Jacquard looms, and a Pi simulator

I’m not alone at Pi Towers (hi Lorna! Hi Rachel!) in being a textiles nerd. There’s a 200-year-old cushion made of strips of worn-out Regency clothes (which nobody is allowed to sit on) in my living room; Mandarin sleeves I’ve rescued from rummage bins in Hong Kong and framed on the walls, and a rotation of vintage wedding kimonos and obis that hang up at the end of the hall. I have a theory about textile art being considered domestic, female art – and therefore, for cultural reasons I don’t care for very much, deprecated in comparison with other sorts of art, and a hell of a lot cheaper per square foot than paintings or prints in frames. If you’ve got a big wall to decorate, you could do a lot worse than hitting eBay and wallowing in kimonos. What’s all this got to do with Raspberry Pi? In case you hadn’t already noticed, I am also a computing history nerd. Last weekend I spent several hours in the Fashion Museum in Bath, thinking tranquil thoughts about Spitalfields silk, Jacquard looms, and the way some of these beautiful textiles relate directly to the history of programming. The Jacquard process for weaving was invented in the early 1800s; and we get excited about them because Jacquard looms were the very first programmable machines used in manufacturing. This shawl, from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, was woven in 1840 on a Jacquard loom. Click through for a zoomable image; the detail is phenomenal. Punchcards were threaded together and fed into the loom, each card full of holes representing one line of weaving. It was a flexible system: your chain of cards could be as long or as short as was needed, and to weave a different pattern on the loom, you could simply swap out the set of cards. Imposing that flexibility on a mechanical system was a completely novel concept, and those punch cards were a first step on the road to what became the computer programming that all those of you with Raspberry Pis are familiar with. (Charles Babbage used the Jacquard punch card concept around forty years after the invention of the Jacquard process to store programs in the Analytical Engine – and they’re still not obsolete. Those American voting machines that cause so much controversy were still employing punch cards in the 2012 election.) Punch cards in use on a Jacquard loom It can be hard to visualise the relationship between the holes in the cards you can see above, and the individual lines that create the pattern on the brocade you can see next to them. So Macclesfield Silk Museum (which I have only just found out about, and am going to make a beeline for next time I’m in Cheshire) put a Raspberry Pi to work to make this demonstration model for museum visitors. Today, textile professionals can buy specialised software for designing and producing Jacquard fabrics: a direct line of descent from Joseph Marie Jacquard’s two-century old innovation. (Check out this blog post from Florence, where you can see some modern examples of fabrics woven using modern Jacquard software.) Joseph Marie Jacquard – a portrait woven in very fine silk on a Jacquard loom in 1839. 24,000 punch cards, each with 1050 positions, were used to weave this portrait, which is in the collection of the Science Museum in London. Next time you’re out shopping for curtain fabric, or buying intricately woven cushion covers, step back for a moment and think about the computing history you’re holding in your hands. Computing’s everywhere.

URL: http://www.raspberrypi.org/jacquard-loom-simulator/

New Kindle Software Update 5.6.1 Adds Family Sharing, Word Wise, and More

Amazon has started rolling out a software update for the Kindle Voyage, Kindle Paperwhite, and entry-level Kindle. The new software version is 5.6.1. The software number is the same across all three devices, although the actual update file is different for each model. The software adds the advertised features that we’ve been waiting on for […]

URL: http://feeds.the-ebook-reader.com/~r/feedburner/cmWU/~3/rErVvnqpNfA/

Blackberry and Samsung Reach an Agreement on Mobile Security

Blackberry has announced that they have struck an agreement with smartphone maker Samsung, for a new breed of security enhancements. This will hopefully give flagship phones such as the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S5 a new level of security not seen before. Beginning early next year, Samsung devices integrated with the company's Knox security software will also include an extra layer of security provided by BlackBerry's end-to-end encryption system. Blackberry Balance will also be implemented into the Samsung brand, to help separate work from pleasure. "The work we're doing with BlackBerry goes beyond just bringing our solutions together for customers. This strategic partnership is grounded in our mutual goals [of] being the most secure in mobility. Our respective leadership positions in enterprise mobility and consumers devices are a perfect match to offer customers that need to be equally productive and secure," said Greg Wade, senior vice president of Samsung's KNOX Business Group. Blackberry has also introduced their long awaited BES12 server software aimed at corporate and government clients. Unlike previous versions of this software, the newest iteration allows companies to manage older devices running on the BB7 and BB10 operating platforms as well as rival devices running software from Apple, Google and Microsoft. In other Blackberry news, the Blackberry Classic smartphone is now on pre-order. If you’re in the US, you can pre-order the Classic straight from BlackBerry’s official online store. This will require you to purchase it unlocked, however – there’s no contract-signing with a carrier involved. Also, because it’s made for GSM carriers, it won’t work on Verizon, Sprint, or US Cellular. The price is $449, and actual details about when it will be released will be made public on December 17. That’s the day during which BlackBerry will hold a special launch event. Blackberry and Samsung Reach an Agreement on Mobile Security is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/smartphones-2/blackberry-and-samsung-reach-an-agreement-on-mobile-security

Weekly eHighlights: Kids & Teens Edition

Welcome to this month's eHighlights newsletter for kids and teens. Check back on the second Thursday of every month for a new edition listing some of the best new youth titles added to OverDrive's Marketplace. The featured titles below are some of the best picks, but don't miss the complete list of almost 200 titles! Click on the link below to see these and even more great purchases conveniently placed for you into a Marketplace cart. Click here to view the Marketplace cart of these titles and more.   Top Authors: No Annotation Needed Ursula K. Le Guin – The Daughter of Odren: An Earthsea Short Story – YA – Houghton Mifflin Jane O'Connor – Nancy Clancy: Four Chapter Book Collection – Ages 6-10 – HarperCollins James Patterson – House of Robots – Ages 8-12 – Blackstone Audio – House of Robots series, Bk 1 Dr. Seuss – Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories – Ages 4-8– Books on Tape Coco Simon – Mia's Recipe for Disaster – Ages 8-12 – Simon & Schuster – Cupcake Diaries series, Bk 22 Picture Books Teresa Bateman – April Foolishness – Open Road Integrated Media LLC A wonderful and funny April Fool’s book about two grandparents, their grandchildren, and their farm. Booklist starred review. Sean Callahan – The Bear Hug – Open Road Integrated Media LLC Another great bear book. Little cub goes to visit his grandpa where he teaches him all about being a bear. But the best thing? Grandpa's bear hugs. Miggy – And Away We Go! – Macmillan Publishers Everyone is welcome on Mr. Fox's balloon but will everyone fit? “Stylish, jazzy and unique, this is a great addition and would work well for storytime.” – School Library Journal Fiction for Early Readers Catherine Hapka – Chasing Gold – Ages 8-12 – Simon & Schuster – Marguerite Henry’s Ponies of Chincoteague series, Bk 3 The third book in this new horse series will have kids who are looking for new horse books feeling satisfied. While written for ages 8-12 this series isn't too difficult for those who are just starting to explore chapter books but aren't quite ready for heartier titles. Frances L. MacGuire – Phineas L. MacGuire, Let's Get Cooking – Ages 8-12 – Simon & Schuster Phineas is a science genius so whipping up dinner every night should be a piece of cake, right? Wrong. But he needs to learn quick so he can win the $10,000 bake-off prize and bake enough brownies to keep the local bully off his back. Middle Grade Fiction Martine Leavitt – Blue Mountain – Ages 8-12 – Macmillan ebook Tuk the bighorn sheep is told he will be the one to save his herd, but he is young and would rather play with his bandmates than figure out why the herd needs saving. As humans encroach further and further into their territory, there is less room for the sheep to wander, food becomes scarce, and the herd's very survival is in danger. Kirkus & PW starred reviews. Sam McBratney – The Ghastly Gerty Swindle with the Ghosts of Hungryhouse Lane – Ages 8-10 – Macmillan Publishers In the sequel to Ghosts of Hungryhouse Lane will Gertie Swindle and her son Alexander the Grate rob the elderly Amy Steadings of her valuable antiques? Not if the Sweet kids and some friendly ghosts have anything to say about it! Brandon Mull – The Rogue Knight – Ages 8-12 – Simon & Schuster Cole's hunt for his lost friends has led him to the kingdom of Elloweer. Accompanied by new friends Mira, Twitch, and Jace, Cole teams up with the resistance movement and joins the search for Mira's sister Honor. Book 2 in the Five Kingdom series. Bestselling author. PW starred review. Teens Ally Condie – Atlantia – Penguin Group US As long as she can remember, Rio has dreamed of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all Rio’s hopes for the future are shattered when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected choice, stranding Rio Below. From the author of the well-known Matched trilogy. 250,000 print run. Ryan Graudin – The Walled City – Hachette Digital Heralded as The Maze Runner meets Legend this is one book that will sure to keep your pulse running. In the Walled City teens are drug traffickers, work in the brothels, or, like Jin, hide under the radar. But when given the chance to find her lost sister her life soon becomes a race against time. A YA Buzz Pick. Teri Harman – Black Moon – Independent Publishers Group The second book in the Moonlight Trilogy. After Simon Howard accidentally kills three people he has a hard time moving on due to recurring nightmares and something more sinister. “A dark, realistic and intriguing story that evades the second book slump. Unusual and absorbing.” – Kirkus Reviews C. J. Lyons – Watched – Sourcebooks – For four years a hacker has taken over Jessie's webcam and blackmailed him with lewd photos and videos. Now, he wants Jessie to do something unthinkable or his sister will die. But then a plan manila envelope arrives at his house with a cell phone and a note saying, "I can help." Will it be the miracle he's hoping for? Maggie Stiefvater – Blue Lily, Lily Blue – Scholastic Audio – Raven Cycle Series, Bk 3 The third book in the Rave Cycle series finds Blue Sargent finally belonging to a group which calls itself the Raven Boys. But will it last? Kirkus, Bulletin, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Booklist starred reviews. Nonfiction Ali Benyon – Stitched Paper Art for Kids: 22 Cheeky Pickle Sewing Projects – C & T Publishing Sewing machine novices or not, kids will build their skills while creating bright, fun art. Varied projects include headbands and necklaces, bookmarks and buntings, and picture frames and purses. Laura Hillenbrand – Unbroken (The Young Adult Adaptation): An Olympian's Journey From Airman to Castaway to Captive – Teens – Random House This adaptation of the #1 New York Times bestseller includes more than 100 black and white photos. Booklist starred review.   Click here to view the Marketplace cart of these titles and more. *Geographical rights may vary by title.

URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DigitalDistributionBlogOverdrive/~3/uomL9B3j7g4/

Amazon Advertising Executive Fired for Refusing To Lie

A former advertising executive for Kindle is suing Amazon for wrongful dismissal. The saga begins in 2012 with the launch of the Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet. Amazon was seeking launch partners in order to build traction with their Special Offers edition. Credit card company Discover signed on, as they normally participated with pilot projects at Amazon. Then things got interesting. In a signed affidavit to the Washington Attorney office, former executive Kivin Varghese outlined the following “Shortly after the successful launch of the ad platform in September 2012, we ran into an issue with one of our large launch partners, Discover Card. In addition to paying $1.2 million to be part of the launch, we ran a promotion where they paid an extra $500,000 that was intended to encourage Kindle owners with a Discover card, to switch their default 1-click card to Discover (ahead of the holiday shopping season). The promotion was structured in a way where anyone with a Kindle, who used their Discover card to buy a digital good (e.g. mp3 or movie), would get a $10 Amazon Gift Card. The reason the good had to be digital is because to buy a digital good you need to use your 1-click default card, and Discover's primary objective for this promotion was to get users who had a Discover card, to make it their 1-click default so Discover could be the card of choice for holiday shopping over the course of the fourth quarter. That was the only way Discover could justify spending $10 when someone ordered a $1 .mp3 music file. The finance team and the ad execution team (who reported to my manager via a Product Manager) put together a forecast for Discover that showed we expected the $500K to last for the full 60 days of the promotion, and it had a wide ranging buffer, so we would monitor it weekly. I was not allowed to see the data that went into the forecast – only the finance team putting together the forecast was allowed to see that data – I and others were just provided a range. About 10 days into the promotion, the Ad Execution team found that over $300,000 of the $500,000 allocated for the promotion had been spent. I had our development team look into the data to find out how this could happen – Was it fraud? Was it a bug? What we found was that there were tens of thousands of Kindle e-ink owners, the vast majority who hadn’t even seen the promotion details (as customers had to click on the ad to see the details), were qualifying for the $10 Gift card because every day, there are thousands of customers who own a Kindle and already have Discover set as their 1-click default card, that buy a digital good on Amazon in the ordinary course of their activity. As soon as we found this out, I sent out a 7-step solution that I recommended we implement to fix the issue, which involved being transparent with Discover about the issue and refunding a significant portion of the promotional funds that went to subsidized behavior. Munira disagreed with my approach, directing me to spin this as 'good news, that the promotion is tracking ahead of plan' and urged me to try to get more budget from Discover. Meanwhile the promotion continued to run and within a few more days we had gone over the $500,000 budget. Our finance and ad execution team had missed the key fact when doing the forecast – the forecast should have shown that there was a 100% certainty that the promotion as structured, would go through the $500,000 budget within a couple of weeks given everyday activity. This was clear, the data was available during the forecast, and it was missed. So in other words, Discover was essentially paying $10 to tens of thousands of users who had no idea the promotion was going on, and were just subsidizing existing behavior – Discover was paying $10 mostly to consumers that already had Discover set as their 1-click default and were unaware of any Kindle promotion. That was not Discover's intention, nor was it Amazon's when we ran the promotion. But it was our mistake to rectify.” A number of internal emails were sent between project managers of the advertising platform, trying to get Discover to pay more money, without divulging that e-Ink owners were the ones taking advantage of the promotion. According to the emails, Amazon executives directly downplayed the amount spent directly to Discover. Also, according to the legal filing Amazon lied to Discover about specific metrics and page impressions on the custom landing page for the promotion. When Discover pulled out of the promotion, this is when it all hit the fan. The Ad executive was brought in for his monthly PIP meeting, where they went over milestone goals. He was scolded for not asking Discover for more money, even though he knew all of the funds were spent and Amazon still had not fixed the bug for e-ink Kindles. He was asked to transfer to another department, and upon refusing went to HR and was promptly fired. The legal brief ended with “To me, it seems like a culture of treating its employees like robots and numbers. And perhaps that is what spawns and encourages the kind of dark behavior I saw at Amazon. Employees aren’t just Bezeos-Bots and numbers. Customers aren’t just a source of free-cash flow at any price.” You can read the entire legal briefing HERE. It is very long and a compelling read for Amazon intrigue. Amazon Advertising Executive Fired for Refusing To Lie is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/amazon-advertising-executive-fired-for-refusing-to-lie

Google SMS and MMS Messenger App Now Available

Google has had a very busy day, among which was the release of their new Messenger communications app. Built to basically send and receive both SMS and MMS messages, Messenger also lets you participate in group chats and send audio messages. In addition to the basic functionality, Messenger boasts a feature list that includes: faster sharing (taking and sending pictures, videos, and audio from directly within the app), easy search through contacts and conversation threads, purposeful and intuitive design, the ability to block SMS senders, emoji support, coloured text threads, and message archiving. All things considered, it’s the same kinds of functionality that Apple has had with iMessage and Blackberry with BBM for quite some time, but it was a requisite ‘catch-up’ app that Google needed to add to their arsenal. That said, Google Hangouts has much of this same SMS functionality already –but perhaps they are concerned some users may be wary of using something integrated into social media when that isn’t the way it works on other platforms. Want to see how Google imagines messaging? Download Messenger for your Android devices. Google SMS and MMS Messenger App Now Available is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/spotlight-on-android/google-sms-and-mms-messenger-app-now-available

Amazon and Hachette Finally Reach an Agreement on eBooks

Hachette Book Group and Amazon today announced that the companies have reached a new, multi-year agreement for ebook and print sales in the US. The new ebook terms will take effect early in 2015. Hachette will have responsibility for setting consumer prices of its ebooks, and will also benefit from better terms when it delivers lower prices for readers. Amazon and Hachette will immediately resume normal trading, and Hachette books will be prominently featured in promotions. This entire contract situation went on for far too long and I am glad its finally over. It seemed that people used this contract dispute to write millions of news items on the predatory nature of Amazon and Hachette. Michael Pietsch, Hachette Book Group CEO said, “This is great news for writers. The new agreement will benefit Hachette authors for years to come. It gives Hachette enormous marketing capability with one of our most important bookselling partners." “We are pleased with this new agreement as it includes specific financial incentives for Hachette to deliver lower prices, which we believe will be a great win for readers and authors alike,” said David Naggar, Vice President, Kindle. Amazon and Hachette Finally Reach an Agreement on eBooks is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/amazon-and-hachette-finally-reach-an-agreement-on-ebooks

Is Anyone Using Kindle Scout Yet?

A couple weeks ago, Amazon launched a new program called Kindle Scout. It’s a campaign-style ebook publishing platform where readers can nominate new unpublished books to be published on the Kindle platform. Authors submit their completed book and then excerpts get posted on the Kindle Scout website for readers to nominate. The sample usually consists […]

URL: http://feeds.the-ebook-reader.com/~r/feedburner/cmWU/~3/LcAC8DOP9R0/

Kindle Voyage Review

The Kindle Voyage was released on October 21st. I posted a first impressions review the day after it was released, but I wanted to use it for a few weeks before posting a full review to get a better feel of the new features. It’s been just over three weeks now, and I’ve finally got […]

URL: http://feeds.the-ebook-reader.com/~r/feedburner/cmWU/~3/PnSthNl-Ci8/

Adventures in Minecraft

Martin O’Hanlon and David Whale will be familiar to many readers of this blog, whether from the excellent Raspberry Pi and Minecraft resources they’ve authored or from their work with schools, code clubs and Raspberry Jams. Now they’ve teamed up to write a fantastic new book, hot off the press this week. Adventures in Minecraft teaches young people to customise their Minecraft world with amazing structures and new gaming experiences, developing Python programming skills along the way. Nine self-contained projects introduce readers with no programming experience to the basics and then move on to increasingly sophisticated mods, and eventually to controlling and sensing real-world objects from within Minecraft! Made for Minecraft Pi or for Minecraft on a PC or Apple Mac, the book is written especially for 11-15-year-olds, although we’ve already come across rave reviews from both younger and older readers. It has a companion website full of extras and video tutorials, as well as a mini-site created by Martin, with a forum where readers can discuss their projects and ask for help. Martin has also made a video montage of some of the adventures in the book: Carrie Anne Philbin, our Education Pioneer, says, “It’s excellent that kids have a dedicated, full-colour book like this to help them get into programming with Minecraft, and it will make a great companion to Adventures in Raspberry Pi!” You can buy Adventures in Minecraft now from Wiley and other book sellers. Why not treat the Minecraft fan in your life?

URL: http://www.raspberrypi.org/adventures-in-minecraft/

Why you Should Buy Indie eBooks and Avoid Traditional Publishers

Reading is making a comeback around the world due to new technology in a variety of ebook readers and apps for cell phones, tablets, and computers. Ebook sales are growing every day. People who would never have considered writing a book are giving it a shot, adding ever more choices to a crowded marketplace. Even authors from traditional publishing are fighting to provide the next ebook “bestseller”. Sadly, there are some readers, reviewers, and columnists who refuse to give Indie Authors a fair trial and continue to support traditional publishing as the only way to find a well-written book. Happily, there are innumerable readers who disagree and are not only buying books written by Indie Authors, but refuse to purchase books from traditional publishers any longer. Let’s explore why. Traditionally published ebooks are expensive. Even though printing, shipping, storage, and buy-backs are no longer part of the cost, traditional publishers are charging premium prices for their ebooks. In our current economy, it is hard for a single mom, student, average employee, or senior citizen to pay from $9.99 to $19.99 for one ebook download – even one written by a famous author. For $19.99, a reader of Indie Authors can buy several ebooks in a variety of genres, and possibly find the next “NY bestseller” among them. Another reason to avoid traditional publishers is they tend to follow the leader in choosing what to publish, regardless of what readers are buying or requesting. They have flooded the market with erotic thrillers, vampires, quests, tell-all memoirs, how-to this or that, and most recently non-fiction political ramblings. Based on expensive market analysis, of course, but their market must be in downtown New York or San Francisco, when it should be on Average Street. Indie Authors, on the other hand, live on Average Street in Small Town. They know what their neighbors, friends, and blog followers are reading. They spend hours online, studying what is selling versus what is not, they join groups and blogs and take classes to learn more, they research their topic, and then they spend hour upon hour writing. They are connected to real life, which brings emotion, depth of character, and the need to tell a story from deep inside. Then the serious ones pull money from their own pockets to pay for a book cover, edits, and formatting, or they find an Indie Publisher willing to accept their work. Has it occurred to most readers who refuse to touch an Indie Author ebook that famous traditionally published authors had to start somewhere? Not all of them were perfect when they began, either. Surprisingly, they still aren’t perfect after all these years, and neither are the teams of editors, proofers, and formatters who work on their books. [Another surprise, the teams don't have nearly the members working on a book as when it went to print.] Chances are, yes, a reader will get a poorly written or unedited book from time to time when trying Indie Authors, but it’s also likely in a traditionally published ebook. And, which would you rather throw away, $3.99 or $19.99? Many Indie Authors now have beautiful ebook covers designed by talented artists, which are much more appealing than a multi-color background with a white text title, or a hatchet in a wall on a traditionally published cover. Indie Author covers also more closely describe the story than traditional publisher covers, particularly in Romance, Thrillers, and Suspense. The most important reason to buy Indie Author ebooks is the majority of what readers spend actually goes to the author rather than to a publishing conglomerate. [Our Indie publishing company pays cover designers, editors, and formatters, and still pays the lion share of royalties to our authors. Traditional publishers have kept the majority of the money, and yet, some are struggling to remain in business and still others have gone under. Wonder why? Could it be lavish executive offices, huge exec salaries, and all those benefits?] To select a well-written Indie Authored or Indie Published ebook, look at the cover to see if it is well designed. Read the description and check the front few pages. Read a sample if you have time. If any of this appears sloppy or contains spelling errors, move on to another book. But, maybe it will be neat, concise, and the cover, description, and first few pages will grab you and draw you into a story you would have otherwise missed – just because it is by an Indie Author. Readers should be the ones to decide what is well-written, what books to avoid, and tell others through reviews and ratings. Free marketing should set ebook prices. Join those of us who are tired of being dictated to by a few large traditional publishers, snobbish reviewers, and uninformed columnists, and buy ebooks published by real people for real people – Indie Authors. by Rebecca J. Vickery Author Rebecca J Vickery – website Publishing by Rebecca J. Vickery Victory Tales Press Once Upon A Word Blog Why you Should Buy Indie eBooks and Avoid Traditional Publishers is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/commentary/why-you-should-buy-indie-ebooks-and-avoid-traditional-publishers

Economist Launches Espresso Daily News App

The Economist has launched a new mobile app that provides a curated news briefing from the editors. Published each weekday morning in three editions for the Americas, Europe and Asia, Espresso brings you up to speed in just a couple of minutes at the start of your day. The Economist Espresso offers eight articles each morning and the app is optimized primarily for smartphones. This is actually the first time in the companies 171 year history that they have offered a daily edition, so this is pretty big news. The Economist is offering non-subscribers a one-month free trial and full access will cost £2.49/$3.99 a month. If you are already a digital subscriber to The Economist, then full access to Espresso is now included with your subscription. Simply log in to the app using your registered e-mail address and password for Economist.com or, for delivery direct to your inbox, opt in to receive Espresso via e-mail, starting next week. For more information about accessing your digital subscription benefits visit economist.com/digital You can download the Economist Espresso for Android from the Good e-Reader App Store. Economist Launches Espresso Daily News App is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/digital-magazine-news/economist-launches-espresso-daily-news-app

ExaGear Strategies Delivers Desktop Applications to Mobile Devices

The cool thing about the developers at Eltechs is that they understand we have strong attachments to our old-school PC strategy games. They also understand that in this modern world, our mobile devices rule and we don’t turn to games on those desktop systems the same way anymore. Now, with their ExaGear Strategies app, we can emulate these favourite games on Android devices. Using ExaGear Strategies is simple, but does require a little bit of set-up as the app itself is basically just a launcher (meaning you will need to insert your games –in a manner of speaking). It is important to understand that you will also need a licensed copy of any PC game that you are going to run. Don’t forget that gameplay is going to be a little different when migrating to a touch-screen, but it’s a really cool concept that means you don’t need to choose between traditional and mobile gaming. If you’d like to give it a try, download ExaGear Strategies for free now. Currently the controls (which aren’t free, and must be purchased in-app) in the game are adapted for use with Heroes 3, Disciples 2, and Civilication 3, but more cool games are promised soon! ExaGear Strategies Delivers Desktop Applications to Mobile Devices is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/spotlight-on-android/exagear-strategies-delivers-desktop-applications-to-mobile-devices

World of Tanks Blitz MMO Action Game Arrives on Android

Anybody who knows about MMO action games on the PC will be thrilled to hear that the developers at Wargaming have brought World of Tanks to Android and iOS. There are plenty of MMO options out there, but few are as successful as World of Tanks –boasting a roster with over 100 million players worldwide. The mobile game draws heavily from the PC version, with “over 100 massive tanks, stunning graphics, and intuitive touch-screen controls.” If you are looking for a simple little game, World of Tanks Blitz probably isn’t what you are looking for (although it is shockingly easy to learn and to get the hang of). Take one of 4 tank classes (light, medium, heavy, an destroyers) into one of 10 unique battle arenas or out for strategic 7v7 multiplayer gameplay, complete with in-game chat functionality and real-life physics that demonstrate realistic tank movement and damage mechanics. It’s all about strategy in the end –choosing agile tanks that move quickly, or looking to the serious firepower found in heavy tanks… unless you appreciate specialized tank destroyers that let you launch more focused attacks. Whether you are new to this title, or already addicted to the PC version, download World of Tanks Blitz for your Android device now. The game is free, but you can enhance your experience (and your equipment) with more than a few in-app purchases (so be ready). World of Tanks Blitz MMO Action Game Arrives on Android is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/spotlight-on-android/world-of-tanks-blitz-mmo-action-game-arrives-on-android

Amazon wins Online Auction for .Book Domain

ICANN has been running a series of auctions over the course of the last year for a new series of custom domain names. Amazon has been battling it out against rival publishing and self-publishing companies in an effort to attain the lucrative .book TLD. Amazon has just won the auction despite a filing by the Association of American Publishers in 2013 that opposed its bid, and described the possible control of the .book TLD by the retailer, or by any private company, to be counter to the public interest. Reportedly Amazon won the domain with a closing bid of $10 million dollars and was competing against Google and Bowker in the late stages.  There is no knowledge currently if Amazon gave an incentive to these two companies to dropout or if they did it willingly. It will be interesting to see what Amazon intends on doing with the .book domain name, if they intend on providing vanity URL’s for authors who self-publish under the KDP program. Amazon wins Online Auction for .Book Domain is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/technology/amazon-wins-online-auction-for-book-domain

WHSmith Extends Kobo Contract 4 More Years

UK bookseller WHSmith has been carrying Kobo e-Readers since 2011. Sales have been brisk and the two sides have reached a new agreement that will extend the partnership until 2018. During a recent earnings call, the bookseller has acknowledged that eBook sales have not seen the dramatic gains they have in years past. "According to publishers the rate of growth and penetration of eBooks has slowed with value penetration estimated to be around 15% – 18%, with growth closer to 20% than the 100% we have seen in recent years." Dispute the nominal growth potential of the eBook industry in the UK, WHSmith and Kobo are both bullish about the success of e-readers and multi-function tablet reading apps for the foreseeable future. WHSmith Extends Kobo Contract 4 More Years is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/whsmith-extends-kobo-contract-for-4-more-years

Barnes and Noble Experiments with Discounted eBooks when you Buy Print

Barnes and Noble is experimenting with a new initiative this holiday season called Sync Up. There will be a special curated section of paperback books in each bookstore location and upon purchase you can also elect to buy the Nook eBook edition for up to 70%. The B&N Sync Up! program will only be in effect until the end of the year at 650 stores nationwide. Here is how the program works, you want to look for the new  B&N Sync Up! display in any store and chose one or more of the select paperbacks. Simply bring it to the register, and the clerk will activate the NOOK Book offer upon checkout and a unique access code will be printed on the customer's store receipt. For additional convenience, customers can also choose to have the code printed on a gift receipt or emailed to them. To redeem the offer, the customer or the gift recipient can visit www.BN.com/redeem, enter their code and download the digital edition within seconds. Through the new program, customers can choose paperbacks from a collection of perennial favorites and bestsellers including Doctor Sleep by Stephen King, Outlander (Outlander Series #1) by Diana Gabaldon, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, plus many more fantastic reads. More details are available at BN.com/sync-up. I think this new sync up program is a tremendous idea and something they should have tried a long time ago. Barnes and Noble is in the perfect position to try out pilot projects like this, to distinguish themselves from Amazon and Kobo. Could you imagine a future where this is the norm? Walk into any B&N bookstore, buy any book and get the eBook for a huge discount? I for one, love the sync up idea. Barnes and Noble Experiments with Discounted eBooks when you Buy Print is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/barnes-and-noble-experiments-with-discounted-ebooks-when-you-buy-print

On Books and family…

Recently I was helping my aunt move furniture into a new home from the one my father’s family had grown up in. While taking a break, I was given the opportunity take some of my grandmother’s possessions home with me if I wanted. My grandmother passed away when I was in college, but for the majority of my life she suffered severely from Alzheimer’s, so by the time I was old enough to interact with her, it was too late to truly get to know anything about her life. Family has always been important to me but with all of my grandparents passing away when I was very young, it’s been difficult to discover our family roots. I’ve longed to know not just who my grandparents were, but also what their interests were — what made them tick. It’s because of this that going through my grandmother’s things was so moving. Having an affinity for reading, I wanted to take some of the books she had read when she was growing up. One thing I did know was that Grandma Lilian also loved to read. I was excited to see what dusty treasures I might find in her small collection. I’ve always loved Russian literature and so it took my breath away when I came across tattered copies of Anna Karenina, War and Peace and collections of plays by Chekov and Ibsen. Suddenly I had a connection with my grandmother I never new existed. Despite never getting to talk about literature, never getting to hear even a single book recommendation, I had come to love Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and Ibsen just as she had. When I got home, I sat down on my couch and couldn’t put down these new heirlooms. It was so moving to think that these books, simple pages of ink and words, were held by my grandmother. I got the urge to reread A Doll’s House but as my new copy was over 100 years old, I hesitated to leaf through it, fearful it would come apart in my hands. Instead, I grabbed my iPad and went to my local library’s digital collection and sure enough, there it was. With my grandmother’s copy looking down on me, safely nestled on our bookshelf, I began to read the digital copy. The same words Lilian had read so long ago. The only difference is this ink will never fade, these pages will never tear. People love to write articles with flashy headlines about why eBooks will never beat out physical copies or how eBooks will lead to the end of the paper book. Neither of these types of articles are true. Physical and digital books coexist beautifully and this is a perfect example. The physical books I now cherish are a connection to the grandmother I barely knew. It’s something I can hold in my hand that she did as well. The eBooks of these titles hold special meaning because anywhere I go in the world now I can bring with me the stories my grandmother loved that I do too, without ruining a century’s worth of memories by ripping a page. Books have the power to move us, to connect us in ways we never thought possible. The format is inconsequential, it’s the stories that truly matter. Adam Sockel is a Marketing Specialist at OverDrive.

URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DigitalDistributionBlogOverdrive/~3/Go7kI96GPgw/

Amazon Brings Kindle Store to the Netherlands

Today Amazon launched a localized Kindle store in the form of a dedicated website, Amazon.nl, specifically for residents of the Netherlands. The new Dutch Kindle store features a selection of over 3 million ebooks, but only about 20,000 are Dutch-language ebooks, and of those just 1221 were written by Dutch authors. Amazon is also advertising […]

URL: http://feeds.the-ebook-reader.com/~r/feedburner/cmWU/~3/69kLjgLabWk/

Let the BattlePi commence…

Recently I visited the University of York Computer Science department for the second year running to see the Raspberry Pi being used to great effect on the new intake of students. Last year I visited to judge Blue Pi Thinking, and since it was such a great success they decided to repeat the exercise this year. The students are sent a Raspberry Pi before they come to university, with a special build and a document that describes the challenge.  There are three main reasons for doing this. The first is to give the students a common computing platform that they can use throughout the year to base different projects/assignments on. Secondly, the students will learn a great amount and will kick start their education; and finally it becomes a real social event for the students to get together (some actually help each other out) with beer and competition (which of course go hand in hand!) There are two elements to the challenge and the students can choose either (or both or neither!) The first is Blue Pi Thinking, where the challenge is to develop something creative; the second is BattlePi. BattlePi is a game of battleships played automatically by the Raspberry Pi with a server through which two Raspberry Pis can communicate. The students are given the (well commented Python) software which initially just chooses random positions to make shots at. The student then has to modify the python code to implement better AI in both firing position and ship placement. At the end of freshers’ week the students all come together (with beer of course) to test their creations. The Blue Pi Thinking creative competition whose aim is basically to create something was run as a judged event. The following are examples of projects that were created: Playing card recognition. From first principles, the student had captured a picture of a playing card, thresholded it, segmented it to find the pips and count them (OK, it doesn’t work with face cards yet!) Then they apply an edge following algorithm to the pip to work out if it’s a heart, club, diamond or spade. I’d just like to say… Awesome! Ultrasonic theremin. This student had taken a standard ultrasonic transducer and used it to create a theremin, again of some awe. Raspberry Pi mosaic creator. This project was another very complex algorithm, which takes a picture on his Android mobile phone using his own app and transmits it to the Raspberry Pi. Then the Pi calculates the best match from a set of images for small sections of the image based on a calculated ‘average’ colour for the region. Then the software makes up the final image as a mosaic of the select set of images, and transmits it back to the phone! Throughout the year the students will be using their Raspberry Pis to continue their education, and help develop next years BattlePi competition. Will Smith and Emma Hogson, who are in charge of undergraduate admissions have offered Raspberry Pi their complete BattlePi materials including all the software and instructions so we can give it to other universities…something we’re looking into with great interest. May the worldwide BattlePi commence – watch this space!

URL: http://www.raspberrypi.org/let-the-battlepi-commence/