdrive.com for more information today! *Some titles may have limited regional or platform availability.
Michelle Ross is a Collection Development Specialist at OverDrive.  |
Galaxy Tab 4 Nook Getting Unveiled August 20th
| Samsung and Barnes & Noble have teamed up to sell a co-branded tablet called the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook, and both parties have just scheduled an unveiling event on Wednesday, August 20th. Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook will be shown at the event, which is being held in New York. There’s […] |
Samsung Galaxy 4 Nook to be Debuted August 20th
| Barnes and Noble is holding a press event at Union Square in New York City August the 20th. They will be formally unveiling the two new tablets they are working on, in conjunction with Samsung. In the past, Barnes and Noble always did their own hardware design and outsourced the manufacturing. They also developed their own skinned version of Android and ecosystem with apps, movies and games. This was too much for them to handle and gravitated their customer base into using Google Play for everything but books, magazines and newspapers. Working with Samsung was a tremendous benefit to Barnes and Noble because they only have to be responsible for the software side of things. They will be using existing Samsung hardware, which should allow them to focus on a great user experience. I am fairly excited to see what the new braintrust at Barnes and Noble has in store for us. Most of the old executives that oversaw the entire Nook product line have all left the company. With all of the new blood working to make Nook a success, it will be very interesting to see what the final product looks like. Samsung Galaxy 4 Nook to be Debuted August 20th is a post from: Good e-Reader |
More QPU magic from Pete Warden
| Back in June, we mentioned Pete Warden’s port of the Deep Belief image-recognition SDK to the Pi, which used the VideoCore IV QPUs to provide an accelerated GEMM matrix-multiply function. Since then, Pete’s been optimizing his code, and has reduced the time required to process an image to 3 seconds (versus 20 seconds for the baseline ARM implementation and 6 seconds for his original QPU version).  Classifying dogs and their balls In the spirit of “leaving a trail of breadcrumbs through the forest”, Pete has written up an excellent summary of his experiences here. Head on over and check it out. |