Kindle Valentine’s Deals: $99 Paperwhite, $59 Kindle, More

Amazon is currently running a Valentine’s Day sale on select Kindle ebook readers and Fire tablet devices. The deal is valid from now until February 15th—the 14th is Valentine’s Day—for the devices listed below except the 8.9-inch Fire HDX. That deal ends tonight. E Ink Kindles Kindle for $59.00 – $20 off the regular price […]

URL: http://feeds.the-ebook-reader.com/~r/feedburner/cmWU/~3/OSylohp0H2c/

Is Kobo About to Release New eBook Readers?

There are a few signs that point to a possibility that Kobo is getting set to release a couple of new ebook readers. An announcement could happen as soon as tomorrow. Something is going to happen tomorrow, that much is certain. Kobo posted the above image on Facebook, with a quote that says “Check back […]

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

Xenon Death Flash: a free physics lesson

If you own a Raspberry Pi 2, congratulations: you’re also the proud owner of an elegant demonstration of the photoelectric effect! At the weekend, Peter Onion, a veteran of our forums and of Raspberry Jams in Cambridge, Bletchley and surrounding areas (visible, costumed, in the background of this photo at the Christmas CamJam), discovered what we think might be the most adorable bug we’ve ever come across. The Raspberry Pi 2 is camera-shy. Peter’s bug report came via our forums. He’d been proudly photographing his new Raspberry Pi 2, and had discovered something peculiar: every time the flash on his camera went off, his Pi powered down. The blip you’re seeing here is what happens when you point a xenon flash at a Pi 2. Jonathan has spent much of the morning emitting flashes and poking an oscilloscope. We’ve found out what’s going on, and the good news is that it’s completely benign: your Pi will not suffer any permanent effects from being flashed at. More good news: the effect only happens under VERY specific circumstances. Flashes of high-intensity, long-wave light – so laser pointers or xenon flashes in cameras – cause the device that is responsible for regulating the processor core power (it’s the chip marked U16 in the silkscreening on your Pi 2, between the USB power supply and the HDMI port – you can recognise it because it’s a bit shinier than the components around it) to get confused and make the core voltage drop. Importantly, it’s ONLY really high-intensity bursts like xenon flashes and laser pointers that will cause the issue. Other bright lights – even camera flashes using other technologies – won’t set it off. You can take your naked Pi 2 in the sunshine for a picnic or take it to a rave, and it’ll be perfectly solid. Just don’t take it on the red carpet at the Oscars. Jon is currently shining an 1800-lumen led light at a Pi 2 on his desk: not a wobble. This component that’s causing the issue is in a WL-CSP package: a bare silicon die which has solder balls attached. This is a picture of the underside of a similar package (enormously magnified) – each circle is a minuscule ball of solder: WL-CSP packaging is a common technique for more high-tech electronics parts, as it means no further packaging of the device is required. It is also the smallest physical package possible, which designers of mobile things (and people making very tiny computers) really care about. What’s causing the component to behave so oddly? It’s the photoelectric effect, where metals emit electrons when hit by light. The video below is a really good tutorial on how that works. What you’re seeing with Pi 2 and xenon flashes is the same effect, but in semiconductor material, not metal. Semiconductors, like metals, have free electrons which can be ‘knocked off’ by photons. Photodiodes, solar cells and phototransistors all use this effect to function. If you’d like to learn more about how a solar cell works, there’s a nice explanation here at Physics.org.  Silicon junctions (the types that are responsible for making diodes and transistors and other such electronic miracles function) can be ‘upset’ by this photoelectric effect if it is large enough (enough light of the right energy [i.e. colour] is fired at them). This seems to be what is happening to our power supply chip – somewhere in the complex silicon chip circuitry there are some transistors or diodes that malfunction when hit by high energy bursts of light, causing the power supply to ‘drop out’, so the Pi reboots. Jonathan is actively investigating exactly what happens when U16 is flashed with a high energy pulse from a xenon flash tube, and we are also looking at possible ways to make future production Pis immune to this issue if we can – we know you like to take pictures of them. We have found no evidence that ‘flashing’ your Pi2 with a xenon flash can cause any real damage, but we still don’t recommend doing it (it will crash or reboot, and this means you may corrupt your SD card). I’ve said it above, but it bears repeating, because I’ve seen some of you mention this in the forums and in comments sections elsewhere: common everyday light sources – e.g. bright sunlight, indoor lighting, angry cyclists – don’t cause this to happen, so please don’t worry!  If you need to use your Pi 2 in a situation where it might be flashed at, our advice is to cover U16 (make sure you get the sides too) – the current easy fix is to use a small blob of Sugru or Blu-Tak covering the whole component (someone in the forums used a pellet of bread: the first yeasted bug fix we have encountered), or simply put the Pi in an opaque case. Secretly, I’m kind of hoping for another (similarly benign) bug this abstruse. I love writing this sort of post.

URL: http://www.raspberrypi.org/xenon-death-flash-a-free-physics-lesson/

Digital Content Adds New Layer of Relevance to Libraries

Libraries have come a long way from the days of Alexandria. Once essentially no more than a museum of great works, libraries in the 21st century have had to reinvent themselves as a community-based center of learning and production, not just a place to put your name on the list for the latest James Patterson hardcover. With everything from technology centers, MOOC learning courses, 3D printers and maker labs, and more, libraries are shifting their roles in order to keep up with a changing patronage. Part of that shift includes a wider adoption of digital content, and not just through the industry mainstays like OverDrive or 3M. New opportunities through periodical platforms like Next Issue, PressReader, and Zinio, as well as ebook catalogs through Freading, Boopsie, and Smashwords’  unprecedented distribution agreement with OverDrive have meant that not only do libraries have options for providing relevant formats to their patrons, but they also have competitive choices that can lead to better budget options. In an article for The-Dispatch.com, one library explained the options to patrons thanks to increased access to affordable digital content. “I found that in comparing some of the titles from the independent publishers were offered in the library’s NC Digital Library, several had waiting lists, and were also in Freading where they could be checked out with no delay,” said Library Director Ruth Ann Copley. “With Freading, patrons will never find an ebook in use and unavailable. “We certainly need and want to continue to invest and participate in the NC Digital Library consortium where our patrons have access to so many best-sellers and popular titles in ebooks and audiobooks from those ‘Big Five Publishers’ and their subsidiaries as well as other publishers. Not only have we invested in content in this consortium since 2005, but we have benefited from the continued investment and continued growth of the collection thanks to ongoing contributions of the 19 other member library systems. Freading is a means of enhancing our readers’ borrowing powers and giving them additional options.” This growth has resulted in an era when 95% of public libraries offer ebook checkouts, and 66% of school libraries offer digital circulation. Digital Content Adds New Layer of Relevance to Libraries is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/digital-content-adds-new-layer-of-relevance-to-libraries

School Libraries Vital to Literacy Rates Among Students

Libraries present an interesting conundrum to policy makers and patrons alike. A Pew Internet study, for example, showed just how mixed-up the sentiments surrounding libraries can be, with reports from one survey stating that “95% of Americans agree that the materials and resources available at public libraries play an important role in giving everyone a chance to succeed [and] 81% of Americans ages 16 and older say that public libraries provide many services people would have a hard time finding elsewhere.” But at the same time, those very same survey respondents reported that “48% of Americans have visited a library or bookmobile in person in the past year, [and] 30% of Americans have visited a library website in the past year.” So if we all agree that libraries are important centers of learning and provide services that individuals cannot get elsewhere, even if we ourselves do not make as much effort to visit a library on a regular basis, why is there such a budget problem for libraries? One report coming from Australia’s educational system painted an even more alarming picture. According to the fifth annual Softlink Australian School Library Survey, there is a direct correlation between how well-funded and well-stocked a school library is, and how high the literacy rates and reading performance of the school’s student body are. “It's encouraging that the survey results demonstrate some stabilization of school library budgets in Australia,” Softlink's Managing Director, Nathan Godfrey, said. “Budget allocations have stabilized, however we are not yet seeing any upward trends.” “Many school libraries are operating under lean conditions, which makes it difficult for them to introduce digital innovations and resources which can influence learning and literacy outcomes.” The report went on to investigate commonalities such as the link between highly trained library staff and student success, digital adoption in the schools and book checkouts, and more. Interestingly, mobile device use and after-school access to the libraries’ digital materials played a key role in this year’s findings. According to the report, “This year, 43% of respondents said half or more of their student population owned a personal mobile device (iPod, iPad, smart phone or other tablet) a similar figure to 2013 (44%). The percentage of respondent schools that indicated they provide digital devices to students reduced from 58% in 2013 to 44% in 2014. This corresponded to a higher percentage of respondent schools that encourage BYOD use both inside and outside the classroom (from 14% in 2013 to 24% in 2014). In 2014, 13% reported that they encourage BYOD use at school but only outside the classroom and 19% indicated that personal device usage was not encouraged at their schools'. This year 27% of respondents indicated that they have a BYOT/BYOD strategy. This reflected a substantial increase of schools who have implemented a BYOT/BYOD strategy from 2013, when the result to the same question was 19%.” School Libraries Vital to Literacy Rates Among Students is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/school-libraries-vital-to-literacy-rates-among-students

Has Literature Evolved in the Last Decade? Yes and Here’s Why

Has literature evolved in the last decade? You would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a new title written today and one penned at any time period in the last fifty years. A book written in the last decade fundamentally does not feel more modern than a book written twenty or thirty years ago. Mystery, horror, romance  all sell really well, and it doesn’t matter when the book was published. Even modern day cyberpunk books don’t feel any different from when William Gibson published his seminal works in the 1980’s. If you were to ask me what has changed, other than common vernacular and writing styles, is censorship in literature. If J.D. Salinger had written The Catcher in the Rye now, it would probably contain certain words he did not dare write back when he wrote his book and  it would have made his character Holden Caulfield all the more realistic. The lack of censorship also drives the success of 50 Shades of Grey and the onslaught of Bigfoot porn. I think one of the big changes in literature has been the advent of visual novels and motion books.  Unfamiliar with these terms? So is most of the publishing world, lets look closer. Unlike graphic novels or manga, a visual novel is an interactive fiction game, featuring mostly static graphics, most often using anime-style art or occasionally live-action stills (and sometimes video footage). As the name might suggest, they resemble mixed-media novels.  Visual novels are an extension of popular anime franchises and do quite well in Japan, where they made up nearly 70% of all PC game sales. Even the most popular and famous Japanese visual novels usually never see a western release; instead they're translated by unofficial fan groups. Where the publishers and game creators do not generate any additional revenue. However visual novels have slowly been garnering popularity on Steam ever since Valve introduced the tagging system. Before visual novels came to steam, they were normally sold directly to customers from the publishers or game studios websites. They sometimes cost over $100 and were made in very limited quantities. Now that publishers are using Steam to distribute their titles, they merely delivered via digital downloads. Visual novels have not sold in huge numbers yet on Steam, but this may change in 2015 as bigger budget titles start to make the crossover. Motion comic books are a relatively new genre and this medium combines elements of print comic books and animation. Individual panels are expanded into a full shot while sound effects, voice acting, and animation are added to the original artwork.  The two big players in this space are Marvel with their adaptive audio series and digital start up Madefire. Marvel Unlimited is a platform, which is being billed as the Netflix for comics. It charges customers a low monthly rate and you can read as many comics as you want. In a bid to lure customers over to their platform they developed Adaptive Audio, which is an immersive experience that goes beyond simple loops and creates a pacing of the stories, the pivotal moments in scenes and how certain characters are associated with specific sounds. You can think of it as storytelling device as opposed to just being some music that plays in the background. There is less than a handful of comics using Adaptive Audio, mainly just a bunch of Captain America issues. There is background music in conjunction with sound effects. You can hear a character walking up the stairwell and hear the beeps of a holographic display. Villains are accompanied by ominous overtones and Captain America frames have soaring crescendos. Madefire has apps for every major smartphone, tablet and computer platform. Their motion comics are similar to what Marvel does, but their business model is very interesting. They have leveraged their Motion Book Tool and established a partnership with the art nexus DeviantArt. DeviantArt remains one of the largest digital artist communities, with 26 million registered users and 150,000 daily submissions. Just about everyone in the game art, comic, 2d, and 3d field has used this site at one point or another. Artists who want to take advantage of the new motion tools can apply on the website for it and the first round of 20 comics are LIVE now! Content creators will be able to sell their books both through DeviantArt's own premium content platform and Madefire's existing iOS apps and Flash based internet website. The revenue share program is poised to give the creators 20% of everything sold through all the various platforms. Technology plays a central role in modern literature being fresh and accessible. Fan-fiction used be relegated to zines, but now companies like Wattpad have billions of stories read every single day.  There are no barriers in self-publishing and anyone can write about anything and find an audience for it online. New digital distribution methods are changing the game for comics and manga. In the end, are the stories really changing? Is the actual construction of a story on a fundamental level different now from a decade, two decades or even fifty years ago? I would say yes and we can thank the lack of censorship and the proliferation of digital distribution systems to take more risks. Has Literature Evolved in the Last Decade? Yes and Here’s Why is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/has-literature-evolved-in-the-last-decade-yes-and-heres-why

Hybrid Crowdfunding Blends Two Publishing Paths

When author Solomon Inkwell queried agents with his YA vampire novel Vickie Van Helsing, he received an immediate, eager response. The literary agent who called, however, had only just finished praising the sample chapters when he said, “But I can’t sell a vampire novel to a publisher. What else ya got?” Inkwell, who had taken almost two years to pen his debut novel, turned to self-publishing. “Just because the industry was tired of selling vampires didn’t mean the readers were tired of them!” he explained. That’s the premise behind the hybrid model of crowdfunding in which companies like Inkshares–whose platform is currently hosting the book campaign for Gary Whitta’s first self-published novel–allow the public to fund a book’s production through pre-orders before sending it on to a traditional publishing house. Typically, book crowdfunding has worked like any other type of project funding in which the public is involved. Whether through a multi-dimensional site like Kickstarter or the book-specific platform Pubslush, the readers are able to throw their support towards the creation of a book through what essentially amounts to a pre-order process. But with hybrid models, the function of the pre-publishing support isn’t so much to provide the author with the funds to develop the book, but to demonstrate the interest of a readership to a traditional publisher. There can easily be support and criticism for this type of concept. On the one hand, a major criticism of the traditional publishing industry is that a small pool of tunnel-visioned editors get to decide what the public will read. At the same time, this model gives voice to readers who then have the power to say to that small group of gatekeepers, “I’ve decided that this book is worth it.” Inkshares will serve as a traditional publisher with regards to providing the editorial and publishing services that self-published authors typically have to secure on their own. But in addition to a 50-50 split on the print and the more standard self-publishing royalty of 70% of ebook sales, authors enjoy knowing they have a built-in audience for their work, if they manage to get the backing they need to go to press in the first place. Hybrid Crowdfunding Blends Two Publishing Paths is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/hybrid-crowdfunding-blends-two-publishing-paths

Are e-Book and Print Sales Cycles Different?

We are living in a digital world where major publishers have firmly embraced the e-book format into their distribution cycle. When a new title is released in hardcover it is immediately available as an e-book. Print books depend on the lucrative holiday season to drive sales, as people tend to buy them as gifts and most big budget novels normally come out in the last three months of the year. Gifting an e-book is difficult, so people tend to buy them just for themselves. Knowing this, is the sales cycle for digital and print really different? Nielsen BookScan is likely the best source for garnering meaningful data on the traditional publishing industry and e-books. The company gleans its e-books data from companies such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-a-Million. Their print numbers normally stem from bookstores and a myriad of non-traditional book selling outlets such as big department stores or supermarkets. Nielsen condenses the information and then distributes it to major newspapers such as the New York Times. Finally, once all of the hard data crunching is done, they redistribute it back to the same outlets that provided them with the initial data. Everyone in the publishing world knows that print books tend to peak in the last three months of the year and this is where bookstores all over the world tend to see the greatest volume of sales. E-Books, however, seem to peak in the first two quarters of the year, presumably as consumers load up on content to enjoy on the tablet, smartphone or e-reader that they received as a Christmas present. This trend has important implications for how commentators view the book market. Until now, the tradition has been to monitor the health of the book market in January following Christmas sales. This latest data from Nielsen though will prompt publishers and online retailers to compare these two peak quarters more easily, and avoid direct (and possibly unfair) comparison between physical and digital book sales in the final quarter of the year. Hopefully bloggers and industry analysts will cut booksellers like Barnes and Noble a little bit of slack when the company reports their fiscal earnings. Many journalists get all up in arms when they hear that e-book sales have fallen in the holiday quarter and project doom and gloom. e-books and print do a different sales cycle from one another and its important to understand that. Are e-Book and Print Sales Cycles Different? is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/are-e-book-and-print-sales-cycles-different

Amazon Fire Tablet Sales are Abysmal

Amazon is experiencing decreased sales for the latest generation line of Fire Tablets.  IDC has reported that Amazon Fire devices have fallen by as much as 70% compared to the holiday 2013 period. The declines come at a time when worldwide shipments in the fourth quarter fell for the first time since the tablet market's inception in 2010. When Amazon refreshes their tablet product line, they rarely release one or two models. In 2014 the company issued a 6 inch, 7 inch, 8.9 inch and kids tablet. They only sold 1.7 million units, which shows that the new devices did not resonate with customers and most are likely quite happy with an older model. The IDC report omits the six inch version of the Fire tablet because of its six-inch screen size. Amazon says that the device was one of its best sellers over the holiday season, although it’s unclear whether that would have a sizable impact on the statistics published by IDC. Aside from tablets, Amazon also experienced massive woes with their ill-fated Fire Phone, which was Amazon’s first foray into the smartphone market. Third-party sales figures published in 2014 suggested that Amazon had only sold 35,000 Fire phones. Since then, Amazon has repeatedly dropped the price of the phone, eventually bringing it to just 99 cents. I think the euphoria of Amazon products is severely waning. Everyone who wanted one already has one. There simply is no need to update your hardware every generation, because there isn’t a compelling reason to do it. Its not like the overall design and hardware specs are undergoing a paradigm shift, its all about small, incremental updates. Amazon Fire Tablet Sales are Abysmal is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/tablet-slates/amazon-fire-tablet-sales-are-abysmal

Corning Unveils New Super Scratch-Resistant Glass

Corning Gorilla Glass has taken over the smartphone world. The scratch resistant display has been in every Apple iPhone since 2007, and counts Amazon, HP, Dell, Google HTC and Samsung has loyal clients. Gorilla Glass accounts for 39% of Corning’s revenue and last quarter they generated over 2.40 billion dollars. Gorilla Glass is in its 4th generation and the company has just dropped a bombshell. The company has developed new technology called Project Phire, which combines the strength of its existing Gorilla Glass with ultra scratch-resistance like that of sapphire. Corning Glass president James Clappin who announced the product at an investors conference said “We told you last year that sapphire was great for scratch performance but didn’t fare well when dropped. So, we created a product that offers the same superior damage resistance and drop performance of Gorilla Glass 4 with scratch resistance that approaches sapphire.” Apple is one of Corning’s biggest companies and the company planned to move away from Gorilla Glass with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, switching instead to sapphire produced by GT Advanced. The deal wasn’t able to get done due to production issues  and the two sides dissolved their partnership soon thereafter. Corning blending the scratch resistant nature of Sapphire with the sturdiness of Gorilla Glass should be a boon to the smartphone industry. It will allow the next generation of phones to be more durable but also employ an improved viewing experience. Corning Unveils New Super Scratch-Resistant Glass is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/e-paper/corning-unveils-new-super-scratch-resistant-glass

Amazon India Releases New Kindle Videos

Amazon India is trying to draw attention to the Kindle Paperwhite by having authors Ashwin Sanghi and Amish Tripathi hyping the product. Each of the short films captures the respective author sharing his experiences of using the Amazon Kindle and describing the various features which he finds useful for his daily reading. Amazon is really trying to hype their digital bookstore and Kindle e-readers with the new social campaign #crazyforreading. Amazon India Releases New Kindle Videos is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/amazon-india-releases-new-kindle-videos

Kobo H2O e-Reader Now Available in Australia and New Zealand

The Kobo H2O e-reader is now available to purchase in Australia and New Zealand. Angus & Robertson, Bookworld, JB Hi-Fi, and Myer all have it in stock. The Kobo Aura H2O features a 6.8 inch e-ink Carta touchscreen display with a resolution of 1430×1080. Carta Imaging Film offers a 50% improvement in contrast ratio over previous generation of e-Paper displays. This allows for faster page turns and the ability to turn pages in a digital book, without the need of constant screen refreshes. One of the main benefits of the H2O e-Reader is the ability to enjoy eBooks, graphic novels or newspapers in lowlight conditions or complete darkness. Unlike a smartphone or tablet that has an LCD screen that emits light from behind a layer of film, the H2O has five LED lights on the bottom of the bezel. It shines upwards, insuring even light distribution and makes it easier to devour books without eye strain. Kobo has managed to attain the prestigious IP67 certification for their first waterproof device. It will basically allow users to have the e-Reader completely submerged in five meters of water for an thirty minutes, with the MicroUSB and MiscroSD ports closed. This makes the H2O the most complete, well-rounded device the market and eliminates the need to send off your reader to a third party and pay over $60 for them to waterproof it for you. During underwater tests I found that even completely submerged in water, you can still turn pages and access the core functionality. The Kobo H2O is likely the most complete e-reader the Canadian based company has ever released. It is available all over Australia and New Zealand for $229. Kobo H2O e-Reader Now Available in Australia and New Zealand is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/kobo-h2o-e-reader-now-available-in-australia-and-new-zealand

Business Traveler Gives Homeless Man a Kindle

An unidentified man, who travels to Las Vegas often for business, gave a homeless man a Kindle e-reader so that he could read more books. On his most recent visit, the samaritan spoke with the homeless man, named Paul, about his book. Through this conversation, the man found out that Paul loved to read, but he only read the same book repeatedly. “I just asked him if he liked to read,” the man tells The Huffington Post. “He said he loved to but that he had been reading that one book over and over for a while now.” In order to share the love of reading the man dove into his bag and pulled out his trusty Kindle e-reader and gave it to Paul. The anonymous donor mentioned on Reddit that the Kindle has more than 200 books by William Falkner, Ernest Hemmingway, Cormac McCarthy and George R.R. Martin. What is the rational for giving a homeless man an e-reader full of books? In a Reddit post, the man using the username 'mjuad' said he had also been down on his luck in the past, “I make really good money and I have been at the bottom. I try to help out the homeless whenever I can with non-monetary means. Business Traveler Gives Homeless Man a Kindle is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/business-traveler-gives-homeless-man-a-kindle

Line Manga Hits 10 Million Downloads

Line is a popular messaging app in Japan where users can enjoy games, fortune telling and even enjoy discount coupons! Since 2012, Line has accumulated over 120 million users! In 2013 Line Corporation added a brand new service to it’s list: Line Manga. Yes, the company entered the mobile e-book business for IOS and Android devices, being backed up by some of the biggest publishers such as Shueish, Shogakukan and Kodansha, to name a few. With already 30,000 manga readily available, Line users can buy manga using virtual coins that can be earned in a variety of different ways, the most common being to simply share the manga you are reading to your Time Line which can earn you up to 10 coins per share, once per day. The first ten pages could also be read for free for many of the manga on the app. As of February 6th, 2015, Line has just hit it’s 10 million manga downloads and have garnered sales of 4.9 billion yen  or $41,186,852 US.  The most popular genres are romantic comedies at 33%, action, 12% and Horror-mystery at 9% of popularity. In addition to commemorate the record breaking 10 million manga downloads, a list of manga such as "Saint Young Men", "Space Brothers" and "Chihayafuru" to name a few,  has become free in the app store! Many people in the manga and e-comics industry are going to be surprised that Line has quietly become a juggernaut.  The company rarely gets mentioned when the subject of digital distribution comes up, with most of the industries attention focused on Amazon and Kobo. Line Manga Hits 10 Million Downloads is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/manga-and-anime-news/line-manga-hits-10-million-downloads

Great Expectations is Free Kindle eBook, Audiobook Combo for February

Every month since last June when Amazon added audiobook support and syncing to Kindle apps, aka Whispersync for Voice, they’ve been giving away a free ebook and audiobook combination each month to help promote this exclusive feature. The free title for February is Charles Dickens’s classic Great Expectations. Make sure to check the box under […]

URL: http://feeds.the-ebook-reader.com/~r/feedburner/cmWU/~3/kH-oE8QQkAY/

Charlotte’s Web e-Book Finally Available March 7th

Charlotte's Web is a seminal book in most peoples lives and so far has been unavailable as an e-book. This is poised to change March 7th 2015 when Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan will be available to purchase at all online bookstores. E.B White died in 1985, well before the e-book revolution swept the globe and disrupted traditional bookstores. His granddaughter Martha White has been overseeing his estate ever since. She told the Associated Press that family members had worried electronic sales would hurt business for their preferred format, paper. “After discussing this with our agent (Amanda Urban), it’s become apparent to us that e-books complement sales of paper books, instead of replacing sales,” White said. “The print books of ‘Stuart Little’ and ‘Charlotte’s Web’ have been selling strongly, and we felt like it was time to allow the books into the market in other formats.” Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo have been going crazy on social media the last few days promoting Charlotte's Web and the sequel to the Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird that will be released as an e-book July 2015. Charlotte's Web e-Book Finally Available March 7th is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/charlottes-web-e-book-finally-available-march-7th

To Kill a Mockingbird Read-Alikes

Here at OverDrive, we're fangirling hard over the announcement of a sequel to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. We're guessing that you and your library patrons are, too. Seriously, who isn't?! Sadly, July 14th (the sequel's expected date) is still months away. To help tide you over until then, our staff librarians have curated a list of To Kill a Mockingbird read-alikes. Check out the highlights below and then view the entire list in Marketplace. A Time to Kill by John Grisham | Random House Jake Brigance, a young lawyer, struggles to save his client's life and his own when he defends a black man who killed the white men that brutally attacked his daughter. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt When a fisherman in the Puget Sound area of Washington is found dead in his own nets, a Japanese WWII vet is accused of murder. Wolf Whistle by Lewis Nordan | Algonquin Books An ALA notable book based on the Emmett Till murder, one of the most notorious racial killings of our time. Click here to view the full Marketplace list.   *Title availability may vary based on platform or region. Michelle Ross is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.

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

What Can Super Bowl Ads Tell Digital Magazine Publishers?

Most American consumers have watched (and even enjoyed) a Super Bowl ad at some point, even if they’re not professional football fans. These ads, which run well into the millions of dollars to produce and air, are viewed by an estimated 114 million consumers during the live event, and then are repurposed for network advertising once the big game is over. But an article by Erik J Martin for EContentMag.com explains why this may not translate into the return that advertisers and businesses hope for, as well as offers a mathematical look at how digital advertising in magazines, newspapers, even websites can offer higher returns. First, the bad news: “Results of a recent consumer poll by Genesis Media reveal that 90% of respondents aren’t likely to buy something they saw in a Super Bowl ad, and 75% indicate they don’t recall many Super Bowl spots from last year. Some of this can be attributed to the fact that, currently, about 1 in 3 consumers are probably browsing the web via their tablet/smartphone during the big game, the survey shows. Thirty-five percent of those polled say they prefer online ads to TV commercials, and 32% are more likely to watch an online commercial if it’s relevant to them.” Those ads may be hilarious or heart-warming or even downright confusing, but data is showing that consumers aren’t responding to them, at least not in the immediate purchasing actions. There’s more brand recognition, especially as consumers take to social media outlets like Twitter to discuss, them, but that’s not really the goal. In an interesting note, this year’s highly-ridiculed Nationwide insurance Super Bowl ad became a meme on social media before the game had even ended. Which brings up another of Martin’s points: the high volume of internet use during the live game, indicating that consumers are surfing the web on their mobile devices rather than paying attention to the advertisements. That can be frustrating considering the $4.5 million price tag of a 30-second slot, over and above the typical $1.5 million companies spend to produce a single commercial for the Super Bowl. The article highlights the dollar-by-dollar math involved in opting for digital ad space over a one-time push like the Super Bowl, indicating that there are far better opportunities in things like digital magazines, which have a farther reach over time and can be tailored to a specific audience rather than just to the general population. What Can Super Bowl Ads Tell Digital Magazine Publishers? is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/digital-publishing/what-can-super-bowl-ads-tell-digital-magazine-publishers

Clippett News App Takes on Murdoch’s Empire

Rupert Murdoch’s name is infamous in the world of print and television media, but a new startup is challenging his stronghold on the news empire. Clippet, a digital mobile app that offers users bite-sized portions of news with the option to select the story in order to hear the entire piece, is going after the busy, on-the-go crowd who still want to be connected to current events but don’t have time to come home after work and read yesterday’s print news. So why should Murdoch be worried about a little digital news app? Because his grandson is the CEO. James MacLeod, whose mother Prudence is Murdoch’s daughter, co-founded the company with his business partner Grace Regan specifically because he had little attraction to the typical print news model. The elder Murdoch has been criticized for a number of practices within his corporation, specifically his belief in the purpose of subscription-only and paywall features surrounding the content of his major papers. While Murdoch supports for-pay access to information, MacLeod’s news app works much the same way that other platforms like Newsbeat do, with small bursts of audio advertising spaced periodically between news segments. One of the other key areas where Murdoch has been criticized but MacLeod seems to have surpassed him is in the ability to reach the newest generation of news consumers. While other Murdoch holdings haven’t yet garnered the ever-savvy millennial market (remember, this is the man who paid $580 million for MySpace, Clippet seems to be taking root and reaching listeners in much the same way that those who prefer visual news have taken to digital magazines and newspapers on their smartphones or tablets, even going so far as to subscribe to unlimited access to content through apps like PressReader. In an article for The Independent, Clippet editor-in-chief Regan commented on how the app stands to overturn what Murdoch’s empire is still struggling to provide: "We've spent a year developing how we produce editorial content. A lot of what we listened to on broadcast hadn't changed for 40 years. There's a set way of presenting news in audio and it's time for it to be updated. It's why our generation isn't connecting with the news." Clippett News App Takes on Murdoch’s Empire is a post from: Good e-Reader

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/digital-publishing/clippett-news-app-takes-on-murdochs-empire

Emulation on Raspberry Pi 2

People have been emulating classic computers and games consoles on Raspberry Pi since we launched back in 2012. For those of us who bough our first hardware in the 1980s, this is a fun way to take a trip down memory lane, but our relatively modest CPU performance restricted us to third- and fourth-generation platforms. Anything with 3d graphics hardware was pretty much out of the question. Since we launched Raspberry Pi 2 at the start of the week, people have started posting videos of emulators for fifth-generation consoles running at full speed. Check these out: I know what I’ll be doing this weekend… (This image is taken from the excellent MGC 2011 demo by retroactive)

URL: http://www.raspberrypi.org/emulation-on-raspberry-pi-2/