| I get asked sometimes what my favourite projects from this blog are. Dave Hunt’s water droplet photography’s right up there: Dave rigged up a Pi to trigger a solenoid valve and a camera shutter at the same time, to take perfectly timed macro photos of water drops. You can see his original, beautiful pictures here in our archives. Over in Germany, Markus May has based his own rig on Dave’s, with a few alterations; he’s also put a lot of effort into lighting and colour effects, with spectacular results. Markus’ original blog post is in German, but Google Translate does a pretty bang-up job of making things understandable for idiots like me who promptly forgot all the German they knew moments after taking a GCSE exam in it. (I still remember that Zwiebel means onion, but that won’t get you far on holiday unless you really like onions.) We love this stuff: bringing the sort of thing you could only do with an expensive professional rig inside the budget an amateur with a DSLR might have gets us really excited. This rig is more involved than Dave’s original, with a couple of Mariotte’s bottles which produce an equal flow rate, however full the bottles are. Guar gum for thickening, milk for opacity and food colouring went into the liquid for extra gorgeousness. Markus has made a circuit diagram available, and Dave’s original post still contains everything you’ll need to make your own rig. There are more of these spectacular photographs at Markus’ Flickr, and you’ll find a great writeup of the original session, with behind-the-scenes pictures at his blog post. |
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Droplet photography
Goodreads Adds Audiobook Sampling
|
“Now it's even easier to choose your next audiobook thanks to the new Goodreads ‘Listen’ feature, which will be rolled out in the coming days. We’ve added free audio samples for 180,000 Audible titles to the Goodreads website, where they’re available to all of our members.” This feature, which can only be accessed on a computer or laptop and isn’t yet available for those readers using the Goodreads mobile app, also allows readers to add a book to their Want To Read shelves on the book site, helping them to keep up with titles they’ve sampled and would like to remember for later. Goodreads has rolled out this feature in conjunction with Audible’s standard two free audiobooks with membership and thirty-day free trial of the service. Readers who continue their subscriptions to Audible will be billed based on which plan they choose: one book per month for $14.95, or two books per month for $22.95. Either plan is a significant savings over purchasing an audiobook, many of which easily cost upwards of $25 or more. The audiobook market has seen steady growth over the past five years; while that growth only equates to slightly less than 13%, the audiobook publishing market is still a $2 billion a year industry. The Goodreads good news for self-published authors who’ve opted to join in this booming audio industry is that this sample feature is automatically incorporated into their Goodreads listing in conjunction with the Amazon algorithm, and no additional steps are necessary.
Goodreads Adds Audiobook Sampling is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Create a staff of OverDrive experts with our new webinars
 We pride ourselves on constantly innovating and creating new ways for your users to stay connected with the library but we know that this means new products and services for you to learn as well. Instead of trying to tackle all aspects of your digital collection at once we think the best way to learn is to start with the basics. To that end we are offering a series of live webinars from April 27th through the 30th. Library staff members will learn the basics of purchasing titles in Marketplace, using OverDrive Read and see a live demonstration of the latest features with the OverDrive app. These quick presentations are perfect for the any type of librarian and will get everyone up to speed, making all your staff members an OverDrive expert. During these webinars we'll discuss the easiest ways to help your users get the most of out your digital collection. We'll also answer any questions you may have. We value your time and appreciate the hectic schedule a librarian has everyday which is why these webinars will be recorded for later use as well. That way staff members can watch them anytime. Sign up today and create a whole staff of OverDrive experts!  |
Library of Congress Releases Digital Audio of 75 Years of Recordings
|
The digital audio, which includes recordings of poetry, speaking engagements at the LoC, and audio sessions in the LoC’s own Jefferson Building recording studio, often features the authors themselves in the recordings, reading from their own works. The archived content was originally captured on magnetic tape, but thanks to the digitization, the content is now being released from remote streaming access. Of the proposed 2,000 works that will undergo this preservation process, the first fifty are now available and an additional five recordings per month are planned. According to a post for Hyperallergic, “The material includes readings by former US Poet Laureates and Consultants Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, and Gwendolyn Brooks, as well as a 1971 lecture by Kurt Vonnegut, a 1984 talk by Ray Bradbury, a 1959 interview with Robert Frost, and readings by Audre Lorde and Nobel Laureate Czesław Miłosz.” Allison Meier of Hyperallergic spoke to Catalina Gomez, project manager for the process of putting the archive online, about the process of preserving these recordings and making them available for everyone to enjoy, regardless of their geographical location. "I love when, in some of these sessions, the poet or writer pauses or makes himself or herself start a poem or an excerpt all over again," Gomez said. "Those moments show how passionate authors and poets can be about the ways their work sounds." There has been a recent dramatic increase in the availability of audio literature and a renewed focus on this once-niche market of publishing. According to data from IBISWorld's Audiobook Publishing market research report, the audiobook market enjoyed steady growth of only 12.7% over the past five years, but that growth accounts for a $2 billion a year industry.
Library of Congress Releases Digital Audio of 75 Years of Recordings is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Taking Care of Your NOOK
| The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook is a tablet geared towards reading and it's the first time Barnes and Noble outsourced the hardware design to another company. The end result is a Samsung branded tablet coinciding with the Nook ecosystem. A new device comes with a host of potential problems and it's important to maintain it, in order to get a few years' worth of usage. Keep It Updated Barnes and Noble has been making e-readers since 2009 and tablets since late 2010. It is important to note that a tablet and e-ink based reader are fundamentally different. E-Readers are about as close as you can get to a print book and tablets tend to be multipurpose. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook is running Android 4.4 and updates come out once in a while when new features are introduced. The stock apps from Samsung and Nook need updated periodically, as you undoubtedly know. Updates to stock apps like these increase the functionality and often security of a device while also streamlining the experience and cutting down on processing requirements. It’s possible to set your NOOK to update apps automatically, but Android Central recommends leaving this function manual in order to allow you to review possible permissions changes to your downloaded apps as time goes on. It’s an added security measure that could make a huge difference in keeping you safe online. Not updating automatically is important, because sometimes they are pushed out too early and end up causing serious problems. Clean It Out Just like your computer needs to be defragmented and you need to run a disk cleanup periodically, so too does the Samsung Galaxy NOOK need periodic system maintenance. According to Spicy Tricks, using a simple app like Master Cleaner to clear out app caches, temp files and other vestiges in the system not only helps keep an Android device from slowing down over time, it can actually speed it up to above “out of the box” speed with the right settings. Keep in mind that getting over-standard processing speed will take some work, and may not be possible depending on the apps you have downloaded, but keeping the system clean is the first step to at least maintaining the speed your device shipped with. If you’re aiming to get your new NOOK running as quickly as possible, you’ll want to keep the majority of your apps stored on external memory, namely a 16 to 32 GB micro SD card, and make sure that all files are saved externally as well. This reserves your internal memory for operating system, stock apps and system files, instead of bogging it down with a thousand books and the entire first season of Orphan Black. Maintain the Battery The real conundrum for many NOOK users is optimizing battery life. Since this is a mobile device, the first priority is to make sure that it will work away from home and a plug outlet for as long as possible. According to CNET, the standard battery life of a Galaxy Tab 4 ranges between 8 and 10 hours, but a few simple tips can offer you even more.
Just this handful of simple tips could offer up to five extra hours of battery life for your NOOK. Keep in mind that the more complex the apps you run, the more battery life they’ll inevitably consume, so try to make sure that you don’t have too many power-hogs open at the same time. If possible, completely shut down apps as you finish with them instead of just switching to the next program in the lineup. Protect It Maintaining the system and operations of your NOOK may seem like the most important thing you can do to keep it running like new, but this doesn’t mean you can ignore physical care of your device. Keep it protected in a case or sleeve, use a screen protector as needed (anti-glare options work best), and try not to drop it. Like most tablets, this is a fairly sturdy piece of equipment, but that doesn’t mean it’s designed to survive a rough and tumble lifestyle. The rule of thumb is this: take good care of your Samsung NOOK, and it will provide hours of entertainment and convenience for years to come. Taking Care of Your NOOK is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Path Creator Embraces the Selfie with Kong Android App
| In this version of the brave new world, social media is king and the selfie is his queen. Love them or hate them, we are surrounded (and included). Path for Android developers understand, and want to be a part of the trend with the addition of a new app: Kong. Kong is a clear attempt at trying to design the next greatest thing in social media by building on a simple concept. Described as a group messaging platform and a meme machine, Kong offers a new approach: guiding users from pressing a button on the bottom of the screen (which records a short, animated selfie), through adding text or emojis to their image, then applying filters for cool effects, and finally sharing these creations with social network communities (starting with other Kong members and then reaching to SMS, email, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram). It’s a little like Snapchat on steroids, but the hope is it will make ‘going viral’ easier and give users the opportunity to be inspired and play off each other. Admittedly, Kong sounds fun… but it all adds up to another social network to participate in with another home feed to follow; hopefully for the developers responsible, it is seen to fill a niche and catches momentum. If you are intrigued, download Kong now and start snapping selfies to share. Path Creator Embraces the Selfie with Kong Android App is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Monday, April 20, 2015
Sony Delivers Details For Android-Powered 4K TVs
| At CES earlier this year, Sony had some exciting news: brand new Android-powered, 4K HDR televisions that can boast being the thinnest LED displays in the world (at 0.2 inches, that makes them even more slim than the smartphone in your pocket). We may have already learned the what, we were just missing the when and how much… until now. For those waiting on the edges of their seats, you can get your hands on one as early as this summer. How much money should you be setting aside will vary depending on just how large you want your new display:
Each of the new models will sport Sony’s new X1 processor, making Android TV look and function exceptionally well. For those who may be unfamiliar, Sony was happy to boast about the X1:
Sony has a selection of less expensive sets available this May, but you won’t see 4K quality picture quality or the other bells and whistles with those (they still have Android-TV built-in, but are only 2K HD TV units) –and most would agree that these guys excel on the higher end hardware in this arena, and compete less-so in the more bargain-oriented price ranges. Ultimately, this is all good news as far as Sony is concerned: after a few product fails, the company is back doing what they’ve always done best (and not a moment too soon, with more consumers than ever embracing smart-TVs and a highly anticipated update to Apple TV likely to fall sometime this year).
Sony Delivers Details For Android-Powered 4K TVs is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Amazon Eliminated TestDrive Feature from Appstore
| One of the things that set Amazon’s Appstore apart from the others (particularly the big guys like Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store) was their ability to offer a trial period for apps you are considering (before taking the plunge with an actual purchase). Introduced back in March 2011 at the same time as the Appstore, the feature was eliminated earlier this month on April 15 (with next to zero fanfare). According to Amazon, TestDrive had experienced significant decline in usage (with speculation that the popular “free to play” app model make most popular titles free to grab anyway). It doesn’t seem that developers really embraced the feature either, in 4 years there were only about 16,000 titles that took advantage of the service (which means lots of the apps users wanted to try weren’t included, not to mention it was only available for those in the United States). Not to worry, there are still plenty of ways to get apps for free (or nearly free) –temporary sale prices, lite versions that offer a preview before purchasing an ad-free or fuller-featured pro version, promotional apps that change over time, and Amazon’s own “Unlocked” feature that operates as a sort of Amazon Prime subscription service for apps.
Amazon Eliminated TestDrive Feature from Appstore is a post from: Good e-Reader |
The Company Responsible for China’s Netflix Switching Focus to Hardware
| In China, streaming TV is dominated by Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp (LeTV) –services owned and run by one of the country’s wealthiest men, Jia Yueting. Word on the street has it that LeTV is looking for more investors in an effort to take aim at the mobile hardware marketplace (specifically smartphones, which the company is trying to rename as ‘superphones’). All part of a three-year plan, LeTV is hoping the initiative will help increase profits after China’s regulators forced them to make changes to their content offering while stopping their sales of televisions and set-top boxes (due to tighter controls that forced providers to remove third-party apps from these devices as they may be used to access pornography or pirated software). Intended to be considered as high-end mobile devices, the superphones created by LeTV are the first to be announced that take advantage of USB-C. Other specs are equally impressive, though it is clear they care more about finding new ways to deliver their streaming video service than forging network alliances as the phones are intended to be dual-SIM. LeTV has let it be known they plan to enter the US market, taking particular aim at Apple with an inappropriate cartoon that pokes fun at Apple’s closed-world approach to technology.
The Company Responsible for China’s Netflix Switching Focus to Hardware is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Wattpad and SoundCloud Bring Audio to Stories
| Wattpatt and Soundcloud have partnered up to allow authors the ability to include sounds, effects or narration in their stories. This new feature will first be implemented in their Android app with broader support rolling out soon. "Audio clips can bring stories to life. Wattpad writers can use sound effects to add impact to a story, narrate an excerpt, or share a playlist to entertain their readers in a new way," said Tarun Sachdeva, head of product at Wattpad. I think Wattpad may be onto something with their new initiative with Soundcloud. Traditionally there is separation between an e-book and an audiobook, but Wattpad is hoping to blend the two together. Wattpad and SoundCloud Bring Audio to Stories is a post from: Good e-Reader |
FUNimation Recommends 14 Anime Simulcasts for Spring 2015
| FUNimation may not have the market share Crunchyroll enjoys in North America, but the company does have a number of exclusives. This spring a number of new anime simulcasts are streaming on their platform and there are deals to be had. Today, FUNimation is recommending 14 new anime shows they have added and is offering a 33% savings on a 12 month membership. FUNimation has streaming apps available for the Playstation 3 and 4, as well as Roku, Android and iOS. Sadly, they don’t have anything on Apple TV yet, but I have heard they will be doing something soon. FUNimation Recommends 14 Anime Simulcasts for Spring 2015 is a post from: Good e-Reader |
UK Authors Earn £11,000 per Year
| The vast majority of authors in the United Kingdom are not raking in a copious amount of money as originally thought. The average author is only making £11,000 per year more than £5,000 below the income level considered to be a socially acceptable standard of living. The Business of Being an Author: A Survey of Authors Earnings and Contracts was commissioned by the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society found some very interesting facts on the viability of author earnings. The full research found that the top 10% of professional authors – defined as those who dedicate more than 50% of their time to self-employed writing – earn 58% of all the money earned by professional authors. These professional authors are earning £60,000 or more a year. The top 5% of professional authors – those earning £100,000 or more – earn 42.3% of that money. Indie authors are not doing much better in the UK, the top 10% of earners made a profit of £7,000 or more and the bottom 20% of authors who have self-published made losses of at least £400. Despite the fact that most authors are not earning enough to make a viable living this is not dissuading people from attempting to make it their vocation. A new poll by YouGov surveyed 15,000 people and found that 60% would like to be an author. UK Authors Earn £11,000 per Year is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Library staff Parodies Taylor Swift
| National Library Week occurred from April 12-18 and the emphasis for many locations was driving new people into their branches and promoting their book collections. In order to reach a younger generation Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library of Kansas produced a perfect Taylor Swift parody, transforming "Shake It Off" into "Check It Out," an ode to library membership. I have noticed a big trend with librarians all over Canada and the US in the last few years. They are actually young and hip! Gone are the days where old ladies in cats-eye glasses would shush you at every turn and instead fresh faced kids rock tattoos, neat haircuts and Beats headphones. The premise of the video is demonstrating how you can save money by borrowing books, magazines and newspapers from the library. By the end, the group is actually doing a coordinated dance number. I think you all have to agree, this is a fairly cool library.
Library staff Parodies Taylor Swift is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Amazon and Audible Bring Audiobooks to GoodReads
| Amazon is starting to engage in more synergy between the brands they own. An example of this is incorporating social book discovery site GoodReads into their complete line of modern Kindle e-Readers, so people can share and discover new e-books together. Today, Audible has announced that they are adding audiobooks into GoodReads and people can listen to samples and add audio titles into their GoodReads shelf. The Goodreads “Listen” feature, which will be rolled out in the coming days. There are 180,000 free audio samples available and if you like what you hear, you can add the title to your "Want to Read" shelf. For Goodreads members in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, or Australia who are not yet Audible members, you can take advantage of their free trial! Once you click on the Listen icon, you will see a link to the trial. Sign up and you'll receive two free audiobooks plus a 30-day free trial of Audible. Audible is the undisputed market leader in audiobook production and distribution. Matthew Thornton the Director of Communications at Audible told me that "Audible content includes over 180,000 audiobooks and other spoken-word programming from leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, and business information providers. Non-audiobook content includes lectures, meditations, language lessons, comedy and periodicals." Audible has added 40,000 titles their store in 2014, a very slight increase versus 2013. In both 2013 and 2014, Audible Studios and ACX productions account for just about half of all titles added to the Audible storefront. I think incorporating audiobooks into the GoodReads experience is good for users and will hopefully increase the adoption rate of audio across the board. Amazon and Audible Bring Audiobooks to GoodReads is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Best Android E Ink eBook Readers – Android eReaders List
| A surprising number of Android-powered ebook readers with E Ink screens have been released over the past 8 months. People often ask which one is the best to get so I wanted to put together this article outlining the best ebook readers currently available on the market with open Android operating systems. All the devices […] |
Two Teaser Trailers for Saekano -Blessing Flowers- Visual Novels
| Two new trailers have been released for the PlayStation Vita, a visual novel based off of the romantic comedy, Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend. The new title, Saekano -Blessing Flowers-, was announced earlier this year and have plans to release in Japan on April 30th and buyers will have the option to either buy the regular or limited edition game, the latter including a soundtrack and cloth posters! However both versions include a Vita theme. The two trailers focus on two five minute scenarios, one that focus’ on swimming and the other on napping! For fans of Saekano, unfortunately there has been no mention on whether or not it’ll get a western release, we will just have to sit patiently and wait! Two Teaser Trailers for Saekano -Blessing Flowers- Visual Novels is a post from: Good e-Reader |
$79 Fire HD 7 + $12 Covers, & Kindle eBook Deals
| Today only, April 20th, Amazon’s main Deal of the Day is the Fire HD 7 tablet for $60 off what it regularly costs. That drops the price of the 8GB model from $139 to just $79, and the 16GB model from $159 to $99. Those prices are for the ad-supported models; add an extra $15 […] |
Is the Traditional Publishing Industry Finally Catching Up?
|
Basically, it seems as though the entire publishing landscape has grown into admitting that self-publishing is a viable option, as long as there’s a caveat that states the success isn’t normal. But if that’s the case, why are some of the largest publishing events in the world–events like BookExpo America and last week’s London Book Fair–not only welcoming self-published authors and self-publishing professionals, but finding there are lines of people–reader fans and experts alike–waiting for an audience with these members of the industry? To be sure, events such as these still relegate self-publishing and digital only to segregated areas of the event. BookExpo offers its Author Hub and uPublishU in side portions of the show floor, but last year’s setup was hardly a dimly lit storage room in a forgotten basement; the area was engaging, welcoming, and provided a full schedule of activities and speakers. The London Book Fair likewise moved the self-publishing focus to the second floor of the conference center, but it was easily accessible and not hidden away; beyond that, it was crowded throughout the event with authors, readers, and industry professionals. One notable feature of the author-centric self-publishing movement is the understanding that indie authors and companies are moving the entire industry forward at a rapid pace, while only a few holdouts in the traditional industry are digging their heels in and refusing to follow the crowd. For the most part, even the big names who’ve controlled publishing for centuries are looking to experiment, and finding new titles from among the ranks of the indie bestseller lists. The current climate cane be summed up in a statement that has been made since the beginning of the digital revolution: there’s never been a better time to be an author or a reader.
Is the Traditional Publishing Industry Finally Catching Up? is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Don’t miss your chance to register for Digipalooza!
 Are you planning to attend Digipalooza 2015 the world’s premier digital content conference for libraries and schools? If you haven’t registered yet, what are you waiting for? Space is limited and we want to see you there! Come for our unrivaled program specifically designed and tested to drive circulation, increase usage and help you get the most out of your OverDrive digital library. Stay for the new friends you’ll meet, the delicious food you’ll eat and the memories you’ll create at our legendary parties! Our program this year covers a variety of topics, including:
After fast-paced, content-packed days of informative sessions and networking activities, attendees are invited to explore Cleveland’s entertainment scene. Registration covers admittance to two evening events- a kickoff event at OverDrive’s Blue Sky Campus and a huge party at Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum. Don’t just take our word for it; previous attendees have called Digipalooza “a can’t miss conference”. Claim your spot now (while you still can)! You don’t want to miss this. Register now at www.digipalooza.com and join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #digip15. Melissa Marin is a Marketing Specialist at OverDrive.  |
Visualising core load on the Pi 2
| Since we released Raspberry Pi 2 back in February, a lot of you have been asking questions about how work gets divided between the four cores. David (what’s your last name, David? Let us know and I’ll update this post) in Cambridge has written a remote CPU-monitoring webserver, which outputs a nice scrolling graph of CPU load on all four cores onto a webpage, so you can view it remotely while your Pi 2 works, along with CPU temperature. The monitoring software itself is lightweight, so it shouldn’t be a big consumer of resources on your Pi – the Pi’s sending a series of numbers representing load, and all the heavy lifting, turning it into visual data, is being done in Javascript by the browser on whatever machine you’re viewing it on. Here are the results, running on a simulated iPhone 4s. This is very easy to set up; everything’s embedded in the executable, so all you have to do is to run the program. You’ll find full instructions and code in Dave’s GitHub repo here – if you already have another webserver running on your Pi you may need to change ports, but that aside, this is an absolute doddle to run. Let us know if you have a play; we’d be interested to learn about what you find!
|