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Sony Adds 500,000 Books for Reader
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Google, Internet, Misc. Tech,
Sony is offereing its Reader users half a million public domain books. The Google optimized books are added to the 100,000 already available for the e-book. Included are such titles as “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” “The Awakening” and “The Letters of Jane Austen.” Google has been encoding books in the open electronic format ePub to make such titles more available to Sony and other e-book distributors.
Read More 
| NY Times
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George W. Bush Decides to Write a Memoir
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Where Are They Now?,
George W. Bush, the forty-third president of the United States of America, will put his thoughts to paper in a new memoir. The working title of the book is Decision Points, and the AP is reporting that it should be ready for publication sometime next year.
“I want people to understand the environment in which I was making decisions,” W. said over the phone to Associated Press reporters. “I want people to get a sense of how decisions were made, and I want people to understand the options that were placed before me.”
Bush famously coined the phrase “The Decider,” a title which he gave himself in defense of his War on Terror. Evidently, the book will explain to the public just what being The Decider means - in Bush’s mind, anyway. The memoir will explore a wide range of decisions, including his vice president selection of Dick Chaney.
No financial details on the book have been released.
Read More | Popwatch
Amazon releases Kindle for iPhone
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Books, New Apps, Free Apps,
We knew that Amazon was planning on bringing their Kindle e-books to other devices, but we didn’t think it would happen this soon. This evening, Kindle for iPhone was released on the App Store, available for free. In a nutshell, you are able to associate your iPhone or iPod touch with your Amazon account, and can then buy Kindle book content and have it sent to your phone for reading. Kindle for iPhone is also compatible with the Whispersync service, which allows you to continue reading any Kindle content from where you left off, no matter which device you are reading on. That means you can start reading on your iPhone, stop, then power on your Kindle and continue from the same page you left off on. Very nice.
If you are a Kindle or Kindle 2 owner, and you’ve purchased books for those devices, when you download Kindle for iPhone you’ll have an Archived Items category that will list all your purchased books, which you can access immediately. In using the app, we found that it works extremely well—not as well as a Kindle, mind you, but as an extra way to read the e-books (or as a way to save yourself the $359 Kindle price tag,) the app shines. Go ahead and hit the App Store to grab Kindle for iPhone.
Read More | Kindle for iPhone
Amazon Kindle 2 review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds, Product Reviews,
We’ve spent a few days with the Amazon Kindle 2, which has been the talk of the gadget world this week. We know some of you are wondering if you should pick one up, so we are here to give you our thoughts on the latest iteration of Amazon’s e-book reader. If you’re like us, you already know that the Kindle 2 is available for purchase now, and you likely have one in your hands - but for the rest of you, join us for our full review of the Kindle 2 (and if you missed it, check out our Kindle 2 gallery.)
Okay, so while we were working on the review, we sent a couple of questions out to some of our Twitter peeps asking what they thought of the device, and Lisa from EllisLab hit us back with so much info, that we are using her feedback to break this down for you. Sometimes you need the point of view of a “real world” user anyway, as opposed to one of us gadget fiends. So what we will do is give some of our thoughts on the Kindle 2, and then bring in Lisa’s thoughts as well.
The Kindle 2 was announced on February 9th, and just started shipping on February 24th. The announcement came with the promise of a 25% improvement in battery life, 20% faster page turns, a better screen that supports up to 16 shades of gray (as opposed to 4 shades with the original,) and a much thinner design.
Click to continue reading Amazon Kindle 2 review
Daily Show: Jeff Bezos on the Kindle 2
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Videos,
We are fans of The Daily Show for reasons like this - only Jon Stewart can get this type of reaction from powerful mogul like Jeff Bezos. Watch as Bezos comes on The Daily Show to let the world know about the Kindle 2, while Jon makes fun of just about every aspect of the product, from the price, to the notion of e-paper. Great stuff.
Patrick Swayze Memoir Due Out This Fall
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Movies,
Even though he’s already opened up to Barbara Walters, Patrick Swayze still has a lot of story left to tell.
The 56-year-old and Lisa Niemi, his wife of 30 years, are currently working on a memoir that will hit the shelves this fall. According to Atria Books, the currently untitled project “will offer an intimate account of Patrick Swayze’s childhood, career and marriage, as well as his brave fight against a diagnosis of stage-four pancreatic cancer, from which he has gleaned wisdom and has remained resolutely optimistic.”
Lisa will also contribute passages about her experience “helping a loved one battle a life-threatening disease.”
Swayze says his intention is to help those who might benefit from the book. “With everything I’ve been fortunate enough to do in my life, and covering such a wide range of diverse subject matters, I’m told that my story has been inspirational to people,” the actor said in a statement. “I will write from my heart about these experiences and aside from the sheer pleasure of doing it, if people happen to garner inspiration from it, or incentive, or find a new way to love, it would be wonderful.”
Read More | Associated Press
Sanjaya Malakar, the Author
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Television, Where Are They Now?,
During his time on American Idol’s sixth season, Sanjaya Malakar enjoyed a unique sort of fame. His biggest critics said he couldn’t sing a lick - but nothing could sway his fans from their die-hard devotion. He made waves with his changing hairdo and seemingly against-the-odds run on the show…but does Malakar have a few waves to make for the series yet?
“I realized that I had a story that no other past contestant has said,” Sanjaya Malakar recently told Access Hollywood.
The realization led him to pen the autobiographical Dancing To The Music In My Head, which will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the world of Idol, told from Malakar’s point of view. A companion CD of the same name will be released at the same time.
Read More | MSNBC
Confessions of a Shopaholic in Theaters February 13: I’m pre-ordering tickets, baby!
Posted by Katie Gutierrez Painter Categories: Celebrities, Editorials, Entertainment, Fashion, Humor,
I consider myself to be a fairly selective reader—so much so that a few years ago, my former English professor mom called me a “literary snob.” I was insulted for a second before I realized that she was absolutely right. I’ve sneered at The DaVinci Code, sniffed at Twilight, and made endless fun of most of the other crap we call genre fiction. But here’s a guilty little secret: I’m kind of into the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella… Okay, I adore the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella. It’s bubbly, charming, its ridiculous heroine, Becky Bloomwood, the vicarious shopping experience, and the hilarious situations that arise from a simple desire to buy, buy, buy!... those books get me every time. So perhaps you’ll understand my excitement when I found out that the Confessions of a Shopaholic movie, starring Isla Fisher, hits theaters on February 13!
I just watched the trailer, which you can find here, and I have to say that I have mixed feelings. Firstly, as every Shopaholic fan knows, Becky Bloomwood is British. She lives in England, in “trendy Fulham,” as her dorky boss at Successful Saving magazine likes to joke. Secondly—and I know this goes with the territory of every screen-adapted novel—that is not how I pictured Becky; I think I’d know if the character was a stunning redhead. And last, but certainly not least, it seems like they’ve Frankensteined the entire story! I know I’m revealing myself to be a total nerd at this point—I hereby resign my rights to jeer at sci-fi freaks…yeah, okay, not really—but look: There’s no fashion magazine involved in the book. No hugely popular column, just a recurring segment on the British TV show, Morning Coffee . And Luke Brandon has nothing to do with the Finnish fiasco. Am I asking too much of Hollywood to stick to the already-fine story?
... On the upside, the movie still looks really cute. :cheese: But rest assured, my husband will catch me chortling out loud, hot pink novel in hand—again—before I stalk ticket counters next month; like the literary snob I am, I want to be able to comment afterward on all the ways the book kicked the movie’s arse.
What do you think of the trailer?
iKids Play - For Those Long Car Trips
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Games, $2.99,
You get to play with your iPhone or iPod touch apps all the time, so next time you go on an extended trip, instead of hearing “Are we there yet?” pass your brats the phone with one of the iKids Play titles installed. One of the applications has 5 activities that include a coloring book, stories, finger painting, reading/recording aloud and a hidden image game. The company claims that it promotes tactile, listening and motor skills, visual/spatial coordination and color recognition as will as reading. More books will be available later, and for the introductory price of $2.99 at the App Store, it is definitely worth the mini-cost.
iKids Play titles:
Read More | iKids Play Caterpillar's Dream
Foxit eSlick Reader
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Music, Portable Audio / Video,
Foxit has introduced its first e-book reader that they have dubbed the eSlick. With a mere 0.4-inch thickness and a weight of 6.4 oz., you can view PDF files or convert any printable document to PDF. The device also has a built-in MP3 Player. It comes with software, a 2GB SD card and earphones. Foxit says it will be arriving “very soon.” You can pre-order now for $229.99 and you will save $30.00.
Read More | Foxit
