Monthly Archives: December 2016

Friday, December 30th is Amazon Digital Day

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digital_day_2016Over the last few years, Amazon has certainly proved to be the online retailer to beat. They have totally slayed Black Friday and Cyber Monday. They launched their own online shopping day, Prime Day and it has also proved to be a winner. There’s no doubt, Amazon has redefined online shopping holidays.

Now, Amazon is starting a new deal event called Digital Day. It premieres on December 30, 2016 at midnight PST and last for 24 hours. Deals include up to 80% off hundreds of video game titles, 50% off on top movies and TV shows, and 75% off on hundreds of digital comics. You can see pictures on the Digital Day page which hint at possible deals on Amazon Music Unlimited, software, digital magazines and perhaps some deals on video channel subscriptions. I would also not be surprised to see great bargains on ebook titles on Friday along with the other digital deals.

From the Amazon page:

Amazon Digital Day is the deal event for your devices. On Friday, December 30, enjoy up to 80% off hundreds of video game titles, 50% off on top movies and TV shows, 75% off on hundreds of digital comics, and other great deals on popular content for your devices. Whether you’re gifting or receiving gadgets this year, this 24-hour sale is one of the best times of the year to shop for must-have digital content.

You can sign up here to get notified about Digital Day and to get monthly updates on digital deals.

This one looks like fun! 🙂

New e-reader resource page added

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new_pageI just added a new page called New e-reader? Start here that has a collection of some of my most popular posts which are helpful if you have just gotten a new e-reader or tablet. The page contains links to articles with tips for new e-readers and tablets, covers and accessories, how to find free content, reviews of subscription services and special benefits and perks for Prime members and Kindle device owners. You can get to the page from the menu bar at the top of the page or by clicking here.

The page is a work in progress and I will be continuing to add to it.

Have a topic you want to learn more about or something you need to learn how to do? Leave me a comment and I will see if I can help.

Marvel: Year End Collections Sale

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wolverine_For years, stores had huge sales after the holidays to blowout inventory. Fast forward to 2016 and those same year end sales now extend to digital too!

Right now, Amazon is having its Marvel Comics Year End Collections Sale.  It features over 300 popular graphic novels (individual issues and collections). Prices start at 99 cents and the sale runs through January 2, 2017.

These can be read on both the Kindle devices and the comiXology apps.

Happy Holidays

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Wishing everyone a happy holiday season!

I will be posting here and there over the next week and back to the regular daily posting schedule after the first of the year.

As some of my regular readers know, my husband is a musician. Usually, I spend one day during the season promoting his holiday jazz CD. I was so busy I didn’t make it this year. So today, I will leave you with a video for the most popular song from his album, Tidings Comfort & Joy: A Jazz Piano Trio Christmas:

Daily Links and Deals: The Poem That Introduced Santa Claus to the World

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daily_links_1Daily Links for Friday, December 23,  2016:

You can currently save 50% on any Google Play Movies purchase (9 to 5 Google) These deals runs thru January.

Navajos hope to digitally preserve thousands of hours of oral history (Arizona Republic) This is amazing. The importance of oral history cannot be overemphasized and to see this preserved digitally is fantastic.

Black mirrors: Why are so many TV shows obsessed with tech? (CNET) As much as we love it, we still have a lot of anxieties about technology.

US government starts asking foreign travelers to disclose their social media accounts (The Verge) I don’t know about you, but this makes me very nervous. Even though it is supposedly limited – for now.

The Poem That Introduced Santa Claus to the World (Read it Forward) Twas the story of the creation of this Christmas classic.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes Way Station by Clifford D. Simak.

In Today’s Deals, the LG Electronics PF1000U Ultra Short Throw Smart Home Theater Projector.

More device sales before the holidays! The Kindle Paperwhite is on sale for $20 off. There are also deals on Fire tablets: The Fire 7″for $40, the Fire tablet variety pack (3 tablets) for $180, the Fire HD 10 for $200 and the Fire Kids Edition for $90. There is a Fire Tablet, 7″ (16 GB) for $50.

Alexa devices: You can also get the Amazon Echo for $140 ($40 off), the Amazon Tap for $90 ($40 off) and the Echo Dot for $40 ($10 off.) All of the three of the Alexa devices are sold out until after Christmas. The sale is still on, so if you want one and are willing to wait, it is still a good deal.

You can still get 12 months of Kindle Unlimited for the special price of $88.99 – that’s $30 off the regular price.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is TV (The Book): Two Experts Pick the Greatest American Shows of All Time by Alan Sepinwall, Matt Zoller Seitz. The Romance Daily Find is A Cowboy Firefighter for Christmas by Kim Redford.

Barnes and Noble also has a selection of NOOK Books Under $2.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. The Extra Daily Deal is A Wallflower Christmas
A Novel by Lisa Kleypas.

Until December 25th, the waterproof Kobo Aura H2O e-reader is on sale for $159.99 (with free shipping).

There is also a selection of Great Reads Under $5 and Bargain Reads in Fiction, in Mystery and other genres. The Kobo Aura One (and the Aura Edition 2 e-readers are now available for order at the Kobo store. (The Aura One is still out of stock until early 2017.)

iTunes’ iTunes’ Great Books, Amazing Deals under $3.99 includes Wreck the Halls by Sarah Graves.

Google Books has a selection of Up to 85% off Great Reads.

(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.

B and N says they already fixed the NOOK malware issue, but….

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nook_boxYesterday I posted a story about the new NOOK branded tablet coming with malware pre-installed. Barnes and Noble says that the device had already been update prior to its initial sale and that an new update to remove it completely is forthcoming. Here’s their response to 9 to 5 Google’s request for comment:

“NOOK Tablet 7” went on sale on November 26. By that time, the device automatically updated to a newer version of ADUPS (5.5), which has been certified as complying with Google’s security requirements, when first connected to Wi-Fi. ADUPS has confirmed to Barnes & Noble that it never collected any personally identifiable information or location data from NOOK Tablet 7” devices, nor will it do so in the future.

Finally, we are working on a software update to remove ADUPS completely from the NOOK Tablet 7”. That update will be made available to download within the next few weeks, but in the meantime customers can rest assured that the device is safe to use.” – Fred Argir, Chief Digital Officer

The problem with this is that Charles Fisher, the engineer who broke the story on Linux Journal, says that ADUPS 5.5 is not version that was on the NOOK BNTV450.

A new Android Central article notes that the shipping version for the tablet was 5.2.0.2.002. Evidently, there was some sort of an update, as their post goes on to note that “the version in the update file we received last night is 6.0.” While they state that the update should solve the ADUPS problem, they are still saying avoid this one:

But there are plenty of reasons to still not buy this tablet. Beginning with the fact that it’s still 100% vulnerable to CVE-2015-6616. In human language, that means the Stagefright exploit. The Android version (6.0 in this case) should be at least partially patched, but there are security updates for the processor which have not been applied.

The bottom line is that there is just too much uncertain about this tablet. I am sending mine back.From comparing them side by side, the $50 Fire 7″  was faster anyway….

Photo © The Ebook Evangelist

Daily Links and Deals: Radio Garden Lets You Instantly Tune into Radio Stations Across the Entire Globe

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daily_links_1Daily Links for Thursday, December 22,  2016:

Google Drive offers sweet prepaid subscriptions for 100GB and 1TB users (PC World) You can find some good prices here if you are a power user and need more cloud storage. The 100 GB deal is indeed sweet.

The votes are in: Which mobile data provider is best? (Computer World) It is interesting to see what people think about the various carriers.

More online shopping means more delivery trucks. Are cities ready? (The Conversation) This is a really important issue for those of us who like to shop online.

Christmas Fiction Is Vital Subgenre for Religion Publishers (Publishers Weekly) I never realized that this was such an important category for publishers.

Radio Garden Lets You Instantly Tune into Radio Stations Across the Entire Globe (Open Culture) The great thing about technology is that it can make the rest of the world accessible. This is fantastic!

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals features 30 romance deals (these seem to all be from Harlequin imprints).

In Today’s Deals, save up to 93% on select digital subscriptions for crafts, personal training, meditation and more. Also, an ILIFE V3s Robotic Vacuum Cleaner for Pets and Allergies for just $127.

More device sales before the holidays! The Kindle Paperwhite is on sale for $20 off. There are also deals on Fire tablets: The Fire 7″ for $40, the Fire tablet variety pack (3 tablets) for $180, the Fire HD 10 for $200 and the Fire Kids Edition for $90. There is a Fire Tablet, 7″ (16 GB) for $50.

Alexa devices: You can also get the Amazon Echo for $140 ($40 off), the Amazon Tap for $90 ($40 off) and the Echo Dot for $40 ($10 off.) All of the three of the Alexa devices are sold out until after Christmas. The sale is still on, so if you want one and are willing to wait, it is still a good deal.

You can still get 12 months of Kindle Unlimited for the special price of $88.99 – that’s $30 off the regular price.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is 14 (Taylor Jackson Series #2) by J. T. Ellison. The Romance Daily Find is A SEAL’s Surrender (Harlequin Blaze Series #739) by Tawny Weber.

Barnes and Noble also has a selection of NOOK Books Under $2.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is The Girl With No Name by Diney Costeloe. The Extra Daily Deal is The Killing Game by Toni Anderson.

Until December 25th, the waterproof Kobo Aura H2O e-reader is on sale for $159.99 (with free shipping).

There is also a selection of Great Reads Under $5 and Bargain Reads in Fiction, in Mystery and other genres. The Kobo Aura One (and the Aura Edition 2 e-readers are now available for order at the Kobo store. (The Aura One is still out of stock until early 2017.)

iTunes’ iTunes’ Great Books, Amazing Deals under $3.99 includes A History of the World in 6 Glasses: From beer to Coca-Cola, the six drinks that have helped shape human history by Tom Standage.

Google Books has a selection of Up to 85% off Great Reads.

(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.

So that $50 NOOK has malware….

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new_nookIf you had wondered if that NOOK $50 tablet was too good to be true, turns out you were right. Remember last month’s story on that ADUPS malware that was infecting the Blu R1 HD phones and sending data back to China? Yeah, that one. Well, as it turns out, the same malware is affecting the NOOK BNTV450. And, unlike the BLU scenario where an update was issued, 9 to 5 Google is reporting that there seems to be no way to disable the ADUPS on the NOOK device.

If you want the technical info on the malware, there’s a lot more information on the issue in the Linux Journal article that apparently broke the story. The article notes that Google has blacklisted the ADUPS agent and that a user can expect “zero privacy” from a device with this agent installed. Barnes and Noble has yet to comment on the story.

Since I bought one of these last month, I am not a happy camper. Although I hadn’t had time to do much with it (maybe a blessing in disguise), I was already past the 14 day return window that the online store allows. I have performed a factory reset on my device while I reach out to Barnes and Noble on the matter.  I suggest you do the same or use at your own risk. While the ADUPS does not seem to be active at the moment, that can change at any time.

To reset the device, go to Apps> Settings>Backup and Reset. (Note that the correct one is the grey option that says just settings, not the green NOOK settings option.) Everything will be erased from the tablet, so make sure to transfer any files you want to keep.

More on this as it unfolds. I will update with any news from Barnes and Noble. I am off to change passwords. 😦

See an update to this story here.

Daily Links and Deals: Only one book has made the Amazon Top 10 every year for the past decade

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daily_links_1Daily Links for Wednesday, December 21,  2016:

Android eReader Roundup – List of 6-inch Android eBook Readers (The eBook Reader) Not for the faint of heart, but if you are interested in an e-ink e-reader that does not belong to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Kobo, here’s a list.

SF Public Library revives plan to install microchips in books (SF Examiner) Kind of speechless at the privacy implications of this one….

Only one book has made the Amazon Top 10 every year for the past decade (Quartz) Um, why? And whys is this Kindle book selling for $20?

AT&T unveils network-level robocall blocking, call spam warnings (Ars Technica) Good idea. But why don’t they have this for landlines? All they have is the number block feature.Oh, wait. They don’t like landlines.

Sling TV accidentally reveals its set-top box for cord cutters (Engadget) This looks interesting, particularly as I thought Sling TV was awful to use on a Roku. Hopefully, the box will be better.

Family-friendly streaming service VidAngel refuses to shut down, despite court order (Techcrunch) Not a fan of censorship in general, but flouting the law is really going too far.

PersonalData.IO helps you get access to your personal data (Open Knowledge) Want to find out how companies are using your data? This may help.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes A Great and Terrible King: Edward I and the Forging of Britain by Marc Morris.

In Today’s Deals, an Anime lover’s extravaganza: movies, seasons and more.

More device sales before the holidays! The Kindle Paperwhite is on sale for $20 off. There are also deals on Fire tablets: The Fire 7″ for $40, the Fire tablet variety pack (3 tablets) for $180, the Fire HD 10 for $200 and the Fire Kids Edition for $90. There is a Fire Tablet, 7″ (16 GB) for $50.

Alexa devices: You can also get the Amazon Echo for $140 ($40 off), the Amazon Tap for $90 ($40 off) and the Echo Dot for $40 ($10 off.)

You can still get 12 months of Kindle Unlimited for the special price of $88.99 – that’s $30 off the regular price.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is a collection of 17 Assassin’s Creed comics for just $0.99 each! The Romance Daily Find is A Christmas Bride by Jo Ann Ferguson.

Barnes and Noble also has a selection of NOOK Books Under $2.99.

The new NOOK Tablet is available and is only $49.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is The Patriot Threat A Novel (Cotton Malone Book 10) by Steve Berry. The Extra Daily Deal is The Innocent: The Fifth Ryan Lock Novel by Sean Black.

Until December 25th, the waterproof Kobo Aura H2O e-reader is on sale for $159.99 (with free shipping).

There is also a selection of Great Reads Under $5 and Bargain Reads in Fiction, in Mystery and other genres. The Kobo Aura One (and the Aura Edition 2 e-readers are now available for order at the Kobo store. (The Aura One is still out of stock until early 2017.)

iTunes’ iTunes’ Great Books, Amazing Deals under $3.99 includes Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey.

Google Books has a selection of Topsellers Under $10. Through December 22nd, you can also rent various Harper Teen books for 24 hours for 99 cents.

(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: Thanks in part to the election, ‘surreal’ is the word of the year

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daily_links_1Daily Links for Tuesday, December 20,  2016:

This Alexa-enabled coffee pot isn’t great at making coffee, but dang it’s cute (The Verge)  Posted due to sheer cuteness factor. 🙂

New York City now lets you pay for parking with your phone (Engadget) I think that this means that the future has really arrived.

There are more Galaxy Note 7s still in use than LG V20 and OnePlus 3T combined (9 to 8 Google) A whole lot of Note 7 phones are still out there.

The state(s) of texting and driving in the US (Ars Technica) Our cell phones are now our maps and navigators. Even without texting, many are using their phones just to get where they are going. How do we deal with this going forward.

Thanks in part to the election, ‘surreal’ is the word of the year (USA Today) Personally, I found how they choose the word of the year more interesting than the word itself.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s selection of Kindle Daily Deals includes Rare Objects: A Novel by Kathleen Tessaro.

In Today’s Deals, Jumbl 22MP All-In-1 Film & Slide Scanner w/ Speed-Load Adapters for 35mm Negative & Slides, 110, 126, & Super 8 Films.

More device sales before the holidays! The Kindle Paperwhite is on sale for $20 off. There are also deals on Fire tablets: The Fire 7″for $40, the Fire tablet variety pack (3 tablets) for $180, the Fire HD 10 for $200 and the Fire Kids Edition for $90. There’s an All-New Fire HD 8 Variety Pack, 32GB with two devices (choice of colors) for $200.

Alexa devices: You can also get the Amazon Echo for $140 ($40 off), the Amazon Tap for $90 ($40 off) and the Echo Dot for $40 ($10 off.) All of the three of the Alexa devices are sold out until after Christmas. The sale is still on, so if you want one and are willing to wait, it is still a good deal.

You can still get 12 months of Kindle Unlimited for the special price of $88.99 – that’s $30 off the regular price.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. The Romance Daily Find is Burning Bright: Four Chanukah Love Stories by Megan Hart, KK Hendin, Stacey Agdern, Jennifer Gracen.

Barnes and Noble also has a selection of NOOK Books Under $2.99.

The new NOOK Tablet is available and is only $49.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is Hot Milk by Deborah Levy.  The Extra Daily Deal is Raylan A Novel by Elmore Leonard.

Until December 25th, the waterproof Kobo Aura H2O e-reader is on sale for $159.99 (with free shipping).

There is also a selection of Great Reads Under $5 and Bargain Reads in Fiction, in Mystery and other genres. The Kobo Aura One (and the Aura Edition 2 e-readers are now available for order at the Kobo store. (The Aura One is still out of stock until early 2017.)

iTunes’ iTunes’ Great Books, Amazing Deals under $3.99 includes Defender by Diana Palmer.

Google Books has a selection of Topsellers Under $10. Through December 22nd, you can also rent various Harper Teen books for 24 hours for 99 cents.

(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.