| Diligent young scholars may benefit from the Amazon Student program launching in the United Kingdom today. The service is free for the first six months and gives discounts on Kindle devices and textbooks. Students who wants to participate in this program will need a valid email address from the college or university. Amazon is asking a few questions such as your chosen vocation of study and graduation date. One accepted, there are a bunch of free benefits such as free one day delivery and special rates for things being sent out in the evening. You can also get a 20% discount on the Kindle Fire and also physical textbooks. One of the main benefits of this service is for students to tap into the used textbook market via Amazon. Instead of visiting ebay, Craigslist or other secondmarket student sites, Amazon is hoping to entice students with their expansive ecosystem. The primary drawback of this program, is that students will automatically be enrolled in a discounted version of Amazon Prime at the end of the free six month program. Amazon is hoping to rope in a large percentage of the students who forget to cancel or read the terms and conditions.Still, Prime has benefits in the UK, such as Instant Video, Kindle Lending Library and many of the other flagship Amazon programs. Amazon Student Program Rolls Out in the UK is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Monday, March 31, 2014
Amazon Student Program Rolls Out in the UK
New website design is here!
| As you’ll know if you’ve been following us here and on social media recently, we’ve been hard at work redeveloping the Raspberry Pi website. We’re excited to announce our new-look site today! You’ll find this new site has the following features:
Have a look around and tell us what you think! Many thanks to Ben Nuttall for his design work, which we plan on using to repel new customers from now on. |
Nook Glowlight Gets New Firmware Update
| The Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight is the only e-reader the Nations largest bookseller actively markets. It came out at the tail end of last year and is their second generation e-reader with a front-lit display. Today, the company announced that there is a new firmware update available to install. - Improved Shop browsing The firmware 1.3.1 update is now available to be pushed out via WIFI. Its important to note that B&N tends to do a staggered release and if you don’t see it right away, just wait a few days. Nook Glowlight Gets New Firmware Update is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Humanoid Comics Enters the Digital World
| Humanoids Comics, one of the world's most successful graphic novel publishers, has entered the digital age by offering its ebook catalog on iTunes, Google Play and it's own store. It has also released an app for the iPad where users can sync their Humanoid account and browse catalogs but cannot purchase new material. The company is currently providing $25 to those who download the new new app in the first month. The funds can be used to purchase the first volumes of a graphic novel series in the Humanoid store. The store also provides free digital copies with the purchase of a physical one and other promotions like one free digital novel a month. According to Humanoids' Director, Alex Donoghue, "This offer, will be a great opportunity for our readers to discover new titles, as well explore the Humanoids App as not just a graphic novel and comics reader, but also a useful and easy platform to browse the Humanoids catalog on the iPad, full of many exciting features and exclusive deals." Although the app is a good first step, in our view, we are still looking forward to the ability to purchase titles within the app if a cheaper ebook option in not available on the Humanoid store. Hopefully, the 30% Google and Apple toll on all in-app purchases is not going to be a significant barrier for the company in the future. The only incentive to download the app, we believe, is to access the free content that Humanoid is providing. Otherwise, if you are only interested in digital copies, your best bet could be to look to Google Play or iTunes. We noticed that the Google Play bookstore provides the best price for some graphic novels. For example, Human Women of the Sacred Heart #3 could be purchased from Google Play for $4.75 or from the Humanoid store for $5.95 or iTunes for $5.99. The company recently relocated to California, from France last year and is expanding its offerings into new mediums. It is currently adapting many of its Humanoid titles into feature films. Humanoids is considered revolutionary, having influenced generations of writers and artist worldwide. Humanoid Comics Enters the Digital World is a post from: Good e-Reader |
JK Rowling to Write New Harry Potter Screenplays
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But it’s her business acumen that is really praiseworthy. After retaining the digital rights to the entire series long before ebooks and e-readers were expected to reach their current penetration in the industry, Rowling launched her own company and website to sell the ebooks, brokering deals that managed to make the titles available through major online retailers while still driving that traffic to her site. A few side projects later including three adult fiction titles, Rowling is back to the world of Harry Potter, this time penning new screenplays that feature the wizarding world. What was originally intended to be a stand-alone film based on a book that makes an appearance in the series, Rowling is now set to write three screenplays based on the story line, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Her partner in this project is none other than Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara, who has himself shaken up Hollywood for his calm but insightful decision making, including the recent release of the surprise hit Lego Movie. While this new set of films will not include Harry, Hermione, Ron, or any of the other characters who featured in the original series, it will actually lay the groundwork in some small way. Set seventy years before Harry is born and staged in New York instead of Hogwarts, the films will feature magician zoologist Newt Scamander.
JK Rowling to Write New Harry Potter Screenplays is a post from: Good e-Reader |
IPR License Launches Trade Rights to Foster International Rights Sales
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According to an announcement from IPR License, “Previously only available exclusively to members, the platform has now opened its doors to allow access for all interested parties across the industry looking to buy and sell whole book rights on a global scale. This will allow a wide-range of parties to make offers on titles and complete full transactions to help increase existing, and create new, revenue streams for all links in the publishing chain.” Until now, international book fairs were some of the only opportunities in the industry for international publishers to acquire rights to titles. This streamlined solution makes rights sales possible in an ongoing way, ideally speeding up the time to market for readers around the world to enjoy new titles. Tom Chalmers, Managing Director at IPR License, stated in the announcement, "It's evident from speaking to publishers all over the world that they clearly recognise the current wealth of opportunities available in rights and licensing. And that rights deals are no longer solely centred around book fairs and contact books. Rights will continue to be a personal business but through IPR License leads and revenue can be maximised 24/7 thanks to the ability to now complete deals from a desktop.” The ability to list a title for sale through Trade Rights is only available to members of the IPR License platform. This latest offering is part of IPR’s ongoing features updates that will launch throughout the rest of the year.
IPR License Launches Trade Rights to Foster International Rights Sales is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Kobo Now Issuing Credits for eBooks Antitrust Settlement
| Last week Amazon was the first to start sending out emails to Kindle customers informing them about credits that have been issued to their account in regards to the antitrust settlement case where the big five publishers had to pay-up for colluding with Apple to fix the price of ebooks. Soon after Amazon started issuing […] |
B&N Releases Software Update for Nook GlowLight
| Barnes and Noble has started rolling out a firmware update for the latest Nook GlowLight ebook reader. The new software is dated today, 03-31-2014, and the new firmware version is 1.3.1. The update adds a few new features, including an improved shopping experience, better searching, an issue count for list view with Newsstand, and they’ve […] |
Verso Reintroduces eBook and Print Bundling
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Interestingly, ebook bundling didn’t take off in the way that bookstores and publishers might have hoped. While the purpose was to entire digital fans not to have to choose one format over another, the concept never grew into the widespread marketing policy that some industry experts might have hoped. In fact, it’s now the self-published authors who are benefiting from Amazon’s Kindle Matchbook feature, which allows rights holders to offer the ebook at a discount of up to 100% for readers who purchase the print edition. Today, though, Verso Books has reinstated the concept in bookselling by announcing that all of its new titles a great number of its back list titles will be bundled. This is a bold move, considering the most that major publishers were willing to do was “experiment” with select titles for bundling promotions. Readers who purchase a print edition will be able to download their ebook edition from Verso’s online library for use on any device. More important than the extra value to readers, however, is the method of selling the bundled editions. With so much effort spent and wasted in 2013 on publisher-branded websites in an attempt to get consumers to purchase directly from the publisher instead of Amazon, the end result was that readers had no genuine source for book discovery without checking each publisher’s website. Verso Books will sell the bundled editions through its website and offer free shipping, making it more likely that its customers will come to the site hoping to find that extra value. The program will go into effect on April 8th.
Verso Reintroduces eBook and Print Bundling is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Podcast: New Nook Strategy Needed
| Welcome back to another awe inspiring edition of the Good e-Reader Radio Show with Michael Kozlowski and Jeremy Greenfield. Today on the show, we discuss the merits of Barnes and Noble taking advantage of their publishing unit to stock self-published titles in their bookstores and distribute them to libraries. Also, we talk the London Book Fair, Kids Reviews, digital reading surveys and eBook subscription services. Podcast: New Nook Strategy Needed is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Paper Lantern Lit and the Rise of the Hybrid Agent
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Agents, once considered the first-round gate keepers to getting your book published, have had to look for new ways to continue their relevance in a rapidly changing book market. Some agents, such as Deidre Knight of The Knight Agency and Scott Waxman of Waxman literary, were the first to embrace digital publishing as a viable option for their clients, citing the desire to get a client’s book “out there,” regardless of the interest from publishers. Ebook-only or digital-first became an opportunity to not cast aside a quality book that just hadn’t found its place in the market. What first grew out of a desperate need to not dismiss a book that agents felt strongly about has now grown into a viable first option for many authors and agents. Just as the industry has embraced hybrid authors and hybrid publishers, companies like Paper Lantern Lit and its resulting publishing arm The Studio, co-founded by Lexa Hillyer and bestselling author Lauren Oliver, have emerged to work with these authors in a one-on-one capacity. “The Studio is a boutique digital imprint,” explained Hillyer in an interview with Good e-Reader. “We publish e-only, with the intention that we build a platform for authors and attract the attention of others rights holders like print publishers and foreign publishers. We grow authors from the ebook format first, even though we come from a traditional publishing background.” In the traditional industry, the first step was always a hardcover edition to build an audience, then follow up with the lesser expensive paperback. But in a time when ebooks are selling in record numbers, it makes sense to begin with an edition that reaches almost as many readers as print without the prohibitive investment in printing. Powered by Vook’s award-winning ebook construction tools, The Studio will release the digital edition ahead of any plans for print. The Studio’s parent company, Paper Lantern Lit, grew out of a desire to work with authors to develop their books in a way that would appeal to a larger readership. “We wanted to come in and work with really talented writers and help them to develop their stories,” explained Hillyer. Once the work was complete, PLL would then shop the books to publishers, just as any literary agency would do. But with the advent of ebook readership, the company realized that a much more streamlined process would be to release the ebooks first in order to build a following for the books, just as those same publishers once did with hardcovers. But unlike self-publishing services, PLL’s The Studio works with authors in the same type of royalty structure that a publisher would, absorbing the cost of services to later be compensated by royalties from the sale of the books. The company launched last week with its first four titles: The Boyfriend Thief, Dollhouse, Eternal Night, and Beautiful Girl. While focusing on YA and NA, PLL does have projects in various genres and is open to submissions. “There’s a space in between self-publishing and traditional publishing where we can live.”
Paper Lantern Lit and the Rise of the Hybrid Agent is a post from: Good e-Reader |
School Libraries Adapt or Face Closure in Digital Age
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An article today for The Bookseller highlighted one school library system in the UK, North Yorkshire County, that will be closing its school library service effective March of 2015. The reason? Lack of use on the part of schools. Sadly, the closure of this subscription-based service that schools could opt to pay into will mean loss of qualified resource personnel to assist the schools, collections and titles that the schools could borrow, and even a 20% discount to some bookshops that children from member schools were entitled to, among other services. This school library service marks the fifth one that has closed across the UK in recent years. An interesting conundrum is taking place where libraries are concerned and it now appears to be affecting school libraries in an important way. In the US, studies have shown that less than half of survey respondents reported having visited a library or used its online portal in the last year, yet nearly all respondents stated that libraries were vital to their communities. It seems that citizens want libraries to exist, but much like in the case of North Yorkshire County’s schools, they don’t plan to use them. What is seen as a cause for the greater good isn’t fulfilling a need in the majority of stakeholders’ lives. One key issue that school systems face in the US is the political segregation of individual school systems. Having an area wide school library service would actually be a tremendous benefit. With some counties having as many as five or six different school systems in that county alone, each system having its own numbers of individual schools, having the option to subscribe to the privilege to borrow books from a centralized–even privately owned–library service makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, it’s not a behavior that school systems are used to engaging in. It is far more common to take an “every man for himself” approach to supplies and funding, leading to a serious amount of wasted funds. With the acceptance of digital content services like OverDrive, hopefully schools will abandon the notion that they do not share resources, even within their geographic locations, and school library services will continue to grow.
School Libraries Adapt or Face Closure in Digital Age is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Quake III bounty: we have a winner!
| At the end of February, Broadcom announced the release of full documentation for the VideoCore IV graphics core, and a complete source release of the graphics stack for the BCM21553 cellphone chip. To celebrate, we offered a $10k prize to the first person to port this codebase to the BCM2835 application processor that sits at the heart of the Raspberry Pi, and to get Quake 3 (which already runs on the Pi) running on the newly open ARM driver, rather on the closed-source VPU driver. Our hope was that the ported driver would be a helpful reference for anyone working on a Mesa/Gallium3D driver for VideoCore IV.  Hands up if you spent far too long playing this when you were young. I’m delighted to say that we have a winner. Simon Hall is a longtime Pi hacker, who also produced the first ARMv6-accelerated copies-and-fills library back in 2012 and wrote the DMA kernel module that we integrate in our Raspbian releases. The prize couldn’t have gone to a more fitting recipient. So, without further ado, here are Simon’s instructions for getting the driver up and running. SETTING UP THE DEVICE You will need:
We need plenty of space to build the kernel. Compiling will take around 12 hours, so it is helpful to overclock the Pi for this task. We also require the latest firmware, and the necessary packages we’re going to use to build the code. Note: We’re going to use gcc 4.7, as the code generated is 10% faster than with 4.6. 4.8 is 10% faster still, but this is not available on Raspbian. If you cross-compile you can get better frame times. Enter the raspi-config utility with: Expand the filesystem, set the overclock to at least medium (900 MHz), and reboot. Now perform an update with: and reboot again. We need to install several packages. Enter the following command to do this: FETCHING THE SOFTWARE Enter the following commands to retrieve the necessary software from GitHub: BUILDING THE KERNEL This will take around 10 hours with all kernel modules. Pruning the modules to the bare minimum can improve compile times if you wish. Enter the following commands: Enter “general setup”, select “local version”, enter the string “simon” and then exit to the main menu and save. Now build the kernel with: INSTALLING THE KERNEL Enter the following commands to install the new kernel: When the devices comes back up, verify that the new kernel is loaded with the following command: You should see something similar to this: BUILDING THE REST Enter the following commands to build the rest of the software: Next, verify that the module has installed with this command. You should see something similar to this: Now enter the following commands: SETTING UP THE GAME First of all you must ensure that you have the Quake 3 Arena data files on your Pi. You *require* the ‘point release’ pak files installed. There are various ways to do this but you could either transfer them from another machine with SCP, or copy them across on a USB stick. Copy the files into a folder called ‘baseq3′. This should now contain pak files numbered from 0 to 8 (eg pak1.pk3). Next, enter the following commands: RUNNING THE GAME Enter the game folder with the following command: Run the game using this command: If you wish to play the game after a reboot, you must run the following commands to re-load the necessary files: If you see multi-second pauses of the game, this is because the system is paging to swap! You can see this by running ‘top’ at the same time, and watch the swap usage jump during a spike. Close some running programs to alleviate this problem. Running the game without gdb and loading minimal kernel modules will prevent swapping. |
Google Amends App Store Policy to Regulate Quality
| Google has come up with a new set of guidelines for developers to follow, all aimed at establishing a safe environment for apps to flourish. As per the new rules introduced in the Google Play Developer Program Policy, developers will have to ensure their apps does not engage in immoral activities or attempt to deceive users with nefarious advertising policies. This will make it difficult for developers to issue pop-up alerts mimicking official Android notifications. Developers will also be barred from sending unsolicited SMSs for advertising purposes. Developers often resort to issuing Windows-esque dialog boxes warning users of their systems being prone to serious malware infections and other threats, thereby luring unsuspecting users to download various apps. The new amendment also enforces a clampdown on developers using sexually explicit content to promote such apps. Developers will also be barred from indulging in app installs or redirection to the Google Play Store without explicit user consent. Google has stated developers will have 15 days time to comply with the new guidelines before it starts banning apps that don't conform to the changed rules. The new amendment is the latest in a series of new measures that Google had introduced in ensuring its only quality apps that make it to the Play Store.
Google Amends App Store Policy to Regulate Quality is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Non-US Residents Should Not be Excited about the New Amazon Streaming Box
| Amazon is poised to announce a new television service in the form of a physical box or dongle. The plan is to showcase their Amazon Instant Video service and also secure 3rd party services, such as Netflix and the WWE Network. Sadly, the essence of this service will not work outside the USA or UK. Amazon does not allow international viewers to watch any of their streaming music or videos, so the new box is basically irrelevant. Next week at an event in New York, Amazon plans on announcing a new television service. No one really knows what it is all about, but they did file a series of FCC applications for a box, controller and other gizmos. Amazon has an extensive track record of being narrowly focused on the USA market when it comes to marketing their Instant Video services. The main reason people who would be excited about this box is the fact they can view Amazon Originals. Another component is being able to watch pilots and vote on the box if you want it to get made into a 13 episode season. In reality, no one outside the UK and USA should even care about what Amazon is doing. Ultimately, no matter what they release, Canadians won’t be able to view any of the Amazon content. If you want to get a box with Netflix and WWE Network and other things, get a Apple TV or ROKU. Non-US Residents Should Not be Excited about the New Amazon Streaming Box is a post from: Good e-Reader |
eBook Review: Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway
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Mystery writers have a whole new audience to write for considering the number of crossover fans who are picking up thriller titles today. McGilloway doesn’t disappoint, considering this title has elements of literary fiction, family relationships, current thematic elements, and even travelogue. D.S. Lucy Black is investigating a missing girl case for the Northern Ireland Police Department when she accidentally finds an entirely different missing girl, alone and wandering in the cold. The girl cannot tell police what happened, and seems to be unhurt despite being found covered in blood. As important as the case is, though, Lucy’s own personal life keeps disrupting her work, with both of her divorced parents having career histories in law enforcement. One thing that may be a put off for die-hard thriller fans but may actually appeal to the crossover fans is the pacing. While there are intensity moments, the story doesn’t move too quickly, and actually drags just a little bit in places. The abundance of characters involved in both missing girls’ stories can make it a little hard to follow in places, but having a notebook handy might help. One way in which this story is somewhat out of the ordinary is the personalities that come through in even the most hardened characters. Mystery fans might appreciate the depth of development that McGilloway attributes to these seemingly ordinary characters.
eBook Review: Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Why E-Readers Are Not Innovative Anymore
| Three years ago e-readers seemed to embrace new technology and give customers a reason to update their devices. In 2011 and 2012 we saw high resolution displays, color e-paper and the ability to read in the dark with front-lit screens. The constant innovation was directly attributed to the sheer amount of e-readers shipped between 2010 and 2012. Why the lack of innovation? e Ink, the largest company devoted to e-paper screen technology has become complacent. e-reader orders from companies like Amazon, Kobo, Sony and B&N have fell in the last few years. Total sales in 2013 were 13 million units vs 2012 where 14.9 million were sold. The largest boom period was in 2011 with 23.2 million units were shipped worldwide. The decline of e-reader sales were partly attributed to the consolidation of the industry. Indie companies such as Cool-ER, Entourage, iRex, Pandigital, Colby and many others went out of business. Bookeen, Ectaco, Icarus, Onyx, Pocketbook Wexler and others still exist, but they manufacture way less products. Major players in the industry such as Sony have scaled back on production and abandoned the North American market altogether. Barnes and Noble has seen almost one billion dollars of loss on their e-reader endeavor and is a non-factor in the industry. Amazon and Kobo are the only big players left in the game. The other primary factor responsible for the decline of e-readers is the lack of innovation from e Ink. The company has become complacent, only releasing incremental updates and has a bloated portfolio of old technology. They are simply not investing in the future of e-readers and are clinging to old technology. The last major thing they developed was Triton, a color e-paper solution. Only two companies ever bought into this technology and it basically went nowhere. The current generation of products that e Ink is actively marketing is Carta and Mobius. Basically the technologies main benefits are better contrast, more lightweight and higher resolution. Hardly gamechangers. 80% of e Inks revenue still derives from e-reader screen sales, but most of their focus is on digital signage. They are incorporating the essence of their technology into airport, luggage, clocks, watches and grocery labels. Instead of developing next generation e-reader tech, they are spreading themselves too thin, at the expense of their core market. The lack of innovation from e Ink is forcing their main partners to look at other avenues. Amazon purchased Liquavista from Samsung last year, and is rumored to be using color e-paper in future Kindles and tablets. I appreciate what companies like e Ink and Neonode have done for the e-reader industry. Without them, we would not have the long-battery life and easy to read devices we sometimes take for granted. e Ink as a company is one of the easiest to approach and always have time to talk to the media. It just feels like the world is passing them by and they have lost the disruptive spirit that had in 2010 and 2011. There are a few things I would recommend for e Ink in order to continue to stay relevant and start to innovative again. I would purchase Pixel QI, they have patents and have not been active since 2012, when Mary Lou Jepsen got hired at Google. There tech is a bit outdated by today’s standards, but they have hundreds of deals with government, military, and Chinese smartphone and tablet companies. I would also purchase Plastic Logic, a company that is at a crossroads of identity. They have RND in California and the UK, with a factory in Dresden. They have been doing excelled prototypes with secondary screens for cell phones and paperthin screens that have loads of potential. It is basically about acquiring patents and assimilating new talent. e Ink could do amazing things with executive John Ryan from Pixel QI and the RND team at Plastic Logic. It would inject a burst of creativity and open new markets for them. It might not change the game with e-readers, but it would allow them to survive the coming storm. Why E-Readers Are Not Innovative Anymore is a post from: Good e-Reader |
10 Free Kindle eBooks – March 30th
| Below is a list of free Kindle books as of March 30th, 2014. Please note that some of these ebooks are free for a limited-time only and could expire at anytime. Make sure to double-check that they are still free before hitting the buy button. And if you are looking to snag a new Kindle, […] |
Interest in Tablets Waning in the US, New Research Reveals
| New research by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has revealed Apple, Amazon, and Samsung are the key players in the US tablet market, controlling 43, 24,and 11 percent of the user base respectively. However, the market itself seems to be losing steam, with the slowdown being attributed to market saturation. The findings reveal tablet growth reached 37 percent, a 54 percent growth over 2012. A sizeable 53 percent of consumers stated they won't buy a new tablet in 2014, while another 34 percent said they are yet to make up their minds. Nearly 67 percent of those who said they are unsure about buying a tablet claim to know very little about tablet devices. Thankfully for the manufacturers, tablet awareness as a whole is considerably higher in the US, with just 4 percent stating they’ve never heard of the devices. Of the 53 percent who ruled out buying a tablet in the next 12 months, the majority (72 percent) said they are pleased with their current laptop or PC, while 42 percent said they aren't attracted to tablet devices; another 31 percent said they don't think owning a tablet makes much of a difference. A common reason for many (47 percent of those who are unsure and 25 percent of those who said they won't buy a tablet ) to not invest in a tablet was the high price, despite the fact that the average cost has dropped to $300. As for particular brands, the iPad is on top with 32 percent claiming to use it daily. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Note devices come in second with 24 percent claiming to use it every day. Kindle Fire makes up the third slot with 10 percent claiming to use it regularly.
Interest in Tablets Waning in the US, New Research Reveals is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Good e-reader App Store Unveils Update Notification System
| One of the pitfalls of a heavily curated app store, with an emphasis on quality, is that sometimes Android or Blackberry apps are out of date. In the past, we had to rely on people pinging the Admin Team on message boards, or our Youtube Videos. This resulted in some popular apps being hopelessly out of date and people expressed their general disdain. We now have a new system that makes letting us know an app needs an update quickly, easily, and anonymously. The Good e-Reader app update notification system just went live on our website and will be coming to our fleet of apps soon. The flag resides next to the version number, in the app description. If you have installed an app on your Android or Blackberry device and get a message that it needs an update, you can now let us know. We promise that any requests will be resolved within 12 hours. Visit the App Store today and check it out. Comment below if you have any problems using the tool. Good e-reader App Store Unveils Update Notification System is a post from: Good e-Reader |
