04:42 PM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Lounge

It may only be for a few select cities, but it's great to hear that certain libraries are allowing members to download audiobooks. Unfortunately, that darn DRM prevents it from being a perfect solution, and limits the devices you can listen on. But maybe it's not too bad for this particular application until something better comes along. The libraries are using a version of Windows Media Audio from Overdrive, Inc which probably means no Linux or Mac support.

Worth a look at your local library if you are in one of the lucky cities like Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland and Los Angeles.

Via marketingshift.com

03:53 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

So if you want to find some of the most unusual laptop designs that have been invented, where do you look? ZigZag Designs went and looked at the patent office. Check out the full article for all the designs he shared. But here are a few designs to whet your appetite. Hey, you never know. The projection screen designs might actually come to pass one day.

[Look at this full post to see the thumbnails. Click on the thumbnails to see the bigger pictures.]

via Digg

01:53 PM by Bob Russell in More E-Book Readers | iRex

There is now a hands on review of the Iliad e-book reader that we are so curious and excited about.

The author mentions that "iRex is keen to offer its content to readers through its own portal service. The idea is that you’ll be able to subscribe and then get downloads automatically, for example the daily newspaper sent in time for the morning commute via you broadband connection." Because it's device specific, the subscription plans were not of interest to the author, but I think it has a place. A lot of people are happy with daily Audible subscription news shows like New York Times or Wall Street Journal. I think that content aimed as single use is perfect for this sort of thing. And (ignoring the cost for a moment) I'd be much happier reading the daily newspaper on an Iliad than on real newspaper newsprint.

via TeleRead

09:45 AM by Laurens in Archive | Sunrise

The Showcase is a list of predefined documents for newsfeeds from BBC News, New York Times and several other sites. It contains link rewriting rules for fetching the printer-friendly versions of articles.

Get it from the download page.

Incidentally, I also released a new beta, which adds a "Paste Special" command to make copying settings from the Showcase easier. See the Showcase readme for instructions on how to copy documents to your own SXL.

09:01 AM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Firefox is a great web browser. But if you have upgraded to the latest version 1.5.0.1, you may have found that it broke your extensions. So does that leave you "up the creek with no paddle?" Not really.

There are at least two approaches out there for fixing them and you can find detailed information at:
* EvilSoft article
* Download Squad article

If you are adventurous, then give it a try and let us know if you are able to overcome. The rest of us will probably just play it safe and wait this one out.

07:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

My goodness, is it Sunday again? Well, for those of you who've missed the highs and lows of MobileRead over the past seven days, this is your one-way ticket to catch up:

Browsers
Opera-based browser for the Nintendo DS

E-Book Readers
iRex iLiad reader too slow for "live" websites

General Chat
Leave a name tag on your external memory cards
Minority Report multi-touch screen demo
mobileGlu brings del.icio.us, Flickr and co. to your mobile
More screenshots of PalmSource's ALP demo
There's a time after BlackBerry
Was SMS invented in 1861?
Windows Vista may revolutionize e-book reading
Yahoo's Dave Goldberg on DRM

Other E-Book Resources
Go It Alone - Free web book on entrepreneurship

Other Gadgets
Handhelds to make financial services available across the world
InfoSync's five most favorite phones
Microsoft's "Origami Project" is...
Read e-books, watch TV and play free games on your PSP

Palm
Are you addicted to your Treo?
A waterproof case for your Treo
Bluetooth Stereo for your Treo
No new PalmOS Treos until mid 2006
PalmPDF V1.1 released
Your Treo is a fax machine!

Pocket PC
Symbol's MC50 ruggedized Pocket PC with keyboard

Sunrise
Sunrise XP beta 3 released

WiFi / Bluetooth Technologies
Microsoft to cause havoc in the VoIP market?

05:20 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The author at PalmInsider says it all, "It is one of the coolest program[s] I have ever tested which simply converts your Treo into a full fax machine. You can send and receive faxes, integrated with DTG and the SD card."

The program is CS Fax, and they are looking for beta testers if you want to get a jump on the rest of the crowd.

Via PalmInsider:

05:00 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Business Week has reviewed a Pocket PC that is rough enough to stand up to plenty of abuse. I've handled some of those "hardened" Symbol pda models, and believe me when I say you can throw it across the room and expect it to be none the worse for the experience. They are described as not being pretty, but as a hardcore techie I think they are beautiful.

The MC50 weighs 6.8 ounces and "includes a 3.5-inch QVGA color touchscreen, your choice of a model with a keyboard or a unit optimized for making phone calls, built-in 801.11b wireless fidelity, and the ability to make voice over IP (VoIP) calls. There are options for push-to-talk, a 1.1-megapixel digital camera, and a bar-code reader."

It costs $1,200, but if you beat it up in the field, then that's sure a lot cheaper than buying a new one every week for year!

Via BusinessWeek