Researchers at the University of Michigan are developing an e-reader that can read a full page of text. Their technology, which has been described as a leader in the field, relies on pneumatic use of liquid or air to shrink the mechanism and expand it so it can display more at once. Their goal is for it to display the equivalent of a page of Kindle text at once. Existing … [Read more...] about Researchers are Developing a Braille e-reader
Archives for January 2016
Oxford Literary Festival does not pay authors – Philip Pullman resigns
The Oxford Literary Festival initially started as a very small gathering of people who loved books and wanted to talk about them. 20 years later, it's a heavily sponsored event and everyone gets paid, except authors. This has resulted in longstanding patron Philip Pullman resigning from the festival, complaining that authors appearing at the event “are expected to work for … [Read more...] about Oxford Literary Festival does not pay authors – Philip Pullman resigns
Contest – Win a Free $50 Fire Tablet
The Amazon Fire 7 inch $50 tablet has garnered significant media attention due to its economical price and acts as a gateway to all things Amazon. You can win this brand new tablet as part of our January giveaway! The new seven inch entry level Amazon Fire Tablet has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. Underneath the hood on the upcoming 2015 six inch tablet is a quad-core … [Read more...] about Contest – Win a Free $50 Fire Tablet
This Library is Purging User Records to Protect Your Privacy
The Graduate Center at the City University of New York has done something really special. They are protecting users privacy by deleting all loan records. The only records that will keep will only go back a single year and this is basically just to insure that people return the books that they borrow. In the last decade it’s become more common to try to force librarians to … [Read more...] about This Library is Purging User Records to Protect Your Privacy
IntuiTV has an e-Ink Remote Control
The IntuiTV streaming media console is developed by Nagra, the folks that handle the digital encryption for Dish Network and a myriad of other satellite providers. It debuted at CES this year and little is known about their business model or what type of channels will be available. One of the most interesting things about their hardware is an e-ink remote. Traditional … [Read more...] about IntuiTV has an e-Ink Remote Control
Egypt Launches a Massive Digital Library
The Egyptian government has announced that they have launched the worlds largest digital library. It is currently unknown how many titles the Egyptian Knowledge Bank actually has, but it does have a huge amount of e-books from publishers such as Oxford, National Geographic, Reuters and more. “The EKB contains scientific courses in all fields of information like electronic … [Read more...] about Egypt Launches a Massive Digital Library
The Digital Publishing Industry is on a Hiring Spree
Over the last two weeks many companies involved in e-books and digital publishing have been on hiring sprees. Kobo, Scribd, Blurb and many others have been bringing in new executives in order to spearhead new verticals. Scribd Last year, Scribd hit many milestones: They introduced content from all of the “Big Five” publishers to their subscription service and launched … [Read more...] about The Digital Publishing Industry is on a Hiring Spree
Review of the Mujjo Touchscreen Gloves
During the wintertime, we all experience the infamous problem of touchscreens not working with gloves. This has been solved by the Mujjo Touchscreen Gloves, which are designed to interact with your e-reader, smartphone or tablet. The Mujjo gloves are made of double layered knit and there is a small bit of faux leather trim with a snap on the wrist. The touchscreen … [Read more...] about Review of the Mujjo Touchscreen Gloves
Google Play Books Now Available in the Middle East
Google has just made their Google Play Books e-reading system available in 9 different countries in the Middle East. This is the first time Google has expanded into international markets since early 2015, when widespread piracy hampered their platform. If you live in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates you can now … [Read more...] about Google Play Books Now Available in the Middle East
The Japanese Print Industry is being Disrupted by Digital
The Japanese book industry has fallen 5.2 percent in 2015 and magazine sales have plummeted 8.2 percent. Many readers have switched to smartphones and tablets to buy digital content. Sales of weekly magazines also saw a sharp drop of 13.4 percent in 2015, while monthly magazines, which are more popular with readers in their 30's and 40's, fell by 6.9 percent. According to … [Read more...] about The Japanese Print Industry is being Disrupted by Digital