Monthly Archives: April 2016

Bezos announces new Kindle

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Today, Jeff Bezos himself let the world know that there is a new Kindle coming:

The fun is already starting on the speculation on this one. The phrase “top of the line” hints at at a new Kindle Voyage model. There has been speculation for a while about a Voyage 2 model.

On the other hand, the lasted iteration of the Paperwhite  is the one with the generation number, not the Voyage.

I find it somewhat interesting that the announcement by Jeff Bezos (unusual in itself) comes the same day as Amazon is offering big discounts on current Kindle models. Today, if you subscribe to Amazon Prime, then you get $30 off the basic Kindle, thePaperwhite and the Kindle Voyage.

I was considering buying a new Paperwhite (today’s savings are great!) but now I am not sure. I didn’t buy a Voyage because the improvements were not enough to make me pull the trigger on a new one.

People are already making wish lists for the new models. Do you want to see better fonts, the return of text-to-speech, a bigger or better screen. Are you interested in the newest shiny thing or are you happy with what you’ve got? What’s on your Kindle wishlist?

Daily Links and Deals: FCC’s “nutrition labels” for broadband show speed, caps, and hidden fees

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daily_links_1Today, stories on free MLB TV, “Nutrition labels”  for  broadband users, accessibility issues and barriers, and more. Today’s deals include a killer price for a vacuum cleaner, great deals on Kindles and Fire tablets and TVs. And there are some special Kindle deals for Prime members!

Daily Links for Monday, April 4, 2016:

How to get a free year of MLB TV premium if you’re a T-mobile customer – A $109.99 value (9 to 5 Google) This offer is good between April 3rd and 10th. Be sure to follow the signup instructions. And, its part of the Binge On program!

Kindle Voyage Getting the Cold Shoulder in Canada (The eBook Reader) This is a very pricey ereader….

FCC’s “nutrition labels” for broadband show speed, caps, and hidden fees (Ars Technica) I think this sort of transparency would be a very good thing! Taxes and fees greatly increase the sticker costs of phone, internet and other services.

Happy Anniversary to the World’s First Cell-Phone Call (Motherboard) This was from yesterday, but a great blast from the past.

GAO Report: National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) Needs to Work on Access and Modernizing Technology (Infodocket) This report calls out not not only the accessibility issues, but the barriers to getting certified to use those service.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry, Jean Greaves for $1.99.

In Today’s Deals,  a $39.99 vacuum, lots of Kindle and Fire deals, including the 4K Ultra HD Fire TV and more.

Are you a Prime member? Amazon is offering $30 off the basic Kindle, the Paperwhite and the Kindle Voyage if you subscribe to Amazon Prime. (The discount is applied at checkout.)

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court by John Wooden for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is The Warrior Vampire (Last True Vampire Series #2) by Kate Baxter for $2.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is  The Harrow Series: Three Novels – Boxed Set of Nightmare House/Mischief/The Infinite by Douglas Clegg for $2.99.

Kobo is also offering Select Romantic Times winners & nominees on sale for a limited time only.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes Death Before Decaf – A Java Jive Mystery by Caroline Fardig for $2.99.

(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.

Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)

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 Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links and Deals: There Are Some Super Shady Things in Oculus Rift’s Terms of Service

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daily_links_1In today’s stories, includes news about how we capitalize the word internet, how to encrypt your your iOS or Android device and some really scary clauses in Oculus Rift’s TOS. In the deals for today, how about a deal on a 4K TV?

Daily Links for Sunday, April 3, 2016:

The death of ‘Internet’ (Techcrunch) They mean the capitalization of the word, not the internet itself.

This may be the funniest ‘don’t text and drive’ ad you’ve ever seen (CNET) This is not your usual PSA.

There Are Some Super Shady Things in Oculus Rift’s Terms of Service (Gizmodo) Whoa! And this is why we should *ALWAYS* read the TOS.

How to encrypt your iOS or Android device (CNET) Here’s a primer on keeping your personal data protected.

Freebie Alert! SAGE Offers Free Full Text Access to All of Their 940+ Journals This Month (Infodocket) These encompass the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science, Technology, and Medicine. Offer ends April 30, 2016.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes Hunting Shadows: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd for $1.99.

In Today’s Deals, Amazon is offering a Samsung UN55JU6500 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV (2015 Model) for $719.99. They also still have deals on Fire tablets: You can get 30% off the Fire HD (it’s $69.99). This is my favorite fire and you can read my review here. Amazon is also offering pre-owned Fire tablets starting at $29.98. 🙂

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin for $1.99.The Romance Daily Find is The Forgotten Recipe by Amy Clipston for $1.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is an interesting sounding alternate history story: The Darkest Hour by Tony Schumacher for 99 cents.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell by Aldous Huxley for $1.99.

(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.

Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)

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 Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links and Deals: Flint Public Library to archive stories of residents living through the water crisis

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daily_links_1In today’s links, we have a article about the Flint Public Library archiving the stories of city residents and the poisoned water crisis. We also have stories on poetry and location, machine learning and more. In today’s deals, we have both new and pre-owned Fire tablets and NOOK-branded Samsung tablets. Plus, you can get 75% off NOOK accessories.

Daily Links for Saturday, April 2, 2016:

Flint Public Library to archive stories of residents living through the water crisis (Michigan Radio) The Flint Public library is opening its recording studio to residents so they can tell their stories.

Exploring Poetic Places: Launching the App (British Library Digital Scholarship) Here’s an app that lets you know if you are in a place described in a poem.

How to approach machine learning as a non-technical person (Techcrunch) Have you ever wondered what that term means? Here’s some plain language clarification.

In Search of Haruki Murakami: A Documentary Introduction to Japan’s Great Postmodernist Novelist (Open Culture) Want more info on this almost compulsive obsession we have with Haruki Murakami?

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes J.K. Rowling’s The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm are $2.99 each.

Included in Today’s Deals, there are deals on Fire tablets: You can get 30% off the Fire HD (it’s $69.99 today). This is my favorite fire and you can read my review here. Amazon is also offering pre-owned Fire tablets starting at $29.98. 🙂

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is If You’re Lucky by Yvonne Prinz for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is The Idea of You (Ribbon Ridge Series #4) by Darcy Burke for 99 cents.

STILL AVAILABLE: B & N has a current special where you can get a NOOK Bundle Offer: 10″ NOOK Device, Free Screen Film and Free Cover of Your Choice- a $330+ Value for Just $199.99. And finally, you can take 75% off all Nook Accessories.  And if you have jumped on the coloring books bandwagon, B & N  now has Harry Potter Magical Places & Characters Coloring Books available.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is The Cuckoo’s Calling A – Cormoran Strike Novel (Book #1) by Robert Galbraith, J. K. Rowling for $2.99.

STILL AVAILABLE:  Kobo  has the Great Reads For $1.99 or Less promotion.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes The Grownup by Gillian Flynn for $2.99.

(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.

Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)

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 Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links and Deals: In San Jose, Poor Find Doors to Library Closed

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daily_links_1In today’s links, there are several stories about the digital divide, a new MLA handbood edition, and the massive backlash to Google’s April Fool’s prank. In today’s deals, there are delas on LED bulbs, Bluetooth speakers and more.

And an FYI, I don’t like them, so I don’t knowingly post joke articles. I have spent the last 2 days trying to explain to people that Jim Morrison is not really alive in a Paris retirement home, so….

Daily Links for Friday, April 1, 2016:

FCC votes to help poor people buy broadband and protect privacy online (Ars Technica) Access to the internet has to be recognized as a basic essential service.

Streamlining Citations: New MLA Handbook seeks to make citing sources from a variety of media easier and more commonsensical. (Inside Higher ED) Easier electronic citations? Oh, yes! I’m in, even though it’s paper. You can pre-order here.

In San Jose, Poor Find Doors to Library Closed (New York Times) This is a story about the digital divide that needs to be told. There needs to be a solution for this problem.

Revisit the mid-2000s through iPod commericals (The Verge) A nostalgic collection of  the commercials? Why not? Happy 40th Birthday, Apple!

Classic SNES controller returns with an upgrade: The Bluetooth SNES30 & smartphone holder (The Next Web) Wow, does this bring back memories….

Google’s April Fool’s Prank Backfires Spectacularly (Quartz)  Consequences like these are part of the reason I hate April Fools’ Day jokes.

Why Are SIM Cards Still a Thing? (Motherboard) A little history and perspective on that little card that makes  the phone truly yours.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes The Silent Girls by Eric Rickstad for 99 cents.

In Today’s Deals, Amazon has deals on dimmable LED bulbs, Bluetooth speakers, pre-owned Fire tablets, and a Wireless In Ear Headset with On-Board Mic , Dual-Ear Configuration , Audio Playback and Sports Earhook by GOgroove. 

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is I Saw the Light: The Story of Hank Williams by Colin Escott, George Merritt, William MacEwen for $2.99. The Romance Daily Find is Getting Lucky by Carolyn Brown for 99 cents.

STILL AVAILABLE: B & N is running a special where you can get a NOOK Bundle Offer: 10″ NOOK Device, Free Screen Film and Free Cover of Your Choice- a $330+ Value for Just $199.99. And finally, you can take 75% off all Nook Accessories.  And if you have jumped on the coloring books bandwagon, B & N  now has Harry Potter Magical Places & Characters Coloring Books available.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is Scandal Never Sleeps – The Perfect Gentlemen (Book #1) by Lexi Blake, Shayla Black for $1.99.

STILL AVAILABLE:  Kobo  has the Great Reads For $1.99 or Less promotion.daily_links_1

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes The Boy who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer for $1.99.

(A note on Daily Deals: All prices current at the time of posting and subject to change. Most items marked Daily Deals are good for only the day posted.

Many large promotions have discount pricing that is set by the publisher. This usually means that titles can be found at a discount price across most platforms (with iTunes sometimes being the exception). If you have a favorite retailer you like to patronize, check the title on that website. There is a good chance that they will be matching the sale price.)

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 Twitter, Facebook, and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.