09:23 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | General Discussions

I just came across something I'd like to share with my fellow Whedonites:

From the Joss Whedon-helmed webmovie Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog comes the origin story of the next greatest supervillain of all time . . . DR. HORRIBLE!

In this one-shot comic, Zack Whedon and artist Joelle Jones (Token) establish how a young, impressionable, but brilliant Dr. Horrible was drawn into a world of crime. Readers are reacquainted with the charming, brawny, crime-fighting superhero extraordinaire Captain Hammer when Dr. Horrible crosses paths with his greatest enemy in an all-out showdown of immeasurable proportions. Special guest appearances include Dr. Horrible's love interest, Penny; his sidekick, Moist; and a meter man.

The question you need to ask yourself is this: What's the chance that Nate is repeating a joke from last year?

Bad Horse Comics
iTunes

08:51 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

I've just confirmed that the Amazon Kindle is indeed out of stock right now on Amazon.com. Think of what this could mean!

The last time the K2 was out of stock, Amazon announced that they were going to start selling the international of the K2. And right about the last time the Kindle was OOS, Amazon announced the K2.

I think it's reasonable to jump to the obvious conclusion: Amazon is going to release a new Kindle! Seriously, I think they will soon announce the interplanetary version of the Kindle.

06:19 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | General Discussions

I just posted the first part of a review of the SmartQ V7 over on The Digital Reader. The SmartQ 7 has been reviewed extensively, but I haven't seen a review of the V7 yet. I also haven't seen a side by side comparison of the 2 models.

Here are the highlights:

I've been playing with the V7 for a couple hours now, and I can't see any significant improvement in its performance over that of its predecessor. This is something of a relief for me because I've so desperately wanted a V7 ever since it was announced.
...
My Opinion

I haven't used the Android or WinCE firmwares yet, so I can't comment on them. But I will say that I like the these tablets as general e-readers, and I'm beginning to lean towards recommending the V7 over it predecessor. I wouldn't replace an existing SmartQ 7, but if I was making a new purchase I would get a SmartQ V7. I think the extra RAM, Flash, and OS options might be worth the extra cost ($189 vs $225 at Eletroworld). On the other hand, the SmartQ 7 is a very adequate in its own right, and you should ask yourself if you really need the extra features.

12:09 PM by Nate the great in E-Book Readers | Kobo Reader

crossposted from The Digital Reader

Kobo just posted 2 new videos on Youtube. (BTW, they also uploaded the Kobo on iPad video.) One video is a teaser, the other a demo. Enjoy.

08:03 PM by causticmuse in E-Book General | News

Given the recent brouhaha about agency pricing, I was curious how my main ebook source, Fictionwise.com, would be changing their Buywise loyalty club.

Well, apparently, they have decided to simply discontinue it without bothering to announce the fact anywhere but this hard-to-find page on their site:

http://www.fictionwise.com/help/buyw...scontinued.htm

Links to to the old Buywise Club page have been removed from the site, and the digging through the FAQ only leads to the page above.

My account still shows a membership expiration date in 2015 since I paid for 5 years during last year's Buywise sale, and pricing on ebooks in my cart continue to reflect the 15% Buywise discount, but there is no way to obtain a membership now if you don't already have one.

I have written to Fictionwise to find out what will happen to existing memberships re: 15% discount, members-only sales, and the possibility of receiving store credit or refunds for the unused portions of our memberships.

03:44 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

The Guardian is reporting:

Harry Potter is getting a makeover. The boy wizard’s seven adventures, penned by the world’s first billionaire novelist, JK Rowling, are being given new covers by publisher Bloomsbury this summer as it looks to recapture just a little of its magic.

The absence of a new Potter book left the publisher out of pocket last year, with profits down 35%, but announcing the company’s annual results, chief executive Nigel Newton said trading had been “excellent”.

He added that the company, also home to chefs Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Heston Blumenthal, was hoping to find space for digital editions of its books on Apple’s new iPad, due to go on sale in the US on Saturday and in the UK a few weeks later.

Bloomsbury’s profits have dropped so much in the past year that they’re going to reprint the series with new covers. I give it 18 months before Rowling is bullied into allowing ebooks.

03:35 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

crossposted from The Digital Reader

From the press release:

The One Laptop per Child Foundation (OLPC), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help provide every child in the world access to a modern education, and Pixel Qi Corporation, an innovator in high-performance, low-power displays, have signed a permanent and royalty-free cross-licensing agreement that will allow both organizations to deliver products incorporating the world’s most advanced screen technology.

As a result of the agreement, OLPC receives full license to all Pixel Qi “3qi” screen technology, including 70+ patents in process and all current and future IP developed by Pixel Qi for multi-mode screens. Pixel Qi is leading the design of new screens for OLPC’s next-generation XO laptops. The agreement also calls for Pixel Qi to receive full license to the dual-mode (indoor and outdoor) display technology used in the XO.

07:53 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

crossposted from The Digital Reader

The BBC is reporting:

The BBC Trust has asked the BBC to postpone its plans while it looks into the business case for the new services.

The free applications were due to be released in April but have met with criticism from groups who say they will skew the market for news apps.

Several newspapers including the Guardian and Daily Telegraph already offer both free and paid-for apps.

A spokesperson for the BBC Trust said that the body had decided to launch an assessment of the apps after “representations from industry”.

One of the most vocal opponents has been the Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA), which said that the corporation would “damage the nascent market” for apps.

continued here

FYI: The underlying problem here is not apps, but the fact that the BBC is a tax funded organization in the UK, and it competes with news organizations like The Guardian, The Times, etc. The BBC has no profit incentive, so they give their content away for free.

I find the complaints about the free apps to be a little silly. Isn’t this same BBC content already available on mobile devices for free (via the browser)?