eBook Tools - AppNewser

Calibre Improves Microsoft Word eBook Conversion Tools

Jason Boog — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:46:53 +0000

Struggling to convert your Microsoft Word document from .DOCX format to a digital book format?

The free eBook creation and editing tool Calibre has been updated with some helpful tools. You can download Calibre at this link. The 0.9.35 Update contains a host of fixes to help writers converting Microsoft Word documents into eBooks. Check it out:

DOCX Input: Add a markup analyzer that identifies and removes redundant markup generated by Word. This can result in much cleaner HTML and reductions in markup size of up to 50% … Bug Fixes … DOCX Input: Add support for theme fonts. DOCX Input: Fix some manual page breaks being ignored DOCX Input: Fix empty paragraphs not being rendered. DOCX Input: Fix some text being underlined incorrectly. The ‘none’ underline style was being translated incorrectly.

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New Documentary Explores the Sad Future of Reading and eBooks

Phi Tran — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:00:08 +0000

We haven’t seen the death of paper books yet, but there’s already a documentary about its impending demise. EBooks are not as tactile, aromatic, or spatial as traditional forms of reading, but they are helping to spread the joys of reading to places where transportation is problematic. The works of philanthropic organizations like Worldreader and The Information Heritage Initiative would be impossible without digital books.

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Advancing World Literacy Through eBooks and eReaders

Phi Tran — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:00:53 +0000

Children in Africa, a phrase that often stirs the guilt strings of the heart and often accompanied by photos of sad, hungry faces. Books, a word denoting the common, yet powerful tool that enables limitless hours of learning and entertainment. Combine the tool and you have a great nonprofit in the form of Worldreader.

Naturally, Worldreader’s heartwarming mission is worth writing and reading about – since our first story about the nonprofit in 2012, the group has manged to distribute over 10,000 kindles to 3,000 word-hungry kids and are on their way to sharing nearly half a million ebooks to those eager, young readers. continued…

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Your Brain on eReaders: Evidence Suggests that Reading from Paper might be more Conducive for Learning

Phi Tran — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:43:04 +0000

The translation of stories into paper books took thousands of years and over two decades to accumulate on my humble book shelf. My brain on the other hand… has been evolving to read in codex form for over 1500 years. These are the things I tell myself to justify my difficulties with reading on digital screens.

Apparently, I’m not the only bibliophile to be challenged by the joys of paper reading and the convenience of eReaders. According to a recent article in the Scientific American, “reading on paper still boasts unique advantages.” The article cites research indicating that reading from physical formats gives us the possibility of creating a map of the textual narrative and eReaders lack this mental representation. Most eReaders are improving at superhuman speeds, but they are missing the intuitive navigational features that we have become accustomed to learning from. continued…

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Memorize Poetry with a Free App

Dianna Dilworth — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:06:13 +0000

Do you struggle to memorize poetry? The free Poems by Heart app from Penguin Classics will help you learn new poetry and share the games with your friends.

As you can see by the video embedded above, we have a hard time remembering classic poems. The app includes a free William Blake poem to memorize, but you can purchase 22 other classic poems. Currently, the app is only available for iOS devices. Check it out:

Poems By Heart from Penguin Classics is a memorization game that will challenge you with classic poems from master wordsmiths including Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson, and more. You’ll rack up high scores and achievements on your way to reciting 24 poems from heart, with recordings you can share online and email to your friends. Poems By Heart uses brain-training techniques to make remembering poetry easy and fun—in a fast and responsive game. Each poem features two new and exclusive dramatic readings, and all-new original art.

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YotaPhone Dual Screen Android Marries LCD Display with E-Ink Reader

Phi Tran — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:15:41 +0000

Russia’s Yotaphone made an impressive appearance at CES this year with its dual screen technology – an e-ink display on the back of an Android LCD phone.

The company just signed a production contract with Singapore’s OEM Hi-P international so it’s on track for a launch later this year. The manufacturer has produced hardware for Apple, Blackberry, and Amazon eReaders so the phone could see vast improvements with additional research and development.

Yotaphone’s target user would be an avid eReader, with multiple devices or one that can’t commit to having multiple devices with different technologies.

YotaPhone is an Android with a high-resolution liquid crystal display on one side and an electronic paper display on the other. It allows you to effortlessly stream information to the electronic paper display, without draining battery power or having to wake up the phone. The electronic paper display (EPD), which is your personal space for information, images and interaction you always use and always need.

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Leaked TV Ad: Surface vs. iPad

Nate Hoffelder — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:46:55 +0000

The designers at Cinesaurus are back again one of their reinterpretations of tablet commercials.

This time around they took the idea from the iPad Mini commercial and created an ad for the Microsoft Surface. It’s quite clever in the ways in which it shows that the Surface is a much more capable tablet.

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The Conan Show Reveals Apple’s Future iPad Plans: Video

Nate Hoffelder — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 08:49:31 +0000

The iPad Mini is regarded by Apple as being the perfect sized small tablet. But what if there was an even more perfect sized tablet in between the iPad and the iPad Mini?

The Conan Show decided to show us this tablet. They made a faux Apple commercial in which Apple introduces 3 new iPads: the iPad Mini Mega, the iPad Mini Mega Micro, and the iPad Mini Mega Micro Max.

Yes, it is as silly as it sounds, but that’s part of why it is so funny. continued…

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Conan O’Brien Reveals the Real Reason You Want an iPad Mini

Nate Hoffelder — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 09:24:42 +0000

Yesterday we showed you Apple’s new commercial for the iPad Mini.

It was a clever play on the size differences and hinted that Apple thought you should buy both, but Apple’s commercial wasn’t as clever as Conan O’Brien‘s take on it.

Team Coco remixed the commercial with their own voice over which was quite accurate in describing American consumerism. continued…

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‘The Onion’ Offers a New App to Help Republicans Discriminate Against Minority Voters: Video

Nate Hoffelder — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:35:14 +0000

We’re only weeks away from the US Presidential election, leaving little time for voters to be disenfranchised. And as Republican sponsored voter ID laws are being overturned virtually everywhere, it’s getting harder and harder for exclude eligible voters. Not to worry, The Onion is here to help. They have a new idea for an app which promises to bring voter discrimination to the palm of your hand.

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S*** Android Fanatics Say: Video

Nate Hoffelder — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:03:38 +0000

A couple months back I showed you a satirical take on Apple fanboys. That video gently heckled them for a slavish devotion to Apple. Now it’s time for Android users to take their turn.

The above video does a near perfect job of portraying the Android fanboys I know. They really do sound like the actor in this video, and I swear I’ve heard them say at least half the comments.

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How To Download Fan Fiction as eBooks

Jason Boog — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:19:54 +0000

Fan fiction writers and readers can now download their favorite fan fiction works to read later on an eReader, smartphone or tablet. We’ve outlined the simple steps below, with pictures.

Thanks to the simple FanFictionDownLoader plug-in for Calibre, you can make easy-reading copies of fan fiction from the Internet. The program will allow you to find an eBook format that works in all major eReading devices.

Follow this link to see the long list of sites that work with the Calibre plug-in, including these five popular sites: FanFiction.net, Fiction Press, Twilighted, Ficwad and Harry Potter Fan Fiction.

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Mark Z. Danielewski Shares Enhanced eBook Creation Advice

Jason Boog — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:06:19 +0000

Mark Z. Danielewski released a complex digital version of The Fifty Year Sword today, creating an interactive eBook for his ghost story.

We asked the author of House of Leaves what it was like proofreading his intricate digital book. He replied:

Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. And if anyone tired of reading those overs, they should avoid a career as a writer. I often joke — it’s not a joke — that writing comes down to having the strength to revisit repetition over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Reading is rereading. Writing is rereading and rewriting and rereading over and over and over again. And if by the end you don’t feel dizzy, nauseous, if there’s not an ugly taste in your mouth which you can’t wash out and you sure as hell can’t swallow, you’re not working hard enough.

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An Honest Commercial for IE 9 (Humor)

Nate Hoffelder — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 08:48:25 +0000

Microsoft is enamored of their web browser, but many of us who use it on a daily basis are continually annoyed by its lack of speed, instability, and general buggyness. That’s why I am glad to show you this video.

It’s a satirical take on the official Internet Explorer 9 commercial which Microsoft released in March, and it comes far closer to matching my experience with the web browser. While I have not seen it crash quite this often, IE does tend to freeze at irregular intervals and otherwise misbehave. The only reason I still use it is to download Firefox and to visit a handful of sites that still don’t work well with Firefox.

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New Documentary Reveals Secret Behind Apple Maps

Nate Hoffelder — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 20:39:33 +0000

As a practical functional app Apple Maps is a mess. Much of the location data is wrong and most importantly many of the map images are flawed. With as many flaws as have been found in Apple Maps, I am not surprised to learn that at least some of the errors were intentional.

The following clip is from a mockumentary which discusses Apple Maps and its inspiration as a massive art installation carried in the pockets of tens of millions of people. continued…

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