| Amazon launched their digital currency in the US in the summer and allows customers to make in-app purchases and purchase apps using them. They really only work on the Kindle Fire line of devices and most new owners get 400 coins that are worth $4.00 by buying a new model. The service has now launched in the United Kingdom. Amazon Coins is only relegated to purchasing apps and content within them! The scheme has already attracted a range of comments on the Amazon site, with many complaining that Amazon Coins should be extended to allow the purchasing of books and other items from the retailer. Amazon Coins Launches in the UK is a post from: E-Reader News |
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Amazon Coins Launches in the UK
Sony PRS-T3 Drop Test
| Welcome to another popular installment of the Good e-Reader Drop Test! Today we check out the new Sony PRS-T3 e-reader with built in case. How exactly does this protect the reader from the type of falls that are most common tech devices? The Sony PRS-T3 e-reader is bundled with a magnetic case that physically attaches to it. Obviously people drop their digital readers all the time and if you are going to spend $149 on it, it has to perform. There are a number of tests we perform! First of all we simulate the quintessential pocket miss. This is done from the three foot mark and done on concrete. We also drop it on the back, side and front with the case on from the five foot mark. As an added bonus we also drop it from the five foot mark with the case open, as you were reading it and someone bumped into you. Sony PRS-T3 Drop Test is a post from: E-Reader News |
Valiant’s First Digital-Only Comic Is an 8-Bit Adventure
| Valiant Entertainment kicked off its latest incarnation last year with four series based on the original Valiant properties (it’s a long story), and this month the company debuted its first digital-first comic, Valiant 8-Bit Adventure: Unity #1. Unity is Valiant’s first big crossover, and back in September, they put a QR code on the cover of the first issue that led to a little video, done in the retro-gaming style known as 8-bit, which gave a brief introduction to the different characters in the crossover. Now they are going a step further with a digital-only comic that features several of their characters training for the big battle. It’s a Guided View Native comic, which means it uses comiXology’s Guided View features to create digital-only effects such as word balloons dropping into place and panels popping up when the reader swipes the screen. When you read a regular comic, you go page by page or perhaps panel by panel, but with a Guided View Native comic, the creator can reveal the scene a little at a time. That technique works quite nicely with this little comic, which features three of the Valiant characters: Livewire, Ninjak, and Eternal Warrior. The conceit is that the three of them are doing a training exercise that’s a video game, so the comic starts out with a fairly realistic style and then shifts into 8-bit when the action begins. The story unfolds exactly like an arcade game—the three characters are searching for three gems, hazards appear out of nowhere, and various types of points are tallied at the top of the screen. While the story is pretty simple, it’s fun to watch the whole thing unfold as if the characters were really in a game (yet able to control themselves). There’s a bit of a twist at the end, and then it goes back to the real-life style. It’s not really necessary to be familiar with the Valiant characters to enjoy this comic; everything you need to know is there, although obviously it’s more fun if you know the characters who are being gently parodied. With this first comic, Valiant follows DC’s tactic of using a digital-first comic as a story that is not necessary to follow the continuity of their other series and is easily accessible to first-time readers. If the story whets your appetite for more Valiant, comiXology carries all their regular series as well. Valiant’s First Digital-Only Comic Is an 8-Bit Adventure is a post from: E-Reader News |
Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight 2013 Drop Test
| Welcome to another edition of the Good e-Reader Drop Test Series! Today we round off the entire line of Nook e-Readers and see how the new Nook Glowlight 2013 holds up! The one interesting thing about this e-reader is the rubber that surrounds the unit and the overall design change from previous iterations. How does it stack up against the prior models and does it survive? In today’s drop test we drop it from the three foot mark, which is the average height in which you mean to put it in your pocket or bag and accidently drop it. We then drop it from the five foot mark on its back, side and directly on the the screen. Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight 2013 Drop Test is a post from: E-Reader News |
A Roundup of the Best Black Friday iPad And iPhone Deals
| Black Friday is just round the corner and retailers too are busy making last minute adjustments to their sales strategies. It's raining discounts right now and justifiably so as this marks the onset of the holiday shopping season in the US. Consumers too are ever on the lookout for the best deals that offer maximum bang for their hard earned buck. Mentioned here are the deals currently on offer for the Apple iPad series. As things stand right now, the best place to procure the iPad Air seems to be Target that is offering a gift card worth $100. This makes the iPad Air to be essentially priced $379. Target also has a scheme going for the iPad Mini with Retina Display as well, with the offer inclusive of a $75 worth gift card to accompany any iPad Mini version they pick up. Similarly for those who'd like to bring home the original iPad Mini sans the retina display, its Walmart that they should be headed to where the tablet is priced $299 including a Walmart gift card worth $100. The latest iPhone devices too are very much part of all the shopping fun and Walmart is offering the best deal with the iPhone 5s, priced as it is at $114 including a gift card worth $75. The same is a bit more pricey at Target, where the iPhone 5s can be availed of for $150 after a $50 discount. As for the iPhone 5c, its Walmart again that is offering the best deal, $45 for the device which includes a $75 gift card. What this means is that Walmart is actually paying $30 for each iPhone 5c they sell. Meanwhile, there still is a few days time before Black Friday sale kicks off, which means there still are chances of other retailers joining in to offer the best discounts. So keep watching!
A Roundup of the Best Black Friday iPad And iPhone Deals is a post from: E-Reader News |
New Report on Parent, Teen, Child eBook Consumption
 Photo courtesy of b4tea.com Non-profit industry tracker BookNet Canada released the results of a fall online survey to investigate the digital attitudes and practices of a variety of readers. Polling participants about the practices of young children, teens, and adults, with 823 adults and 221 teens responding, BookNet Canada discovered some telling things about the perceived state of ebook adoption. According to the findings, 41% of adults and 27% of teens identify themselves as regular ebook readers; of the teens who state that they do read ebooks, there was a fairly even split as to how many preferred print and how many preferred digital, indicating that ebook adoption–while prevalent–wasn’t a major factor in reading for teens. The data on devices utilized for reading was very interesting. With more respondents using a tablet than a dedicated e-reader, even the children were involved in tablet activity. Sixty percent of those under four had regular access to a tablet, while that number jumped to 80% for children ages eleven to thirteen. Teens report having access to an average of 4.8 devices each, while parents typically stated the per household number of devices was almost seven. Despite this wide availability, though, parents who responded that they read with their children still choose print; only one in four parents said they read ebooks with their kids. But what does this data indicate for the future, other than a steady embedding of digital reading in the culture? "Even parents who don't currently read ebooks predicted that they would be e-reading in the future," says Pamela Millar, BookNet Canada's Director of Customer Relations, in a press release on the study, "so we can conclude that this trend is likely to pick up steam." The full press release of the survey findings can be found HERE.
New Report on Parent, Teen, Child eBook Consumption is a post from: E-Reader News |
OverDrive Daily Holiday Gadget Giveaway
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We've got Holiday Fever and we are celebrating by giving away dozens of brand new reading gadgets to say "thank you" for being great library and school partners. In this season of giving, with every purchase order submitted at OverDrive Marketplace from November 24 through January 4, you will be automatically entered into our Daily Holiday Gadget Giveaway and will receive one entry to win a 16GB Google Nexus 7 tablet!
One librarian or media selector winner will be randomly selected every day! To enter, simply login to Marketplace and place an order. Winners will be selected online and posted on the Marketplace homepage every afternoon at 4:30 EST, so check back daily to see if that day is your lucky day! If you are logged into Marketplace at that time, you will see our "Daily Holiday Gadget Giveaway" widget make the live selection and display the winner. (OverDrive development elves are competing to demo the cleverest selection widget to randomly draw the daily winners.)
Remember to shop often – the more days you submit an order, the better your chances of winning. This may be the perfect chance to invite other members of your library or school team to submit an order. Each user that enters an order is entered into the daily holiday gadget giveaway.
And since Marketplace is compatible on all PCs, Macs, tablets and smartphones, you can shop (and enter the daily giveaway) anytime, anywhere… even at home in your PJs! Show us how you select and develop your digital media collection: send us photo submissions of you shopping for eMedia to blogs@overdrive.com for a chance to be featured on the OverDrive Library Blog or the Marketplace homepage. Best of luck!
Terms and conditions: Offer is open to Marketplace customers, age 18 or older, except where prohibited by law or policy. The prize is one Google Nexus 7 Tablet (16GB), and is subject to change based on availability. Limit of one entry per day per Marketplace account. Qualifying purchases must be placed between November 24, 2013, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time ("EST") and January 4, 2014, at 4:30 p.m. EST. No purchase necessary; to enter without a purchase, mail your contact information (name, address, email, telephone) and your Marketplace account name to: OverDrive, Inc., Holiday Gadget Give-A-Way, One OverDrive Way, Cleveland, Ohio 44125. Mail entries must be postmarked by January 4, 2014. Winners will be selected at random by OverDrive from qualifying entries. Prizes for each winner will be selected by OverDrive. Winners will be posted on the Marketplace homepage every day at 4:30 p.m. EST through the qualifying period. OverDrive will pay all shipping and handling fees for prizes. This offer may be modified, canceled or revoked at any time by OverDrive at its discretion. OverDrive employees and family members are not eligible for this promotion. Odds of winning depend on the total number of qualifying entries submitted.  |
Digital Comics Bargains for November 23, 2013
| It seems like there’s a big cross-platform sale every week; this week it’s on Geoff Johns’s Green Lantern comics, marked down to 99 cents an issue on comiXology, Kindle, and Nook. ComiXology says it’s a seven-day sale that kicked off on November 19, so it looks like you’ll have till Tuesday night to make your picks. ComiXology also has a sale on comics from the UK publisher Titan. This is a good time to check out Tank Girl, Death Sentence, or my favorite, Numbercruncher, for just 99 cents a pop. This sale ends Sunday night. Domo arigato! Dark Horse Digital has marked down three dozen robot-themed comics for the weekend; sale titles include The Bionic Man, Gigantic, Syn, and The Terminator, and prices range from 49 cents (for Syn #1) to $7.98 for The Compleat Terminal City. And if you’re in the mood for manga, Amazon has a sale on Viz digital manga for $5.99 or less. The three series that are on sale—One Piece, Demon Love Spell, and Case Closed—are the three that are on sale on Google Play for $5.99 per volume; Amazon has knocked them down a bit lower, to $5.79 each. Digital Comics Bargains for November 23, 2013 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Friday, November 22, 2013
How to Load APK Files on the Blackberry Z10, Q10, Q5 and Z30
| Blackberry 10 phones have always enjoyed a basic Android Emulator that allowed users to convert APK to BAR files and install them on your phone. This was often very complicated and warranted using our online convertor and then another piece of 3rd party software to load apps on your phone. Needless to say, this was quite the barrier to the vast majority of phone users that just want a better way to install apps. We now have that way. Blackberry has issued new firmware that will allow you to update your phone to Jellybean and install Android Apps (APK Files) at the click of a button. The only thing you need to do is install the latest firmware update, by download it from HERE and then plugging your Blackberry into your PC. The file is almost 1.9 GB and will factory reset your phone, so make sure you back it up first using Blackberry Link. After you install that file your Blackberry will reboot. The next step is to open up the default web-browser on the phone and type in http://apps.goodereader.com/android-apps/android-app-stores/?did=171 and this will download our App Store and install it. Once you have the app store installed on your phone, you can use it to download any app and install it whenever you want. You can browser the store on WIFI or on Data and there is no registration required. The Good e-Reader App Store currently has over 48,000 Android Apps and Games, and new content is added daily. The client will allow you to browser one of our 65 different categories and our robust searching mechanism will assist you in App Discovery. If you fancy leaving a review, you can login using Facebook Connect and leave a starred rating and review. Once you connect with Facebook you will have the power to store any app you download to the Good e-Reader Cloud. This means you can use the same account with all of your Blackberry and Android devices and easily install any of your prior files at the click of a button. How to Load APK Files on the Blackberry Z10, Q10, Q5 and Z30 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Amazon Prime Gifting Program Announced
| Amazon has just announced a new program that will allow you to gift a membership to Prime to another user. It costs $79 and gives you a ton of access for the one time fee. You can get Kindle First, which will give you eBooks months before their publication date. There is also free two shipping on all orders and one free eBook a month. Finally, residents of the US will be able to watch free movies and television shows. If you are in a gift giving mood, check it out. Amazon Prime Gifting Program Announced is a post from: E-Reader News |
Introducing GertDuino
| Gert van Loo is one of the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s earliest volunteers. We wouldn’t have a Raspberry Pi without Gert; he did the hardware engineering for the alpha boards which turned into the eventual Raspberry Pi you’ve got on your desk/taped behind the TV/in your ping-pong robot today. Gert created the Gertboard – our favourite GPIO expansion board – shortly after we launched Raspberry Pi. Besides these personal projects he still volunteers with us: he’s a forum mod, he worked on the Raspberry Pi camera board, he’s working on kids’ electronics kits for the Pi with us, and he dropped by the other day to show me a few of his latest projects, including GertDuino. We’re very excited about GertDuino. It’s basically an Arduino that mounts onto your Raspberry Pi, creating an all-in-one development environment – but unlike your standard Arduino, as well as having an Atmega 328 microcontroller, it also incorporates an Atmega 48 which gives you an IRDA interface, a batterry backup power supply, and a high-precision real-time clock, which many of you have been asking for. The Atmega 328 is Arduino-Uno® compatible, so you can clip on shields to your heart’s content. There are push buttons, a reset button, and a spangly array of LEDs – Gert feels that where one LED is great, six is always better. We love it. Gert says: “There has been a discussion on the forum from the beginning about the partnership that a Raspberry Pi and an Arduino can have. Both have their pros and cons, but together they’re great. So I decided to combine the two. But I wanted to do more than just add a microcontroller. The idea is that Gertduino can be programmed and developed on the PI, but then unplugged and used standalone. That is why there is a second controller with real-time-clock and IRDA interface. Plug in a motor shield and you can e.g. open the door of your chicken scoop [Liz interjects: Gert's first language is not English, and I am pretty sure he means coop, not scoop, unless he's got into meat processing when we weren't looking] every morning at 8 am. Or you can point a remote control at it and close your curtains from your chair. I added the RS232 interface so you can connect two boards over a long cable. It is the combination of these individual features which makes it so powerful.” Here’s a spot of home video that Gert shot during development, all excited because he got a motor shield working for the first time. Of course, being Gert, he’s not stopped with the hardware: he’s made a 30-page manual available too, complete with schematics and example code. GertDuino is currently available through Element14. You’ll find some more technical information at the link, as well as some video interviews with Gert. Thanks Gert – we’re looking forward to seeing what everybody gets up to with GertDuino! |
Let’s Help the Industry by Publishing FEWER Books?
| At yesterday’s Futurebook conference, one of the anticipated panels was once again the “big idea” panel in which industry professionals came together to propose ideas that will have an impact on publishing in the near future. Each of the eight panelists were given the chance to share and explain one key idea that could revolutionize or secure the book business. But with great ideas proposed like a ranking system for self-published authors to help ensure best practices and a streamlined device system that makes buying ebooks ridiculously easy, one of the better ideas was the focus on greater adoption of bundling of ebooks with their print counterparts, proposed by BitLit’s Peter Hudson. An exciting concept, proposed by Marcello Vena, general manager of RCS Libri, was that of “co-publishing,” a model that essentially lets traditional and small press publishers lend greater support to self-published authors through collaboration. Additionally, Rebecca Smart of Osprey proposed that the funeral march-pace of traditional publishing is practically artificial and needs to be sped up to keep up with the industry of ebooks. But one of the stranger ideas to come from the panel was the notion that publishers should be producing fewer titles, an idea introduced by Canongate’s Jamie Byng. Rather than describing a situation in which publishers withheld great books from consumers (which is what it sounds like on the surface of his argument), Byng feels that publishers should cut their titles–and therefore the number of authors they work with–and instead focus all of their efforts and attention on a few titles that they deem worthy. This idea, Byng espoused, would mean customers would come to really appreciate the greater-quality books being produced, and “second rate manuscripts” would stop filling publishers’ inboxes. This mentality about the nature and appreciation for books may very well be at the core of why so many authors–and their reader fans–are abandoning the sinking ship of the traditional publishing industry.
Let’s Help the Industry by Publishing FEWER Books? is a post from: E-Reader News |
The FutureBook Innovation Awards
| At this week’s annual FutureBook conference, put on each year by The Bookseller, a number of highly impactful and forward thinking companies were honored as Digital Innovation Awards winners and nominees. The awards, issued in a wide variety of categories, were given November 21st during the global digital publishing event. Nosy Crow, Random house, Rough guides, Bibliocloud, and Touch Press were all major winners at the event, based on judging criteria for everything from their websites to their book campaigns. Several other runners-up were award highly commendable status for their contributions to digital publishing. One of the non-surprising winners continues to be Dominique Raccah, publisher at Sourcebooks. The company is one of the go-to names when industry professionals think of leading the way in massive undertakings to spark digital innovation, especially with programs like this year’s collaboration with OverDrive for the Big Library Read and with Groupon for offering Put Me in the Story as a special. Raccah commented to The Bookseller: “I am honoured and more than a little overwhelmed to be receiving this award. But the truth is, this award isn't actually about me. It’s really about what we’ve all accomplished together. This digital transformation has created a community among us; one that fosters innovation, shares successes and failures, learns from one another, helps each other, and one that’s worldwide. Perhaps most important of all, transformation can sometimes be both frightening and isolating. It’s wonderful to know there are others facing the same challenges and creating new kinds of solutions. You are all, for me that community. And I thank you for the inspiration, friendship and support you’ve given to me and my team.” The complete list of award winners and their categories can be found HERE.
The FutureBook Innovation Awards is a post from: E-Reader News |
Who’s Who in Pioneering Stand Alone eBooks?
| A post today for Huffpo’s Books section is worthy of a share here on Good e-Reader: Howard Polskin, CEO and Editor in Chief, Thin Reads, listed his picks for some of the most powerful names in digital publishing, at least where the increasingly popular ebook singles are concerned, and we couldn’t agree more. In his post, “The 8 Most Influential People in E-Book Single Publishing,” Polskin lists the accomplishments and contributions to ebooks provided by a very short list of names. Polskin’s list includes David Blum, editor in chief, Kindle Singles; Donna Carpenter, chairman and CEO, New Word City; Matt Cavnar, Vice President, Business Development, Vook; Mink Choi, book producer, Thought Catalog Books; Maris Kreizman, editorial director, Digital Content, NOOK Media; Laura Owen, staff reporter, Gigaom; Evan Ratliff, co-founder, CEO, editor, Atavist; and John Tayman, founder and CEO, Byliner. One noted and overlooked name that we feel belongs on this list is Mark Coker, CEO and founder of Smashwords. While the ebook distribution site is admittedly not aimed specifically at the ebook singles market, Smashwords contains a wealth of titles that fall within the word count range for what is considered an e-short. The availability of this content on the Smashwords platform has arguably contributed to the rise in popularity of grabbing a quick read and enjoying the full story within the confines of a limited word count.
Who’s Who in Pioneering Stand Alone eBooks? is a post from: E-Reader News |
New Apple Minisite Shows Six Intuitive Uses of the iPad
| Apple is highlighting six stories that depict the use of the iPad in scenarios never originally envisioned. These have been compiled in a new page that forms the newest addition to the company's official website. The page, dubbed “Life on iPad,” can be the source of inspiration for many owners to explore new possibilities with their devices, and highlights ways the iPad has been used either by an individual or by a company with the collective aim of furthering their pursuit of achieving excellence, either professionally or personally. The iPad has been put to use, for example, by Dr. Eldo during complicated surgeries and saving people’s lives, by Vintner Christian Gastón to manage his 600 acre vineyard in California using the Field Assets app, and by technicians at Siemens Energy Wind Service to help enhance work efficiency. Others who have relied heavily on the iPad and have made a difference include Mark Post, an off-road racing driver and owner of the Riviera Racing Team; Jeff Whiting, a Broadway director and choreographer; and Bridie Farrell, a competitive speed skater. There could well be more such ingenious ways that the iPad has been used or is likely to be in future. Its newest releases, the iPad Air and the iPad Mini with Retina Display, have already received rave reviews and have rewritten the way tablets are designed or used.
New Apple Minisite Shows Six Intuitive Uses of the iPad is a post from: E-Reader News |
Mountrath Community College Describes Its eLearning Program Based on HP Elite Pad a Disaster
| With educational institutes around the world fast adopting digital means to ensure better education among students, at least one school, the Mountrath Community College in Laois, Ireland begs to differ. Its ambitious ‘books to ebooks’ move initiated amidst much fanfare more than a year ago has come a cropper. Unfortunately for HP, its Elite Pad tablet device has to bear the brunt of the blame as the device was often found wanting in its performance; so much that it prompted the school's principal to terms their move to adopt ebooks as “an unmitigated disaster”. As a quick gap solution, the principal has already called for physical books to be distributed to all students to ensure the session progresses smoothly. Each parents had to dole out €550 (market price €620) in lieu of the HP Elite Pad tablet device and as a consolation for them, the books are being provided free of cost. The school’s principal, Martin Gleeson in a letter to the parents said: “The roll-out of e-learning which involved the use of HP Elite Pads and e-books should have been an exciting and new way of moving forward. “The HP Elite Pad has proved to be an unmitigated disaster. We have met with HP representatives on a number of occasions to address the issues. “To ensure stability and continuity of education I have ordered a full set of books for all the students.” To have the right device is imperative for any e-learning program to succeed and the HP Elite Pads has failed on this on multiple counts. Among the issues that students reported having faced with the Elite Pads include Wi-Fi functioning erratically, system board failures, device not switching on or going into sleep spontaneously and so on. School authorities said they have put in almost 18 months' worth of research in choosing the right device though obviously that has proved to be flawed. The tablet device in question though has had fairly good reviews which makes it interesting to know why the units supplied to the school turned out to be faulty. HP has been hard at work to resolve the issues but has not been able to commit to any time frame so far. In a statement, HP stated they are “working very closely with Mountrath Community School to resolve some technical issues and is committed to doing so in the shortest possible time frame.”
Mountrath Community College Describes Its eLearning Program Based on HP Elite Pad a Disaster is a post from: E-Reader News |
Remembering JFK
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Today, on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the United States remembers the life, leadership, and legacy of our beloved 35th President. The circumstances surrounding the assassination still continue to fascinate, and in many cases, divide us as it may never be solved to everyone's contentment. Regardless of whether you accept the "lone gunman" theory or believe the many conspiracy theories, the image and memory of this day has a strong hold on the American mind.
In honor of this historic day, OverDrive has created a list of titles* that chronicle both the incredible life and tragic death of JFK. Titles in this collection include:
As the world still reeled from the tragic and historic events of November 22, 1963, William Manchester set out, at the request of the Kennedy family, to create a detailed, authoritative record of the days immediately preceding and following President John F. Kennedy’s death. Through hundreds of interviews, abundant travel and firsthand observation, and with unique access to the proceedings of the Warren Commission, Manchester conducted an exhaustive historical investigation, accumulating 45 volumes of documents, exhibits, and transcribed tapes.
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963 by Robert Dallek Drawing on previously unavailable material and never-before-opened archives, An Unfinished Life is packed with revelations large and small – about JFK’s health, his love affairs, RFK’s appointment as Attorney General, what Joseph Kennedy did to help his son win the White House, and the path JFK would have taken in the Vietnam entanglement had he survived. Robert Dallek succeeds as no other biographer has done in striking a critical balance – never shying away from JFK’s weaknesses, brilliantly exploring his strengths – as he offers up a vivid portrait of a bold, brave, complex, heroic, human Kennedy.
Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O'Reilly A riveting historical narrative of the shocking events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the follow-up to mega-bestselling author Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Lincoln. Now the anchor of The O’Reilly Factor recounts in gripping detail the brutal murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy – and how a sequence of gunshots on a Dallas afternoon not only killed a beloved president but also sent the nation into the cataclysmic division of the Vietnam War and its culture-changing aftermath.
Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery by Norman Mailer In perhaps his most important literary feat, Norman Mailer fashions an unprecedented portrait of one of the great villains – and enigmas – in United States history. Based on KGB and FBI transcripts, government reports, letters and diaries, and Mailer’s own international research, this is an epic account of a man whose cunning, duplicity, and self-invention were both at home in and at odds with the country he forever altered.
If Kennedy Lived, The First and Second Terms of President John F. Kennedy: An Alternative History by Jeff Greenfield November 22, 1963: JFK does not die. What would happen to his life, his presidency, his country, his world?
*Some titles are metered access and may have limited regional or platform availability. Check OverDrive Marketplace to find what is available for you.
Rachel Somerville is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.
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Thursday, November 21, 2013
Blackberry to Allow the Installation of APK Files with New Update
| Blackberry has been hit with hard times the last few years, as diminishing financial returns and flip flopping of management has made the vast majority of corporations losing confidence in the brand. There has always been a very loyal base of Blackberry users that have stuck with the company in the hopes things will turn around. According to a recently leaked OS, things seem very bright for the future of apps and games on all modern devices. A new leaked OS will allow Blackberry users to install APK files right on their device, without the need of jumping through all the hoops of installing BAR files on their phones. All you need to do is install the Good e-Reader App Store on your Blackberry Z10-Z30 and you will be able to download and install apps using the stock file manager program. One of the other benefits of the new 10.2.1.1055 OS is the upgrade to the Android Runtime, which will give users a dose of Jellybean. This will allow for even more apps to be installed. This new process will not mess up any BAR file you may have loaded in the past, and you will still be able to install apps under the old method of the Chrome Plugin or DDPB. Blackberry should be pushing the official update in the next few months via WIFI through their update feature. In the meantime, you can download and install it today for free for the Z10 and Z30. All you need to do is know what model number you have, which is found underneath the battery. Then, simply download the file you need under “Full OS Autoloaders” and click on the exe file, while your phone is plugged into your computer via the USB cable. It will then update your OS. Once you do that and your phone reboots, you can install the Good e-Reader App Store for Android and then clicking on your file manager to find the APK file on your device and then install it. Blackberry to Allow the Installation of APK Files with New Update is a post from: E-Reader News |
Congratulations to the 2013 National Book Award Winners!
| Each year the National Book Foundation presents awards to winners in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People's Literature. The four winners for 2013 were announced last night at a ceremony in New York City. This year's winners are:
Fiction: The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
Nonfiction: The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer Young People’s Literature: The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata Poetry: Incarnadine by Mary Szybist
We have created a list that features this year's winners, finalists, and longlist titles in Marketplace.
Established in 1950, the National Book Award is one of the most distinguished literary awards in the United States. Past winners include William Faulkner, Philip Roth, Flannery O'Connor, Alice Walker, and Allen Ginsberg.
To be eligible for a 2013 National Book Award, authors had to be American citizens and published books in the United States between December 1, 2012, and November 30, 2013.
Rachel Somerville is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.
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The Wolfram Language and Mathematica on Raspberry Pi, for free
| One of the best things about working on Raspberry Pi has been the opportunity to meet groups of people who are trying to bring about the same sort of change in the teaching of other subjects that we’re aiming for in computing. One great example is the computer-based math (CBM) movement, which aims to redefine the teaching of mathematics in schools away from mechanical calculation and towards problem solving. From their website:
Today, at the CBM education summit in New York, we announced a partnership with Wolfram Research to bundle a free copy of Mathematica and the Wolfram Language into future Raspbian images. We believe this will make the Pi a first-class platform for teaching CBM techniques to children of all ages. As Conrad Wolfram said today: “Coders will be able to use the power of Mathematica’s maths out of the box, not only enriching what they can do but also showing off the power and importance of maths.”  Plotting 3d graphs with Mathematica on Pi  Deeply inappropriate use of the Heaviside step function Future Raspbian images will ship with the Wolfram Language and Mathematica by default; existing users with at least 600MB of free space on their SD card can install them today by typing:
You’ll find Mathematica in the app launcher under the Education menu. We’d like to thank the team at Wolfram Research for the enormous amount of effort they’ve put to get the Wolfram Language and Mathematica running well on the Pi. Over the next few months we’ll be running a series of blog posts from Wolfram exploring some of the neat tricks you can get up to with them. This is going to be fun! |
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