If you're giving someone an iPhone for Christmas or Hanukkah, you must also give that person a copy of iPhone Fully Loaded, 2nd Edition, by Chicago Sun Times columnist and MacBreak Weekly co-host Andy Ihnatko. I read the first edition when it came out, and the chapter on iTunes smart filters alone improved my experience with the iPhone. The other chapters are also very useful. You'll learn the easiest way to get DVDs, internet videos, VHS tapes, broadcast TV episodes, podcasts, e-books, comics, songs from various sources, Office documents, and lots of other kinds of media onto an iPhone....
We've never hidden the fact that our favorite ebook reader is eReader. We've used it for years on just about every platform and currently both Kevin and I are big fans of eReader on the iPhone. Another reader from Lexcycle, Stanza, has been one of the most downloaded apps for the iPhone since its release. Stanza is a great reader application but Kevin and I lamented the fact that it could not handle content purchased in the eReader store. Today's breaking news will make fans of Stanza and eReader very happy indeed. Fictionwise, the company behind the eReader format,...
This tech blog has always been skeptical of digital e-book readers. Maybe because we think the feeling of a stiff hardback or welted paperback book is timeless. Or maybe it was because major e-book vendors such as Sony and Amazon.com never released how many units of the devices they actually sold. A typical ebook reader This week, though, Sony for the first time disclosed that it sold 300,000 units of its Reader Digital Book globally since the device launched in October 2006. Steve Haber, senior vice president of personal mobile and imaging division for Sony, says the unit growth is...
Developers of iPhone applications can get out the scissors and start clipping coupons. Apple apparently now provides 50 codes that allow promotional copies to be downloaded from the App Store. This is akin to publishers sending out books to influential columnists and bloggers. MacRumors has the story, as well as the full screenshot of the coupon redemption in action. It appears recipients of promo versions must download the apps via iTunes, as opposed to directly from the App Store app on the iPhone. The concept of free copies is not that innovative, but it's another step toward the App...
We don't have super batteries yet, but soon we might see ultra-low power displays that could keep a notebook running 20 to 40 hours before needing a charge. Mary Lou Jepsen, designer of nonprofit One Laptop Per Child's famous green-and-white XO netbook, has plans to ship energy-efficient screens for laptops and e-books in the second half of 2009. Like the XO's screen, the new low-powered displays will be readable under direct sunlight and consume a small fraction of the power of a traditional display. Battery life has become a prominent issue as the tech industry demands smaller, more powerful...
Love it or hate it, Amazon.com’s Kindle e-book reader is selling well -- in fact, even at $359 there currently aren’t any in stock. So Amazon certainly doesn’t need any advice from me about how to sell more Kindles, but I have some ideas about how the company could make the device more attractive to casual readers like me. The basic idea would be to make the Kindle reach critical mass as a consumer product, similar to how many “average” people own an iPod. Whether iPod owners use it or appreciate it isn’t as important as the fact that...
On April Fool’s Day of this year, I wrote the following page in the Learnscaping un-book. I meant to be serious. Coincidence happens. Isaac Newton (1643–1727) and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz (1646–1716) invented calculus at the same time but independently of one another! (wikipedia) When Newton and Leibniz first published their results, there was great controversy over which mathematician (and therefore which country) deserved credit. Newton derived his results first, but Leibniz published first. Newton claimed Leibniz stole ideas from his unpublished notes, which Newton had shared with a few members of the Royal Society. This controversy divided English-speaking mathematicians from...
I swear. If one. more. EFin. person tells me: “Get a Kindle.” I will punch them in their piehole. Since I am not a violent person, I am doing the next best thing. Documenting the reasons why I do not want one for future: “Why don’t you want a Kindle?” question. I can just point them back here. How efficient -rolls eyes-. Look, I am eco friendly and do my part. I love gadgets, electronics, basically anything with a power chord and USB cable. I am all about the digital age - just look at my blog, Facebook notes, and...
There were rumors about Apple planning a flip iPhone. But, till now, we still haven’t heard of any movement from Apple. The Chinese now have taken one step ahead of Apple, rolled out an iPhone clamshell. And of course, this is a clone which is not from the original factory of Apple. This flip iPhone comes from the mainland of cloned phones, China but is made to carry the Apple logo. The maker of this cloned handset even gives the phone a name called iPhone V126 clamshell. It looks pretty attractive and comes in the brushed aluminum casing. But the...
Filed under: Fun, Internet, Text, Web services Wondering what to get your less-than-tech-savvy friends? On a tight budget and can't buy them a PS3 or even a single Blu-ray title? Worry slightly less courtesy this cheapskates' guide to gifting content from the internet. Not everything is budget-friendly, but almost everything on the list is a terrific value. MUSIC Lee wrote up a lovely list of 35 places to download free, legal MP3's back in August. If you're still intent on forking over cash for tunes (and I don't blame you), here are a few other ideas:RhapsodyPossibly one of the best...
Top publishers are revving up their libraries of digital books to capitalize on the presumed success and hype of the Amazon Kindle — actual sales are still based on speculation — but one big name is putting its money on a device that has proven its popularity: the iPhone. “We’re very bullish on that as a platform. We think it’s gonna be a great competitor to Amazon,” said David Langevin, VP and director of electronic markets for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. The publisher recently partnered with a design and development company called ScrollMotion to launch a series of...
