I'm in the process of moving over to WordPress.
No new posts will appear here.
Go to The eBook Test at WordPress.
Update your RSS!
WordPress also has rssCloud!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
STOP! This Blog Has Moved To WordPress!
I'm in the process of moving over to WordPress.
No new posts will appear here.
Go to The eBook Test at WordPress.
Update your RSS!
WordPress also has rssCloud!
Monday, September 7, 2009
RSSCloud: This Will Be Huge For eBooks
Tease! Tease! Tease!
WordPress Just Made Millions of Blogs Real-Time With RSSCloud
RSS in the Clouds
Just two things right off the top of my head:
1) Being notified by a publisher when an eBook from an author you want to read has been put on sale (not everyone gets the months-in-advance Dan Brown hype treatment)
2) Being notified by your local library that an eBook you've been waiting to borrow has just been returned right now
Is Steve Haber and his upcoming 3G-enabled Sony Reader Daily Edition paying attention?
Should I Move This Blog To WordPress?
The advantage of Blogger is that I can get a post up faster than at WordPress. The posting interface is less cloggy to my browser (which is Firefox 2.x because of my crap desktop hardware).
Trying to divine reader stats for this blog is a royal pain with Blogger.
Also, paradoxically, I've always found WordPress to be incredible for getting my posts into Google and other search engine results quickly.
Last, I don't like the way photos are handled here. I can never tell how or when Blogger will resize something -- or the why of it, either.
So, I've imported all of this blog into WordPress as a test.
None of the graphics have been imported -- they simply link back to here to for now.
Should I move or not? Comment!
Trying to divine reader stats for this blog is a royal pain with Blogger.
Also, paradoxically, I've always found WordPress to be incredible for getting my posts into Google and other search engine results quickly.
Last, I don't like the way photos are handled here. I can never tell how or when Blogger will resize something -- or the why of it, either.
So, I've imported all of this blog into WordPress as a test.
None of the graphics have been imported -- they simply link back to here to for now.
Should I move or not? Comment!
The Continuing Horror Of ePub
Kat Meyer RTed this. After reading it, I got pissed because it was some of the same things I said before and took crap for saying so.
On Formats and Friction
After expressing my anger on Twitter ...
Not me!
On Formats and Friction
Let me state up front that I think all the current formats suck beyond words. We live in a world where a web app can behave just like a really fancy desktop app… where onscreen design can easily surpass what is economical in print design, and where a great many devices (desktops and smartphones at least) have enough raw power to get the job done. And yet we’re stuck with something akin to a spit-and-polish version of the Mosaic browser.
After expressing my anger on Twitter ...
Not me!
Asus Atomic Bomb eBook Reader?
Two reports today confirming that Asus plans at least two models of an eBook reading device:
Tech news: For the smarter kind of bookworm
There's many things one can say about Asus, but none of them are what I've heard about the Cool-er. The Cool-er is fall-apart hardware from PVI that lives down to its bottom-feeder reputation. Asus EeePCs, on the other hand, have had generally stellar ratings all across the board.
ASUS planning dual screen Eee Reader: world's cheapest e-book reader
Asus is also a company that dares to dream.
It pioneered netbooks, popularized them, churned out more of them in a shorter period of time than Sony did of PalmOS-based CLIEs, put MultiTouch in them, made them easily hackable, and created an entire new category of portable computing device.
They came out of nowhere and created an Apple-like earthquake in digital devices.
And now they are aiming at the eBook.
To say that the Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, and all other eInk devices have just been sent to their doom is to state the obvious.
Here are a bunch of photos I've culled from the Net of a prototype eBook reader Asus recently displayed:
The Register Click = big
TechArena Click = big
The Register Click = big
Ferra Labs Click = big
As for a screen, really, there is only one choice for Asus: Pixel Qi, which states on its website:
This is a photo comparing the Pixel Qi screen in ePaper mode to the eInk display of the Amazon Kindle in outdoor sunlight:
Click = big
It's obvious the Pixel Qi screen is superior in terms of resolution and contrast.
Asus could crank that sucker out at massive scale and plummet the per-unit cost. It could also then move it into its netbook line, causing refresh upgrades there for people interested in better battery life and outdoor use.
It'd be all-win for Asus.
The one question remaining is: Adobe-DRM ePub compatibility?
Do we need to even ask that?
Asus is the company that brought Microsoft to its knees, causing it to slash the price of Windows XP.
They will do the same with Adobe and its license.
You think Adobe hasn't seen what happened to Microsoft? You think Adobe doesn't realize Asus = jillions of sales?
All of you companies that are planning on eInk eBook devices? Don't bother. Stop now. Liquidate your companies. You're dead.
Tech news: For the smarter kind of bookworm
The budget version of the Asus ereader will be more in keeping with the Taiwanese company’s reputation for producing cut-price gadgets. Dubbed the Eee Reader, after Asus’s cheap-as-chips Eee PC netbook range, it is likely to take on the competition on price rather than features. The cheapest rival on the market is the Cool-er, which costs £189. Asus is thought to be aiming nearer the £100 mark.
There's many things one can say about Asus, but none of them are what I've heard about the Cool-er. The Cool-er is fall-apart hardware from PVI that lives down to its bottom-feeder reputation. Asus EeePCs, on the other hand, have had generally stellar ratings all across the board.
ASUS planning dual screen Eee Reader: world's cheapest e-book reader
According to president Jerry Shen, the Eee Reader will become the planet's cheapest e-book reader, though a premium model could also be launched to satisfy those craving higher-end features -- probably amenities like inbuilt 3G, a web browser and expandable storage.
Asus is also a company that dares to dream.
It pioneered netbooks, popularized them, churned out more of them in a shorter period of time than Sony did of PalmOS-based CLIEs, put MultiTouch in them, made them easily hackable, and created an entire new category of portable computing device.
They came out of nowhere and created an Apple-like earthquake in digital devices.
And now they are aiming at the eBook.
To say that the Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, and all other eInk devices have just been sent to their doom is to state the obvious.
Here are a bunch of photos I've culled from the Net of a prototype eBook reader Asus recently displayed:
The Register Click = big
TechArena Click = big
The Register Click = big
Ferra Labs Click = big
As for a screen, really, there is only one choice for Asus: Pixel Qi, which states on its website:
Our first screens will be 10" diagonal screens for netbooks and ebook readers that are sampling now and will ship in high volume in late 2009. These screens rival the best epaper displays on the market today but in addition have video refresh and fully saturated color. The epaper mode has 3 times the resolution of the fully saturated color mode allowing for a high resolution reading experience without sacrifice to super color fidelity for graphics. In addition these screens can be used in sunlight. Look for them in the market in the second half of 2009.
This is a photo comparing the Pixel Qi screen in ePaper mode to the eInk display of the Amazon Kindle in outdoor sunlight:
Click = big
It's obvious the Pixel Qi screen is superior in terms of resolution and contrast.
Asus could crank that sucker out at massive scale and plummet the per-unit cost. It could also then move it into its netbook line, causing refresh upgrades there for people interested in better battery life and outdoor use.
It'd be all-win for Asus.
The one question remaining is: Adobe-DRM ePub compatibility?
Do we need to even ask that?
Asus is the company that brought Microsoft to its knees, causing it to slash the price of Windows XP.
They will do the same with Adobe and its license.
You think Adobe hasn't seen what happened to Microsoft? You think Adobe doesn't realize Asus = jillions of sales?
All of you companies that are planning on eInk eBook devices? Don't bother. Stop now. Liquidate your companies. You're dead.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Qisda (Formerly BenQ) To Do eBook Reader
Inflate that eBook Bubble!
You wouldn't know it from the Wikipedia entry, but Qisda was formerly well-known as BenQ.
Now their website lists an eBook reader as in the pipeline:
Click = big
Qisda to Carve Out Niches with E-Book Readers
Previous eBook Bubble posts:
Toshiba: We'll Do An eBook Device Too!
Yet Another eBook Device: Oaxis
The eBook Bubble Coming To CES 2010
eBook Bubble Notes
You wouldn't know it from the Wikipedia entry, but Qisda was formerly well-known as BenQ.
Now their website lists an eBook reader as in the pipeline:
Click = big
Qisda to Carve Out Niches with E-Book Readers
Previous eBook Bubble posts:
Toshiba: We'll Do An eBook Device Too!
Yet Another eBook Device: Oaxis
The eBook Bubble Coming To CES 2010
eBook Bubble Notes
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