As usual, the wonderful mixed-up world of things both bookish and techy offered plenty of notable news this week. Please enjoy…
While a Harris Interactive poll finds gadgets are good for the future of reading and readers…
E-Reader Users Buy, Read More Books
…The “Chronicle of Higher Education” offers a differing POV
Will the Book Survive Generation Text?
Many college-age sorts study their phones, put them away to try to focus on something else — the passing scenery outside the Amtrak train, a magazine, the old-fashioned book they’ve brought along — then yank the phones back out three or four minutes later and start tapping away again. Reading a book, however, requires concentration, endurance, the ability to disconnect from other connections. You have to be there rather than not there. Hyperwired young people may be making it to age 17 without acquiring that ability, let alone losing it.
CNET.com joins growing chorus of folks asking where is Google Editions?
Hey, what happened to Google Editions?
The article itself is a basic recap of the delays, along with recap of the spin from Google regarding the delays. But, there is a nice bit of logic-based speculation from the comments:
“No rush, because there are no tablets out there running Android 3.0 or ChromeOS, I would think. The two go hand in hand, yes?”
Privacy is a bit lacking in the cloud
Data in the Cloud Still Governed by Obsolete Privacy Laws
Technology companies and privacy advocates have been calling for Congress to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) for years (see “Coalition of Tech Companies Wants to Give You Digital Due Process“). The law leaves consumers unprotected, they argue, and dampens the cloud computing sector’s economic prospects.
We have related coverage on ECPA reform over in the Gov 2.0 section.
What works best when crowdsourcing funding from Kickstarter
Crowdfunding? Kickstarter Has Some Advice
Kickstarter success story and indie publisher (Art Space Tokyo), Craig Mod was the impetus for this analysis of what works best when asking strangers for money.
Libraries are lending things that they borrowed
Which is so meta. But, possibly not all that legal.
Libraries and Netflix — Questionable Borrowing Practices From People Who Know From Borrowing
The practice boils down to university libraries purchasing fairly robust (in some cases, 16 discs at a time) subscriptions from Netflix, allowing them to have a strong virtual collection while also providing streaming capabilities so they can immediately fulfill requests.
Lonely Planet makes travel books for people like me
If you are directionally- and planning-challenged, you will like Lonely Planet’s new augmented reality guides. Apparently they’re also good for organized people who just like to learn while traveling.
Case Study: Lonely Planet’s augmented reality guides
The application pinpoints your exact location so that when you find yourself in a new city and want to know what there is to see and do around you, just look through the camera and a wealth of Lonely Planet information on the best destinations, accommodation, sites, bars and restaurants appear stuck like post-it notes to points of interest around you.
“Gourmet” returns as a socially interactive iPad app
A Look at the ‘Gourmet Live’ iPad App
Chock full of stories from the magazine (which Condé closed down last fall), recipes, videos and slideshows, “Gourmet Live” is free and content is available without registration.
However, Condé says users need to sign in to Facebook or Twitter in order to access the app’s interactive features. It’s this social aspect that Condé says sets “Gourmet Live” apart from other apps on the market right now.
And for rebellious Kindle readers out there: a jailbreak full of fabulous fonts.
Amazon’s Kindle Gets Jailbroken, Additional Font Options Now Available
Last minute reminder: TOC Frankfurt October 5!
A last-chance reminder: TOC Frankfurt is just around the corner. Hope you’ll be joining us October 5th for an incredible and international program of fabulous bookish tech featuring Jeff Jarvis, Doug Rushkoff, Andrew Savikas, Richard Nash, James Bridle, Kate Pullinger, Richard Padley, oh — just too many cool folks to mention here. Use discount code “TOC10BL” and receive a 20% discount (€399 + 19% VAT).