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Powell’s and Kobo Team Up

If you ever find yourself in Portland, Oregon, you must visit Powell's Books. Several years ago, my wife Sarah and I were out that way, and we visited Powell's. Two hours and a huge stack of books later, we finally left. It was just that awesome of a bookstore. Unfortunately, the book industry is moving [...]

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Barnes and Noble Drops Prices on the NOOK Tablet and Color

Looking for a really cheap ebook reader, but hate eInk screens? You’re in luck! Barnes and Noble is selling the NOOK Tablet and NOOK Color at rock bottom prices, $159 and $139, respectively. The downsides are that you won’t get NOOK Video and the other bells and whistles of the NOOK HD … but you [...]

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Penguin and Random House to Form Franken-Publisher

Now that the Agency Model has been rendered toothless as a way to keep publishers afloat, we’re seeing the next phase in book publishing evolution: mergers! Random House, which was already the biggest publisher in the USA, is buying a controlling stake in Penguin, forming a super-publisher! According to the New York Times: PARIS — [...]

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Will Newsweek Succeed in Jumping to Digital?

We all know how much the digital change has impacted books, newspapers, and periodicals, but the latest canary in the printing press is a bit of a surprise. Newsweek, yes, the magazine you find in your doctor’s office waiting room, or grab on your way to boarding a plane, is going all digital. This is [...]

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Amazon’s Brilliant Kindle Credit Email

If you purchased any eBooks published by a major publishing house in the last few years, you probably received an email from Amazon, or will receive one from your bookstore of choice shortly. As a result of the Department of Justice ruling on Agency Pricing, the publishers who agreed to the settlement owe us all [...]

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Bookeen Announces the Cybook Odyssey HD Frontlight

Which came first, the ecosystem or the hardware? When it comes to ebooks, it’s a tough call. There were eBookstores going back to the original Palm Pilot, and there were hardware ebook readers like the Franklin eBookman long before the Kindle was even a beginning prototype for Amazon. Then you had devices like the Sony Reader, [...]

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Fastpencil Joins The Local Library

Here’s a question: when’s the last time you went to your local library? Maybe you dropped by and saw they had a promotion about ebooks. Or you stop by once in a while for audiobooks. The last few years, it seems like libraries have been playing catch up as books, movies, and media in general [...]

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Why Did the NOOK HD Get Such a Quiet Announcement?

  Barnes and Noble have been busy this week. First they quietly announce NOOK Video, surprising everyone, and then quietly, in the dead of night, they announced the NOOK HD and NOOK HD+, two extremely well specc’d competitors to the Kindle Fire HD and Fire HD 8.9″. In fact, the hands on reports of the [...]

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Thumbelina Magic Story for iPad Review

Type of app: Interactive Story Book Platform/where to buy: iPad (Universal); available in the App Store Developer: Oleksandr Pogrebniak Description: A miniature red-headed girl has suddenly appeared from a flower. Her enchanting beauty sways many hearts along her travels. She took a trip on a leaf of a water lily, flew on the back of [...]

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Barnes and Noble Goes Hollywood

Barnes and Noble needed something big to compete against the Kindle Fire, and today they announced one part of what that might be: NOOK Video. Details are light, but it sounds like this will be a streaming and pay for download service. In fact, it sounds an awful lot like Amazon Prime Streaming… The big [...]

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When Book People Move

My wife Sarah and I are likely moving in a few months. As a result, we are in a hardcore “kick out the junk” phase, and that means finally dealing with the sheer number of books in our attic. So. Many. Books. My back is less than happy about all the carrying and sorting we [...]

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Amazon’s New Kindles, a Video Gear Chat

Now that Amazon’s new Kindle announcements have had a few days to settle in, there’s a lot to consider for the future. Will the Kindle go from cheaper and cheaper to free? Will the iPad mini exist and unseat the Kindle Fire? And how will Barnes and Noble respond? Dan and I had a long [...]

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Amazon’s Hardware Announcements Showcase Their Software Advantage

Amazon may only release Kindles once a year, but when they do, it is worth noting. Last year, they rolled out the Kindle Fire, and this year they not only upgraded the Fire line, they also answered the NOOK with Glowlight, addressed head-on their hardware and software priorities, and basically nailed every expectation out there. [...]

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Join Us for the Amazon Press Event! New Kindles and More? Maybe!

Will Amazon take on the iPad market by announcing a new 10″ Kindle Fire? Or will they simply introduce an ad-supported 7″ Kindle Fire and a second updated 7″ Kindle Fire with a faster processor, increased resolution, a camera, Paperwhite display, HDMI port, volume controls. and a new interface? Will there be an Amazon Phone? [...]

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A Sign of Our Increasingly Digital Times

My mom is a high school history teacher. Her students start this week, just in time for the Democratic National Convention, and right on the heels of the Republican National Convention this past week. As has been her custom in past elections, her students can earn extra credits by watching and writing about the conventions [...]

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Save Big with ZAGG this Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Weekend is underway, but it won’t be until Monday that you can save big on pretty much everything ZAGG [...]

Think Tank Photo Mirrorless Mover 30i Review

Think Tank Photos Mirrorless Mover line of bags is a great way to carry and protect your mirrorless camera. The [...]

RockDoc Bluetooth by Pitbull Small in Size, Big in Sound

A few weeks ago Dr Ruth came to speak at my synagogue. She was awesome- funny, interesting, quick on her [...]

Win a Sony Xperia T from Gear Diary

Carly’s about to get a Nokia 928 running Windows Phone 8. Judie, after serving up her detailed review of the [...]

The Secret Society from G5 Tweaks Your Dopamine Reward System to the Max!

Secret Society Game Tweaks Your Dopamine Reward System

The most ‘addictive’ games are the ones that activate your ‘dopamine reward system’, which is your brains way of dealing [...]

Cozi Family Organizer for iPhone and iPad – a Blueplate Special

iPhone and iPad apps for anyone on a budget. Nothing over $.99! My kids have finally reached the age that [...]