Finds and Deals: Fire HD 8 Reader’s Edition

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Amazon h kindle hd 8 bundle as announced the Fire HD 8 Reader’s Edition. This is an exclusive bundle, priced at $249.99 with free shipping. The bundle includes:

The new Fire HD 8 tablet, normally retailing for $149.99.
One year of Kindle Unlimited, normally retailing for $9.99 per month (a $120 value)
An exclusive Reader’s Edition brown leather cover for the tablet. According to Amazon, the cover is designed to give the look and feel of a real book cover as well as protecting the tablet.

The bundle is available for pre-order and will begin shipping on December 9, 2015.

Note: There is no specified end date for this promotion. Generally, Amazon only makes these bundles available for a limited time.

Daily Links: X Marks the Spot That Makes Online Ads So Maddening

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

X Marks the Spot That Makes Online Ads So Maddening (NYT) – I think at this point, we have all run into a few of these. Infuriating.

The USPS is rolling out a feature that emails you images of your actual mail (The Next Web)

Mozilla scraps in-Firefox ads (Computerworld) – Because the number of users who actually want this was how many?

Google Turns On Safe Browsing In Chrome For Android (Techcrunch) – A much needed safety feature.

Adobe Lightroom Mobile is now free on both Android and iOS (The Next Web) – Nice freebie for those who need it for Android.

Need Music For A Video? Jukedeck’s AI Composer Makes Cheap, Custom Soundtracks (Techcrunch) – This looks totally fascinating! I can see so many uses for this!

And finally, my Kindle find of the day, How To Draw Caricatures for just $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 Twitter and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Finds and Deals: Kindle Bundles and Fire Tablets

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

If you are still thinking about a tablet or e-reader, Amazon is listing discounted prices for most of the Fire line of devices under its 12 days of Deals. You can can find discounts on the following:

Fire Tablets:

Fire HD 6, 6″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black ($79.99)

Fire HD 8, 8″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black ($129.99)

Fire HD 10, 10.1″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers, Black ($179.99)

Amazon also is offering discounts on several other models of Fire Tablets, including the HDX:

Kindle Fire HD 7″, HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB (Previous Generation – 3rd) ($99.99)

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi and 4G LTE, 16 GB – Includes Special Offers (Previous Generation – 3rd) ($429.99)

Fire HDX 8.9, 8.9″ HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 64 GB – Includes Special Offers ($429.99)

Fire TV:

Amazon Fire TV ($84.99)

Bundles:

Fire HD 6 Kids Edition, 6″ HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB, Blue Kid-Proof Case ($79.99)

E-Ink Kindles:

Kindle Paperwhite Essentials Bundle including Kindle Paperwhite 6″ E-Reader with Special Offers, Amazon Leather Cover – Onyx Black, and Power Adapter ($159.97)

Kindle Voyage Essentials Bundle including Kindle Voyage 6″ E-Reader with Special Offers, Amazon Leather Cover – Black, and Power Adapter ($249.97)

And a note for those of you looking for book bargains: Stay tuned! In my experience, a lot of e-books go on sale on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so that all those folks who just got a shiny new e-reader can find lots of goodies!

Daily Links: Paper, ereader, tablets, phones: Reading goes eclectic

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Today’s links and finds:

Paper, ereader, tablets, phones: Reading goes eclectic (Vancover Sun) – As far as e-reading nowadays, anything goes.

8 Nook And Kindle Hacks You Need To Know About (Bustle) – Good tips for e-reading, especially converting back and forth between PDF, .epub and .mobi.

People are in denial about using devices while walking and being bad at it (Ars Technica) – Yeah. Just yeah.

To Push Moments, Twitter Starts Shoving The Notifications Tab To The Side (Techcrunch) – Seriously, somebody moved the furniture…. Hate it when that happens!

Access Denied (The Awl) – This adds an interesting dimension to the tension between publishing and technology. It also suggests that ad blocking may not be the only factor in magazine and website money woes.

As one of today’s deals, Amazon has a Kindle Fire HD 7″, HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB (Previous Generation – 3rd) for just $99. This is the 2013 model (presumably new as it does not say refurbished). This model does not have a camera, microphone, HDMI port or the Mayday function. This model is has no special offers ads. The device has a 1280×800 screen resolution resolution at 216 ppi.

Daily Links: Why is the wildly popular email privacy act still stuck in congress?

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Why is the wildly popular email privacy act still stuck in congress? (NextGOV) – This boggles the mind. Everybody wants this, so what is the problem?

Google’s Chromebooks make up half of US classroom devices (CNBC) – Seeing these numbers in just a few short years is pretty impressive!

Reporters from digital/niche outlets are replacing daily newspaper reporters in Washington (Nieman) – This says so much about the changing face of the news industry.

Oldweb.today lets you revisit how painfully slow and ugly the Web used to be (The Next Web) – Remember these days? Can you name the baud rate on your first computer modem?

If the FCC Loses in Court Today, It Could Be the End of Net Neutrality (Vice) – This is an important case for the future of the Net…

Sadly, today the music industry is mourning the loss of Scott Weiland, iconic front man for Stone Temple Pilots. The publisher has put Not Dead & Not for Sale: A Memoir on sale for $1.99 at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes. (Sorry, Kobo shoppers, it is $11.99 there).

Library Corner: 12-3-2015

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Here is this week’s roundup of library news:

US Library News:

Nebraska: Can Fewer Books On The Shelf Improve Nebraska Libraries? (Net Nebraska)

Pennsyvania: County may absorb library system, give more money to member libraries (The Lancaster Online)

A Slippery Number: How Many Books Can Fit in the New York Public Library? (NYT)

MU library looks for new ways to improve after fee failed (The Maneater)

International Library News:

Luxembourg libraries roll out ebook rental service (Wort)

Australia: New mobile library unit lands at Rockhampton Airport (The Morning Bulletin)

Policy and Privacy:

The Future Of Libraries Is Collaborative, Robotic, And Participatory (Fast Company)

Campus Libraries Rethink Focus as Materials Go Digital (Chronicle)

Google: No, We’re Not Snooping on Students With Our Chromebooks, Apps (ReCode)

Penguin Random House Announces New Ebook Terms of Sale for Libraries (Library Journal)

ALA Responds to Penguin Random House Ebook Licensing Announcement (American Libraries)

Japan librarians cry foul over leaked Murakami reading list (Yahoo)

Copyright:

Understanding the Turnitin/Wikipedia Collaboration (Plagiarism Today)

Reference and Statistics:

New Statistics Reveal a Variety of Characteristics About U.S. Families (Census.gov)

Digital map shows spread of KKK across United States like ‘a contagion’1915-40 (VCU)

New Research Hub Launches to Focus on Digital Asia (Harvard)

Digital Collections:

Free Images: National Library of New Zealand Adds More Than 3500 Hi-Resolution Images to Flickr Commons (Infodocket)

45,000 Works of Art from Stanford University’s Cantor Arts Center Now Freely Viewable Online (Open Culture)

Educational Resources (Free): Oxford University Press Launches “Illuminating Shakespeare” Website (Infodocket)

About once a week, I post links to digital-related library news articles and information about digital collections available online. I also post other links of interest about the digital life daily on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links: The Secret in the Old VCR Tapes

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Today’s interesting links and finds:

The Secret in the Old VCR Tapes (ReCode) – This speaks on so many levels. With rapidly changing technology, who do we entrust our memories to?

No headphone jack? Some tech writers can’t imagine it (Talking New Media) – Are plug-in headphones going the way of the CD and DVD drive?

Town that has no cell phone service loses its primary Internet provider (Ars Technica) – Disconnected. This is truly terrifying.

Why We Need a Streaming Service for News (Media Shift) – Is this really the next logical evolution of news?

Amazon’s Fire tablets now have a blue light filter to help you sleep after nighttime reading (The Next Web) – The latest update to the Fire aims to make it easier to read at night on a backlit device.

Deals and Finds of the Day:

On the Kindle Daily Deals pages, Amazon has several lists of booksin the history, mystery, thriller and sci-fi and fantesy genres that are reduced in price through December 31, 2015. I found a book on Sumi-e: The Art of Japanese Ink Painting in the history category.

Barnes and Noble has 19 Christmas-themed romances and mysteries for the Nook Daily Find.

Kobo has The Bees by Laline Paull for only $1.99 at , Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and iTunes.

Cyber Monday Book Deals

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

A few noteworthy Cyber Monday Deals for e-book lovers today:

Amazon has massive savings on over 800 books in what they are calling the Biggest Kindle Daily Deal of the Year. You can save up to 85% of regular prices with titles starting at $1.99. And, yes, there are still Kindles on sale today. The $50 Fire is sold out until December 24, but the Fire 6 HD is still available.

Amazon also is offering up to 40% off on its Kindle Unlimited subscription reading service. The longer you subscribe for, the more you save.

There are hundreds of Open Road Media titles for up to 80% off as part of a holiday promotion. You can find the titles at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple and Google Books.

Barnes and Noble is offering 500 Nook books for under $5.

At Google Play Books, you can get up to 80% off select titles in their Cyber Weekend Deals.

Kobo is also offering a long list of titles at 80% off. And, you can get the Kobo Glo HD e-reader for only $109.99 as part of their Cyber Monday Deals.

Note that iBooks also has many books on sale for Cyber Monday, but they show in the iTunes app, not via the web browser. Sorry, but I can’t link directly to them. 😦

I am seeing a lot of the same titles on the various sites. This is a great “pick the store you like to shop at” sale!

Amazon Black Friday Sale updates for $35 Fire, more

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Here are some availability updates on some of Amazon’s Black Friday deals:

-The $35 7″ Fire is now showing as out of stock until December 15. If you want one of these, order soon so you can still get it delivered in time for the holidays! On sale until November 29.

– My favorite, the Fire HD 6 is still available for $69.99 through December 1. (You can read my review here.)

– The Fire HD 8 and the Fire HD 10 are both still in stock.

– The Fire Kids Edition is also showing as out of stock until December 16. On sale until December 1.

– The Amazon Fire TV Stick (standard remote) is sold out and will be back in stock December 10. It is on sale until November 29.The Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote is also sold out and will be back in stock on November 29. It is on sale until November 29.

– The Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Fire TV Gaming Edition are both still available. They are on sale until December 1.

– The Amazon Echo is still available, but may require extra processing time. It is on sale until December 1.

– All of the e-ink Kindles (including the Paperwhite and the basic Kindle for $49.99) are still available and on sale until December 1.

Note: Shipping updates were accurate as of 3 pm CST on November 2, 2015 and are certain to change as more orders accrue.

Daily Links: Why people stick with outdated technology

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Glinda Harrison

Why People Stick With Outdated Technology (Scientific American) – Yep. There are a lot of good points here (says the lady who still uses her old iPod Classic alongside the newer tech).

This app is changing the way Tanzania reads the news (Quartz) – Interesting look at the newspaper/paywall problem.

Frustrated publishers to Twitter: Give us our share counts back (Digiday) – I don’t think this article gives enough validity to social proof on the reader’s end of things. What do you think?

8 Tips to Help You Get More Reading Done (Time Management Ninja) – It is interesting how e-readers fit into the equation.

Amazon has some very competitive prices on Samsung tablets. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (the non-Nook version) is only a few dollars more new than the price for refurbs. And the just-released, giant 18.4″ Samsung Galaxy View is already reduced to $499.

The eBook Evangelist

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Author Archives: Glinda Harrison