Changing Formats: From Scroll to Codex to eBooks

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

This is a lovely piece on changing formats!

Changing Formats: From Scroll to Codex to eBooks

by Jack Lyon

Electronic reading devices abound. There’s the Kindle, the Nook, the Kobo, and many, many more. Electronic formats abound. There’s EPUB, Plucker, Mobi, and many, many more. But for thousands of years, there was only one way to read a book: by unrolling a scroll.

Scrolls offered some big advantages over their predecessors, stone columns and clay tablets. They were easy to make, easy to write on, and didn’t weigh much. They were also compact, holding a lot of text in a relatively small space. But they had one big disadvantage: they could only be accessed sequentially. In other words, if you wanted to read the 77th column of text on a scroll, the only way to get there was to “scroll” through the first 76 columns. Remember the good old days of cassette tape players? If…

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Daily Links: Netflix comes to Australia

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Digital Life:

Google Play Books Expands into Bulgaria, Croatia, Iceland, Slovenia, And Slovakia (Ink, Bits & Pixels)

Atria Halts Publication of ‘The Whole Pantry’ (Publishers Weekly)

Get ready for Optimus Prime shipping: FAA approves Amazon drone experiments (Ars Technica)

An Open Letter to Parents From a Teenage YouTuber (Recode)

Better World Books Will Sell You a Used Book, or a Scanned Copy for $2 More (Ink, Bits & Pixels)

Security:

Oh, Crap: Apple is Pulling Antivirus Apps from iTunes App Store (Ink, Bits & Pixels)

OpenSSL warns of two high-severity bugs, but no Heartbleed (Ars Technica)

Pernicious Mobile Ads Now Hijacking, Redirecting Some Users From Safari to iTunes (Ink, Bits & Pixels)

Telephone and Broadband:

NYC official wants Comcast to offer $10, 10Mbps Internet after merger (Ars Technica)

Comcast’s gigabit technology is ready for field testing (Ars Technica)

Gaming and Streaming:

Netflix New Releases for April 1st, 2015 (Gear Diary)

HBO GO comes to the Amazon Fire TV Stick (Android Central)

Netflix Launches In Australia With Prices Starting At A$8.99 A Month (Android Police)

The NFL Will Stream a Game on the Web Next Year. Don’t Get Used to It. (Recode)

Tips, Tricks and How-to:

How to play and pause content on Chromecast with a TV remote (Google Chromecast)

Best iPad Bluetooth keyboards (Tab Times)

How to turn photos into Android wallpapers (Android Central)

Too Embarrassed to Ask: Wi-Fi v. Bluetooth (Recode)

In choosing a tablet, what screen size is right for you? (Tab Times)

Apps:

20 best kids’ educational apps and games on Android tablets (Tab Times)

Finds and Deals:

Amazon Kindle Daily Deals include the classic Mrs. Mike, as well as romance, science fiction and business titles.

Nook Find of the Day is Ruhlman’s Twenty: 20 Techniques, 200 Recipes, A Cook’s Manifesto by Michael Ruhlman, Donna Turner Ruhlman (Photographer) for $3.99. This is a super deal!

Kobo Daily Deal is Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult for $1.99.

There are some great promotional offers available with the purchase of a Chromecast streaming player. Offers include free trials of Quello concert service, DramaFever, Sesame Street Go and more. The offers appear after you have activated your device (see details here).

Amazon free App Bundle

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Amazon is offering a free app of the day bundle for today, Thursday, March 19, 2015. There are 34 apps in the bundle. Choices include productivy app for tethering, syncing and photograpy, music apps and loads of games, including Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon.

Daily Links: Rakuten buys Overdrive

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Digital Life:

Are Message Boards on the Way Out? (Teleread)

30 times the novel has been declared dead since 1902 (Vox)

New App Blocks Profanity From Being Displayed On eBooks (Galley Cat)

Pushkin Press Announces New Crime Imprint: Pushkin Vertigo (Publishing Perspectives)

ICANN, Copyright Infringement and the Public Interest (Wahsington Post)

Rakuten Buys OverDrive; What’s it Mean for Kindle Library Books? (The Ebook Reader)

Telephone and Broadband:

LG’s ridiculously cute AKA gets a wider release (Android Central)

Gaming and Streaming:

Watch Thousands of Free Movies at Documentary Heaven (Lifehacker)

How Many People Want to Pay for ESPN? The Web Will Tell Us. (Recode)

Discovery Channel Founder Starts Nonfiction Streaming Video Service Recode)

Chromecast update allows some users to control it with a TV remote (Android Central)

PlayStation Vue launches live-TV service in three cities, starts at $49/mo (Ars Technica)

Apple Reportedly Gearing Up for Online Television Service (Gear Diary)

Classic FPS Descent to be rebooted by Star Citizen alums

Tips, Tricks and How-to:

How to use FaceTime on iPad (Tab Times)

How to Access Dropbox on Chrome OS (Google Chromecast)

Finds and Deals:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals for today feature romance, biography and science fiction, including Walter Tevis’ classic, The Man Who Fell to Earth (the basis for the amazing 1976 film staring David Bowie).

The NOOK Find of the Day is The Rise (The Originals Series #1) by Julie Plec for $2.99. This is a tie-in to the TV series.

The Kobo Daily Deal is The Lions of Lucerne – The Scot Harvath Series (Book #1) by Brad Thor for $1.99.

Daily Links are interesting links I discover as I go about my online day. The frequency and number of links posted depend upon the daily news. I also post other, different links of interest on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links: The one ebook you need to read

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Digital Life:

The One Ebook You Have to Read If You Love Digital Books (Gizmodo)

Whole Foods May Stop Selling CDs… (Digital Music News)

How Up to Date Is “Goodnight iPad”? (Gear Diary)

Telephone and Broadband:

Internet providers ordered to stop hiding the true size of monthly bills (Ars Technica)

What Is 5G, and What Does It Mean for Consumers? (Recode)

Gaming and Streaming:

Verizon’s Video Service Is Coming This Summer, and Will Feature Stuff From DreamWorks and AwesomenessTV (Recode)

Apps:

Firechat – “Off-The-Grid” Public Chat Without Using Internet/Coverage (Gear Diary)

Maker of Facetune Takes on Photoshop With Enlight, a Mobile Photo Editing App (Recode)

20 best puzzle games for the iPad (Tab Times)

Tips, Tricks and How-to:

How to turn off the keyboard noise on your iPad (Tab Times)

How To Disable Third-Party Cookies In Google Chrome (Google Chromecast)

Infographic: Who’s Tracking You Online, and How to Fight it (Ink, Bits & Pixels)

Finds and Deals:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals include December 6 by Martin Cruz Smith, romance, business and money, science fiction and kids deals.

The NOOK Find of the Day today is a collection of classic British mysteries featuring works from celebrated authors Margery Allingham, Adrian Alington, and Edmund Crispin for just $1.99 each! There is also a bonus offer: buy the current issue of select NOOK magazines–including Martha Stewart Living & Family Circle— for only $0.99 each!

Today’s Kobo Daily Deal is Budapest Noir by Vilmos Kondor for 99 cents.

Daily Links: $4 Divergent Digital and Cards against Humanity Online

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Digital Life:

Total BooX: Ebooks for the Way the 21st-Century Reader Reads (Publishing Perspectives)

If you hate PC bloatware, here are the vendors to avoid (PC World)

No, You’re Not Giving Away Your Online Identity (Recode)

Gaming and Streaming:

Stream music concerts and documentaries on your Roku (Quello)

A Party Game for Horrible People, Cards Against Humanity Available Online (Gear Diary)

Apps:

Hooks Will Make Sure You NEVER Miss a Notification (Gear Diary)

Top 15 file manager for Android tablet apps (Tab Times)

VLC for iOS Returns! The Do-All Media Player for All Devices (Gear Diary)

Tips, Tricks and How-to:

How to Install Custom Dictionaries on Your Kobo eReader (Ink, Bits & Pixels)

Finds and Deals:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals include the In the Land of the Long White Cloud Series at $1.99 each, also science fiction and fantasy, romance and health titles.

Today’s Deal on Amazon is Norton Security (For 5 Devices) for $29.99. It is available as a physical package or as a digital download.

In the Games department, until March 20th, there is a 50% off sale on full versions of G5 games for the Kindle Fire and other android devices:

There are also some in-app purchases for select G5 games available at 50% off.

NOOK Find of the Day is It’s Classified: A Novel by Nicolle Wallace for $1.99

Kobo does not have a Daily Deal listed today but does have a selection of children’s and YA books on sale.

Want to see the first film in the YA Divergent series? Grab Divergent Digital for $4, #DivergentWatchParty on Twitter Tonight!

Daily Links: Google allows company news to top search results

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Digital Life:

The Old Reader Will Soon Show Sponsored Posts to Readers (Ink, Bits & Pixels)

Google change allows company statements to top news searches (Reuters)

Why It Takes More than Unplugging to Solve Modern Stress (Mediashift)

Gigaom, one of the better tech journalism sites around, shuts down (Ars Technica)

First Google Shop in London on Tottenham Court Road (Google Chromecast)

Telephone and Broadband:

Why America’s Internet Is So Shitty and Slow (Gizmodo)

Swedish Company Doro Announces Smartphone for the Blind and Elderly (Gear Diary)

FCC Finally Releases Net Neutrality Rules (Recode)

Gaming and Streaming:

FTC Targets DirecTV Over Advertised Discount Service (Recode)

Sling TV Service Expands New Channel Offerings/’Hollywood’ Add-On (Gear Diary)

Tips, Tricks and How-to:

How to Use IFTTT to Send Content From Dropbox, Feedly, Pocket, and Instapaper to Your Kindle (Ink, Bits & Pixels)

How E Ink’s Electronic Paper Technology Works (Video) (The EBook Reader)

How to take a screenshot on an iPad (Tab Times)

Finds and Deals:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals include romance, business, science fiction and kid’s titles.

The Nook Find of the Day is The Falconer (#1) by Elizabeth May for $1.99.

The Kobo Daily Deals is A Test of Wills by Charles Todd for $1.99.

Library Corner: 3-11-2015

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

OverDrive Fixes Technical Issue with Kindle Library eBooks (The Ebook Reader)

Findaway World Launches a Kids Tablet Designed for Libraries, Classrooms (Ink, Bits & Pixels)

New Online: College Art Association (CAA) Publishes “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts” (Infodocket)

Welcome to the Future—at Your Library (American Libraries Magazine)

The Growth of Ebooks in Cuba (Havana Times)

In Haiti, a library with no books transforms the way kids learn (Christian Science Monitor)

Digital Collections:

Reference: IRS Launches Searchable Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers (Infodocket)

Charlie Hebdo Attack Web Archive From Archive-It & Bibliotheque Nationale de France (Archive-it)

The British Library’s Endangered Archives Program Releases Another 500,000+ Images Online (Infodocket)

New York Philharmonic Digital Archives (New York Philharmonic)

NATO Archives Discloses Documents Related To The Events In Poland 1987-1991, View Online or Download Complete Set (Infodocket)

Denmark’s Largest Digital Archive *site and archives are in Danish* (arkivdk)

Ohio: State Treasurer Partners with State Library of Ohio to Publish Centuries of Online Annual Financial Reports (Infodocket)

Once a week, I post links to digital-related library news articles and information about new digital collections available online.

Daily Links: Google Play Books rife with Malware?

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Digital Life:

Google Play Books is Rife With Malware, Phishing Scams (Ink, Bits & Pixels)

Consumers Want It Both Ways: Free Content With No Tracking (PBS)

Do You Pick Gadgets Based on the Accessories? (Gear Diary)

Google caves to porn lovers, rescinds Blogger ban on adult content (Ars Technica)

In A World Where Email No Longer Exists (Techcrunch)

Broadband and Telephone:

FTC to award $25,000 for the best honeypot design to trap robocalls (Ars Technica)

Gaming and Streaming:

‘HBO Now’ Standalone Streaming Service Could Launch in Time for Game of Thrones (Mediaite)

Theaters dig in heels, refuse to show Netflix’s Beasts of No Nation (Ars Technica)

Sling TV’s Web-TV Service Attracts at Least 100,000 Sign-Ups in Its First Month (Recode)

Comcast is not saying when it will make HBO Go available on the PS4 (Ars Technica)

Rock Band 4 will thrash in 2015—and so will its old guitars, drums, DLC (Ars Technica)

Tips, Tricks and How-to:

6 easy ways to control your Android phone from your tablet (Tab Times)

Five Sites to Help You Find Your Next Read (Ink, Bits & Pixels)

iPad screen protectors – Do you need one? (Tab Times)

Finds and Deals:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals include history, romance and childrens titles.

The Nook Find of the Day is What Doesn’t Kill You by Iris Johansen for $2.99.

The Kobo Daily Deal is Zom-B by Darren Shan for $2.99.

E-Ink E-readers: Amazon is still offering the basic Kindle for $59. Kobo’s website says that is offering its Aura e-reader for $99.99. However, I can only get it to show up in my cart for its regular price of $129.99 when I try to checkout. I am not sure if the sale is over or the sale price is not yet in effect. I’d advise checking prices before you purchase.