Jun 26
Oct 24
Amazon’s new e-book format brings HTML5 support to your Kindle library
Posted in: amazon, amazon kindle, AmazonKindle, Books, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, kindle, tablet, Today's Chili
“Great looking books.” That’s what Amazon is promising to deliver with Kindle Format 8 (KF8) — a new, HTML5-based file format for Kindle books. According to the company, KF8 will allow publishers to produce picture books, comics and graphic novels with greater ease, thanks to the platform’s rich formatting capabilities and design elements. In fact, this format brings more than 150 new formatting tools to the table, including fixed layouts, nested tables, sidebars and Scalable Vector Graphics, among others. It should be noted, however, that audio and video are not included on the list of supported HTML tags and CSS elements. At first, content creators will only be able to use KF8 for the Kindle Fire tablet, though Amazon says it’ll gradually expand to its entire lineup of devices and apps “in the coming months.” No word yet on when KF8 will become available as an update to Amazon’s Kindle Publisher Tools suite, but you can find more details at the source link, below.
Amazon’s new e-book format brings HTML5 support to your Kindle library originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Oct 21
All the Best Leaks from the Steve Jobs Biography
Posted in: Apple, Books, steve jobs, Today's Chili, top
Advance copies of the hotly anticipated Steve Jobs biography are already in some hands—meaning personal details we never knew about the man are exposed for the first time. Fights with Obama over food, diamond rings, and DNA sequencing. More »
Oct 18
Google thinks your digital books belong on a digital bookcase, digitally (video)
Posted in: Books, Chrome, Google, Today's Chili, video
How to best view the Google Books collections? Why, a digital bookcase, of course. But this isn’t just any bookcase, it’s a giant spinning 3D helix of a bookcase, collecting more than 10,000 titles in 28 subjects. Users can navigate the WebGL Bookcase by spinning it around or swiping it up and down. Sure, it’s not the quickest way to locate a title amongst tens of thousands of books, but perhaps it’ll offer up some small consolation for those who miss browsing real-life bookstores. You can check out the experiment in the source link below — be forewarned, however, that it’s a bit of a resource hog.
Continue reading Google thinks your digital books belong on a digital bookcase, digitally (video)
Google thinks your digital books belong on a digital bookcase, digitally (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 16
Kindle 3 gets software upgrade, ready to soar into the cloud
Posted in: amazon, amazon kindle, AmazonKindle, Books, cloud, e ink, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, ebooks, feature, Features, firmware update, FirmwareUpdate, keyboard, kindle, minipost, reader, Today's Chili 
Amazon has pushed out a new update for the Kindle 3, now operating under the alias of the Kindle Keyboard. This gives the well-buttoned e-reader access to some of the cloud features found on its freshly unboxed younger brother, and includes the ability to view any archived documents, notes and highlights you’ve added to that intangible pile of books and articles. You’ll need to tether the Kindle to your PC, point your browser towards Amazon, and download the file corresponding to the right region and model. Excitable annotators can grab the upgrade now at the source link below.
Kindle 3 gets software upgrade, ready to soar into the cloud originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sep 21
Amazon lets you check out Kindle books from library websites, asks you to shush yourself at home
Posted in: amazon, Books, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, kindle, Today's Chili
Love libraries, but hate having to look at all of those dusty old books? Good news: following the recent Seattle-only launch, it’s now possible to check out Amazon Kindle books from some 11,000 library sites, as long as you have a valid library card and an Amazon account. You can check a library’s inventory (like their physical counterparts, the libraries only have a limited number of Kindle copies for each title) and download copies to your Kindle or Kindle app-enable device via WiFi or USB. Like the libraries’ physical books, Kindle copies will carry an expiration date — but after that time, they can either be renewed or purchase through Amazon, with all of your bookmarks and notations still in place. Press release after the break.
Amazon lets you check out Kindle books from library websites, asks you to shush yourself at home originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 25
What’s more ‘exclusive’? An expensive, glossy photo book, or an iPad app? Photo credit Steve Rosenbaum
Almost ten years after the World Trade Center disaster, a book documenting the history of the building in photos and video will be published. And it will be iPad-only.
The creator, Steve Rosenbaum, has assembled 400 photographs plus several hours of video, and will be skipping paper altogether. His reasoning is both smart and startling. When asked why he would limit sales of his book by publishing only on a device that costs minimum $500, he said
The iPad is the single fastest selling consumer device in the history of consumer electronics. There are 30 million now on the market. What’s more limited? A beautiful glossy photo book that sits in Barnes & Noble, or something that’s free and on a device that lots of people have?
When you look at it like that, it seems stupid to publish on paper any more, right? Imagine how these things will go when the iPad finally gets a retina display.
The app will be free from its launch on September 1st until September 12th. After that it will cost $10 — still much less than a glossy photo book.
9/11 Memorial App to Be iPad-Exclusive [New York Observer]
See Also:
- New iTunes Rules Complicate iPad Magazine Opportunities …
- Wired Magazine's iPad Edition Goes Live
- iPad Fuels Magazine Disruption
Aug 19
Apple, Microsoft meet with Turkish minister, may bid to supply 15 million tablets to schools
Posted in: Apple, Books, education, intel, kindle, korea, Microsoft, South Korea, SouthKorea, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc, tablets, Today's Chili
When it comes to the economy, things appear to be pretty shaky in the land of feta and olive oil, but at least Greece’s neighbor to the east is ready to spend, considering a very ambitious (and costly) investment in its education system. Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan just completed a tour through Seattle and Silicon Valley, making stops to meet with executives at Apple, Intel and Microsoft along the way. Caglayan’s stateside mission was to discuss Turkey’s FATIH Project, which somehow stands for “Movement of Enhancing Opportunities and Improving Technology” and aims to equip 15 million students with tablets within the next four years. The official seems to have left with a positive impression, telling the Turkish Weekly that “upon agreement, Microsoft teams will come to Turkey to cooperate with Turkish firms on the project.” He went on to say that Apple executives expressed interest in having iPhone and iPad accessories manufactured in Turkey as well. Doesn’t exactly sound like a firm commitment from either company, but 15 million tablets would be nothing to sneeze at, so we’d be surprised if the tablet makers didn’t end up making formal bids. With South Korea and now Turkey making commitments to improving education, perhaps we’ll see a similar plan hit stateside soon?
Apple, Microsoft meet with Turkish minister, may bid to supply 15 million tablets to schools originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 13
Amazon axes copied content, duplicate Kindle Store ebooks get the boot
Posted in: amazon, amazon kindle, AmazonKindle, Books, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, kindle, Today's Chili
If we take a can of Spam and call it “Engadget’s precooked pork meat product,” you’ll still know it’s the same mystery meat you ate for lunch, right? Under the idea of “private label rights,” authors can do just that: sell their works to others who can rebrand and resell them. This week, Amazon cracked down on duplicate ebooks in its Kindle Store, pulling titles because they “diminish the experience for customers.” One copycat who got the smack down called it a “kick in the pants” when his 22 titles got yanked. He did, however, admit he had the swift one coming. Aping authors can expect more book banning Kung Fu as Amazon continues to rid itself of “undifferentiated or barely differentiated versions of e-books.” Hi-yah!
Amazon axes copied content, duplicate Kindle Store ebooks get the boot originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Aug 2011 16:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink New York Times | Warrior Forum | Email this | Comments
Aug 10
Book review: Ready Player One
Posted in: Books, Reviews, Today's ChiliIt’s not often that a work of science fiction is able to appeal to geeks and non-geeks alike, somehow managing to engage fans of the genre and people who are just looking for a good read. Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One does that, making for one reason it’s poised to be the hottest sci-fi book […]
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