08:40 AM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Lounge

According to TheInquirer Ebay has just confirmed the acquisition, for $2.6 billion in cash and stock. USA Today reports that EBay said "The total value of the deal may climb to $4.1 billion based on whether Skype meets a series of performance targets over the next three years" and "the acquisition of privately held Skype will create 'an unparalleled e-commerce and communications engine' for Internet users worldwide."

Forbes is reporting that Deutsche Bank Securities noted "Skype has about 53 million active users globally of its free peer-to-peer product, but far fewer paying customers. An eBay deal could push Skype's free service as a tool for auction customers, and then aggressively push fee-based calling and other existing services..."

This would certainly be an interesting communications tool for EBay, but I wonder if they don't have other ideas. Personally, I don't think I would want to talk with other EBay customers or sellers by Skype call, but maybe not so bad when you don't need external microphones and speakers, so I will keep an open mind.

08:22 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Portable Audio/Video

On the off-chance that you've spent the last few days living under a rock, let me be the first to tell you that Apple has released the iPod nano, a mini-mini-version of their current iPod color line. iLounge had a hands-on, and their conclude:

We love our nanos, and are betting that this will be a big success for Apple, quite potentially the basis for both higher and lower-capacity models. Hopefully, new colors will also be in the cards for 2006. Until then, we'll be playing with our white and black ones, and just waiting to see the next tricks the company has up its sleeves.

We should also tell you that they were not so happy about the fact that virtually all top-mounting iPod and iPod mini accessories are incompatible with the iPod nano.

Related: iPod nano stress test (not for the faint-hearted! - anyways thanks for the link Laurens!)

07:26 AM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Wired.com tells us the story how scientists at Oregon State University equip songbirds with cell phones to monitor their migratory routes.

The mobile cellular devices will weigh 0.07 ounces and will be attached to birds captured in nets in North American breeding grounds. They will allow the scientists to track their locations within a radius of 2 to 3 miles, an unprecedented degree of resolution.

Only don't tell PETA (thinking about radiation hazards).

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

The La Vista, Nebraska Public Library will soon add 7,000 Netlibrary titles to its current online collection of approximately 20,000 e-books. A $250 grant was awarded by the Nebraska Library Commission to purchase an expanded subscription to the Netlibary service.

Each e-book title has an associated list of keywords in an electronic database to allow library patrons to easily find e-books of interest using keyword searches. E-book titles are free to registered library card holders, and can be downloaded to their personal computers and "checked out" for a period of two weeks.

[Source]

08:13 AM by Colin Dunstan in E-Book General | News

Has it ever occured to you that e-books appear dull and boring? E-books could contain illustrations, photos and diagrams without increasing their weight or volume. E-books could also contain aminated video clips and clips of music or poetry. So why have e-book publishers been so hesitant in adding extra content to e-books that could make them more valuable to many than regular paper books? Listen to Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti's call for "better-looking" e-books through her latest podcast at Teleread.

Related: On the Future of Readers

06:40 AM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Phone Uploader is a free service which allows you to send ringtones, wallpapers, Java applets and other stuff to your cell phone - for free. All you have to do is upload your file to Phone Uploader, which then in turn sends an SMS to your cell phone with the appropriate download URL.

Digging a little further, I found out that the SMS includes a jump code to this page. If you type in any number, you can download anything others have uploaded before. Keep this in mind when you upload your personal pics of your girlfriend next time.

06:13 AM by Colin Dunstan in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Well, it's not about what you think. Windows in your pocket is a massive step-by-step tutorial from Tom's Hardware explaining how to take a standard Windows XP and shrink it down to fit on your USB flash drive. You'll end up with a complete, bootable Win32 environment with network support, a graphical user interface and FAT/NTFS/CDFS filesystem support. I know what Linux fans might be thinking... "Knoppix does that" - but think about how cool it is to plug your USB drive in a random computer and generate blue screens everywhere.

06:01 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Welcome to another digest entry of MobileRead, where we transform the profound into the bite-sized.

Current E-Books Trends
Harry Potter comes to your iTunes
Illinois library to offer free ebooks, audiobooks with a catch

E-Book Webstores
This week's eReader 10% discount

General Chat
Do students benefit from whiz-bang gadgetry?
Symbian sympathizer now believes in Linux

iSilo/X
iSilo and iSiloX/C 4.28 released

Other E-Book Resources
Ancestor is Scott Sigler's new podcast novel
Blackmask goes mobile

Other Gadgets
Newspaper delivered to your PSP in Norway

Other Readers
New version of µbook released - 0.9e
Palm OS Beta Testers required for NewsRaider

Palm
Japanese firm to acquire PalmSource
New podcasts coming... 247 Chat Show
Palm, Inc responds to purchase of PalmSource
PalmAddict forum contest
Palm releases SD Card compatibility list
PalmSource sale won't kill Palm OS
Vote for MobileRead in Reader Awards poll
What sealed Palm's software fate?

Pocket PC
HTC Universal early in-depth review
iTunes phone crippled to 100 songs
Pocket G2 - Gnutella P2P client for Pocket PC

Portable Audio/Video
NerdTV now officially on the air
Rumor: iPod mini with flash and color screen

Smartphones
Chinese release Linux Smartphone
Crossing the Digital Divide: Mobile phones for learning