How Amazon handled a recent illegal book upload

Much has been said, often, about how Amazon once automatically deleted, from Kindles, books that had been illegally uploaded -- and Jeff Bezos, in his forum apology, termed it "stupid, thoughtless" and a "self-inflicted" problem for which he said they deserved the criticism they got.

  In a later court hearing, Amazon gave legal assurances they'd not be doing that again, and before the hearings, Communications Director Drew Herdener had said they were changing their systems so that this situation wouldn't be repeated.

  Despite all this, hardly a day passes without online discussions including statements from many who are eager to believe and to tell others, that Amazon will delete books when it feels like it, which is, at this point, a fantasy, since they are a business interested in survival.


In a story early in September that didn't get much exposure, The Australian's Fran Foo wrote, "Amazon caught by fake e-book scam: Kindle users refunded for bogus Jamie Oliver title."   I'll take the liberty of quoting quite a bit of it, as I'd rather not paraphrase here and the story is linked for further reading.

'AMAZON has been forced to remove a fake Jamie Oliver title from its Kindle Australia e-reader bookstore.

The internet giant didn't realise it had been duped when it added the so-called book, priced at $US3.99, to its online store.

The Kindle edition of The Naked Chef 2 Recipes, purportedly by Oliver, has been available in Australia since at least January.

A spokeswoman for Oliver's local publisher, Penguin Group, said there was no such title by the celebrity chef.

Amazon admitted a "third party" who didn't have rights to sell the book was behind the problem.

It sent emails to affected customers in July informing them of the breach and offering a refund.

"We are writing to inform you that we need to refund your purchase of the book Jamie Oliver The Naked Chef 2 Recipes," the Amazon email said.

"This book was added to our catalogue by a third party who we now believe did not have the rights to make the book available for sale.

"We will be removing the book from our servers, making it unavailable for re-downloading from your archived items.

"Any copies you already have on your Kindle devices will not be removed, but you may choose to remove any such copies yourself."  [Emphasis mine]

Seattle-based Amazon spokeswoman Stephanie Mantello declined to say how long the book had been on sale, how many copies had been purchased or what steps the company would take to ensure the incident was not repeated.

She declined to reveal how and when the issue first came to Amazon's attention. "We don't disclose details of private conversations with partners."

It is unclear how the third party slipped through Amazon's screening process, but Ms Mantello said there were many ways of placing e-books in Amazon's Kindle catalogue." '

The rest of the article, explaining how e-books are placed in the Kindle catalogue plus a bit of history of a previous book scam involving a purported Oliver book are at The Australian's news site.
  Also, any interested in how the original scam developed can read about it at Snopes.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

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(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
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Note the change in Free Download of Best Website Bookmarks article today.

This is a note for Kindle Edition blog subscribers.  I've updated the Free Bookmarks File article today, to fix a a problem when requesting to email an Amazon-preconverted non-rights-protected .azw file from one's computer to a Kindle device -- it's not considered a personal doc for sending to the Kindle.  For a year, this didn't present a problem with this file, but it does now, so I've updated that article and am putting a new post here because Amazon doesn't update for mildly updated blog articles unless there's a new post.

I also added KindleTwit as it's customized for the Kindle and does not require a 'new window' for links and lets you follow the links in tweets.  Thanks for the alert from Mike Cane. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Amazon launches Kindle for the Web. Amazon Encore Fall & Spring book lists.

AMAZON'S BEEN BUSY - Here's another press release, and I'll quote most of it below.  There had been talk this week of Amazon planning ahead for the ability to charge fees for additional previews someday, but  it was felt by some that these reported moves could be just getting that capability firm IF ever needed.  So, I left in the top-left portion of the new Amazon ad that red-letters the first word in "Free Kindle Reading Apps" title.

The Amazon Kindle Team had previously announced at the forums that they would soon be launching Web previews of books using HTML5, and this is apparently it.  Here's the press release (minus already-familiar  portions described in the introduction), since their choice of wording is more important for a new feature that's a departure from we we've known.   Samples, we're able to read in a relaxed way on our Kindles, and the marketing push of the web version will emphasize blog ads for Kindle books as well as the sharing of content from a book, with quoting now easily more than a blurb.  (Emphases below are mine)

' Amazon Launches Kindle for the Web

Readers can now read the first chapter of Kindle books for free through web browsers - no download or installation required.

Bloggers and website owners can embed Kindle book samples and earn referral fees on sales.  [Some book-oriented blogs will become quite quite a bit fatter, but scroll-windows will help.]

SEATTLE, Sep 28, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Amazon...today introduced the beta version of "Kindle for the Web," making it even easier for customers to discover new books and authors by sampling Kindle books directly through web browsers ...  More information about Kindle for the Web and how to embed Kindle book samples is available at www.amazon.com/kindlefortheweb.

Customers simply click the "Read first chapter FREE" button on a book product page on Amazon or on other websites, and the first chapter will open within the web page.  Customers can change the font size and line spacing, adjust the background color, and share their favorite books with friends and family via Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail--all without leaving the book in the browser.

"With Kindle for the Web, it's easier than ever for customers to sample Kindle books - there's no downloading or installation required," said Dorothy Nicholls, Director, Amazon Kindle.  "Kindle for the Web is also a great way for bloggers and authors to promote books on their websites by letting visitors read a chapter without leaving their site."

To see examples of Kindle for the Web on authors' websites, go to the blog of author Karen McQuestion at www.mcquestionablemusings.blogspot.com and the free sample of her bestselling Kindle book "A Scattered Life,"  or the website of author John Miller at www.heymiller.com and the free sample of his book "The First Assassin."  [That is heavy support for McQuestion and Miller.]

In the future, Kindle for the Web will include optimization for mobile browsers and other features. For more information about Kindle for the Web, including instructions on how to embed Kindle book samples, go to www.amazon.com/kindlefortheweb. '

For a list of frequently asked questions and other information, Amazon's Kindle for the Web Beta Help page.

Here are three of the questions and answers that may be of special interest:

' What is the difference between Kindle for the Web Beta and Search Inside the Book?
Search Inside the Book is a scanned copy of the physical book that gives you an impression of what the physical book look and feels like.  Kindle for the Web Beta offers an enhanced online experience to give you an impression of the book as a digital Kindle edition.

Can I use Kindle for the Web without making a purchase?
Yes.  It's free to view Kindle for the Web Beta samples, and share those samples or embed them on the web.

Why can't I view more pages from a specific book?
We help our customers discover and sample books to ensure that they'll be satisfied with their purchases.  Our agreements with publishers and copyright holders currently limit how much of the book is available for preview.  We continue to work with publishers to expand these limits (Emphasis mine) '

AMAZON ENCORE ANNOUNCES FALL AND SPRING PUBLISHING LISTS
AmazonEncore announces they'll introduce "eight exceptional new books" this spring:

' The list features compelling works of fiction including "Catcher, Caught" by Sarah Collins Honenberger; "Stalina" by Emily Rubin; "The Summer Son" by Craig Lancaster; "Regarding Ducks and Universes" by Neve Maslakovic; "Faking It" and "Ordinary World" by Elisa Lorello; and "Nickel Plated" by Aric Davis, as well as the physical edition debut of J.A. Konrath's "Shaken" (available first on Kindle in October 2010).

  The spring 2011 list also marks the imprint's first diet book, "Get Real and Stop Dieting!" by Brett Blumenthal.  AmazonEncore books are available in print format at www.amazon.com and as wireless digital downloads in less than 60 seconds from the Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore) to Kindle devices and Kindle apps. For more information on AmazonEncore and upcoming titles, visit www.amazon.com/encore. '

Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Amazon will release a Kindle app for "new Blackberry PlayBook tablet computer"

Gizmodo reports "The BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet: 10 Things You Need to Know" ... This relationship between Amazon and the BlackBerry Tablet was rumored for awhile as ready to go soon and, along with the Samsung Galaxy Tablet, the iPad will be getting some competition for a more easily carryable tablet (7" or so) that can do more but that won't have Apple's Apps store.

Kindle users who have been hesitating to get a supplementary tablet have been looking at the Samsung Galaxy and will be looking this over also.  It'll be awhile before it comes out, but the announcement was made already for a reason. Check out the article linked if curious. It's very capable, will probably be quite costly, and does real multitasking (not suspended type).

QuickNote when the PR release came in:
The Business Wire press release says:

'Amazon.com today announced that it will launch a Kindle app for the new BlackBerry PlayBook tablet computer. Customers can already enjoy the free Kindle app on their BlackBerry today. Like all Kindle apps, the Kindle app for the new BlackBerry PlayBook will let customers Buy Once, Read Everywhere--on Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle DX, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry, Android-based devices, and in the coming months, the new BlackBerry PlayBook. Amazon's Whispersync technology syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off. For more information about the free Kindle apps, go to www.amazon.com/kindleapps.
. . .
"When you buy a Kindle book, you can already read it on iPhone, iPad, Android, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, and of course on your Kindle, Kindle 3G, and Kindle DX," said Dorothy Nicholls, Director, Amazon Kindle. "We're very excited to add the new BlackBerry PlayBook to that list. As with our other Kindle apps, the BlackBerry PlayBook app will be free and will incorporate our WhisperSync technology so you can seamlessly switch between devices. Our vision is 'Buy Once, Read Everywhere.'" '

Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Kindle in the News - Sept 26, 2010: Shelfari, Top Gadgets, Cover with light.

KINDLE FOR ANDROID'S SHELFARI ADDITION
The Motley Fool's Darleen Hartley, of The Motley Fool, at MSNBC, points out that Amazon bought Shelfari, a social-networking startup at about the same time it acquired AbeBooks.

For some reason, she posts that "Previously, the Kindle's 3G wireless connection could access only Amazon's bookstore" which isn't at all true though most news columnists are under that mistaken impression -- the various Kindles have had the experimental web browser since 2007 (see my Kindle 1 accessing google search in 2008 as well as website-access comparisons between Kindle 1 and Kindle 2 done in February 2009.

Hartley points out though that the Kindle for Android update this week makes it  possible to view book details from Shelfari on smartphones running Android and adds:

' Shelfari lets you create a virtual bookshelf, where friends can see what you are reading and you can review and discuss them. A Shelfari widget works on most blogs and social networks, including Blogger, LiveJournal, MySpace, TypePad, Xanga, Vox, WordPress, and Facebook.
. . .
Members can post their shelves, reviews, and comments. '

NEW ZEALAND'S THE STAR ADDS KINDLE TO ITS TOP 5 GADGETS LIST
The Canterbury Star's Top 5 Gadgets List includes the Kindle 3 (UK: K3) along with such items as:
The Limit Hockey Table, SlushMagic: By Sunbeam, COOLPIX P7000: By Nikon, and Skycaddie SG5 GPS

It was odd to see the K3 in this type of listing.  The Star's description:

' If you still can't decide the eBook reader for you, the Kindle 3 is about to make the choice a lot tougher.
  I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of these and was impressed by its performance.  These readers are light, manageable and have great contrast and clarity.  It also packs PDF support, has a built-in keyboard and long battery life.  Uploading books couldn't be easier, just sign up with internet retail giant Amazon and a massive world of reading is available at your fingertips.  Sadly you still have to order these bad boys from overseas. '

I enjoyed the last line's description of the Kindles.

FROM THE WEST COAST - WHY THE CASE WITH LIGHT
I will be doing an article in the coming week on lights I've preferred when using the Kindle, but for now here's StarkSilverCreek's Loni Kao Stark explaining why, after thinking about it for 2 weeks and not leaning toward integrated multi-purpose electronics, she decided she wanted the Amazon cover with light, which is essentially $35 for the cover plus $25 more if getting the basic cover with the built-in light:

' Technology, especially personal technology, changes your expectations.  Whereas before I was happy with the limitation that I could only read my paper book if I hauled around a book light or moved myself to an area that was lit, the very knowledge of what is possible makes me, well, dissatisfied.

With winter approaching, the days are getting shorter.  As the passenger of a car that travels frequently up and down 280 and 101 highways, there are several occasions I want to read on my Kindle when it’s dark.  At each of these moments, I imagine the convenience of a lighted Kindle case.  I brought my book light one time and something that seemed pretty compact before now is an unpleasant projection.'

As simple as that.  The light's always there.  For me, the case is a bit stiff but some like that for better protection and the light is dimmer than I like, but for briefer use when it's too dark, it's fine.  I also find that the case can take away from the slimness and it's not as easy for me to hold with one hand for a longer period -- but a positive feature of it is that when I am VERY sleepy and wind up dozing off for hours, the cover's light will go off as soon as the screen-sleeper comes on, not only saving expense of normal light-batteries (it uses the Kindle's battery) but protecting against unnecessary draining of the Kindle's battery.

For opinions from other Kindle owners on the Amazon Kindle forums, see these two threads: "Lighted cover too bulky for me" and "K3's Lighted cover saves the evening."


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Free books and an mp3 for free download

Stole My Heart
While noting the new Kindle in the Park tv ad the other day and the mp3 that was available for that ("Fly me away"),
I ran across the mp3 ("Stole My Heart") for the second commercial (image at left, with Ryan Curry), which Amazon is offering for free (below).

 I like this song (also by Marcus Ashley and Annie Little) a lot better than the Fly me away track, which is heard again in the latest ad.
.

Mobipocket Guide
After reminding readers about the Project Gutenberg Magic Catalog for use on the Kindle (UK: K3) the other day, I realized that I haven't mentioned MobileRead's Mobipocket Guide yet, though I've pointed to the Mobileread Forum site that offers and displays this guide online (updated daily).

  Mobileread's download listing is one of the free-book sites linked to at the Free Books Reminder Page.   Online, it shows a Genre column, file format ("PRC" for Kindles), date, and Author/E-Book, and you can click on a column to sort by that category.

The Mobipocket Guide that is downloadable for the Kindle doesn't show genres and the only sorting displayed is the alphabetical one.  You should press Menu button, select GoTo (which is the default at the Home screen's Menu), and choose Table of Contents, which gives you a link to almost each character of the alphabet.

  As with the Project Gutenberg's Magic Catalog, you can search the Mobipocket "book" for an author's name or a book title.  Kindle book searches always require a full word.  "Shakesp" won't find "Shakespeare" but since "Shakespear" is a whole word in the Project Gutenberg's catalog, you will find "Shakespear" there.  It was a variant used in the title of Nicholas Rowe's Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespear.

  The Mobipocket Guide explains:

'We have thousands of different books available for download, with new books added every day.  What sets these books apart is the fact that they've all been hand-formatted by volunteers to take full advantage of the device for which they've been created; many are fully illustrated, have tables of contents, and other features that will make you want to come back to them time and time again.
. . .
  Clicking on the link for any book will take you to a page containing a brief description of that book (written by the person who edited and uploaded it) and a download URL ...you can simply click the link to add the book to your [Kindle] library. '

Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Electronic Arts Kindle Scrabble the first Kindle app for sale? - UPDATE

Kindle Scrabble from Electronic Arts Inc was released today.  Thanks to Golf11 for the tip via his Twitter account today.

Apparently, this is the first commercial Kindle app made available, and so far it has three ratings of 5 stars each.

Electronic Arts set the price at $4.99.  Their product description includes:  Simple controls make it easy to play any way you want, whether you're a casual or experienced SCRABBLE player. Pass N' Play with a friend, challenge the Kindle, or play a solo game. If you need help, use the Best Word feature to create the highest scoring word possible. You can even pause the game anytime and pick it up later.

They provide "instant statistics tracking" and offer it as a way to sharpen your vocabulary in a new way that should be fun.

If it's anything like the free Every Word or Shuffled Row it could be somewhat addictive.

So far, review headings are "Seamless, Fast, Perfect" -- "Definitely worth the price"  -- and "Very fun"...

UPDATE - Note that you can play against someone else by passing the Kindle back and forth.
  Also, this word game is available for Kindle 2 and all Kindle DX's as well as the Kindle 3's.  Kindle 1's are unable to access the screen directly due to the slower screen used in 2007.

Currently, Amazon has not yet made this available globally, though they've
stated that they intend to have all games available world-wide eventually.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

New TV ad - Amazon Kindle being enjoyed at the park

The new Kindle Park tv-ad was recently and rather quietly uploaded to YouTube on Sept. 21st while there was still that brouhaha over the reading-in-sunlight ad.

It was noted by Lesley9 who saw it yesterday (9/22) "about 30 minutes into the Jay Leno show" and posted the information at the Amazon Kindle forums.

I like the scene and the mood, and there's no hint of disposable-income story here as there was for some with the sunglasses (though my prescription sunglasses do cost a lot more) and no comparison with another type of device for outdoor reading.

That song - it still sounds as if it's sung by a 10 year old!  Maybe they want us to feel that reading takes us back to being like children again, but that's not my feeling about it.
  The pool ad was fun, but this is more like how I feel when reading on the Kindle.

Reactions by any others on this ad or the earlier ones?

A commenter who likes the song let us know it's available as a 99 cents mp3, and the page has a preview of it from the beginning which starts out in a different style.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

New Update for Kindle for Android app

Well, I must say that while Amazon's press release headlines that the new Kindle for Android update makes Kindle for Android "even better" I've never expected an update to do otherwise.  Sounds good though.

The Android-users who download this app will now be able, Amazon says, to:

  . search the full text of Kindle books by voice or text,
  . seamlessly look up words and phrases in Wikipedia,
  . lock screen orientation in portrait or landscape mode,
  . and view details about a book on Shelfari, the books-focused
  .   social networking site -- "all without leaving the app."

Amazon adds that Kindle for Android is the only reading app for Android-based devices that allows readers to add notes and highlights to books, and have them automatically synchronized between devices.

Customers who have already downloaded the app will receive the update automatically.
  You can learn more about Kindle for Android at Amazon and download the app from Android Market (search for "Kindle" in the Android Market on your phone).

The Amazon press release mentions that the Amazon Kindle book catalogue has now broken the 700,000 figure, and Amazon claims the "largest selection of the most popular books that people want to read" (which I guess is a ding in the side of other stores' claims to have over a million e-books because a million+ free books of the public domain variety were given them by Google).

Amazon's press release includes a second listing of the app's features, and I wonder:
does the first one hold a clue?
  Is it a precursor to a Kindlestore App that will use the Kindle's own
  not-yet enabled microphone?

• Search within the book: Customers can either type or speak a word or phrase to search within a book.
• Add, Edit and Delete Notes and Highlights:  Kindle for Android is the only reading app for Android-based devices that allows readers to add notes and highlights to books, and have them automatically synchronized between devices.
• Wikipedia Lookup:  Look up words and phrases in Wikipedia simply by selecting text.
• Shelfari Book Details:  For the first time, customers can view additional book details from the books-focused social networking site Shelfari. Readers will find a description of the book, synopsis, summary, cast of characters, and many more features, and be able to view real-time discussions that the Shelfari community is having about the book.
• Orientation Lock: Choose to lock the orientation of their screen in landscape or portrait mode to allow for comfortable reading in any position.

Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

AmazonCrossing's Spring 2011 publishing list of books from around the world

AmazonCrossing, a newer Amazon publishing imprint, was created to "introduce readers to emerging and established authors from around the world with translations of foreign language books, making award-winning and bestselling books accessible to many readers for the first time," and Amazon adds that "... customers ... have introduced us to outstanding works from other countries and cultures."

   With that input and other data, the new publishing venture is acquiring and translating works to give them wider exposure through the Amazon.com Books Store, Amazon Kindle Store, and national and independent bookstores.

They just announced the Spring 2011 set of six new books, the first one, to be released December 2010, and the 6th, in April 2011.  Never available previously in English, they are:

  "The Hangman's Daughter" by Oliver Potzsch; "No Reserve: The Limit of Absolute Power" by Martin Redrado; "Old Town" by Lin Zhe; "Pizzicato: The Abduction of the Magic Violin" by Rusalka Reh; "Pepita Jimenez" by Juan Valera; and "Field Work in Ukrainian Sex" by Oksana Zabuzhko.  That last title may catch the eye.

  Again, they'll be available in print format at Amazon and at national and independent booksellers, and also as Kindle  (UK: K3)  books.

  AmazonCrossing's first title, Tierno Monenembo's novel, "The King of Kahel," was released in May 2010.  Here are the details for the coming six:

' "The Hangman's Daughter" by Oliver Pötzsch takes place in Germany in 1660. When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play in his small Bavarian town. Whispers and dark memories of witch trials and the women burned at the stake 70 years earlier still haunt the streets of Schongau. When more children disappear and an orphan boy is found dead--marked by the same tattoo--the mounting hysteria threatens to erupt into chaos. "The Hangman's Daughter" is the first novel from German television screenwriter Pötzsch, a descendent of the Kuisls, a famous Bavarian executioner clan. "The Hangman's Daughter," which was translated by Lee Chadeayne, will be published on Dec. 7.

"No Reserve: The Limit of Absolute Power," by the former president of Argentina's Central Bank Martín Redrado, exposes the reckless policies that nearly destroyed his country's economy. Readers will learn how this Harvard-educated veteran of Wall Street and prominent Latin American economist was appointed by then President Nestor Kirchner to lead Argentina through difficult economic times. "No Reserve," which was translated by Dan Newland, will be published on Jan. 11, 2011.

In "Old Town," Lin Zhe--one of China's most prolific writers today--paints an unforgettable picture of an ordinary family caught up in the maelstrom that was China's most recent century. Praised as China's "Gone With the Wind," "Old Town" ranges across the entire length of China, to California and back again, to the battlefields of the Second Sino-Japanese War and the brutality of the Cultural Revolution. Spanning the genres of romance, memoir, historical fiction and allegory, for the non-Chinese reader it will provide a rare and moving insight into Chinese lives in a century of fearsome upheaval. "Old Town," translated by George Fowler, will be published on Jan. 25, 2011.

"Pizzicato: The Abduction of the Magic Violin," by celebrated German author Rusalka Reh, is an exciting whodunit that follows an orphan after he befriends an eccentric violinmaker. AmazonCrossing's first Young Adult title, "Pizzicato" features orphan Darius Dorian, who discovers a magical violin during a school project. "Pizzicato," translated by David Henry Wilson, will be published on Feb. 8, 2011. This book is the first of three books by Reh that will be published by AmazonCrossing.

"Pepita Jimenez" by Juan Valera is the best known of the 19^th century diplomat's eight novels, and this English translation is the first in many years since the original publication in 1874. When a priest-in-training leaves the seminary to return to the village of his birth, he becomes captivated by his father's lovely fiancée and is torn between his human desires and his sacred calling. This engaging introduction to a Spanish literary master, translated by Katherine Illescas, will be published on Feb. 22, 2011.

"Field Work in Ukrainian Sex" by Oksana Zabuzhko--named one of Ukraine's Top Ten Most Influential Women by Correspondent magazine--is the tale of one woman's personal revolt provoked by the top literary scandal of the decade. The author, a noted Ukrainian poet and novelist, explains: "When you turn 30, you inevitably start reconsidering what you have been taught in your formative years--that is, if you really seek for your own voice as a writer. In my case, my personal identity crisis had coincided with the one experienced by my country after the advent of independence. The result turned explosive: 'Field Work in Ukrainian Sex.'" The novel will be published in April 2011. This book is the first of three books by Zabuzhko that will be published by AmazonCrossing. '

Note that the Kindle book pricing on these is generally quite a bit less than for the paperback versions.

Here's the earlier story here, which described the project and included Wall Street Journal's findings on publishing-industry book translation costs.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

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  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
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Was that bus driver really reading his Kindle? Len Edgerly as interviewee.

Here's the YouTube video of the probably dangerously-distracted bus driver in Portland, Oregon, Lahcen Qouchbane.  The image capture is of the moment when his left arm is at the most extended, which at first I thought not far enough to reach the Kindle.

  The Oregonian's Joseph Rose writes that Qouchbane has been placed on paid suspension while they try to determine whether or not he was actually reading the Kindle while driving his busload of passengers on I5 on a rainy morning.  In the earlier story , Rose opened his story with, "It may be the worst Amazon Kindle endorsement ever. "

 Rose describes the situation this way:

' Moving through the Terwilliger Curves, his eyes bounced from the road to the text on the Kindle’s screen. He pushed the pad’s buttons. At one point, he began steering the Line 96 bus from Bridgeport Village to Portland with his elbows. '

This blog entry title is in the form of a question because at first watching I thought the driver's arm didn't seem to reach far enough to touch the Kindle on the dashboard and I thought maybe he WAS pushing a button on his bus panel instead.

Then I noticed the flash that occurs with a page turn -- it's pretty glaring, so to speak!  But I could still be wrong, as the flash could be coincidental (but I don't think that's likely).

katu tv's lead image does seem to show him reading with what must be incredible eyesight, his elbow on the wheel, his hand under his jaw.  At the end they have a link to the unedited video of it, so article readers can puzzle it out for themselves.  The writer, Susan Harding, adds that "TriMet officials said he had his Oregon license suspended for traffic violations in his personal car but that didn’t have any impact on his commercial license."  On the other hand, Rose's story says, though, that the action was 'pending' -- "had an Oregon license suspension pending for traffic violations in his private vehicle, but resolved them without it affecting his commercial driver's license."

Nevertheless, they have to be sure, and the angle of shooting might make a hard-nosed conclusion less likely.  Or, maybe I'm the ideal person for defense teams in jury selection.

In the larger picture, the transit agency (largest in Oregon) declared war on driving while distracted by mobile electronic devices but it's apparently harder to stop than that.

The Motley Fool's Chris Hill interviews Len Edgerly
Fun to see Len Edgerly answering instead of querying :-).  At Chris Hill gets some interesting replies from Len, who uses his iPad daily.  A couple of excerpts:

' [About the Kindle 3] I think part of it is the screen makes it pleasurable to read in direct sunlight, just like the ads show, but you also have the feeling that you are not taking a computer to the beach.  I would never take the iPad in a similar situation because of the sand and all this, but now especially at these prices, $139 for the Wi-Fi, to throw this thing in a bag and go to the beach seems perfectly appropriate and it turns out to be a great experience.
. . .
I think the thing that surprised me the most was how heavy the iPad was, because I thought that it was going to be much more comparable to sit in my favorite leather chair with a Kindle, at that time the Kindle 2, or the iPad, but after about a half an hour of reading a book, the iPad just seemed to get heavier and heavier and less and less pleasing to hold.

The screen glare I thought was going to be a bigger issue than it turns out, and they were smart to give you the ability to adjust the brightness without having to go back to the preferences on the iPad.  It is pleasant enough to read on the iPad, but the weight of it I think is the big thing.  I had quite a period of reading books on the iPad just because I really wanted to give it a good try and in the past month or two, I just haven't read anything on the iPad. '

The interview also covers his thoughts on the usefulness of Amazon Kindle subscriptions and other subscriptions on the iPad, the coming Google book store and a rumored tablet from Google. Read that at The Motley Fool (investments site).


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
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Graphite Kindle-3 has 3-5 day shipping delay. White 3G/WiFi in stock

Graphite Kindle 3's are "Expected to ship in 3 to 5 days" while the white Kindle 3's are "in stock."

  Could one reason be that the default Kindle 3 (UK: K3) image is the graphite-colored Kindle?  Or is the graphite frame considered more 'cool' or even 'sexy' than the 'plain' white one?  After 2 yrs of similar white Kindle models, the "different one" attracts, some have said.
  On the other hand, many in the forums have been posting that they were ordering the white version and that one way to do it was to order the 3G/Wifi model at $50 more even if they felt they needed just the WiFi-only K3.

  The image to the left, above, is of my white Kindle 3 alongside the larger Kindle Graphite DX.  Some have felt the graphite frame would make the contents brighter or more contrasty, but the text on the eggshell-framed one pops out too.

Clicking on the image at the right will get you a larger and clearer version of the text in both cases.  The 9.7" DX has more etched-looking fonts than the smaller-screen Kindles.

  That earlier story, which is about getting the Kindle 3 fonts to have the larger effect seen in the 9.7" DX, w/o having large spacing on the small screen, gives an idea of what their screens are like, relatively speaking.

I didn't expect the shortage again, although Amazon now has to have enough supply at Target, Staples, and Best Buy nationwide and of course in their warehouses for Amazon's online customers.  I saw, though, CrunchGear's headline yesterday - "Graphite Kindle 3 Sold Out Again"

  At any rate, 3-5 days isn't that long a wait, and if anyone has to have one 'now' the white one's in stock.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

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Library resources online - ask your regional libraries

LIBRARY RESOURCES ONLINE FOR MANY REGIONAL AREAS

  I've mentioned this before, but there is a treasure that many of us have at our fingertips without realizing it -- none of my friends knew we had the access I'm about to describe though we are all somewhat heavy readers.

One day, while looking for information on something, I wanted to access Infotrac which has articles going back to 1970s or so, in full text, for participant institutions like my city library.  I live in California, and the requirement for accessing my library's special online resources is California residence. The Berkeley and San Francisco libraries both give its members access to databases that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive for most of us.  And merely as a California resident, I am able to access both.  (I didn't look for others.)  Many of you will have similar access in your areas.

 Infotrac is one of the offerings and a more common one.
  http://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/services_and_resources/online_resources.php.  I saw, on a web search, that many remote county libraries have the same access, so it's not just where a university might be.

  Besides Infotrac, I clicked on one of the zillion links that came up on my screen, this time:
  http://0-proquest.safaribooksonline.com.www.berkeley-public.org/home
  This link will work only for people with a Berkeley Public Library card, even if California residence is all that's needed.  A similar link should work with your own public library's link, which you can google.  That'll depend on the state you're in.

Safari Books Online
To see, otherwise, what Safari Books Online is like, here's their own site.  They have a 10-day free trial, but one can take a month at a time, at $23/mo. for access to 10 books per month (the Safari "Bookshelf" option rather than "Library" option.  I have no affiliation with Safari Books Online.  But at $23 for one month, access to 10 books (no limit on time spent online) is worth a look who need such books for their work.

  The free library access version, if your library has it, is to almost all the current major computer/technical books that I've browsed at Barnes & Noble while lamenting I couldn't justify spending that much money, since I wanted to read so many of them.

 Included in Safari Books Online are O'Reilly Media, Prentice Hall, Addison-Wesley, PeachPit Press, New Riders, Sams, que, Adobe Press, and many others.

 It's all current -- books on items like Photoshop CS5, some on using Facebook :-) --  and so I tried it to see what the various e-books are like, to read on my desktop or netbook.

 These offerings are FULL TEXT and in speedy online reading if you have fast Internet access.  Every now and then a graphic image doesn't show up where it should but all the text is there.

I hope that most reading this will be able to find similar resources at their regional or state libraries.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

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Kindle 3 preview-release of software update v3.0.2 available at Amazon

Amazon is now requesting feedback on an "early preview of the next software update" for Kindle 3 and refers to this update-preview as software update version 3.0.2.

They stress this is offered so that "Customers who want to try this early release of the software and provide feedback can download the update" from their servers.

  Amazon explains that this update includes

' web browser
      and
  general performance improvements.

  After installing this update, please share your feedback with us at kindle-response@amazon.com.  We look forward to hearing about your experience and appreciate your feedback. '

The performance improvements would include software responses to reports that some Kindle 3's have had some slowing down of page-turn processes outdoors since the v3.01 update which seems to have prevented, on the whole, freezes and/or reboots some were experiencing with their Kindles -- and in phone calls that Kindle tech support reps have made to customers in proactive responses to forum notes, they've offered this second interim update with success in at least a couple of cases I was reading, although again some forum members have been given replacement Kindles within a day or so, possibly so that, as before, the Kindle crew could analyze the original one or because they felt a replacement Kindle would be best for the symptoms reported.

To report any unusual problems like this, it's best to write kindle-feedback@amazon.com, as that mail tends to be routed to the development team.

Reports have included a few saying that page turns take "a full second" outdoors when they had taken half a second earlier, so some of the slow-downs are minor but shouldn't happen, though I suspect that this small a slowdown could have been the result of a compromise between two options in the prior fix.  Some, though, report having slowdowns to 2-3 seconds a page, and today, two Kindle owners reported that v3.02 given them by Kindle Support helped with the slowdowns outdoors.

Instructions at their preview-update page start with:

' Here's how to download Kindle software update version 3.0.2 and transfer it to your Kindle via USB:

1. Determine your software version: :  From Home, select Menu, then Settings.  On the Settings screen you will see the Kindle version at the bottom of the screen.  If you see “Version Kindle 3.0.1” or earlier, please proceed with the steps below to update your Kindle to the latest software.
   
   
   
2. Download your software: Visit the appropriate link below to download the software update file directly to your computer: ... '

They have a good diagram showing how you can determine which software you'd download, depending on your serial number and the type of Kindle 3 you have.

You'll see step-by-step directions there for the download.  I'd say again that there's no need to install this interim update unless you actually are seeing any problems like this (many say they're not seeing any problems), but I don't expect it would hurt, since programming code will check status to see if a fix is needed.

A Theory
I posted the following thoughts in the forums (edited for the blog) about some instances that may be perceived slowdowns, especially for the ones that are unhappy that a page turn now takes a full second (though there are a few with heavier slowdowns):

' A lot of people have reported general speed ups in page turns after v3.01.  I think they may mean the immediate response when you press the page turn button, and they see this as faster because immediate response never happened before -- there had usually been a 1 second 'wait' and then the slight flash and the new page would show up.

  In the past, the next-page just didn't start showing instantaneously, as it does when we see it now with the Kindle 3, especially after the v3.01 update for some of us, but we also see the reverse e-Ink image doing its inevitable thing sooner and for what seems a longer time then.

  Some are bothered (as I was for awhile) by the longer reverse image screen.
  At first, I did think the immediate page turns that then show full black pages with text briefly meant that the page turn was slower when in fact (I tested them for 1/2 an hour in the sun) the K3 page turns are consistently faster than my K2 page turns of the same material at the same time -- the K2 shows hardly any interim black probably because the page turn doesn't start right away.  But my K2 turns actually take longer to complete despite the lack of very-noticeable reverse image. '

But, that's not to minimze the fact that some Kindle 3's definitely have heavier slowdowns after update version v3.01, and this latest update may fix that.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

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TIP: Gutenberg E-Books direct to Kindle - repeat + Update

UPDATE2 - 9/18/10 - Original posting was April 2, 2009

In addition to the convenient Magic Catalog for Project Gutenberg, which is available for use on the Kindle for searches, browsing, and direct downloading of its free books to the Kindle (see below), Project Gutenberg recently made a MOBILE-device-oriented version of its website, which will of course work more quickly than the main website, via wireless conection with all Kindles.  The 'go to' address is http://m.gutenberg.org - but with Kindles it's better not to enter the "http://" part.

UPDATE3 - 9/20/10 for Kindle 3 users (Kindle 2 users experience no problem in this case):
In the comments area, Bart reports that the mobile-device-oriented URL m.gutenberg.org does not recognize input in the search field from a Kindle 3.  It does recognize input from a Kindle 2 or DX.

  However, on the K3, I can successfully go to the main site - gutenberg.org - and search & download a "Kindle" format file, but the webpage print is smaller because that fits the regular screen contents into the space of the 6" Kindle screen.  While you can use Archive Mode to view the lists, I would not as it takes too long to gather and display these and it can SEEM to freeze the K3 although it's just taking its time.   Don't choose it for lists...

The Project Gutenberg MAGIC CATALOG for the Kindle
In my wanderings through online columns about the Kindle, I've found that about 95% of those never mention that the 30,000 free books from Project Gutenberg are instantly available to the Kindle at no added cost for direct download to the device.  Instead, most tend to promulgate the fable that you can get books only from Amazon.

  The 30,000 free Project Gutenberg books are laid out well and proof-read.
  This tip allows you to directly download a Project Gutenberg book to the Kindle, although that will work only where 3G whispernet web-browsing is enabled already or via WiFi.

International Kindle users who live outside the U.S. and who do not have 3G web-browsing enabled in their countries (a gray area right now) and who don't have WiFi capability can download these free books to their computers instead (choosing "Kindle" or "mobi" or "prc" format) and then move them to their Kindles with the USB cable that is part of the Kindle power cord.

Originally posted April 2, 2009
TIP OF THE DAY: James Adcock tells us how to download chosen Project Gutenbook books direct to our Kindles.  First, you need to get the catalog on to your Kindle, and you can download it by webbing via your Kindle to http://www.freekindlebooks.org/MagicCatalog/magiccatalog.html
(mucho typing on that Kindle keyboard, however).
  On the Kindle, use this shortcut instead: http://bit.ly/gutmagic

After downloading "The Magic Catalog of the Project Gutenberg E-Books (MOBI Edition) to your Kindle (or transferring it from your computer to the Kindle if you don't want to type in the long URL on the Kindle), follow James's instructions which are:

"Use your Kindle's Search Feature to find your favorite Author and/or Title.  Click to go to that page.  Click again on the Author: Title listing and your chosen E-Book will automagically download directly from the Project Gutenberg website to your Kindle..."

Thanks, James!

Added tip from James - How to use mobipocket.com's mobigen.exe, to easily convert EPUB books (at the DOS prompt) to MOBI versions.  Downside, any illustrations in a book are not included at this point.

ADDED UPDATE, along with Sept. 18, 2010 update
Also, the 1 million free Google books in ePub: How to get one converted to Kindle
Not only can you convert any of these to a Kindle book via a free tool (with most illustrations intact), there is also a publishing website that offers to do conversions of free-Google-books for you upon request and will give you a link to the completed Kindle-ready copy, on their website, for you and any other interested parties, to download.  See the details here

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US: Kindle Fire  7" tablet - $199 Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $79/$109 Kindle Touch, WiFi - $99/$139 Kindle Touch, 3G/WiFi - $149/$189 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189, Free, slow web Kindle DX - $379, Free, slow web

UK: Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £89 Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - £109 Kindle Touch 3G/WiFi, UK - £169 Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB

OTHER International Kindle NoTouch Basic - $109 Kindle Touch WiFi - $139 Kindle Touch 3G/WiFi - $189 Kindle Keybd 3G - $189   Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

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Alert re updated Project Gutenberg blog article

This is just an entry to compensate for Google Reader's inability to 'see' the Project Gutenberg article updated today. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
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Clearwater HS's Kindle program. MotionGaming 101. David Morrell Exclusive, New Twitter

KINDLE AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS IN A KINDLE WORLD - Sept. 17, 2010
Clearwater High School replaces textbooks with Kindles, for its 2000+ students
In Tampa, Florida, Clearwater High School started its new pilot program Wednesday -- from an order of 2,200 Kindles (UK K3), they issued Kindles to their 2,160 students, with spares for new students.  These are replacing 5 to 6 textbooks each student normally has to carry around.

 Since the price mentioned in articles is $177, they apparently bought the 3G/WiFi model.

The St. Petersburg Times shows the stacks of Kindles in a computer lab, each Kindle with a student's name on it and tailored to the student's course load, which includes English, math, science textbooks and novels.  Naturally, the students are excited about it.

Principal Keith Mastorides said, "I do have a lot of kids who do not have Internet access at home. So this is the first time they'll be on a level playing field."

Other points in the article:

' Students can highlight passages and make notes in books — taboo with traditional textbooks. And the school district has designed a mobile version of PCS Portal, the district's site where students and parents can view classes, grades and more.

  And since each device can access the Internet via wireless connections and a 3G cell tower signal, it will bridge the digital divide, providing Web access for students who previously had none at home, [Mastorides] said.
...
  He is now getting inquiries from schools within the area, as well as some beyond, that want to know more about the project.
...
  Tracy Gray, managing director of the American Institute for Research who studies educational innovation, said... "What we are really coming to understand is how students learn using digital media. The students are digital natives who have been born certainly in the last 15 to 20 years and have grown up with technology and are comfortable with it," Gray said.

While many educational institutions have talked about similar ventures, Clearwater High is the first she knows of to attempt replacing textbooks on a large scale, Gray said.

"I have heard many schools talking about this, but I am not aware of a school that has taken this giant step." '

Tampa Bay Online's story has some other details.

 This was done from their Technology and Textbook fund.  Commenters to this story are outraged, since apparently they just see the Kindles as needless gifts, but as with Kindle owners today, the students will probably wind up wanting to read more than they used to.  The irony is that the initial plan was to get each student a computer (as is done in some other schools) but that was - no surprise - deemed too expensive.

' Students will be responsible for lost or damaged Kindles, the same way they are for textbooks, he said.

"When we looked around, we found out the Kindle was the best option," Mastorides said.

The high-tech aspect of the Kindles is a huge lure for students.
"Kids love their technology. We wanted to tap into that," he said.
. . .
Students can buy insurance for $20 to cover damage or loss of the Kindle.  The insurance covers all except a $25 deductable of the $177 replacement cost the first time a student loses or damages one.  A second time the deductable goes to $50.

The district, working with Amazon, can track each Kindle and shut it down if it's stolen or shows up at a pawn shop, or appears on e-Bay ... [That's interesting to know that it can be done, since Amazon is usually hands-off in this area, but the school would qualify as a large client :-) ]

Part of the experiment is to see how many are lost or broken, he said. "We'll have to see how this plays out." '

  The tone of the comments to the story is quite interesting.

UPDATE to Clearwater High School for student reactions
Some comments from students, via Tampa Bay Online:

"It's fun to have electronics to learn.  I think it makes us want to study more without realizing it."

"I'm about to go mess around with my Kindle!"

The story has some additional slants:

'
One bad reading habit — skipping over big words — can no longer be justified by excuses like, "I didn't have a dictionary."
The device has a built-in dictionary, which displays definitions for highlighted words. "It helps with reading comprehension," said senior Bennie Niles, 17.
. . .
And learning curve? For students who do not know a world without mobile computing, no big deal.

"It's just like texting," said senior Gabrielle Adams, 17, about inputting notes.

"And everybody knows how to text," Niles said.
. . .

The school district is also excited. Beyond the inquiries from schools around the country, and world, about the Kindle's viability in the classroom, there are some slight financial benefits.

John Just, Pinellas County's assistant superintendent for management information systems, said that because of savings on books, the school's English department's wish list was completely fulfilled.

"The English department wish list is always that — a wish list," Just said. "Now they're all downloaded."

These include trendy titles like Superfreakonomics and Into the Wild. '

Amazon's exclusive deal with David Morrell
Ed Renehan's e-publishing blog has succinct summaries of the latest news in the e-publishing world, and it's a must-read.  Most of you already have heard about David Morrell's exclusive deal with Amazon, so I'll add Renehan's summary of the press release here and hope that you will iinvestigate his site.  It has a beautifully clean layout that's a pleasure to browse.

' Amazon.com today announced that internationally bestselling author David Morrell is releasing a new, never-before-published, full-length thriller, 'The Naked Edge,' along with nine of his previously published books, in electronic book format exclusively in the Kindle Store.  This is the first time any of these titles have been available electronically.

  These Kindle editions will offer additional content for many of the books, including new introductions and photographs that reveal insights into the making of these modern classics.  All 10 of these Morrell books are available...for download exclusively from the Kindle Store '

  Here is Amazon's feature story, "David Morell on Kindle," which includes summaries for each of his 10 new Kindle books, with the covers for each displayed.  Also, you can visit his author page to see ALL editions of his works.

Amazon's new Motion Gaming 101 area
This is not exactly Kindle-related but some will be interested to know that Amazon unveiled its new video game store section, Motion Gaming 101, "designed to introduce both game enthusiasts and casual gamers to new choices in motion-gaming technology, which use a player's body movements and gestures to play games."
...
"Our goal with Motion Gaming 101 is to eliminate some of the guesswork when it comes to choosing a console for motion gaming, and if you already own a console, to choose the right accessories and games available for your system."

Even in a Kindle world, Twitter looms
For those who haven't heard, Twitter is coming out with a brand new interface that will have a lot of features.  Here's an excellent preview of what it'll be like from TechCrunch writer MG Siegler, who is in the first group to work with "the new Twitter" (it's being phased in and you'll suddenly see it), "The Best Subtle Things About New Twitter."  If you do use Twitter, this is an extremely helpful, thorough preview.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Kindle IN at some Best Buys. Digital devices make bookworms 'cool' again. TV Ad Civil War

One commenter to the articles on Best Buy's preparations for selling the Kindle 3's (UK K3's) within a week, posted that these are already on sale at the Crossgates Mall's Best Buy in Albany (New York).

Hulik.Com's David Hughes references Engadget's early report and adds some interesting details.

The official start is next week and demo units are probably up in some locations such as the mall in Albany.  In the beginning, they'll be limited to demo units, unfortunately but there'll be units set aside for training employees, which is a good sign.  Best Buy is getting the iPad as well, it turns out, in yesterday's news, so shoppers going to those stores will be able to get a better look at the e-Ink readers: Kindle, Nook, Sony's new models, and the LCD screen'd iPad, all in one place.

While the Graphite models were still listed for September 24, just 2 days ago, and David Hughes writes today that the graphite WiFi and 3G model is listed for Sept. 22nd ship date, I now see, as I write, that Amazon has actually caught up, all Kindle 3's are in stock, and anything ordered today can ship tomorrow.

But Hughes wrote, when he looked, the Graphite model was out but the white version of the 3G/WiFi model and both colors of the WiFi-only were back in stock.  That could indicate higber demand for the graphite colored 3G/WiFi version but the difference here is only one day in getting back to "in stock" status, and his take is that ramping up the quiet delivery of all these Kindles to Best Buys, nation-wide, would have added to the supply problem.

While Engadget expects full retail availability at Best Buy this coming week, Best Buy itself has no word on its website confirming this (nor does it mention the Kindle device on that site yet, outside of accessories).

It'll be interesting to see if the devices are given better attention than they were at Target where employees hardly ever knew they were even carried there and they were often found in boxes in bottom shelves with no demo unit in sight.

I think Best Buy has quite a good opportunity to be THE place to go to decide which of these to buy in the coming Holiday season and it'll be to their advantage to be able to handle the collection well.

BOOKWORMS REJOICE
Digital devices make bookworms 'cool' again.
The Calgary Herald's Misty Harris writes that e-readers are growing in popularity very fast.

The Montreal Gazette version carries a huge picture of a couple who share reading, one of them with an iPad, the other with a Kindle.  From the current TV ad's poolside differences to co-existence -- it makes sense though, because the two types of devices are fully complementary, as the Kindle ad itself actually suggests.

Here are some points made in the Canadian article:

' Indeed, new media experts praise e-readers as being more in step with modern life, and for making bookworms cool again.  Environmentalists tout their sustainability.  Communication scholars say they're bringing us back to the pre-Gutenberg days when reading wasn't a solo experience.
...
"Nobody wants to have a 12-foot pile of Harlequin novels hidden in their basement when they can just load up 10, 20 or even 100 in electronic form."

Of course, dead-tree tomes, like vinyl records, won't disappear altogether. [I certainly hope not.]   But Lorimer predicts personal libraries will shrink drastically in size, comprising only the most meaningful titles.

"We'll continue to regard books with fondness because they're material objects, and the human psyche is attached to objects," he explains.
...
[Indigo president Joel Silver] predicts that within three years, digital books will represent 20 to 30 per cent of all titles sold, up from about six per cent in Canada now.

Media critic William Powers is among those watching closely.

"If this stays with us -- and I think it's likely it will -- there's going to be a different type of reader who won't be the 'bookworm' of legend," says Powers, author of Hamlet's Black-Berry. "Just acquiring the device is sort of a part of belonging today -- a part of joining what's hip and what's happening."

As of July on Amazon. com, e-book sales were outpacing hardbacks by a margin of 18 to 1.

[I missed that announcement, is that accurate?]

Nevertheless, Powers remains a champion of the humble hardback, which he says represents a rare chance to "quiet our minds and focus on just one thing."
...
"Readers have never cared whether it's cool or not; they just enjoy reading," says [Paul] Levinson, professor of communication at Fordham University in New York.  "But now that it's become a socially attractive thing to be reading on some kind of e-device in public, I think more people will be tempted to do so."

See the article at Montreal Gazette as I left a lot out of course.

KINDLE 3 TV AD "PLUNGES A NATION INTO CIVIL WAR
Here's the story, which is quite entertaining.  Excerpt:

' Given Apple’s rabid fanbase, even a perceived slight at the iPad was likely to provoke a wave of outrage.  But that’s not all that’s going on here...

[Ad: "It’s a Kindle … $139 … I actually paid more for these sunglasses."

That’s the whole ad.  On paper, it looks forgettable.  But consumers are dissecting every second of it online.  There are more than 2,000 comments on the ad’s YouTube page, and 564 comments on Endgadget.  Many of them are too profane to be reproduced here. A high percentage seem to feature the b-word... '

There was no such fuss about the half-year of newsprint attitude toward the Kindle and other "just-e-readers" that were considered drab, dreary, retro, and uncool in a few hundred columns such as the one in which a Yr. 2010 tombstone for the Kindle was the lead image and another columnist actually wrote that a friend of his was now embarrassed to show his Kindle around anyone with an iPad and asked readers if they also felt that way about their Kindles now.

  The article quotes several of the comments on the TV ad but had to clean them up a bit. Apparently the Kindle's "underdog status" means this kind of rabid attention can only help.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

Encyclopedia 2011 Ultimate DVD Special Savings- Sept 15 by phone

The Encyclopedia Britannica 2011 Ultimate single-DVD edition is on sale briefly for 50% off, or $19.95.  Online if done before end of day Sept. 14 or by phone after that, for maybe one day.
  It's $48.10 at Amazon at the moment.

  I received my notice at the last moment (probably did not notice earlier emails) and did order one tonight, and it occurred to me that Kindle owners whose families are education-oriented might want to know about this if they don't already.

  I'm not affiliated with the site in any way but think it a very good deal. The problem might be that the online special ends/ended tonight at midnight and in the Pacific Coast area that means about 3 hours of time left at the time I post this.

  HOWEVER, when I called to order because I couldn't remember the online password I'd not used for years (one doesn't have to be a site-member to order online though), the customer rep Jessica told me that people who missed the online deadline for this special could phone them instead and let them know you just heard about the special price using the coupon URS2011.  Also, you can mention that Jessica said this was doable (or I wouldn't spend time typing this up at this late date).  You can also mention this site so they can see the source for the info about phoning.  Here are some benefits noted in their promo:

' ...more than 100,000 articles.  With three complete encyclopedias, two dictionaries and thesauruses, the Spanish-English Translation dictionary, rich multimedia, interactive article and media tours, homework tools, a complete atlas, timelines, online magazines, and more, the 2011 Ultimate Reference DVD is the knowledge you need from the world's most trusted source...

Register your software today and enjoy these benefits:

  . Complete access from anywhere, anytime and millions of pages available online with a FREE 1-year trial membership to Britannica Online Premium
  . Discounts to The Britannica Store.
  . Free monthly content updates for your Ultimate Reference Suite... '

A further description of the DVD on their website (some info repeated):

' Three age-appropriate encyclopedias—the Elementary Encyclopedia for young students, the Student Encyclopedia for middle and high school students, and the renowned Encyclopædia Britannica for older students and adults—provide accurate and trusted answers.
The 2011 Ultimate Reference DVD is packed with learning tools, including two dictionaries and thesauruses, the Spanish-English Translation dictionary, rich multimedia, interactive article and media tours, homework tools, a complete atlas, updated timelines, online magazines, and more... Plus, as an added bonus, you get a one-year free trial to Encyclopædia Britannica Online with your purchase! '

Again, this ends/ended Sept. 14, end of day, for online-purchase, but you can
  phone them at: (800) 323-1229 or (312) 347-7159, Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. U.S. Central Time.

ADD'L COSTS: ~$6 Fed Express ground shipping + applicable state tax.
  Joe Miller, their Managing Director also states in the promo Email that:

' At The Britannica Store, your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you are not completely satisfied for any reason with your purchase from The Britannica Store, we will gladly refund your purchase price and associated sales tax (excluding shipping and handling charges) within 30 days of your order.
Click here for more details. '

.
ORDERING BY PHONE AFTER SEPT. 14
  I somehow did not ask if this phoning for the promo order (using Coupon URS2011) would work for more than one day after the end of the online offer.  It well might, but I've no idea.
  I hope some find this non-Kindle notice useful though.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

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Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!

New Kindle-3 TV ad of Kindle and iPad being read by a pool. Other photos.

CrunchGear's Nicholas Deleon posts Kindle's new ad, a real-world one vs the earlier fantasy-style ones which had many wondering what a Kindle even is.

The Kindle Chronicles' Len Edgerly got there first (though not on national TV) with a video comparison when he filmed his beloved iPad and Kindle together (see this also if you hadn't before).

  The new ad isn't a slam on the amazing iPad as a do-all tablet, except for the fact that it's just not a superb e-reader in sunlight if you'd rather focus on the text than your visage.  Len got in line at 4:30am to get his iPad and still loves it, except in sunlight.

 I see, in a quick look, that the new ad is making quite a splash, when it shows the Kindle and its owner in sunlight :-)

CrunchGear's Deleon has fun with this:

' ...You already knew that the Kindle was perfectly visible in direct sunlight [an earlier Kindle 3 VIDEO], and now we have Amazon—yes, this is an actual commercial that was seen on television (Good Morning America, to be exact) a few moments ago—stressing the fact.

You have to love the overreaction of the person who posted this on YouTube—“how could they put this on air???”

Maybe because it’s true? Just a guess. '

Some of the YouTube comments are just hilarious.

This is my K3 placed in a shaft of light from the window.

This was less than an hour after it arrived, on August 27, and I wanted to test it in sunlight although indoors.  It was almost 4:30 pm since the camera's still on Pacific Std time.
  I took some comparison photos that day for the blog alongside the K2.

 The Exif data shows it was taken at ISO 100 at 1/800th of a second at F4, inside, with no flash, so that was very bright light.


Kindle 3's   (UK: Kindle 3's),   DX Graphite

---

Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers. Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!