06:10 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book Formats | Workshop

Even digitizing a single book is a pretty significant endeavor for a single individual. But Google announced a couple of years ago that they were going to digitize entire library collections including the New York Public Library and Harvard University libraries. This may be a big challenge, and may even face some legal resistance, but it's also a big step forward into the digital generation of books.

So far, Google has been very private about how they plan to accomplish all of this. I suppose they don't want any others to copy their methods. Or get indications of how they might make use of the scanned materials based on scanning methodology.

But it turns out that Carnegie Mellon University is doing a large scale scanning effort of its own, and they are talking about it. They are using off-the-shelf scanning technology and put book scanners at 40 locations in China and India in order to keep costs down.

Check out more on both efforts at Technology Review.

But maybe Google is using robotic scanners. This approach was experimented with at Stanford. For an interesting interview on it with Michael Keller, University Librarian, Director of Academic Information Resources, and Publisher of HighWire Press and the Stanford University Press, check out this article.

05:56 PM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Lounge

There is a new kind of tiny microphone available from Akustica, that is completely contained on a single chip. The new mic will cost about $3.76 in large quantities, which is a bit higher than about $1 for a traditional ECMs (Electret Condenser Microphones), but it is a good fit for handheld devices or even better quality audio for digital camcorders.

One big advantage is that it doesn't need the insulation to protect from interference that is required for traditional microphones. That's good news for designers of shrinking notebooks and handheld devices that contain more and more capabilities. It is also a boost for design of devices meant to be used for VOIP telephone calls over the internet.

(via ZdNet )

01:28 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

This is pretty exciting. It's not exactly a tiny sleek cell phone, but when have you ever seen a cell phone with the ability to project a 15" image?

Get all the scoop at Engadget on this phone that was shown off by a Taiwanese company at the Intel booth at 3GSM.

05:26 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | News

Have you ever heard that good news comes in batches? Well, sometimes good blog news comes in like the tide, and at TeleRead the tide is in!

Take a look at some of the great stuff that's on topics near and dear to our hearts:

* The really open reader
* USA Today columnist calls for e-book standards
* The iPod IS a threat to listeners? ears
* PDF, PDAs and the reflowability question
* Downloading Dickens: Inevitable, or a Fantasy??
* IDPF survey of e-book buyers: PDA platform and eReader lead?and, yes, book prices matter
* Update on HP e-book reader
* Manybooks.net readers use Palm, Pocket PC, desktop PC

05:11 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Looking for game emulators that run on Windows Mobile devices? You're in luck! You can find a recent one here.

Apparently it is more up to date than this one from PDA Arcade that I've visited many a time when I thought I might give game emulation a try. And then I always remember that I don't have the patience for these games anymore anyway and just let it go.

(via the remarkable Werner Ruotsalainen!)

05:06 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Werner Ruotsalainen at Smartphone and PPC Magazine is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers about Windows Mobile devices. He produces some really great information, and his latest contributions are top notch.

The article I want to highlight here is called "The Definitive Pocket PC Mail Client Roundup" and it really looks like it is.

The clients covered are:
* The built-in (Pocket) Inbox / Messaging client
* WebIS Mail
* FlexMail beta 2
* Qmail
* nPOP and nPOPw
* ProfiMail 2.37

There's also some follow up material that the author recommends over at a PocketPC Thoughts thread with the same material and more.

04:36 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book Software | Reading and Management

There is a new head of the eReader division of Motricity. According to the Motricity press release, "Motricity, a leading provider of mobile content solutions to the wireless industry, today announced that it has named business development executive Elizabeth Mackey as vice president and general manager of the company's eReader division—one of the world's largest electronic book publishers. Mackey brings a wealth of experience as a former executive of several leading publishers and media companies, including audio-book leader Audible, Inc. and Franklin Electronic Publishers. Her appointment is directly related to Motricity's ongoing investment in strengthening its business-to-consumer market channel and follows the recent appointment of Kathleen Stockham, former head of marketing at BestBuy.com, as vice president of Commerce.

" 'With her proven entrepreneurial expertise and in-depth knowledge of ebook technology and licensing, Elizabeth is a crucial addition to our eReader team,' said Ryan Wuerch, chairman and CEO for Motricity. 'She will strategically develop and lead Motricity's efforts to provide the most compelling mobile commerce ebook experience for consumers.'

"Mackey will be responsible for directing all business development and operations for eReader..."

Mackey's previous experience includes time with Audible, Franklin Electronic Publishers, as well as the publishing industry and working in media corporations.

We've seen the web site at eReader become pretty stagnant and outdated in recent years, with the exception of new titles, and the software itself has not exactly been moving forward quickly with new versions and features. A change is likely to help shake things up if she doesn't get so focused on business development that the operations side suffers. In terms of a customer's perspective, the key person is probably whoever is slotted to be reporting to her, in charge of operations.

via TeleRead

10:53 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Okay, first of all I have to admit this is unauthorized. It's simply some information from a snoopy reporter who was curious about DateBk6 (because I love the DateBk program), and happened upon some draft web pages that are worth sharing. Well, okay, I admit that I didn't just "happen" upon them. I started guessing URLs and got lucky. And I also have to admit that I was too lazy to contact the developer directly (a really nice guy, by the way) to confirm any of this info, or look into the Yahoo Groups forum for beta testers. So what I'm about to share may or may not be close to final form.

Here's the basic scoop... Version 6 has been out in beta form for a while, and the web pages look like they are just about ready to go. There is a payment page, upgrade page, new features page, product main page, etc. Looks like prices stay very reasonable at <$30 purchase and <$15 upgrade.

If you want to see all the good info, here's a great page to start with...
http://www.pimlicosoftware.com/datebk6.htm

It will lead you to just about all the info. It will probably become one of the main Pimlico pages once it's completed.

Let us know what you think if you are one of the beta testers and are allowed to share with us. Or if you are the developer and surprised at all the new web traffic on unpublished pages, then feel free to join us here for some free publicity and to tease us a little with some news about the new release!