Sep 26

Audio Books Need Love too…

“By way of introduction, our friend Jorgen sent in this post to draw attention to the audio book features on various eBook Readers out there. Many thanks! J.C.”

Since many ebook-reading devices can play mp3, I thought some of you would find the following links interesting.

I prefer reading to listening, but the history podcasts by Lars Brownworth in mp3 format are incredibly interesting and I would strongly recommend that you give them a try even if you are not a history buff. All the podcasts are free of charge.

Mr. Brownworth was a history teacher when he created the first set “The History of the Byzantine Empire,” but resigned in order to research and write the book published earlier this month “Lost to the West” and, yes, there is a Kindle version, but as far as I can see, nothing for the rest of us.

More recently, he has started a new series based on the Norman Centuries.

If you are a history buff, try searching Google for an example: “history podcasts.”

Jorgen’s World

Sep 25

eBook Format Options

What’s new about this article at the New York Times is the rather matter-of-fact tone it takes when discussing a relatively new technology. That suggests a comfort level that few expected this early in the eBook Revolution.

What also stands out is that the number of eBook formats is shrinking rapidly, with ePub (as predicted) moving quietly into the lead.

It’s an excellent article that puts the onus on the actual eBooks while grouping the machines from Kindle to Sony together with “small, low-end phones that can display just a few lines of text at a time.”

It’s all about the content, yah?

Sep 24

eBook Apps for iPhone

Okay, we’ve been so obsessed with the rumored Apple Tablet that we’ve quite neglected the iPhone and iPod Touch, both technological workhorses (wonders?) making their own contribution to the eBook Revolution.

Macworld Canada’s Danny Bradbury offers a list of new and upgraded free (or mostly free) APPS that will transform your handheld device into an eBook Reader.

Sep 23

Barnes and Noble’s eBook Reader Closer to Reality…

Barnes & Noble  has competed with Amazon as an online book retailer for years and now stands poised to open the battle on another front.

Brighthand.com has a story about Barnes & Noble’s own eBook reader receiving FCC approval. (That approval is a clear signal that the B&N device will offer wireless eBook downloads similar to Amazon’s Kindle.)

Other than a simple outline of the device the filing on the product offers little else. Check out the story to see it.

Amazon must be burning the midnight oil to come up with ways to maintain whatever lead they still have. I would love to be a fly on the wall in the Kindle boardroom, yah?

Sep 22

IN SEARCH OF…

The Apple Tablet: Beast of Myth and Legend. Imagine Leonard Nimoy saying that, and you’ll get the picture. Well, anyone over thirty will…

Jeff Bertolucci, at PC World is wondering about the rumored Apple Table in an article. It’s full of speculation (understandable since the thing’s existence has never been confirmed) but it’s a good read. Some of us were predicting its launch in September but got more rumors and others are looking toward Christmas. Computerworld has already compared it to Sony’s wireless reader in a story.

It really exists, doesn’t it? I mean, we’ll soon have to send in the cryptozoologists, yah?

Sep 21

Interesting article at Computer World

Computer World writer Mike Elgan offers a list of suggestions to improve eBooks. While I don’t agree with everything Mr. Elgan has to say, I do like the uncompromising stance in this well-written piece. The moral of the story is clear. If publishers don’t correct their courses and adapt, the marketplace will fix things for them.

Times have changed, publishers: Evolve or die out.

Sep 20

Google Books Battle Continues…

CNN reports that efforts by the Open Book Alliance (which includes Google Book’s biggest rivals, Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon) are starting to pay off as the U.S. Justice Department urged a federal court judge to reject the settlement that would allow Google Books to scan vast numbers of books, entire libraries and install them online.

Our friend Jorgen pointed us to My Way News for  more in-depth coverage of the same story.

Things are heating up, but there’s a long way to go before you can count Google Books out. They’ve taken it this far, and they’ve got the resources to out-fight anyone on the corporate front.

Sep 19

Amazon claims Dan Brown’s new Kindle release is outselling the hardcover…

I always take facts and figures with a grain of salt when they’re coming from an ambitious corporate giant like dear Amazon. But we’ve all heard the news about Dan Brown’s Davinci Code sequel, The Lost Symbol, being released this week.

Now Amazon is claiming their Kindle version is outselling the hard copy. Read about it at cnet.

I hope it’s true because it’s a real boost to the eBook Revolution’s street cred, yah?

Sep 18

We’ve been expecting this to happen…

There’ll soon be open battle in the eBook Revolution. This update from Jorgen. PCWorld, much like the rest of us, is predicting the outbreak of an eBook Reader war. Read the article here.

They’re warning us to be cautious when making an eBook reader purchase since the next year is going to see a wide variety of new machines and devices arrive on the market with accompanying variation in price. They’re also predicting the possibility of cross-platform eBook format problems, and that might prove true in some cases. Frankly, I think only an idiot would release an eBook reader with a proprietary format at this point in the game.

I’m just curious to see if everyone’s going to join in on the ePub formatting. Now that Google Books and Sony Reader is switching to that format, and with Amazon’s distress over its Kindle-only eBooks, it would surprise me if anything came onto the market that did not read ePub. But I’ve been surprised before, yah? And some of the rumored economy-class machines might sacrifice flexibility for price. Time will tell.

Sep 17

The Video in Entertainment Weekly Magazine.

We mentioned this story back in August about the world’s first video commercial in an actual magazine, a September issue of Entertainment Weekly. It’s now available. Read about it  and watch some video here at BBC. Remember, this is only excitig to me because it suggests publishers might find a way to make money from advertising that doesn’t involve jamming video advertisements into our eBooks. We’re going to have a tough enough time keeping spam and hotlinks out, yah?