Tag Archives: library

Daily Links and Deals: It’s Discounted, but Is It a Deal? How List Prices Lost Their Meaning

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daily_links_1Daily Links for day, March 10, 2016:

A 68 Hour Playlist of Shakespeare’s Plays Being Performed by Great Actors: Gielgud, McKellen & More (Open Culture) -Wow! This should keep you busy!

South Korea: “Fewer University Students Use Libraries” (Infodocket) – The mantra for the digital age: trying to explain that “library usage is more than a building.”

Barnes & Noble: Years Later & Still No Clue (The Digital Reader) – Great piece on the root of Barnes and Nobles’ problems.

Google launches the Android Beta Program, gives you easy OTA access to Android N (9 to 5 Google) If you have a Nexus and want to play with the latest version of Android.

It’s Discounted, but Is It a Deal? How List Prices Lost Their Meaning (NYT) – Nowadays, it is really hard to make sure you are getting a deal online. And if we apply this to books? Hm.

How ‘LOL’ Became a Punctuation Mark (The Atlantic) – Okay, any article that quotes  linguists David Cyrstal and John McWhorter has got to be good. 🙂

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals includes Killing Pretty: A Sandman Slim Novel for $1.99.

In Amazon’s Today’s Deals, they are featuring a Photive 60 Watt 6 Port USB Desktop Rapid Charger. Intelligent USB Charger with Auto Detect Technology (White)  for $19.99. I use multi-port chargers all over my house. 🙂

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is After Anna by Alex Lake for 99 cents. The Romance Daily Find is Red Fire by Deidre Knight for $1.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking Book 1) by Patrick Ness for $1.99.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes Hungry for Change: Ditch the Diets, Conquer the Cravings and Eat Your Way to Lifelong Health 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 and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links and Deals: Your checking account is probably easier to hack into than your email

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daily_links_1Daily Links for Tuesday, March 1, 2016:

Hound Is a Digital Assistant That’s Smarter Than Siri, Google Now and Cortana (ReCode) – The new kid on the block sounds interesting.

Women Are Taking to the Streets to Save London’s Beloved Feminist Library (Broadly) – Women from the community are protesting the astronomical rent increases threatening the library.

Why you probably shouldn’t be doing work on that in-flight Wi-Fi  (Ars) – In-flight services are worse than public wi-fi? That’s scary!

Study: More than half of all ad blocker users would disable them to read content (Digiday) – What do you think? Would you disable your ad block in to read a site?

Your checking account is probably easier to hack into than your email (Quartz) – Wow, does this make you think….

It took Verizon seven months to fix Internet outage in NYC building (Ars Technica) This is an outrage….

Checkbook lets you email anyone a digital check and deposit it free (Techcrunch) – This sounds like a service that could really fill a need….

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals includes Grammar Girl Presents the Ultimate Writing Guide for Students (Quick & Dirty Tips) by Mignon Fogarty for $2.99.

In the market for a new cell phone? Amazon has the ALCATEL OneTouch Idol 3 Global Unlocked 4G LTE Smartphone for $179.99. The phone is 16GB, GSM and has a US warranty.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is  Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson for $2.99. The Romance Daily Find is The Forgotten Recipe by Amy Clipston for $1.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan for $1.99. Kobo is also having a Fabulous Fiction at $4.99 and Under sale until March 31, 2016.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage by Hazel Rowley for $3.99.

(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 and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links and Deals: The Unruly Pleasures of the Mid-Manhattan Library

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daily_links_1Daily Links for Tuesday, February 23, 2016:

Smartphone Ownership and Internet Usage Continues to Climb in Emerging Economies (Pew Research Center) – Interesting distinction between mobile devices and smartphones.

Here’s what the ‘i’ in iPhone means (Mashable) – I always thought it was for interactive…. 🙂

UCLA Library releases audio of rare Harper Lee radio interview (UCLA) –  A rare 1964 interview from the reclusive author of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Remix OS enters beta, adds support for 32-bit processors, OTA updates, dual-booting, more (9 to 5 Google) –  Another OS designed to support older computers.

The Unruly Pleasures of the Mid-Manhattan Library (The New Yorker) – Delightfully ambient piece on New York Library branches.

And two stories from the NYT that showcase the digital divide: Bridging a Digital Divide That Keeps Schoolchildren Behind and Fighting Homelessness, One Smartphone at a Time.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals includes Depraved Heart: A Scarpetta Novel (The Scarpetta Series Book 23) by Patricia Cornwell for $3.99.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is Deadly Stakes (Ali Reynolds Series #8) by J. A. Jance for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is Redemption Bay by RaeAnne Thayne for $1.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is Dear John by Nicholas Sparks for $1.99.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran 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 and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links and Deals: The Coolest Place in Jerusalem? It’s the Library

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daily_links_1Daily Links for Saturday, February 18, 2016:

NLA Makes Digital History Today (National Library of Australia) The NLA now collects copies of ebooks and websites to preserve Australia’s cultural history.

Museums Push to Get ‘Dark Data’ Into Light Through Digitization (Voice of America) – How *do* you digitize a fossil?

Revamped Google Contributor now starts at $6.99 to see fewer ads on the web (9 to 5 Google) – Who does this really help websites? Read this before you answer….

Chicago library housing historic collection of black literature in jeopardy (CLTV) – This has been neglected for way too long.

The Coolest Place in Jerusalem? It’s the Library (Tablet Magazine) This sounds like a wonderful spot to visit. Amazing.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deals include TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD (Jake Lassiter Legal Thrillers Book 1) by Paul Levine for 99 cents.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is The Secret Laws of Attraction: The Effortless Way to Get the Relationship You Want  by Talane Miedaner for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is The Wedding Hoax by Heather Thurmeier 99 cents.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is Lover At Last, A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward for $1.99

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes City of Savages by Lee Kelly 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 and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links and Deals: The Life and Death and Life of Magazines

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daily_links_1Daily Links for Tuesday, February 16, 2016:

Beware This Android Malware That Erases Your Phone With a Single Text  (Gizmodo) – A reminder: Don’t open MMS messages from people you don’t know!

Library hires employee to work with homeless, at-risk people (Chicago Tribune) –  At today’s libraries,  this is becoming a more frequent response to serving the needs of homeless patrons.

The Life and Death and Life of Magazines (Atavist) –  Thoughtful piece on the diminishing role of the magazine in our culture.

Three Ways Publishers and Libraries Can Work Better Together (Publishers Weekly) – Interesting article that also talks about how pricing affects collections and therefore, readers.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deal includes Kill the Dead: A Sandman Slim Novel by Richard Kadrey for $1.99.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is The Care and Management of Lies: A Novel of the Great War by Jacqueline Winspear for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is Hot Property (Molly DeWitt Series #1) by Sherryl Woods for $1.99.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is Final Scream by Lisa Jackson for $1.99. Kobo is also having a Grow Your Library For Less sale with books priced at 99 cents and up.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes The Next Always by Nora Roberts 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 and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links: Netflix starts blocking Australian customers from US catalogue

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daily_links_1Daily Links for Friday, January 22, 2016:

Netflix starts blocking Australian customers from US catalogue (Stuff) – Sorry, Australia! Netflix is already making good on its promise to start blocking VPNs.

California wants to ban encrypted phones (CNET) – Um…. that means no Apple sales in their own backyard. And no Android?

Penguin Random House Ebooks Now Licensed for Perpetual Access (American Library) – Yes, the books now have a perpetual license, but wait til you see the price tag!

Google launches free high-speed Wi-Fi network in Mumbai Central station (9 to 5 Google) – We’ve been hearing a lot about New York’s new wi-fi stations, but Google’s roll-out in Mumbai could be a game changer.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deal includes The Diamond Self Secret: Say Goodbye to Your Inner Critic and Hello to Self-Acceptance, Serenity, and Lasting Love (The Love Mentor’s Guide) by Diana Kirshner for $1.99.

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find features eight books in Joane Fluke’s Hannah Swensen series, priced from $1.99 to $3.99.  The Romance Daily Find is On the Scent (Psychic Detectives Series #1) by Angela Campbell for 99 cents.

Kobo’s Daily Deal is Wicked Ride ( Book 1 in the Realm Enforcers series) by Rebecca Zanetti for $1.99.

iTunes’ Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes David Wroblewski’s The Story of Edgar Sawtelle 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 and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

Daily Links: The Triumph of Email

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daily_links_1Daily Links for the day, January 7, 2016:

The Triumph of Email (The Atlantic) – An interesting look at why we keep coming back to email.

Why libraries should loan WiFi hotspots, not just books (Teleread) – An argument that the internet is just as important as books to the mission of libraries.

Netflix won’t commit to leaving its content uncensored around the world (The Verge) – While I can see the dilemma, I am not a fan of censorship. It will be interesting to see what happens here….

It’s the birthday of a pronoun: heer, himer, hiser, born OTD in 1912 (The Web of Language) –  Um… I don’t recall hearing these lately.

Amazon Expands Access To Prime Video To U.S. Military Members Overseas (Techcrunch) – Offering those serving overseas a taste of TV from home.

Deals of the Day:

Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deal includes a nice selection of American Best of 2015 anthologies (mainstream short stories science fiction, mysteries, non-fiction essays, etc.).

The Barnes and Noble Nook Daily Find is The Normans: From Raiders to Kings by Lars Brownworth for $1.99. The Romance Daily Find is The Pryce Family (Books 1-3) by Nadia Lee for $2.99.

Kobo Daily find is Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for $4.99.

iTunes Weekly Bestsellers Under $4 includes Augusten Burroughs’ Running with Scissors 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 and on the Google Plus eBook Evangelist Page.

 

Daily Links: 90% of Public Libraries now lend e-books

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From Digital Book World, American Library Association announces 90% of Public Libraries now lend e-books.

From a story in Publishers Weekly, Comixolgy to offer  DRM-free backup copies.

And a couple of e-book finds of the day from my TBR list in the Daily Deals: one of John Brunner’s fascinating SF titles, The Shockwave Rider, and, Midsummer Moon, a humoruous romance by Laura Kinsale (one with a hedgehog, no less!).

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.

News Bits and Bytes for February 9, 2012

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Lots of news happening today:

Reports are saying that E-ink revenues are down for the month of January. A lot. However, downloads of digital media jumped in 2011. 

A big shake-up in the library lending world today. Penguin is terminating their agreement with Overdrive to supply library books. With Harper Collins still only offering libraries the crippleware 26 loan contract for books, Random House is essentially the only Big Six supplier of library books. If you pay attention to the subtext in the article about the meeting between publishers and the American Library Association, this should not come as too much of a surprise, unfortunately.

If you have been following the reaction to Amazon’s foray into the publishing world, the responses are still coming in. Today, Indie Commerce joins Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and Indigo in boycotting Amazon titles. Interestingly, this article from Paid Content says they’re not – well not exactly, that is.

Mike Shatzkin has a very thoughtful take on the Amazon vs Barnes & Noble saga that I highly recommend reading!

And finally, from  Evo Terra (Podiobooks) and Jeff Moriarty’s “It Isn’t Rocket Surgery” broadcast, a rather extreme point of view on the quality of self-published ebooks on Amazon.com. Here’s the video:

Penguin pulls Kindle Books from libraries

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I wanted to sit down and write my impressions of the Kindle Fire now that I have had a few days to play with it. Instead, I was shocked to find that Penguin has pulled its Kindle books from the OverDrive system.

According to OverDrive:

Last week Penguin sent notice to OverDrive that it is reviewing terms for library lending of their eBooks.   In the interim, OverDrive was instructed to suspend availability of new Penguin eBook titles from our library catalog and disable “Get for Kindle”  functionality for all Penguin eBooks.   We apologize for this abrupt change in terms from this supplier.  We are actively working with Penguin on this issue and are hopeful Penguin will agree to restore access to their new titles and Kindle availability as soon as possible.

The Digital Shift is reporting that Penguin is saying the new policy is not specific to Kindles, but governs all versions of their ebook titles across the board.

Libraries and patrons are telling a different story, however. In an Amazon forum on the subject, some patrons are pointing out that only Kindle versions are disappearing. Some libraries have had as many books vanish from their digital shelves. It is important to note that those are books purchased with library funds (generally taxpayer funded).

I don’t think that it is coincidental that this is happening when Amazon is trying to start a Kindle Owner’s Lending Library. There has been a lot of tension about ebook lending since Big Six publisher Harper Collins limited libraries to only 26 check-outs of their titles.  Many people (myself included) are still boycotting Harper Collins  until that limitation is resolved.

Penguin has already been facing criticsm over its Book Country “service,” which many authors believe does nothing but take more money from authors.

But to single out the popular Kindle smacks not only of fear and greed, but a form of censorship as well. And that’s not something that sets well with me. Sure, I could read books on one of my other devices: I’ve got an iPod, a Nook. I could read any format on one of the apps on my android tablets. But I will not be told which device I have to read their ebooks on. I already boycott MacMillian and Harper Collins because of their practices. I already boycott books priced over $9.99. I will be happy to add Penguin to the list as well.