 WIRED | Biz Con Wattpad is likely the largest writing community on the internet and users spend 10 billion minutes a month reading. Fan-fiction is likely the biggest draw and one of the most prolific Wattrpad sensations has to be Anna Todd. Anna Todd is best known for her book “After” which features One Direction star Harry Styles and and good-girl protagonist Tessa Young. Wattpad says After has been read 1 billion times. According to a recent interview on Wired “Todd herself is living proof that Internet celebrity is sweeping away old notions of what it means to be famous. The Internet is no longer just a starting point for fledgling talent to reach higher, more mainstream fame and fortune. Stars are tested and can thrive in this universe without Hollywood's help, a phenomenon that has left everyone from first-time selfie takers to big corporate brands eager to figure out how to replicate the influence of this new celebrity generation.” The success of Anna Todd is start to transcend the Wattpad platform. Her book After got a Paramount Movie deal, and likely will be made into a feature film. Wattpad also signed an agreement with Gallery Press to distribute “After” in print and major e-book stores such as Amazon, Kobo and iBooks.
Author Anna Todd Discusses Fan-Fiction and Internet Super Stardom is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Author Anna Todd Discusses Fan-Fiction and Internet Super Stardom
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Good e-Reader Introduces Paid Android and Blackberry Apps
| The Good e-Reader Android and Blackberry App Store has been going strong for the last four years. There are over 40,000 apps and games currently available and users can download them via the web or via one of our many app clients, such as our Blackberry Playbook Store, Android App Store and even our Kids App Store. Today, we are proud to unveil the next step in our evolutionary growth, paid apps. Paid apps was one of the missing pieces for the Good e-Reader App Store. Many users who have Kindle Fires or devices that do not have access to Google Play are consistently looking for an avenue to pay for quality content. The new system allows users to sign up for free account and pay for apps via credit card or PAYPAL securely via SSL with Paypal and Stripe. Any app a user downloads will be stored under “My Apps” for easy accessibility. Whenever an app requires an upgrade, you are instantly notified. We have spent the last four months developing an entirely new developer portal and app upload system. This allows anyone who is actively making apps and games to submit them to the Good e-Reader App Store. Whenever an app is sold you are instantly notified with our extensive financial reporting tools. Developers can track purchases and other metadata that is critical to monitor success. Additionally, we also have added CSV support, so you can download your entire app sales history and check it out in Excel. Developers can submit free and paid apps into one of our 65 app categories. When an app is sold, a developer earns 70% of the transaction and is payed at the end of the following month. This gives us a chance to make sure all the transactions are valid and to engage in possible refunds or fraud checks. Developers can rest assured that Good e-Reader handles all of the payment and customer service. All you have to do, is make sure your app is updated when new versions are released. We also offer a free service that allows you to convert your existing Android App to a Blackberry compatible format for use on the Blackberry Playbook and any BB10 enabled device. You can use our free APK TO BAR Converter to test it internally and if you want to upload your Blackberry App, please contact us. The App Payment system is only available on the Good e-Reader website and support to our entire line of apps will be implemented in the next few months. It is quite easy to register a free account (takes 15 seconds) and then purchase an app. Once the app is downloaded to your computer, you can simply connect your smartphone or tablet via USB cable and transfer the app to your device. Once its there, simply use any File Manager app to install the app. Alternatively, you can use the internet browser on your phone or tablet and install the paid apps that way. Just make sure your phone has Unknown Sources enabled in your Options/Security, so you can install apps from our market. Paid apps is something we have been obsessing about for the last few years. We always wanted to offer something really compelling for both developers and users and for one reason or another it never panned out. This all changes today. The Developer Portal is open for new and existing app developers to upload your paid content. Simply register a free account by clicking on the top right hand corner, where it says register. Check out some of our Paid Android Apps or Blackberry Apps from a few of our launch partners. Good e-Reader Introduces Paid Android and Blackberry Apps is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Hoopla Adds eBooks & Comics to their Catalog
| Hoopla has been around for a number of years and currently they have a catalog of 15,000 audiobook titles. Hoopla deals with over 100 libraries in the US and charges no licensing fees with setting up the system, which is quite appealing to the average library. How does Hoopla make money? The company has employed the Pay Per Use model, which only charges the library when a specific title is checked out by a patron. In order to scale their business they have just announced they are now offering e-books & digital comics. Hoopla is currently offering 5,509 e-books and 579 comics from an assortment of publishers. They currently don’t deal with any of the Big 5, so you won’t find anything from the New York Times bestseller list. Instead, the bulk of their e-books derive from Dundurn, Tyndale, Chicago Review, Rosetta and Orca. It remains to be seen if this expanded catalog will appeal to libraries not doing business with Hoopla. I think it helps, but won’t be a deciding factor until they can offer e-books from major publishers and give a better value proposition than Overdrive, 3M or B&T. Hoopla Adds eBooks & Comics to their Catalog is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Overdrive Developing an Apple iWatch App
| Overdrive is the largest tech company involved in the digital library space. Their audiobooks, e-books, music and video are in thousands of libraries all over the world. In order to take advantage of the brand new Apple iWatch, Overdrive is working on a new app. There is no word yet on what types of features that will be available in the Overdrive app for iWatch. I do know that they want the watch to act as a controller for audiobooks. This will allow you to control the audio experience and be able to play, pause or stop the content. They also want to provide users with notifications when an e-book you reserved is available. Right now Overdrive is in the development stage with their iWatch app. What types of features would you like to see in the app? Overdrive Developing an Apple iWatch App is a post from: Good e-Reader |
10 Free Kindle eBooks, Plus Kindle Book Deals
| Here’s a roundup of 10 free highly-rated Kindle ebooks for your weekend. All these books have really good reviews and are very popular. Owning a Kindle is not required to read them; you can use a Kindle reading app for iPad, iPhone, and Android devices, or use a computer or web browser. The free ebooks […] |
Friday, May 15, 2015
Uber France Now Offers Thousands of Free Digital Newspapers
| Uber France has partnered up with PressReader to offer thousands of free digital newspapers and magazines. This new deal is set to kick off during the Cannes Film Festival from May 13 to 24. Riders can access more than 3,700 newspapers and magazines from PressReader on any smartphone, tablet or laptop. They can choose from popular titles like The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Vogue France, The Washington Post, GQ, and Le Film Français, the popular industry magazine updated daily during the film festival. Finally, they can download their favorite titles for later reading. The partnership between PressReader and Uber will launch at the high-profile Cannes Film Festival to a truly international audience of filmmakers, stars, and industry professionals. "Our new partnership with Uber is yet another example of the many exciting initiatives we're launching here at PressReader," said Igor Smirnoff, chief commercial officer at PressReader. "PressReader is already a part of your travel experience when you fly, stay at a hotel, or go on a cruise. With Uber, we're proud to bring an exciting new amenity to the ground transportation industry." Access instructions are available in Uber cars located in Cannes for the duration of the festival. Uber France Now Offers Thousands of Free Digital Newspapers is a post from: Good e-Reader |
New Lenovo Tab 2 A10, A8 and A7 Tablets – Good Value Picks
| Lenovo added some new Android tablets to their “A” series this past month with a “Tab 2″ designation. There are two 7-inch models and a 10-inch model. An 8-inch model is coming soon as well. The tablets seem to be flying under the radar lately as they haven’t been getting much press, but they look […] |
BookGorilla Sends Daily Alerts for Free and Discounted Kindle Books
| If you’re looking for a new way to find best-selling Kindle ebooks for free or on sale, BookGorilla is a service that sends out a daily email alert highlighting popular deals and free titles. You can choose to receive alerts from over 200 specific Kindle ebook categories, including genres and sub-genres, or just bestsellers. You […] |
Digital Publishing Brings Censorship Woes to Iran
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As the Tehran Book Fair continues on throughout this week, ebooks, digital publishing, and self-publishing are creating a host of problems for the country’s censors, as an article in the Guardian has outlined. While publishers cannot even display titles from their event booths that haven’t been vetted by the censors, a separate world of book publishing is happening outside of the organized event, one that has readers flocking to digital reading. According to Saeed Kamali Dehghan, “Iran is among the top 10 most censored countries, next to Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and China. However, the digital age is creating a new challenge to Iran's censorship apparatus. An increasing number of writers and translators are turning to the internet to publish their work, instead of going through the tormenting line-by-line scrutiny required for print publication. A rise in paper prices has concomitantly driven more readers to buy ebooks. State TV has started labelling digital books as a new threat that should be taken seriously.” This wouldn’t be the first time that online media has been credited with enacting change against centuries’ old ideas and regimes. The rise of social media has long been credited with the Arab Spring movement, and sites like Twitter have actually come under legal attack within countries like Turkey for their ability to connect individuals in ways that the government disapproved of. It’s surprising how quickly some of the tools that evolved slowly over the course of several years in the US and other markets have taken off seemingly overnight to help self-published authors in the Middle East. Digital-first and ebook-only publishers are already providing services to authors whose books would never make it past the censors, and crowdfunding of books has already produced several titles. Digital publishing has long been hailed as a force for good in terms of protecting rare and out of print titles, providing low-cost learning opportunities for markets that can’t afford printed texts, and even providing a publishing outlet for voices that have otherwise never reached readers. Now, the effects of online publication are making a difference in places with literally no other option. Digital Publishing Brings Censorship Woes to Iran is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Light Novel “A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako’s Feet” Anime Green-Lit for Fall 2015
| The official website for the new television adaption of the mystery light novel series A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako’s Feet (Sakurako-san no Ashimoto no wa Shitai ga Umatteiru) revealed on Friday that the new series will premier this fall. Along with the announcement of the release date, the official website has also announced its main production staff, it’s first key visual of the series’ two protagonist, Sakurako Kujo and Shotaro Tatewaki. Makoto Kato, the episode director for Aldnoah.Zero and Btooooom!, is directing the series at studio Troyca, Makoto Bessho (Attack on Titan) will be handling the series composition and Michio Sato (Viper’s Creed, Tenchi Muyo GXP) will be designing the characters as well as act as chief animation director. The light novel series is written by Shiori Ōta and illustrated by Tetsuo, and was first debuted in 2013and Kadokawa published the seventh novel in February. The series currently has more than a whopping 600,000 copies in print! Along with the new anime series, the mystery series as also inspired an online radio drama that starred Yuuki Kaji as Shotaro and Ami Koshimizu as Sakurako. The series follows Shotaro Tatewaki and girlfriend Sakurako Kujyo. Shotaro is a normal high school student with a serious demeanor but loves nothing more than showing off his lovely girlfriend. Sakurako is an extraordinarily beautiful woman in her mid 20’s who has a passion and love for ‘beautiful bones’. The two live in the city of Asahikawa in Hokkaido and seem to often get involved in various incidents regarding bones. I’m always looking for a good mystery themed anime so I’m really looking forward to seeing more development on this project. If the plot summary above sounded good to you, you can go ahead and check out the official website for more updates! Light Novel “A Corpse is Buried Under Sakurako’s Feet” Anime Green-Lit for Fall 2015 is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Keep your students reading all summer long!
| It's finally that time of year! Sweet Summer Time. While the summer is best served hot and under the sun, we at OverDrive like ours with a little reading on the side. Here are a few tips to keep your students reading all summer long:
Boredom is not an option when there is reading to be done!
Christina Samek is a Launch Specialist II on the School Partner Services team with OverDrive.  |
Recommended Lists for May
| May is always a very exciting month here at the OverDrive headquarters in Cleveland. Spring is officially here and it seems like there is always an occasion to commemorate or celebrate. The events and observances of May also make for great library programming! For your convenience, we have created some collections. Check out these fun and exciting lists below and hopefully you'll find some titles that you'd like to add to your OverDrive site. When you click the link below, it will show up as a Marketplace search result and you'll be able to easily add them to a cart. May The 4th Be With You – Star Wars Reads As always, your Collection Development Specialist is available to help create any recommended lists. Email collectionteam@overdrive.com for more information today! Some titles are metered access and may have limited regional or platform availability. Check OverDrive Marketplace to find what is available for you. Rachel Kray is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive  |
Modulo: a simple, modular solution for building electronic devices
| We came across the excellent Modulo on Kickstarter recently. Modulo is a "modular solution for building powerful electronic devices" and consists of a cluster of smart modules such as sensors, motor drivers and displays that slide into a solid base unit. It abstracts all the jumbliness of building electronics from scratch and lets you concentrate on concepts, design and programming cool stuff.
Once you've built your project you can program it in Python on the Pi. It also plays nice with Arduino and Spark (now Particle). Poseidon, a robotic landscape watering system. Using Modulo and a Pi it delivers just the right amount of water based on the weather forecast. The Raspberry Pi crew met the Modulo team at MakerCon this week and were, of course, challenged to Modulo Pong. Eben won 26-14 (I completely made that up based on a recurring dream in which the score is always the same and Eben is dressed as a giant ping pong ball.) Modulo controlled Pong We like Modulo a lot. It's smart, funky and a great way to get into digital creativity. Also, it has "Knob kit" and a tea brewing robot and it would be very un-British of us on both counts if we didn't let that influence us. Modulo has already reached its primary Kickstarter goal but is now aiming for sufficient funding to make Modulo a sustainable concern. Take a look if, like us, you’d like to see this happen. The post Modulo: a simple, modular solution for building electronic devices appeared first on Raspberry Pi. |
Free Kobo E-books Now Available on Southwest
| Kobo has teamed up with Southwest Airlines to offer free e-books to travelers who want to read digitally. Simply connect up your e-reader, smartphone or tablet to the entertainment portal via WIFI and you can read as many titles as you want. When you land, and aren’t done reading, there is information available on how to buy a specific title. Most of the current Kobo What types of publishers are participating in this Southwest/Kobo partnership? Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan, Kensington, S&S, HarperCollins, Open Road Media, Bauer Communications, and others. Basically if you want to read it, it will be available. Over the course of the last few years there is a mad rush by airports, media and airline companies to offer e-books as an incentive to fly with them. Earlier in the week BookShout, HarperCollins, and American Express announced a new project to give readers free access to hundreds of e-book titles while passing the time at the airport. Meanwhile last December Jetblue partnered up with HarperCollins to provide an e-book experience, but its not free reading like Kobo. Free Kobo E-books Now Available on Southwest is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Artist Photocopies his Kindle to Make a Physical Backup
| When Kindle owners purchase an e-book the book is merely licensed and not truly owned. Some people opt to strip the DRM from their books to have a backup, whereas others take a more novel approach. Artist Jesse England decided that stripping the digital rights management from his copy of George Orwell’s 1984 was too simple. Instead, he painstakingly photocopied each page of the e-book and made a print version of it. What prompted him to do this? Well, In 2009, some Amazon Kindle users found their copy of George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm had been removed from their Kindles without their prior knowledge or consent; those particular copies were offered for sale by a publisher who did not have the proper rights to do so. After consumers spoke out about having a book taken from them without their consent, Amazon later reinstated the copies taken from those who purchased the book or offered gift cards as compensation for the inconvenience, and promised never to repeat such an event in the future. Jesse thought this whole situation was rather ironic and was the catalyst for making a print version of his photocopied e-reader. To make things even more meta, after making his physical copy England then uploaded the scanned version back to his Kindle, creating a hall of mirrors effect and one very hard to read book. Artist Photocopies his Kindle to Make a Physical Backup is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Sony Digital Paper Being Embraced by the Health Care Industry
| The Sony Digital Paper 13.3 inch PDF reader was designed to be a professional device, whereas the Kindle, Nook and Kobo are aimed at consumers. This gives Sony a massive advantage to target industries that have been mostly neglected by the tablet industry. Health care is something that is critically important and the Digital Paper is slowly making inroads in this sector. The $15.8 billion urgent care industry is expected to grow 6 to 8 percent annually through the opening of new clinics and a spike in patient volumes, and new technology is necessary to support this rapidly growing market segment. In order to take advantage of this sector Sony has just signed a new agreement with a company called T-system. T-System has a product called T-Sheets, which are PDF templates for unscheduled care (emergency and urgent care), sometimes also termed episodic care. The principle concept is that the templates are structured documents relating to a chief complaint. T-System has developed unique templates for all complaints that a patient might present to the ED/UC with. The contents on the template help guide the clinician through asking the right questions and documenting the correct information to ensure complete, accurate, and thorough documentation of the patient encounter, to ensure quality care, and deliver optimal reimbursement. T-System is very established in the health care industry and this the first time that the Sony Digital Paper has been used in this manner.
Sony Digital Paper Being Embraced by the Health Care Industry is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Are Some Anime Overrated?
| You hear of it, time and time again. Everyone is talking about this anime, everyone is demanding you see it. It's the greatest thing ever, you hear. It's a classic, you hear. It will revolutionize the way we watch anime, you hear. Yet, upon watching, you find the anime isn't all that. You might think it's a little dull. You might not even like it, at all. It's a case of being overrated. It happens in every corner of entertainment. It happened to Hollywood hits, like Frozen and The Avengers. It usually leaves a strong backlash by the people who didn't find it that good, and people become divided over the story being the best thing or the worst thing ever. It usually happens regarding popular shonen anime, such as Naruto or Bleach. Most recently, it's begun to happen to Attack on Titan. Too much hype can ruin the experience of watching an anime for you. But does that make the story actually bad? The anime won't change, regardless of how many people talk about it. And sometimes you have to take a step back and think, if you had gone into this experience with no expectations, would your opinion of the anime be different? At the heart of the matter, what it comes down to is personal tastes. Everyone likes different things and everyone has a different opinion of what is good. If an anime with a story you don't particularly enjoy is being oversold, of course you're going to dislike it. You'll dislike it even further if it gets more attention than the anime you really do like. So, when you find the hype growing on a certain anime, don't let yourself be sucked in to the expectations. Look at it from an outside perspective. If it isn't really your style of story, choose not to watch it or keep that in mind as you do watch it. And don't let the hype build up your excitement and make you believe it's the 'best thing ever' before you even watch it. Enjoyment of anime is always higher when your expectations are lower, as terrible as it sounds. The sensation of being pleasantly surprised is always better than bitter disappointment. Are Some Anime Overrated? is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Amazon Giving Away $110 in Paid Apps & Games
| Once again Amazon is giving away a bunch of paid Android apps and games for free through the Amazon Appstore. Normally the apps sell for over $110, but from now until May 17th you can download as many of them as you want for free. There are apps for kids, along with a few utility […] |
Kobo Glo HD Review and Video Walkthrough
| Review Date: May 2015 – Review unit purchased from Chapters.Indigo Overview The Kobo Glo HD is only the second ebook reader behind the Kindle Voyage to use E Ink’s highest resolution 300 ppi screen, which helps makes text look clearer and sharper than older displays. The Glo HD is a second generation model that replaces […] |
Price cut! Raspberry Pi Model B+ now only $25
| When we announced the Raspberry Pi 2 back in February, we said that we’d continue to support its predecessor, the Raspberry Pi Model B+. Since then, we’ve sold well over a million units of Raspberry Pi 2, but Model B+ has also continued to sell very well, despite also costing $35. $10 cheaper, but just as much fun A side effect of the production optimizations that allowed us to hit the $35 target price for Raspberry Pi 2 is that the Model B+ is now much cheaper to manufacture than it was when it was introduced. With this in mind, we’ve decided to drop its list price to $25. If you’re looking for a Raspberry Pi with networking and multiple USB ports, and don’t need the extra performance or memory that the Raspberry Pi 2 brings, you might want to check it out. The Raspberry Pi product line now stretches from the Model A+ at $20, via the Model B+ at $25, to the top-of-the-range Raspberry Pi 2 at $35. The new pricing will take effect across our partners’ websites over the next few days, but right now RS Components in the UK and MCM Electronics in North America look like your best bet. The post Price cut! Raspberry Pi Model B+ now only $25 appeared first on Raspberry Pi. |