| When you read at night, often you need to turn on a lamp in order to read and then turn it off when your done. What if the light would automatically turn off when you were done reading? This is the thought behind the LiliLite, which is an all-in-one bookmark, bookshelf and reading lamp, the device sits at that rare intersection of being functional and really nice-looking. The shelf is made of steam-pressed plywood and bent in a way that accommodates both your to-be-read pile and your current pre-sleep pick, includes a light that turns on automatically once a book is lifted from the shelf. When finished, one simply replaces the book to turn off the light. I think this bookshelf/light system is a perfect coupling: an ideal accessory for the avid reader. It clears some bedroom clutter, keeps books an arm’s length away, and adds light right where it’s needed. |
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Introducing a Bookshelf with Built in Reading Light
SIM Cards Might be a Thing of the Past if Apple Gets Their Way
| Whenever you purchase a new smartphone or data enabled tablet you normally have to take the SIM card out of your old device and insert it into the new one. This process might be a thing of the past if Apple and Samsung get their way. The two companies are talking with the GSMA (GSM Association) to start embedding electronic SIM cards in smartphones and connected devices as early as 2016, according to a report from the Financial Times. These e-SIMs would stay embedded in the phone so they aren't user replaceable, but would allow users to switch between carriers with ease. In addition, the removal of SIM card slots might free up some extra space to pack in more useful hardware technology. Apple already tried the no-sim feature with the iPad Air 2, which allows customers in the US to be able to switch carriers on the fly via the settings menu. This is totally beneficial because you are not locked into an exclusive contract and can take advantage of limited promotions or deals that offer a ton of data. Not only are hardware companies trying to make SIM cards a thing of the past, but telecom carriers are also on-board. AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Hutchison Whampoa, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone all want to make this happen as soon as possible. |
eBook Pirates in the UK to Get 10 Years in Jail
| Most of us are likely guilty of pirating the odd e-book or downloading a few songs from the internet. If the United Kingdom gets their way, the maximum jail sentence could be increasing from two years to ten years. The proposed measures are mainly targeted at the distributors of pirated content – the people creating copies of movies, sometimes before release, and uploading them to be downloaded by thousands upon thousands. It also is targeting large scale piracy operations where they host the content and either give it away for free or charge monthly subscription packages. The new law will not throw the average user in the slammer who pirates e-books, so you don’t have to worry about stripping the DRM or visiting the Pirate Bay, but it will chiefly target large large commercial operations. Intellectual Property Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe said: “The government takes copyright crime extremely seriously – it hurts businesses, consumers and the wider economy both on and offline. “Our creative industries are worth more than £7 billion to the UK economy and it’s important to protect them from online criminal enterprises. By toughening penalties for commercial-scale online offending we are offering greater protections to businesses and sending a clear message to deter criminals.” |
Samsung Unveils Galaxy Tab S2 Tablets
| Samsung is one company that really wants to make tablets viable and consistently releases devices to appeal to people who play games, but also e-books, magazines and newspapers. If you are in the market for a super high end device, the Galaxy S2 might be up your alley. Samsung says the Galaxy Tab S2 is the company’s “thinnest and lightest tablet of its size ever”. It is 5.6mm thin, with the 8-inch version weighing 265g and the 9.7-inch version getting a weight of 389g. Both versions have a Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2048×1536. Both versions of the tablet will have Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box, along with an octa-core processor, with four cores running at 1.9GHz and the other four at 1.3GHz. Both will also have 3GB of RAM, an 8MP rear camera and a 2.1MP front facing camera. Both Galaxy Tab S2 models will have a fingerprint scanner, and a way to run two apps on the screen at the same time. Samsung hyped up the device, saying “The tablet also presents deeper contrast and more precise detail to provide a best-in-class reading experience with the Super AMOLED display delivering 94% of natural tones to show true-to-life colors (Adobe RGB color standard). Users can now enjoy galleries of vividly detailed photos and effortlessly shop online while viewing the most accurate images on the Galaxy Tab S2. In addition, the Galaxy Tab S2 continually offers its advanced screen technology to display bright and natural content for a more comfortable visual experience. Adaptive Display intelligently adjusts gamma, saturation, and sharpness based on the application, the color temperature of the viewing environment and ambient lighting. Also, Reading Mode modifies the screen’s brightness level to help users to read content for longer periods of time without straining their eyes.” |
New Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 Tablets Arrive in August
| Yesterday Samsung issued a press release announcing the upcoming global release of two new tablets in the Galaxy Tab S2 line, and they just might be the best tablets ever for ereading. There’s a 9.7-inch model and an 8-inch model. Both feature high-end Super AMOLED displays with high pixel density and an iPad-like 4:3 screen […] |
Bedbot – furniture with a tech twist
| Fine woodwork has always been a mystery to me. I blame the church summer camp I went to when I was nine, where the boys got to build wooden doorknockers shaped like woodpeckers, and the girls – you guessed it – got to paint them with flowers. (This also meant that half the children didn’t get to take a doorknocker home with them at the end of the week. Very poorly thought out, Rev H.) I once made a shelf to go inside an airing cupboard. Perhaps I assign too much value to things I could never, ever contemplate making myself. But I’ve a suspicion that the rest of you will also think this project is pretty darn amazing: here is Bedbot, created by Peter Roca, the sort of person who can casually say, “The drawer front is a ¾″ thick piece of curly maple that I had laying around”. Peter calls Bedbot a Daytime Initialisation Assistant. In short, Bedbot is there to ease Peter from sleep into a state of energised morning wakefulness. It is a very over-engineered alarm clock.
Peter did a gorgeous job of constructing the furniture itself. He then designed and built the hardware that lives inside Bedbot, wrote the software (which includes a rather snazzy user interface in QT), put in a touchscreen from Adafruit, and an OLED screen to tell the time with. Peter says:
He’s made an online Board Explorer to show you around the hardware (beware: this won’t work on mobile devices) which is well worth your time. There’s also video of Bedbot in action which we can’t embed here, which Peter has made part of his exceptionally thorough build diary and writeup – go and check it out. You’ll find all the software he used on GitHub. Thanks for the writeup, Peter – we love it. It’s a beautiful object: we hope it continues to cheer up your mornings for a long time to come. The post Bedbot – furniture with a tech twist appeared first on Raspberry Pi. |
Monday, July 20, 2015
HBO Now is released for the Kindle Fire
| Sometimes you have to put that compelling e-book aside and utilize your Amazon Kindle Fire tablet for entertainment. One of my favorite apps has expanded past the Apple TV and HBO Now is now available for not only Android, but Amazon branded tablets. You can get HBO Now from the Amazon App Store and you can try it out a 30-day free trial, then it costs $14.99/month. It charges your Amazon account directly, so you don’t need to do any kind of signup process and pay a 3rd party. Also, I heard that the Fire TV will also have the service in the next few weeks. What I like the most about HBO Now is that you can totally binge watch any of the big series that are on the TV channel. There is a total benefit to the on-demand nature of the app, you don’t have to suffer through commercials and you can watch the series from the beginning. I never really watched Gamer of Thrones when it was on television. I never saw it from the beginning and would watch random episodes and have no idea what was going on. When HBO Now became available on the Apple TV, I watched all five seasons in three weeks and got totally caught up. I have since cut HBO from my digital cable package and watch things like Last Week Tonight and Silicon Valley or a myriad of movies. Its totally worth downloading the app for your Android device, or your Kindle tablet. You can get a sense of how it works, without having to pay anything for the first 30 days. |
Amazon Follow Allows Authors to Connect Directly with Fans
| Amazon has unveiled a new social media program for any author that uses Kindle Direct Publishing. Amazon Follow allows readers to connect up directly with an author and get instantly notified whenever a new book comes. The Amazon Follow button is now on the authors page. The author has the ability to handcraft their email messages that will automatically be delivered via email to anyone who is following the author and notifications will be available on their Follow Updates timeline. This program is currently only available to US based authors and is invite only. I see this program has being tremendously useful for authors who exclusively self-publish on Amazon and want to cultivate a loyal following of readers. Amazon Follow is in essence a personal newsletter delivery service where they can keep readers informed on not only what new books are in the works but also interact with them in a personal way. |
Barnes and Noble is Going to Kill the Nook
 Barnes & Noble appoints Chief Digital Officer, Frederic D. Argir, to lead E-Commerce and NOOK The future of Barnes and Noble Nook e-books, e-readers and tablets looks to be in jeopardy. The Nations largest bookseller has just hired Fred Argir to run the Nook division and e-commerce division, replacing Mahesh Veerina who had run it for the last two years. The Barnes and Noble Nook division is in serious trouble. They recently unveiled a massive upgrade to their website. The new design gives us a sense on what the bookseller is hoping to sell more of, which are lifestyle products, print and e-books. Unfortunately there are a number of bugs with e-books and Nook that are preventing people from reading and this is resulting in a fair amount of apathy. When you are looking to buy a new book and haven't heard much about it, likely you want to check out the first few chapters with a digital sample. Barnes and Noble has an online reading platform called Nook for Web. Sadly, this system is totally broken and has not been revised to work in conjunction with the new B&N website. Users have also reported a myriad of problems with logging into their accounts and purchases randomly disappearing. The Nook brand, which includes e-books, e-readers, tablets and accessories hasn’t been profitable under the watch of Mahesh. They have lost money every single quarter for the last two years, and are down over a billion dollars since it first launched in 2010. Whenever Barnes and Noble has hired high level executives to run the company they have always promoted people internally. This is the first time the bookseller has brought in two high ranking people, including new CEO Ron Boire from the outside. I have a feeling Ron and Fred will kill the Nook division because they are not loyal to it and will likely see it an essential cost cutting measure. What does a gutted Nook division look like to the average e-book buyer? Likely the bookseller will stop making dedicated hardware, such as e-readers and tablets. Instead, the company will solely focus on their apps for Android, iOS and Windows to sell digital content. They will also promote their newly launched Nook Audiobooks app. Basically, all hardware will be killed off and Nook will pivot into being purely a digital content provider. |
September/October Kids & Teens eHighlights are here!
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One thing I am ready for? All the great books that will be released in September and October. This Fall will bring releases from James Frey, Ali Benjamin, Tedd Arnold, Anna Dewdney, Katherine Applegate and more. The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare is book 2 of The Magisterium series. Books on Tape brings a new audio retellings of the classic "Star Wars" films: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi…just in time for the release of the newest film this December. Rachel Renee Russell's Dork Diaries series is back with Tales from a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter, where Nikki Maxwell takes on a new venture: pet sitting. Readers of all kinds will be able to find a title they're excited about within the pages of our newest edition of the Kids & Teens eHighlights catalog. If you have any suggestions for how we can make this catalog better, please send us your ideas to cdanalysts@overdrive.com.
Emma Kanagaki is a Collection Development Analyst with OverDrive  |
A new board member
| Sherry Coutu CBE has been a member of the board of Raspberry Pi Trading for a couple of years now; she’s an exceptionally valuable member of the team, and we’re very grateful to her for donating her time and expertise to our organisation.
Today we’re really excited to be welcoming Sherry to join the board of the Raspberry Pi Foundation as well, so she’s now going to be working across both the trading and charitable sides of the organisation. Sherry’s extraordinary. This month she was placed in the top ten of Computer Weekly’s Most Influential Women in Tech list. She sits on the board of the London Stock Exchange (when she and Joanna Shields were taken on, they were the first women to be appointed); she’s also on the boards of Zoopla, the University of Cambridge‘s Finance Board, Cambridge Assessment, Cambridge University Press, and Cambridge Temperature Concepts. And because she’s somehow managed to cram more hours into the day than the rest of us are given by nature, she’s also on the advisory boards of Linkedin, the Natural History Museum and the Royal Society. Phew. Thanks Sherry – we’re really glad you’ve come on board on the Foundation side of the organisation too. It’s terrific to be able to have access to your skills across the whole spectrum of what we do here at Raspberry Pi, and we’re looking forward to working more with you. The post A new board member appeared first on Raspberry Pi. |
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Exclusive – Entitle eBook Subscription Service Shutting Down
| Entitle is one of the many companies now participating in the entire Netflix for e-books concept. They never managed to standout in a crowded marketplace that includes Amazon, Scribd and Oyster and never generated enough revenue to stay in business. Starting July 21st 2015, Entitle will be closing and they are recommending their existing customers join Scribd. Entitle, formerly named eReatah, allowed members to read two books a month $9.99, $14.99 for 3 books/month, and $19.99 for 4 books/month Members will own and have permanent access to any books they download regardless of their subscription status with Entitle, and these books can be read on up to six devices. Members can read books on the newly-launched Entitle e-reading app for iPad, iPhone and Android devices. There are over 200,000 titles on the Entitle platform from over a thousand publishers, including Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins Publishers, Kensington Books, Berrett-Koehler, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Workman Publishing, Sourcebooks, Open Road Media, RosettaBooks and many more. Entitle is the only eBook subscription company to secure content deals with more than one of the major corporate publishers, and has titles such as Doctor Sleep, Life of Pi, Duck Dynasty's Si-ology 101, Beautiful Ruins, Miracles and Massacres, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, The Storyteller, The Bully Pulpit, Happy, Happy, Happy, Remy, Beautiful Beginning and many more. A few months ago the company became the first subscription service by launching a paid e-book store. Scribd and Oyster have garnered the lion-share of Silicon Valley investment capital, but Entitle was only able to raise $5.4 million when they first launched. The lack of revenue over the course of the last four years basically destroyed the company. It is no surprise that Entitle is closing, many industry experts are in agreement that the current e-book subscription system is deeply flawed. Not enough publishers have not committed front-list titles that are on the current New York Times bestseller lists. Instead, they only contribute older titles that have been around for a few years and any serious reader has already borrowed them from the library or bought it. Tim Hely Hutchinson, chief of Hachette UK simply sees the current generation of e-book websites as not being viable. ""people are always pitching new models to me, and the first thing I say is that the existing model works really well. I don't believe in subscription. I don't see how it would do anything other than cannibalize the business we already have. I know other people take a different view. Within the limits of the law, I hope [HarperCollins UK c.e.o.] Charlie Redmayne will explain it to me, because I don't get it." Neither is he interested in selling direct—"I don't think the consumer wants it. The last thing I think we should be doing it undermining our customers, the retailers."" Meanwhile Hachette Livre chairman and c.e.o. Arnaud Nourry said in a recent interview that e-book subscription sites are a flawed idea. "Offering subscriptions at a monthly fee that is lower than the price of one book is absurd," he said. "For the consumer, it makes no sense. People who read two or three books a month represent an infinitesimal minority. And there are bookshops. If I seem like a dinosaur, so be it. My colleagues at Penguin Random House say the same thing." |
eBook Sales Increase 25% in the Netherlands
| e-Book sales have plateaued in North America and the United Kingdom, but other markets are starting to takeoff. The Netherlands is one country where digital content is starting to enjoy growth. The Netherlands has seen a 25% increase in e-book sales compared to the same period in 2014. One of the big proponents of growth are e-book subscription sites such as Elly’s Choice. Subscriptions accounted for 38% of total e-book sales last quarter. 25% growth seems really solid upon first glance, but you have to look at the total book market to put it it in prospective. Right now print accounts for 94% of total book sales, so e-books have a long way to go before they start to garner meaningful revenue. |
How to Remove Special Offers from your Kindle
| Amazon branded e-readers are more affordable if you opt into their Special Offers program. This is the companies built in advertising system that serves you targeted campaigns on your homescreen and navigation bar. Some people have received a Fire Tablet or Kindle as a gift and want to remove these obtrusive ads or maybe you just had enough of them. Removing the Special Offers from your Kindle device is fairly straight forward. You have to visit your Amazon Account Page and login using the user credentials you registered your Kindle with. By default, Your Content is highlighted, which gives you a rundown of all of the e-books you purchased. You want to click on the Your Devices tab and then select your e-reader. There will be a field on the bottom that says “Special Offers – Subscribed – Edit and if you click on Edit. The cost depends on what model of the Kindle you have, but normally ranges between $15 and $30. Have you removed the ads in your Kindle? Do you mind them? Drop a comment below. |
Kobo Aura Now Available for $99
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Kobo and their retail partners have permanently lowered the price of the Kobo Aura to $99. This is a great e-reader because the screen is entirely flush with the bezel, allowing for a more fluid touchscreen experience. The primary reason the discount is now perpetual is because of the recent release of the Kobo Glo HD. The new device is $139, which is the same price the Aura has been selling for. You simply can’t have a device that was released in 2013 selling for the same price as the latest and greatest, so Kobo was forced to slash the price. Canadians can get the Aura for $99 at Chapters/Indigo and if you order it today the bookseller is throwing in a free $10 giftcard that you can use to buy an e-book. If you live overseas you can get the e-reader from Shop e-Readers who does international shipping. I wonder if the price discount by Kobo means that the Aura will be discontinued soon. |
10 Free Kindle Books and eBook Deals – Sunday, July 19th
| Here’s another weekly roundup of 10 free Kindle ebooks for your reading enjoyment. The Kindle ebooks are free as of July 19th, 2015. Please note that most of these titles are free for a limited-time only and will expire in a few days or hours. Owning a Kindle is not required to read these free […] |
10 Free Kobo eBooks and Kobo Discount Codes
| Lately I’ve been posting a list of 10 free Kindle ebooks each week, usually on Sundays. I used to post lists of free Kobo ebooks too, but somewhere along the line Kobo removed their free ebooks section and made it practically impossible to find free ebooks on their website. Kobo has been redesigning their website […] |
Saturday, July 18, 2015
How to Return and Get a Refund for an e-Book
| Many of the leading online digital bookstores have generous return policies if you need to get a refund. There is a growing number of people who read the book first and then return it, while others make accidental purchases or notice glaring errors in the formatting. How do you return an e-book? Today we outline all of the return policies from Apple to Amazon and how you can do it. When you purchase any digital book from Amazon they are eligible for return and refund if they receive your request within seven days of the date of purchase. Once a refund is issued, you'll no longer have access to the book. To request a refund and return, visit Manage Your Kindle, click the actions tab for the title you'd like to return, and select "Return for refund. Please keep in mind that Amazon can and has closed accounts for abuse of the return policy. It is simply not worth the risk if you want to do this on a regular basis. If Amazon closes your account, you lose access to all of your books. Don't think Amazon won't notice a customer who is returning books on a regular basis. Speaking of return policies and Amazon have you guys heard about the new one at Audible? They're giving you 365 days to return an audiobook. If you purchase an e-book from Kobo you have the right to cancel the contract for a purchase of Digital Content for a refund within a period of 14 days beginning with the day after purchase. This excludes digital magazine subscriptions and in order for them to process a refund you have to send them an email using their online help forms, or you can give them a call at 1-855-732-3662. If you purchase a Nook book, you are out of luck if you want to read and return it. Barnes and Noble does not allow refunds for digital purchases, but their retail locations will gladly refund a print book within 14 days. If you buy a print book online and use PAYPAL as a payment method, they will not refund your account, instead the bookseller will give you a store gift card for the full amount. Google Play Books makes it easy to return a book . You may return an eBook for a refund for any reason if they receive your request within 7 days of purchase. Purchases through Google Play for Education are refundable within 30 days from the day of sale. No refunds are provided for purchase cancellations of books sold for limited access periods of 24 hours, unless the content or service is defective. If the ebook does not perform as described, you may return it for a refund at any time. Refunds will not be granted in situations of purchase abuse. When a refund is granted, Google will remove access to the eBook and your money will be returned. To submit a refund request, please contact our Google Play Customer Support. Apple for the longest time did not offer any refunds for customers who wanted to return an e-book from iBooks. They amended this policy in 2014 that allowed customers in the EU to return them, no questions asked. You simply have to visit this website in your browser. Customers in Canada and the US have no easy way to return an e-book, but iTunes Support can normally assist you. |
OverDrive Expands into Japan, But Why No Kobo Tie-in Yet?
| Earlier this past week, OverDrive announced that they have just launched their library lending services in Japan. The Ryugasaki Public Library is the first Japanese public library to offer OverDrive’s digial collection to patrons. The Itako Public Library is also getting set to launch their new OverDrive-powered website soon. The lending program provides access to […] |
Microsoft Cortana for Android Now Available on Good e-Reader
| Microsoft has been teasing an Android version of their voice assistant, Cortana for months. We got a hold of the full version of the app and it is now available on the Good e-Reader App Store. When users download the app they'll need to agree to Microsoft's Terms of Service and then provide Cortana with a name they'd like to be called. Then they're asked to provide the username and password for their Microsoft Account, just like all of the apps coming from the company lately. Cortana acts as a digital assistant. She provides users with the information they request and uses what she learns about users to give them information she thinks they need. On Windows 10 release day users will find a Cortana experience that connects directly to their email and calendar apps to send messages to contacts and provide a breakdown of the day's events. She can set reminders and alarms. She can even play specific albums or songs on request. This is a very excellent app and is the full free retail copy that will debut towards the end of the month. |
