» E-books http://www.techusers.org Tech from an e-booker's point of view Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:18:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Did it myself EeePC/E-book Case http://www.techusers.org/2008/01/30/did-it-myself-eeepce-book-case/ http://www.techusers.org/2008/01/30/did-it-myself-eeepce-book-case/#comments Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:14:54 +0000 Ellen Hage http://www.techusers.org/2008/01/30/did-it-myself-eeepce-book-case/ Red CaseI really like the cases offered at Fabrix Cases, but I just can’t see paying $40 for about $4 in materials and limited design choices.  Earlier this year, I had mentioned that I would try to make my own case.  I looked at lots of different patterns from McCalls, Simplicity, and Kwik Sew; however each one would have to be modified for size.  Also I wanted a bag based on Fabrix’s design. At that point I decided to just make my own pattern.   The red case pictured here represents my first attempt.  For the outside I used a 17″ x 17″ napkin I bought at Target.  It was in a pack of two for $2. For the lining I used 1/2 yd of novelty fabric from Walmart.  The fabric was $2 a yd.  I didn’t draw out a pattern, but guestimated the needed size using a ruler and the Eee Pc’s dimensions.  I like the fit, but it just seems a bit bulky since I used ½ inch foam padding.  I originally wanted ¼ inch in thickness, but I don’t know if that would have given me the amount of protection I want.  I placed the Velcro a bit too high and later I just added another strip.   My second bag pictured below was made based on my first attempt and I added an extra inch in width.  Another change I made was to round the corners on both the flap and the sleeve.  This time I did make a paper pattern. This bag lies flatter, but the fit is a bit loose (but not too much).  I do think that it is a great size for my various e-book devices although I’ll never know (my daughter has taken possession).  So now I am creating a third pattern, this time I am subtracting some of the ease previously added.  Hopefully, the third time is the charm.  It’s been a lot of fun and the best part is that I know no one will have the same case.  The case is quick and easy to make and I doubt if it cost me more than $5. If anyone is interested, I will post directions, pattern, and materials.

 Open Flap  Cupcake Case Front
 Case Back  red Case Side
]]> http://www.techusers.org/2008/01/30/did-it-myself-eeepce-book-case/feed/ 6 More readers, more formats, not enough e-book content http://www.techusers.org/2007/09/11/more-readers-more-formats-not-enough-e-book-content/ http://www.techusers.org/2007/09/11/more-readers-more-formats-not-enough-e-book-content/#comments Wed, 12 Sep 2007 01:32:25 +0000 Ellen Hage http://techusers.org/2007/09/11/more-readers-more-formats-not-enough-e-book-content/ CybookHere we go again.  In the past week we got news about Amazon’s Kindle, Cybook is due anytime now, and a brief peak at the new Sony reader.  Everyone is excited; hopes are high that the e-book is finally coming into its own.  In my opinion we could have ten devices coming out and it still doesn’t change the things that need to be changed.  That’s the prolific proprietary formats, along with availability and price of content.  There are just too many formats and I believe that it is a barrier to new adopters.   The average person picking up a Sony reader doesn’t know this.  Most people don’t know about Project Gutenberg. That’s why Sony can act like they are giving customers a gift buy offering 100 classics for free. It’s not until they get it home and set up that they realize that they are locked into Sony for content and locked out of other sites that sell e-books.  Then they question, “Which format works with what device and why isn’t content available for all devices?”   Format confusion and the fact that you can’t get your books from where you please, are a turn off.  Unless they happen to stumble across user forums to overcome this, the device just may sit on a shelf or find its way to EBay.  Another barrier is pricing.  If a person buys a book for $20, after reading it, he or she could choose to sell it, share it with a friend.  E-books can’t do that, so why must we pay the same price as a hardback?  This must change.  In order for technology acceptance to take place, there has to be perceived usefulness.  There has to be some incentive for the customer to move to digital reading.  After all they just paid the average of $300 for the device and now pay the same price for an e-book as a paper book. Lastly, availability of e-books needs to increase.  I would love to buy older books that are no longer in print as well as new books on release date in e-book format.  When I think back to my first device, it got little use simply because I couldn’t find anything that I wanted to read.  If I didn’t know better, I would think that e-book device makers are setting up their wares for failure. 

]]> http://www.techusers.org/2007/09/11/more-readers-more-formats-not-enough-e-book-content/feed/ 14 First day of class http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/29/first-day-of-class/ http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/29/first-day-of-class/#comments Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:28:34 +0000 Ellen Hage http://techusers.org/2007/08/29/first-day-of-class/ BookYesterday was not good. I have never taken a course at a community college before and it is a definite culture shock.  The instructors talk to students like they’re in kindergarten. The class is 90 minutes and 75 of those minutes were spent on rules and expectations.  These same topics were covered in the syllabus that was handed out.  My experience has been that after five minutes of administrative stuff, you jump right into the subject. Then there were the complaints of having to write a ten page paper due at the end of the course. Should have known better since many of the students were dreading the two page written assignments. I am bored to tears already.  At any rate, I can see my small experiment already hitting a snag.  The material for the first half of the course isn’t available as digital text.  My first reading assignment is excerpts from The Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca.  I did find information about the narrative and even a read online version, but it is a different translation.  So I will have to buy the book.  So, I paid $130 for the course and the book costs $76.00 plus tax (8.25%).  Although it is paperback it weighs a ton (It’s an anthology).  What I really don’t get is that the book comes with a CD, an interactive CD (oooh).  The CD is supposedly filled with study aids, quizzes, and more information on the authors and stories, but it doesn’t have the one file that it needs.  You guess it.  The book itself. When I got to the school bookstore, they were out of the book. So now what?  I went to EBay and got 2 day delivery (total cost $68).  In the meantime, I’ll use an older edition I have at the house.  So why am I buying the book when it is only one edition newer than the one I have at home?  Because the instructor said it was mandatory.

]]> http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/29/first-day-of-class/feed/ 2 Where to Get E-books part 2 http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/27/where-to-get-e-books-part-2/ http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/27/where-to-get-e-books-part-2/#comments Mon, 27 Aug 2007 21:56:19 +0000 Ellen Hage http://techusers.org/2007/08/27/where-to-get-e-books-part-2/ book treeBlish:  This site is for selling and buying digital content. They sell e-books, but from what I can tell they are downloadable for a limited time.  That I don’t like.  They also offer photos, how-to guides, clipart, music, sound loops, video, design templates.  I have never bought from this site. If anyone has any info (good or bad) let me know.  Prices seem reasonable on the few e-books I looked at.

Ebook Mall:  This retailer has been around for quite a while.  They have a info page describing the various e-book formats and devices and another page that compares formats and devices. Ebook Mall used to be rather expensive back in the Gemstar days, but now their prices are more in sync with other sites.

eScholarship Editions:   Site has close to 2000 books from academic presses and covers a range of topics, including art, science, history, music, religion, and fiction.  Select books are available to the public.

Bartleby:  Site offers contemporary and classic reference works. Good for students and researchers. Also they have 20 volumes of the Harvard Classics in Adobe, Microsoft, and Aportis formats.  

]]> http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/27/where-to-get-e-books-part-2/feed/ 0 Project Gutenberg http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/26/project-gutenberg/ http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/26/project-gutenberg/#comments Sun, 26 Aug 2007 20:35:22 +0000 Ellen Hage http://techusers.org/2007/08/26/project-gutenberg/ Project GutenbergWell, it’s another Sunday.  I hurt my shoulder the other day and so I haven’t been able to post as I would have liked.  I am still working on “Where to get e-books” section.  I have had to recheck the sites I have bookmarked.  Some of the places have disappeared or have changed addresses.  I will get those up as soon as I can if my shoulder will cooperate.  Also I will add those sites recommended via your comments.  One site that I often take for granted is Project Gutenberg (PG).  While first e-book adopters are well aware of the many titles available through PG , many new comers may not be.  Project Gutenberg was founded by Michael Hart in 1971.  Today it is the largest single collection of totally free e-books.   Its online catalog lists over 20,000 e-books.  You can sign up for RSS feeds of newly added material in addition to their weekly newsletter and while you’re at it, consider a small donation.  The project also needs volunteers for a variety of things.  You can read more on the site.  I use to volunteer to send CD/DVDs to people who could not download the files.  If you chose you can be reimbursed for expenses such as postage. I enjoyed it, but school work got in the way.  I have decided to get back into it.  There was no minimum per month to send out, so I’ll start slower this time.  I would also hand out the discs to my daughter’s friends at school and to anyone else I thought would benefit.  It’s one way to spread the joy of e-books.

]]> http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/26/project-gutenberg/feed/ 0 Books on Board one day sale http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/25/books-on-board-one-day-sale/ http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/25/books-on-board-one-day-sale/#comments Sat, 25 Aug 2007 12:42:13 +0000 Ellen Hage http://techusers.org/2007/08/25/books-on-board-one-day-sale/ BoB LogoI received an email late last night from Books on Board.  In addition to announcing that Mobipocket was back in operation, they are offering 22% off Publishers List Minimum for ONE DAY with Promo Code MOBUP (all caps).  this sale ends tonight at 11:59 PM Central Daylight Time. This discount is good for all ebook formats and audiobooks.  I have never bought anything from this reseller, but I will give it a try at such a good discount.  In fact I have noticed that a lot of their offerings are cheaper than most other sites.  Their selection of books also seems more than adequate.  I don’t understand the term Publishers List Minimum, but I will find out.  So now the vendors are attempting to do damage control in the wake of Mobipocket’s long “down for Maintenance” absence.  I think that sales may help to keep customers, but I am not buying any e-books in Mobi format. I think that Mobipocket owes us an explanation.  So far we haven’t got one, and I seriously doubt that we will.  For that matter,  I doubt if the e-book vendors have gotten an explanation or how about this: an apology.  I hope that places like Books on Board are successful in keeping their customers and with their discounts, maybe they will attract more customers.  Without places to buy e-books at a reasonable price,  the less attractive e-book devices become.

edit:  I added three books to my cart and then the promo code, but it didn’t make a difference in the price.  I tried to find info on the term Publishers List Minimum, but I couldn’t.  So I went to Fictionwise to see if I was saving any money.  Granted, I belong to Fictionwise’s Buywise club, so your experience may be different.  Books on Board endedn up being slighter cheaper at $18.91 compared to Fictionwise at $$19.52.  But because of my micro rebates, Fictionwise is cheaper since I will save an additional $1.27, so my final price is $18.25.  So I will pass on Books on Board and use my Fictionwise gift certificated my daughter gave me for my birthday.  Oh, in case you’re interested the books I chose are:

]]> http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/25/books-on-board-one-day-sale/feed/ 2 Where to Get E-books part 1 http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/24/where-to-get-e-books-part-1/ http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/24/where-to-get-e-books-part-1/#comments Fri, 24 Aug 2007 18:13:05 +0000 Ellen Hage http://techusers.org/2007/08/24/where-to-get-e-books-part-1/ Books for a Buck: Specializes in affordable novel-length fiction. We do sell many of our books through Fictionwise and Mobipocket, but some of our books (especially our cheapest books) are available only through the publisher website. Also, new books are on sale for only $1 during their first month of availability-before they go on Mobipocket, Fictionwise, or other distributors.

Try searching with Digital Reading Search
It’s a Google Custom Search Engine that searches the free and paid-for ebook sites.
(Baen, PG, ManyBooks etc are on the list)… no warez.

Baen: They have many in their free library. None of their books have DRM, they are reasonably priced and they have many formats. Unfortunately they are somewhat specialized in military related SciFi and they currently do not support the LRF format used by the Sony Reader. However they do have formats that can be used with the Sony, e.g. RTF, and also have Mobipocket, MS .lit, HTML, Palm & Rocket/Ebookwise. They do have a few books by other publishers as well, e.g. Tor.

Penguin GroupI like this site because it has a special interest grouping.  So if you are into African American literature, this site has the best selection I’ve seen and I didn’t have to search for it.  Other special interest groups include Latino literature, parenting, and short reads.  Prices on some of the books are more expensive than other e-book stores.  Site sells paper books and not all include an e-book version. Also some selections include an excerpt of the book.

Cyberread

Site contains over 40,000 e-books in a variety of formats.  Not all formats available for every title.  Good selection of categories that may be of interest to professionals and students in addition to fiction novels.

Diesel E-books

Good selection of children fiction and religious fiction.  Formats include MS reader, Palm reader, and Adobe.  Diesel also sells bundles and offer free e-books.  Free e-books are mostly classics and require you use MS reader.

Digital Book Index

If you are looking for free e-books, this is must go to and bookmark place.

The site links to more than 137,000 titles from 1800 non-commercial and commercial publishers, universities and private sites.  If you need some help in find articles for research, this site and really help you find more resources.  Great for all types of students and us regular folks too.

Readers ‘R Us

This is mainly a place to get classic books for free.  They also offer free MP3 audio too.  I found this site when looking for children books.  The site is not very user friendly when it comes to navigating through the categories.

]]> http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/24/where-to-get-e-books-part-1/feed/ 0 Adding a new page http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/24/adding-a-new-page/ http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/24/adding-a-new-page/#comments Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:38:10 +0000 Ellen Hage http://techusers.org/2007/08/24/adding-a-new-page/ Pink Shopping BagI’ve decided to add a new page to the site.  I remember when I first bought my Rocket e-book, I spent more time just trying to find books rather than read.  There wasn’t much out there, but today there are quite a  few.  Some sites offer free ebooks, free chapter excerpts, as well as novels for sale. The problem is knowing where they are.  Later today I will add a few of the places I know about along with a description and post here.  Then I’ll add some more during the coming days.  If you know of any places online please leave a comment. Once posted on the home page, I’ll move them to the ”Where to Get E-books” page, for a quick reference.

]]> http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/24/adding-a-new-page/feed/ 5 Literature Classics on CD http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/16/literature-classics-on-cd/ http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/16/literature-classics-on-cd/#comments Thu, 16 Aug 2007 17:42:38 +0000 Ellen Hage http://techusers.org/2007/08/16/literature-classics-on-cd/ Library ScreenshotAs I have said before, I don’t like formatting books, but I do it.  I really miss Black Mask.  I could go there and download an already formatted e-book for my reader.  I am glad that I bought their DVD before the site disappeared.  I have tried to format e-books from Gutenberg and some other places, but I haven’t been quite satisfied with any of my results.  I get odd characters and space gaps.  I am too lazy to take the time to clean up the files, so I look for alternatives.  A bargain bin alternative is Bookshop Classics.  I have seen it sold separately for $4.99 and bundled with Bibles & Religion 400 Complete Works for $9.99 in the value software section of the big box stores.  The Bookshop CD contains over 1,000 literary classics.  These books can be viewed on you PC and you can print the book out. The best part is that you can save books in plain text.  The only drawback is that there is no book art.   Another choice is Reader Rom‘s Ultimate Library.  Amazon lists this collection for considerably less at $15.75.    The Collections boasts having over 10,000 books.  Again you can export all e-books as a text file.  Another feature is that you can have the books read to you.  I tried it, but the voices are too mechanical.  I didn’t like it, but perhaps there are people who will.  What I did find in the collection are 127 books by Doc Savage.  I didn’t follow the Black Mask saga closely, but I thought the crux of it was caused by these very books.    Anyway, you can go to Reader Rom for more information and lists of books.

]]> http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/16/literature-classics-on-cd/feed/ 3 Ease into e-reading http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/10/ease-into-e-reading/ http://www.techusers.org/2007/08/10/ease-into-e-reading/#comments Fri, 10 Aug 2007 13:10:30 +0000 Ellen Hage http://techusers.org/2007/08/10/ease-into-e-reading/ Daily Lit LogoI usually go to Jazzercise for two classes a day.  In between classes I try to do a little reading.  It’s only fifteen minutes so I find it hard to get back into a novel, so I have decided to give Daily Lit a try. Daily lit sends me bite size portions of a book on a daily basis.  I like getting the books via my RSS reader.  I find it more convenient than having it emailed to me and it just looks better on my N800.  The best thing about it is that I am able to finish reading my installment in plenty of time and it gives me a sense of accomplishment.  I really don’t get into classics that much, but by reading for short periods of time I find that I am starting to like older prose.  So, could this help people who are reluctant to try e-books?  I think it could, by letting them get their feet wet.    It could also foster learning the ins and outs of the reading software, such as navigation, dictionary features, etc. between installments.  Over time they may lose some of their attachment to paper.  I don’t know of any service that would send popular books via email or RSS feeds, but I will look.   I wouldn’t want to pay unless I got to keep the book in its entirety at the end.  Maybe receiving the first chapter of an e-book for free could work and also boost e-book sales.

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