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TOP 10 ebook sites
(updated April 4, 04)
1. FictionWise,
multi formats one stop shopping site, include non fiction and exclusive short fictions.
2. BlackMask, the best free ebook site in several formats.
3. PeanutPress, award winning ebook store for PDA, friendly DRM solutions.
4. Execubook, eSummaries that deliver wisdom. Perfect for PDA users.
5. eBookAd, many indies label are here
6. Univ. of Virginia Library, Free ebooks
7. FreeeLiterature dot com, classics for free
8. Memoware, free documents from volunteers.

9. ESSPC, great place to start your collection (Free)
10.The Online Book Page, from U.Penn.
new
 

5 Recommended eBooks from my ebook shelf
(April 04)
(email me for 10% off coupon)

1. Don't Know Much About History
2. Dirty Little Secrets
3. Killing The Buddha
4. The Get With the Program! Guide to Fast Food and Family Restaurants
5. Flirt Coach
 

Pocket PC eBooks
Bestseller List
(Jan-Mar 04)

1. Star Trek Series
2. Angels and Demons
3. Holly Bible NIV ed.
4. The Da Vinci Code
5. Deception Points
6. Letters to Penthouse XIX
7. Letters to Penthouse XVIII
8. Resolutions
9. 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom
10. Against All Enemies

 

 
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Mazingo dead
 
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Pocket PC eBooks Watch - eBook and beyond  
 http://cebooks.blogspot.com 

  3/31/2005

Again, MS doesn't get it right LOL dept.
MSN Video Downloads: You'd Better Have a Spare Few Gigs!
I'm a sucker for trying out new technology, so of course as soon as I heard about the MSN Video Downloads site I jumped over and signed up for their basic service. It seemed like a cool service - it provides video content optimized for PMC/Pocket PCs (320 x 240, 500kbps) and Smartphones.
When it was all said and done, inside the My Documents folder, I had 408 video files, totalling 4.15 GB in size. And because I use data mirroring software, my other laptop and server now had the same video files, so MSN Video was now taking up over 12 GB of space on my network! Gee, with all that content there must be something good, right? I'll never know - I tried playing six random files, and all six files gave me the same authentication error. I tried logging in with my Passport information, since that's the authentication that MSN Video Downloads uses, but no dice. You can see in the error window that it was trying to authenticate from admin.theplatform.com. It seems thePlatform is a DRM service, and MSN is using them for the DRM on these files. Keeping in mind that these files are all free once you log in, why would they have such hostile DRM? And what username and password was I supposed to use?

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

Review
Apple iPod Camera Connector
It fills a missing gap in the iPod photo's arsenal. It costs only $29 when similar accessories have sold for between $80 and $110. And it's made by Apple, guaranteeing its quality and compatibility. What could possibly go wrong with the iPod Camera Connector ($29), a new Dock Connector peripheral designed to let you transfer digital photos to your iPod photo and automatically view them on its built-in screen?
...
We recommend the iPod Camera Connector to specific users only: photo hobbyists and those who either don't mind or can compensate for the unit's battery drain. For the $29 price, we do like it, but it's not the end-all-be-all photo solution it could have been.

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

i-flicks/movies/films
Sony wants an 'iTunes for movies'
Sony is to make its top 500 films available digitally in the next year.
Michael Arrieta, senior vice president of Sony Pictures, said at a US Digital Hollywood conference that it wanted to create an "iTunes" for films.
Films will be put onto flash memory for mobiles over the next year, said Mr Arrieta, and it will develop its digital download services for films.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/26/2005

New Islamic Book
No god but God
eBook by Reza Aslan
Though it is the fastest growing religion in the world, Islam remains shrouded by ignorance and fear. What is the essence of this ancient faith? Is it a religion of peace or war? How does Allah differ from the God of Jews and Christians? Can an Islamic state be founded on democratic values such as pluralism and human rights? A writer and scholar of comparative religions, Reza Aslan has earned international acclaim for the passion and clarity he has brought to these questions. In No god but God, challenging the “clash of civilizations” mentality that has distorted our view of Islam, Aslan explains this critical faith in all its complexity, beauty, and compassion.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/23/2005

Open Sesame
Hacker reopens iTunes Music Store back door
Only a day after Apple blocked the original version of PyMusique, Jon Lech Johansen says that he has posted an updated version of his software that allows users to once again tap into the iTunes Music Store and buy songs without digital rights management (DRM)
In a post on his blog entitled "So sue me," Johansen writes: "The iTunes Music Store recently stopped supporting iTunes versions below 4.7 in an attempt to shut out 3rd party clients. I have reverse engineered the iTMS 4.7 crypto which will once again enable 3rd party clients to communicate with the iTMS."

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/22/2005

Fixed?
iTunes hack disabled by Apple
Apple Computer has closed a security hole that allowed an underground program to tap into its iTunes Music Store and purchase songs stripped of antipiracy
The PyMusique software, created by a trio of independent programmers online, emerged last week as a copy protection-free back door into the popular iTunes store. One of the creators was Jon Johansen, the Norwegian programmer responsible for releasing DVD-copying software in
Apple released a statement Monday saying the problem had been fixed, and that some iTunes customers would need to upgrade their
"The security hole in the iTunes Music Store which was recently exploited has been closed, and as a consequence the iTunes Music Store will now sell music only to customers using iTunes version 4.7," the company said in a
Like all other digital music companies, Apple has been dealing continually with hackers intent on finding ways around the antipiracy protections that are added to songs as they are sold online. The company has upgraded its iTunes software several times to block unauthorized programs' access.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/21/2005

Amazing Discovery
Sling Media's Sling Box
Just saw the demo yesterday in NAB Futures Summit 2005 in Pebble Beach. The future of this product will support mobile devices including Pocket PC.
The Slingbox enables you to watch your living room TV programming from wherever you
are by turning any laptop or internet device into a personal television.
If Tivo is Timeshifting device, Slingbox is Placeshifting device. Got it?

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/18/2005

P2P Off Air
New Line on Mobile Sex
The difference between dating services like Mobile Hookup or even Match.com Mobile and MoSoSo is that the mobile dating sites cannot pretend to be about anything else.
A social-networking site appeals to singles but also attracts those who delude themselves into thinking that sex isn't part of the game. (Silly them -- sex is always part of the game, especially online.)

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

P2P
PodShanking: physical pod on pod penetration
PodShanking can be declared a "hack" in the basest sense of that word: as in hackey. This is a jury-rigged, stop-gap solution to a sticky technical problem. Throw more hardware at this problem and you'll solve it better. Throw more software at this problem and you'll also improve it - or do a quick and dirty solution that gets you the same basic results now. The hack? Direct iPod to iPod transfers.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/17/2005

Jargon: iPodectomy
Music Buffet: Loading Up for Takeout
Of course, the commercial doesn't say you will lose access to music if you stop paying. And Napster's $10,000 reckoning also assumes that everything on an iPod is purchased at the iTunes Music Store. In reality, you could have plenty of MP3's already, from ripping CD's and dredging the Internet.
But the commercial raises a good question: Will you rent albums the way you rent TV programming? If it makes financial sense - and if, armed with that knowledge, you can avoid the competing allure of iPod style and the Apple brand - you just might.
...If I could jump from TiVo to Time Warner, a switch from the iPod to the Creative Zen Micro ought to be easy by comparison. Yes, the iPod is a beautiful symbol of how cool I am, but an iPodectomy is scientifically possible.
Thankfully, an iPodectomy may not be necessary. Buzz on the Internet and in the industry suggests that Apple may be planning a retaliatory move, an iTunes to go. There are also good odds that Yahoo and Real Networks will soon join the melee.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/15/2005

Too good to be true?
TV.ORG
Over 30,000,000 people using this service are downloading their favorite TV Shows, Movies, MP3s, Software and Videogames! The Members Area will provide you with all the tools you need to start watching as many shows online and DVD quality movies as you can handle.

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

Too good to be true?
TV.ORG
Over 30,000,000 people using this service are downloading their favorite TV Shows, Movies, MP3s, Software and Videogames! The Members Area will provide you with all the tools you need to start watching as many shows online and DVD quality movies as you can handle.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/12/2005

Bad Math
How Much Is Your Stolen Music Worth?
Last month, a student at the University of Arizona was sentenced to three years probation and a $5,400 fine for illegally distributing music and movies on the Internet. A spokesman for the recording industry claims investigators found more than $50 million worth of pirated material on his computer. That seems like an awful lot of money. How much is stolen music worth?

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

I Would
Would you pay 5 cents for a song?
An academic at McGill University has a simple plan to stop the plague of unauthorized music downloads on the Internet. But it entails changing the entire music industry as we know it, and Apple Computers, which may have the power to make the change, is listening.
The assumption is that if songs cost only 5 cents, people would download exponentially more music. Daniel Levitin, a McGill professor also associated with the project, said that a simple computer program, such as those already in use on Internet retail sites, could track people's purchases and help them to dig through what would become a massive repository of music on the Web.

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

New eBook
Taking Heat: The President, the Press, and My Years in the White House
by Ari Fleischer
In this riveting account, Fleischer goes behind the scenes as he recalls his experiences in the West Wing, including such momentous events as the 2000 election, September 11, 2001 and its aftermath, the anthrax scare, the war in Afghanistan, the pressure-filled buildup to the war in Iraq, and the President's thoughts as the war began. Through the ups and downs of this time, he took the heat, fielded the questions, and brought the President's message into living rooms around the world. The early years of the twenty-first century were a tumultuous time in America...

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/11/2005

AudioBook
DRM Talk
by Cory Doctorow
On June 17, 2004, science fiction author and EFF spokesman Cory Doctorow talked to Microsoft Research Group and other interested parties about Digital Rights Management (DRM), copyright, and the technology that cleaves them together and apart. In five parts, Doctorow covers everything from DVD region coding and the player piano to the Apple iTunes Music Store and why Sony didn't create the digital successor to its once-ubiquitous Walkman. Everything you ever wanted to know about DRM, but were afraid to tell Microsoft. Unabridged reading by Alex Wilson.

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

mmmm
Popular Mechanics: Read My Screens
One of these electronic books may be the last book you ever buy.
People in book publishing have a big problem–books. They're expensive to make, expensive to ship and if you can't sell enough of them you really lose a lot of money. So, it comes as no surprise that the prospect of publishing books electronically has raised eyebrows in Silicon Valley and on Publisher's Row. "Eventually there will be no such thing as out-of-print or out-of-stock titles," pledges an enthusiastic Tom Pomeroy, co-founder of SoftBook Press. The Menlo Park, Calif., company is one of the leaders of a fledgling e-book revolution. "Our readers will be able to find just about anything and download exactly what they want in a matter of minutes."

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

So-iPod
Apple faces the music from iPod rivals
As Sony, which introduced a new music player this week, and software maker Napster, with a new portable subscription service, crowd into the market, many analysts are nervous that an "iPod killer" will ravage Apple's ability to grow.
But others see an exploding market where Apple can win without maintaining the breadth of its lead. Apple now has about 70 percent of the digital music player and music download markets.
"Less than 1 percent of the world's population has a digital music player. Apple will have more competition, but the overall category will grow fast enough and there should not be any slowdown for Apple," said Rick Doherty, analyst with market researcher Envisioneering.

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

I Read Them
eBooks: Do People Really Read Them?
Granted, electronic books are cheaper and more easily accessed (with a few clicks of the computer mouse for download of appropriate software and book text), than are their hard- copy counterparts; I know that there are various eBOOK retail sites, springing up all over the Internet, providing extensive readings lists, along with hints that eBOOKS are the next big “thing” in publishing — BUT — my question is: Are there really people out there who read these books on PC screens and/or on the tiny screens of those small palm-held electronic devises? In that, I’ve noticed, on the NightWares’ discussion pages, there seems to be very little activity from readers who should — wouldn’t you think? — be fascinated by the prospect of having a one-on-one (albeit computer) dialogue with the authors?; although, the publisher insists that the majority of his books sell to the electronic-book market
While I read an awfully lot, I confess to having read only two electronic books in my lifetime, those being circuSex and BOND-SHATTERING, both written by yours-truly. And I found doing it, while staring at a computer screen, too downright trying, exhausting, eye-straining, and uncomfortable, especially compared to my curling up with the tactile pleasures of a bound book, seated before a warm fireplace, complete with crackling logs, comforter across my knees, an ice-bucket of cool white wine (and appropriate wine glass) within easy reach. Then again, maybe I’m out of sync with the present generation...

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

eLibrary Watch
Several Libraries offer eBooks
Several Southern Illinois libraries - including Carbondale, Murphysboro, Marion and Sparta - now will be offering their patrons eBooks, thanks to their participation in a new initiative.
These eBooks are "electronic versions of print books that can be downloaded from the Internet and read either from a computer screen or a handheld device such as a PDA or Pocket PC," said Donella Odum, director of the Sallie Logan Public Library in Murphysboro. The books even can be downloaded to "smart phones," she said.

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

Review
CHM eBook Reader
The Microsoft standard Compiled Hypertext Markup Language is increasingly being used as a standard for publishing help files and user manuals electronically. CHMReader allows you to read these documents easily.

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

super Shuffle
Luxpro Corp. rips off iPod shuffle
Taiwanese company Luxpro Corp. is showing off an iPod shuffle clone called Super shuffle at this week's CeBit trade show in Hannover, Germany. From the front, the device is physically identical to Apple's iPod shuffle, straight down to the control pad and white earbuds. It touts features the iPod shuffle lacks, however, including an FM tuner and a voice recorder.

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

Bling Bling iPod
Crystal iPod Case
Would you buy iPod case 5 times the price of the ipod itself?

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/10/2005

Disactivate
Adobe Acrobat Activation Woes
"I purchased Adobe Acrobat Pro 7 last month," a reader recently wrote. "Several times since installing the software I am prompted to reactivate the product. After three successful Internet activations, I was directed to call Adobe. The person who answered the call accused me of installing the product on several PCs. I assured him that I had not done so. After reviewing my PC configuration he told me that activation does not work on RAID disk arrays. I had to install a non-RAID drive to allow Acrobat to activate properly."
To make a long story short, Adobe could do nothing to help this customer. They eventually agreed to a refund (with a 60-day wait).

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/07/2005

Music 4 Rent
Analysts: Apple may be forced to offer subscription
"The only reason they have iTunes is to sell iPods. If it turns out subscription services are important to sell iPods, they'll probably get into that business," said Jupiter Research analyst David Card. Card expects by 2009 that subscriptions will outpace downloads, generating $890 million in revenues versus $800 million for download sales.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/05/2005

New Jargon

Broad-Narrow-Ego+casting, got it?

"We have moved beyond (broadcasting and) narrowcasting into 'egocasting' -- a world where we exercise an unparalleled degree of control over what we watch and what we hear," writes Christine Rosen in The New Atlantis: A Journal of Technology and Society.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/03/2005

Hard Reader
OtterBox Armor 3600
If you have been looking for a durable and secure way to use and carry your PocketPC in extreme conditions the folks at OtterBox may have the product for you called the Armor 3600. I am talking extreme conditions here not your average jaunt out to the car in the rain or casual ride around the block on your bike (but it is also good for that as well. I am talking about white knuckling rides down rapids in a canoe or kayak on a major dam release day on the Dead River (yes those that frequent Maine know what I am talking about) or riding through the technical single track slamming the “babyheads” of such infamous trails as “Vietnam”. Yeah we are talking Mountain Dew/X-Games Extreme here and of course you want to bring your Pocket PC with you.
(source: PocketPcThoughts)

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

Hardware Watch
Intel Mobile Concept PCs provide vision of digital lifestyle
Intel Corporation has unveiled its latest concept mobile PCs during the Intel Developer Forum Spring 2005. The new designs demonstrate how future Intel Centrino mobile technology platforms could be used to provide "on-the-go" entertainment for consumers and enhanced innovation for "digital office" users.
"The new concept mobile PC designs feature system-level innovation that builds on Intel's silicon leadership and helps to catalyze the notebook computer industry to create compelling new solutions that deliver a range of form factors, capabilities and end-user benefits," said Mike Trainor, Intel's chief mobile technology evangelist. "Intel innovation is enabling the industry to transform the mobile PC into the essential digital lifestyle accessory."

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/02/2005

Unfair Call
J-Walk Calls Boycott on DRM Music
...The only rational approach is to boycott RIAA-affiliated labels and never buy DRM-crippled music. How is that possible? I recommend CD Baby and eMusic. Of course this won't work for the majority of people who have been programmed to believe that the only good music is the music you hear on Clear Channel radio.

IMHO, some of the DRM actually quite fair in treating honest customers, to name them are: Peanutpress (ereader format) and iTunes' Fairplay

posted by Jerry permanent link

  3/01/2005

Pocket TiVo
Watch Your TiVo Program On Your Pocket PC
Earlier this year, TiVo started rolling out their TiVoToGo feature which allows you to watch recorded programs on your Windows based PC. One of the TiVo Community members has posted some additional steps to get that TV show on your Pocket PC.
or this to work, you need a Series 2 TiVo box, a network (wired or wireless) and the the 7.1 software update....

posted by Jerry permanent link

 

Of blindness, Louisiana humor and stirfried crickets
One of the library world's most heartfelt blogs--enlivened by wry Southern humor--comes from a man who cannot see his own words. My friend David Faucheux, a blind MLIS in Lafayette, Louisiana, who will do a chatcast at 8 p.m. EST tonight, has been posting to his Blind Chance audio blog since last spring. David is featured on the home page and FAQ page of Audio Blogger and has won recognition from Feedster as well. ALA President-Elect Michael Gorman may question the usefulness of blogging, but David Fauxcheux and his fans don't. Listen to David's new MP3 on stirfried crickets and other insect delights for an example of his work. Or if you want something more somber, hear David remember Nader, the yellow Labrador, his late guide dog. Time to think about helping blind people in your community start their own audio blogs to convey their experiences and needs? More at TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home.

posted by David Rothman permanent link