| The seminal J.K. Rowling Pottermore website is more than just an eBook store to sell the entire series of Harry Potter eBooks, but also acts as an interactive game and a wellspring of original content. Today, a new 500-word entry about Celestina, who is sometimes known as the “singing sorceress,” provides never-before-known facts about this obscure character whom readers never “meet” in the Harry Potter series although she is mentioned several times and is Molly Weasley’s favourite singer. Pottermore.com also posted today the audio track of one of Celestina’s songs, “You Stole My Cauldron But You Can’t Have My Heart.” The song is a recording by Universal Orlando Resort featuring Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees who perform live every day at the brand-new, spectacularly themed environment, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley. “You Stole My Cauldron But You Can’t Have My Heart” is the first song ever posted on pottermore.com. The new writing by J.K. Rowling offers colourful new details about Celestina’s early years, career highlights and tumultuous personal life. Rowling calls Celestina “one of my favourite ‘off-stage’ characters in the whole series”. Rowling also reveals that she “stole” Celestina’s first name from a colleague at Amnesty International’s Headquarters in London where she once worked. The story has been posted today because August 18 is Celestina’s birthday, a fact which is revealed for the first time in this new writing. Both the audio track and the new writing can be found in the ‘Floo Powder’ Moment in Chapter 4 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on pottermore.com (new users will need to register). Celestina is referenced in three of the Harry Potter books. The first mention is in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) when Harry hears her name on the Wizarding Wireless Network (wizard radio) while visiting the Weasley home. She’s referenced again in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) when she appears on a wizarding radio Christmas broadcast and once more in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7). In the charity companion book by J.K. Rowling, “Quidditch Through the Ages”, Celestina is credited with recording Puddlemere United’s team anthem “Beat Back Those Bludgers, Boys, and Chuck That Quaffle Here” – another of the four songs featured in the singing sorceress’s live show at Universal Orlando Resort. Pottermore Releases New Content and a Song by Singer Celestina Warbeck is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Monday, August 18, 2014
Pottermore Releases New Content and a Song by Singer Celestina Warbeck
Google Play Textbooks Now Available in Canada
| Google has announced that their digital textbook service is now available in Canada. Students will be able to rent or purchase content just in time for the back to school season in September. Google Textbooks offers a wide array of content from well-known publishers like Pearson, Wiley, Macmillan Higher Education, Random House, McGraw-Hill and Cengage Learning. The textbook library is stored in the cloud and books can be accessed from any smartphone or tablet that runs Android or iOS. For students who only need a textbook for a semester or two, there is the option to rent textbooks for six months, saving up to 80% compared to buying print textbooks. You can download your notes and highlights anytime, even after your rental period ends. Just like on other textbook platforms, you "search within a textbook for a particular word or phrase, bookmark chapters and pages, highlight and annotate key passages and get quick access to dictionaries, translation tools, Wikipedia and Google search." Google Play Textbooks Now Available in Canada is a post from: Good e-Reader |
New 6.8″ Kobo Aura H2O eReader Shows up at FCC
| It appears that Kobo is getting set to release a new ebook reader, and it looks like it is going to be a replacement for the Kobo Aura HD. A new device that bears the name Kobo Aura H20 went through the FCC last week. The paperwork doesn’t contain very much information, but there is […] |
Amazon Brings Whispersync for Voice to UK with 10 Freebies
| Amazon has been expanding their Whispersync for Voice feature a lot lately with recent updates to their Kindle reading apps, and today they announced the official launch of their exclusive feature in the UK. Whispersync for Voice works by syncing Kindle ebooks and Audible audiobooks together so that you can switch back and forth between […] |
Librarians Share: Training your staff
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What has been your process in training your staff on your OverDrive service? It is a department requirement that all desk staff be familiar with OverDrive and downloading to various devices. We take the stance that it's no different than expecting a librarian to be familiar with any other database. Everything is written down. We have devices for all download types (app, Kindle, Adobe Digital Editions, Overdrive Media Console, Macs) with which to practice. All necessary software is downloaded on both the service desk and everyone's personal desk computer. Everyone has a one-on-one session with the trainer using their own device (usually a smartphone), a Kindle, a basic Nook, and their own (work) computer. On their own, they have to put a book/audiobook on each device, then take it off. (After training) For app-based devices in person, we recommend that staff set up the device instead of talking someone through downloading the app, setting up an Adobe ID, and adding a library. It's stuff that the patron doesn't necessarily need to retain and it shaves nearly 20 minutes off of each interaction. We then hand the device back and have the patron do the searching and downloading. Everyone is expected to try and help a patron on their own before they ask for assistance from a coworker. If they do need help, two people can generally figure it out without getting the resident “expert.” Everyone has attended the class that is provided for the public on eMedia. Basic information and troubleshooting diagrams are available on the internal wiki.
What have the results been? Everyone in the department feels comfortable with most questions and devices.
What are some of the most frequently asked questions and how does your staff address them? "Will it work with my device?" – We usually just say yes, as it is almost always yes (I can't think of a “no” instance). "Can you show me how to do this?" – Yes. We will always sit down and do a one on one session. No appointment needed. "Can you show me why this won't work?" – Yes. We troubleshoot for any given instance. "Is there a class for this?" – Yes. There are two different classes, the App and then everything else, given once a month all year long.
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Call for questions: Q & A interview with the engineering and education teams
| Back in February 2014, Matt Timmons-Brown captured Gordon, our Head of Software, and would not let him go to the café for his “Gordon Special” until he had spilled all of our secrets.  Gordon thinking about ‘Specials” as the ghost of a Toltec shaman hoots mournfully over his shoulder. Matt is spending some time at Raspberry Pi Towers shortly and we’d like to do this again, but this time with added educationy goodness from one of the education team. So: what would you like to know about Raspberry Pi? Post your questions below. The more questions we get the more interesting the Q&A sessions will be, so fire away! |
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Flipboard Will be Displaying Video Advertisements in Digital Magazines
| Flipboard is changing the way we consume and interact with news stories from all over the world. The company allows users to aggregate social feeds into a digital magazine. These magazines can be individual or shared with the wider community. Flipboard has started to hit critical mass with its 100 million registered users and 10 million digital magazines created by approximately 7 million people. Launched in 2010, Flipboard was designed to be the world's first social magazine for the iPad, allowing users to create their own personal magazines by pulling in updates from Facebook and Twitter. They could also follow specific news sources and websites like Good e-Reader or Techcrunch. There was also an ability to key in your feeds, and read any online publication with a valid RSS Feed. Publishers soon caught on, with newspapers and magazines allowing Flipboard to access content from their social media stream and own websites. On Wednesday night, during a fireside chat with ReadWrite Flipboard CEO Mike McCue revealed that video ads will be coming to its magazines, and Chanel will be one of the first brands with a reel. "The world of TV, and the world of print, these worlds are merging," he said. "We’re moving towards this … world where content can be atomized and reconstructed around interests or topics that someone's really passionate about." Twitter, Facebook and Yahoo are all working towards video advertising platforms because they represent the next generation of revenue. Existing websites are often monetized by banner and skyscraper ads and they are crowding up web pages, publishers keep adding more and more stuff on the page. "The problem on the Web is that if you take a look at a website, the content is surrounded by all kinds of stuff, if you could turn off those banner ads, you would." said McCue.
Flipboard Will be Displaying Video Advertisements in Digital Magazines is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Twitter Now Shares Your Favourite Tweets
| Many Twitter users employ the ability to mark a tweet as a favourite in one of two ways: some use it a a method of giving private kudos to the original author, while others like to save particularly good posts for later review. Regardless of your reason, you may have noticed that Twitter recently started sharing your favourites (along with details on who you are now following) on the timelines of your followers. It isn’t really a big deal, other than now our Twitter feeds are a little more cluttered, but most people don’t like feeling like the rules can change unannounced. Twitter isn’t responding to inquiries regarding their latest social experiment, but chances are good they aren’t sure whether they want to keep these new features yet –at least until they see whether it increases user engagement and ad revenue.
Twitter Now Shares Your Favourite Tweets is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Virgin America Crew Members Recieve Nexus 7s
| Virgin America is equipping their employees with Nexus 7 tablets, so now when you want to order food using their food button located on the in-flight entertainment system, the order will be relayed directly. Nicknamed the CrewPad, these tablets compliment the 9-inch entertainment systems already in place and displayed in front of travelers (featuring a number of programming options). Virgin America is a company proud to be ahead of the curve, but this adoption of tablets is just the next step toward mobile integration with the airline industry. It began a few years ago with a few airlines in Europe lending iPads to passengers interested in watching movies on-board, and is evolving so that others now offer an app that provides free access to movies on your own personal tablet (complete with a seat-bad holster to hold your device). Pilots have also benefited from the use of tablets, with many of their flight manuals and other documents now available in digital format. It is nice that their load is lightened, but it also means searching, bookmarking, and referencing the text within those documents is more efficient. Each of these uses makes sense, tablets are useful productivity tools that double as entertainment devices –making them perfect travel companions. Add to this the potential of interacting with the airlines themselves and suddenly they are even more valuable.
Virgin America Crew Members Recieve Nexus 7s is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Icarus Illumina E652 Nighttime Reading Test
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Welcome back to another installment of the Good e-Reader Nighttime Reading test. Today we evaluate the second generation six inch Icarus Illumina and put it through a battery of tests to see how it performs in complete darkness. Most people read on their device when they are going to sleep or in other circumstances where lots of light is unavailable. Icarus has five LED lights on the bottom of the screen that illuminate the e-paper display. During the test, we check out all levels of brightness and see how it affects the reading experience.
Icarus Illumina E652 Nighttime Reading Test is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Amazon Kindle Unlimited will Never Take off Relying on Indie Authors
| Amazon Kindle Unlimited is a new program that for a small monthly fee allows you to read 10 eBooks at a time. No major publisher has bought into the Amazon initiative, which insures that there is a tremendous lack of mainstream or bestsellers. Instead, the Seattle company relies on its own cadre of indie authors to populate the ecosystem with their titles from Kindle Direct Publishing. What has prevented Unlimited from really taking off and being embraced by readers? The lack of quality titles produced by indie authors. In order for an indie author to be enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, they must opt into the Kindle Direct Publishing Select program. This allows their titles to be showcased in the Kindle Lending Library and made available for people to read for free. It also provides many advanced tools, such as free promotional pricing. KDP Select authors are automatically enrolled in Kindle Unlimited and this is how it works. If someone reads their eBook past the 10% mark, the author will get paid on average about a dollar. The money is paid from a revolving pool of revenue that Amazon has on a monthly basis. Amazon relies on exclusivity for their authors to be opted into the Kindle Lending Library and Kindle Unlimited. This prevents authors from only promoting their works on Amazon and not on Kobo Writing Life, Nook Press or Smashwords. The bulk number of titles on Unlimited are all produced by indie authors. There are 600,000 eBooks and audiobooks that have been opted into the program. Where do the rest of the books come from? Algonquin, Bloomsbury, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Open Road, Scholastic and Workman. Some authors such as Hugh Howey were automatically opted into Unlimited, but did not have the same exclusivity as your run of the mill first time author. Howey and others had a limited amount of time they could distribute their titles throughout other retailers but at some point in time, they have to decide whether to fully embrace Unlimited on a title by title basis. Most of the indie authors that actually make a decent living off of their works often have a head for the business. They are active on Twitter and other social media networks promoting their personal brands. They focus on multiple distribution platforms because it basically takes on average, two years to develop a core readership base. These authors do well because they do not rely on a singular source of revenue, but glean it from Apple, Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Smashwords, Scribd and Oyster. Sadly, the authors that do rely on Amazon for the most part have poorly written titles and will never be purchased or loaned out for free. This makes Unlimited a barren wasteland of quality content from indie authors. Should avid readers sign up for Unlimited? I would advise against it. The service is only available to residents of the US and there simply isn’t enough quality content to make it really viable beyond the first month. Amazon Kindle Unlimited will Never Take off Relying on Indie Authors is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Kobo CEO Speaks Out About Taking Over Sony eBook Business
| Sony has been selling e-readers and eBooks since 2004 and they were the first mainstream company who made a serious powerplay to cultivate the industry. Their successes and failures over the years acted as a playbook for Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo to enter the the fray and immediately make an impact. Sony eventually got nudged out of the business due to the prices of e-readers coming down, to a such a point, that it was not financially viable anymore to continue. In February 2014 Sony announced that they were exiting the eBook space and Kobo would take over their book business. Aside from the preliminary press release Kobo has been silent about their dealings with Sony, but today Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn has spoke to Good e-Reader all about it. “In North America we have been really happy with the Sony customers coming over to Kobo. People have been really interested and excited about our retail ecosystem with our investment around recommendations and how to discover your next great read. As a company, we are very happy with the collaboration and quality of customers coming over.” said Tamblyn. Michael is referring to Sony closing their online eBook store and gravitating their existing client base to Kobo. The entire modern line of Sony e-readers such as the PRS-T1, T2 and T3 have received firmware updates that removed the Sony Reader Store and implemented the Kobo store. Existing Sony customers had emails sent over to them before the big change, instructing them on how to transfer their existing customers over to Kobo. “The Sony and Kobo relationship has been successful in a couple of ways, we are concerned about people accessing their digital libraries for the long-term and to buy new books. Our primary motivation was stepping in for a company exiting the eBook space and allowing customers to buy new titles.” Tamblyn mentioned. Not all customers were happy for the Reader Store to close and switch to Kobo. Jeff P recently wrote "HORRID! HORRID! HORRID! I’ve been a member since November 2007. The only readers or tablets I’ve ever were Sony so that I could use the reader software. I once told a sales clerk that I didn’t need the extended warranty because I was buying a Sony. Almost every piece of electronic equipment I have is Sony. I won’t buy another Sony ANYTHING. Yes, you say customers are first, well, I’m the first customer to tell you that you’ve made a HORRID mistake and I’m never going to buy another Sony product EVER." Kobo CEO Speaks Out About Taking Over Sony eBook Business is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Prevent Kids Ignoring Parents’ Calls Using New App
| Like it or not, many children carry smartphones. For some, they are tremendous resources and in many cases help to keep them safe. As parents, we also have to manage their use. At a minimum, we want to be able to get ahold of our kids when we call –and not have those calls ignored because they are busy, or doing something they know they will be in trouble for. Fortunately, a new app called Ignore No More has a solution! Brought to you by the developers at Mountaineer Technology Ventures, Ignore No More gives you control over your children’s phones. It is okay to feel a little bit giddy about this, because if your children ignore your calls and text messages, you can lock their phones remotely until they call you back! Once the app is installed, it is virtually impossible for anybody other than you to remove. A single household account can be used by parents for multiple children, making it easy to have the system up and running quickly and easily! The developers are also quick to remind, that emergency calls are still available even if the device has been locked –so safety is never compromised. You can download Ignore No More for $2.50 CAD, which is a small price to pay to remind your children just who makes the rules. Kids need to learn how to use technology responsibly, and sometimes that means they require a little remote supervision.
Prevent Kids Ignoring Parents’ Calls Using New App is a post from: Good e-Reader |
WWE Collectible Card Game Available for Android
| 2K Games and WWE have teamed up together to create WWE Supercard, a larger-than-life game for your Android device! Filled with all of your favourite WWE Superstars, Legends, and Divas, this new game brings the excitement of wrestling to mobile gaming. To play WWE Supercard, you must collect card packs (either by earning them in online matches or purchasing them directly) and use the players contained within to build your dream team. There are over 400 cards available, with seven different rarity levels –though it has been announced that there will be regular updates to the superstars available. Once your winning roster is built, play against other players with single athletes, tag teams, or five-person teams. As an added incentive, the more you participate the better your rankings and rewards! If you like fast-paced sports-themed games, give WWE Supercard for Android a try. The game is free to install, but you may find yourself making purchases in-app when you are looking to get new card packs quickly.
WWE Collectible Card Game Available for Android is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Humble Bundle Adds Support for eBooks, Audio
| Beginning as a site that lets users buy a bundle of video games for a better price than they could if they were to choose titles individually, Humble Bundle has expanded their service to include eBooks and Audio as well. Using the app, there is a section specifically for Android games and game updates –making it very easy to keep the titles you own at the latest versions. While the interface is terribly simple and in need of a little beautification, it does function nicely. Bundle contents change regularly, but currently they are giving you the chance to round out your digital comic book collection. If you purchased everything separately, it would cost you in excess of $431 –but they can be yours right now for $15 (less, if you choose to skip the bonus offer). Freshly out of beta, Humble Bundle for Android is ready to download now. Once you have it installed, start looking out for the Humble Bundles: review an offer, choose how much you would like to pay (with some of your funds available for allocation to charities), make the purchase… and start reading (or playing, or listening)!
Humble Bundle Adds Support for eBooks, Audio is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Pokemon Trading Card Game for iPad Coming Soon
| Nintendo has been threatening to target mobile devices with ports of their successful titles, and soon you will be able to catch ‘em all on your iPad: it has been confirmed that Pokemon Trading Card Game Online will be available for iOS later this year. There are many reasons for Nintendo to start playing in the mobile game marketplace, not the least of which is to increase interest in the game franchises that may bring consumers to their console products. If that doesn’t result in success, at a minimum they will have their hands in mobile gaming and could always build on that as a next-generation plan. The Pokemon Trading Card Game for iPad is basically a port of the free game already available on the Pokemon website, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Pokemon Trading Card Game for iPad Coming Soon is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Friday, August 15, 2014
Icarus Illumina E653 e-Reader Unboxing
| Icarus has refreshed their e-reader lineup with Android 4.2 and the ability for users to load in their own apps. This dandy unit has support for EPUB, Mobi, PDF and has a stellar front-lit display to allow you to read in the dark. Icarus is a Netherlands based company and has been making a name for themselves releasing high quality e-readers. Today we unbox the brand new unit and show you everything that comes in the box. Additionally, we boot it up for the first time, showing you the various menus and what type of default apps are installed.
Icarus Illumina E653 e-Reader Unboxing is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Roundtable – The History and Future of Sony e-Readers
| Michael Kozlowski and Peter Carotenuto of Good e-Reader have another roundtable discussion on the evolution of the Sony consumer e-Reader brand. They discuss important milestones, such as the advent of touch, the incorporation of a stylus and releasing the first front-lit e-reader. The entire e-reader industry owes Sony a debt of gratitude for pioneering major technologies. The company has announced exclusively to Good e-Reader that they are abandoning the consumer space and that the PRS-T3 e-reader will be the last one they make. Instead, they are focusing on the business segment with the Sony DPT-S1 Digital Paper. During the roundtable we discuss the ramifications of exiting the eBook and e-reader space, how Kobo is benefiting and how the customers are responding to dealing with a new ecosystem.
Roundtable – The History and Future of Sony e-Readers is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Contest: Win an Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7
| Welcome back to another Good e-Reader Contest where we orchestrate giveaways for all of the different review units we get! A few weeks ago we gave away a brand new Sony PRS-350 e-reader and today we have the latest generation tablet from Amazon, the Kindle Fire HDX 7. The Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 features a seven inch capacitive multi-touch screen with a resolution of 1920×1200 pixels. The resolution is a huge upgrade from the previous generation which only had 1280 x 800. HD videos on Netflix and HD comics from Comixology are the most noticeable improvements. Underneath the hood is a quad-core 2.2 GHZ processor and 2 GB of RAM. You have different models for storage and the entry level model has 16 GB of internal memory. When you take it out of the box for the first time there is only 8.8 GB of memory to play with and there is no expandable memory via SD. We will do the draw for the Kindle Fire HDX on August 29th and you can watch it live on YouTube. To enter, you simply have to LIKE the contest video, subscribe to the channel and drop a comment on the CONTEST VIDEO.
Contest: Win an Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Exploring the Sony Digital Paper (DPT-S1)
| The Sony Digital Paper (DPT-S1) is the first e-paper device exclusively aimed at the corporate audience. It is billed as a replacement for paper and the primarily job is to view, edit and send the PDF documents across your corporate network. Today, we take a fairly advanced look at this device, exploring all of the features, menus and options. When we do our traditional review video, we have to be careful not to show you everything, otherwise it would take almost 30 minutes. Today, we simply look at all of the core-functionality. We look at every single settings menu when you are editing a document, how the internet browser performs and all of the settings. This will give you a behind the scenes look on what exactly are the strengths and limitations behind Digital Paper.
Exploring the Sony Digital Paper (DPT-S1) is a post from: Good e-Reader |
