This Generator the Size of a Pencil Tip Shakes Up Big Power

This Generator the Size of a Pencil Tip Shakes Up Big Power:

"Japanese researchers have cooked up a minuscule kinetic battery capable of generating more energy than anything of its kind. Through only the slightest vibrations, the tiny device cranks out 22 milliwatts—20 times more than anything similar before it."

Somewhat interesting but the usefulness of the tiny generator is not immediately apparent to me; at least for anything I would use.
At the same time I wish there was a kinetic generator in my e-reader so I could shake a few more pages out of it before I had to plug it back into the charger.

Survey shows misunderstanding of iPad’s place in the ereader market -- and ereaders want some of the tablet market

Survey shows misunderstanding of iPad’s place in the ereader market | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics:

"The iPad is the portable equvalent of a small computer that runs multimedia apps, and only secondarily is it used for reading e-books. Has anyone ever expected that it would sell less than a dedicated e-reader which is by design a niche product?"

The Apples and Oranges argument is sound. I guess what I'm looking for is a dedicated e-reader that does all the gaming/surfing/PDA stuff as well. The dedicated e-readers are adding on this kind of functionality as fast as they can. As long as they focus on a better reading experience then this makes sense and there will always be a gray area between e-reader and tablet.

Smashwords just went Agency – signed new deal with Sony, B&N, Kobo - Indie authors rejoice

Smashwords just went Agency – signed new deal with Sony, B&N, Kobo:

"While much of this might taste of inconsequential inside baseball to those outside the book publishing industry, I think our news today is important to the emerging indie author movement. Indie ebook authors and small publishers now have the ability to outcompete the big NY publishers on a new level playing field we’re helping to create. In fact, in the ebook space, we’re moving to a world where the playing field is tilting to the indie author’s favor. Indies aren’t hamstrung by the high expense structures and slow publishing cycles of the big NY publishers. In the future, the success of books won’t be determined by big marketing budgets – they’ll be determined by the viral word of mouth of readers, catalyzed and amplified by social media. If a book resonates with readers, it spreads. If it doesn’t resonate, it becomes invisible. Readers decide what’s worth reading, not publishers."

Agency model is fine if the author is setting the price of his "product". Agency model pricing employed by publishing houses is more about setting prices to keep publishers relevant and profitable. This does not translate as greater profit for the author. When the big publishing houses set e-book prices above the paperback version then the Agency model is being abused.

bookofjoe: Mini Solar Desk Lamp

bookofjoe: Mini Solar Desk Lamp:

"I wanted to buy IKEA's iteration, featured last year in the New York Times, but they don't sell it online.
It costs $6.90 and shipping runs $7 so the combined cost is still less than you'd pay at IKEA ($19.99), which I can't do since there isn't one anywhere near my Podunk town.
I'll report further once it arrives and I've had a chance to put it through its paces."

My comment/mini-review as posted at bookofjoe.com:
I've had this lamp for about five months and I'm pretty happy with it. First off: its lasted five months! Nothing has broken, burned out, or fallen off. The on-off switch is a bit flaky now (three months in); you need to wiggle it around a bit to get a full-power connection.
The base is solid, the goose-neck arm is first-rate, and the lamp head rotates a full 360 degrees.
The biggest disappointment came when I opened up the base to try to fix the switch. The single AA rechargeable battery is soldered in and then encased in a thick pool of that hot glue-gun glue.
The base is also a screw-on with tiny, easily strippable screws.
If I leave it on sunny windowsill(s) all day I get about four hours of bright light. When the battery discharges to a certain point the light starts to blink at varying speeds. Sometimes you get a cool strobe effect.
Given its shortcomings I still use it every day. The light is bright and even, perfect for a keyboard. I wouldn't use it to read for any length of time.
At some point, when the battery plays out, I'll chip away at that glue and try a fully charged AA. I don't know about the overall fit and finish of the IKEA model, but I suspect that its not put together with hot glue.
I got it for $9.43 from focalprice.com, free shipping. They may still have it in stock.

Archos Internet Tablets get firmware updates, everybody gets a Froyo -- Batteries not included

Archos Internet Tablets get firmware updates, everybody gets a Froyo -- Engadget
Some of those crappy tablets that run Android 1.6 may get a new life if they can shoehorn Froyo onto them. If thats the case then its only horrible battery life (some forum comments talk about 45 minutes after a full charge) and tetchy touch screens (use your karate training: imagine poking an inch behind the tablet).

Julian Assange, defending our democracies (despite their owners' wishes) - Charlie's Diary

Julian Assange, defending our democracies (despite their owners' wishes) - Charlie's Diary:

"Swedish bloggers uncovered the full story in a few hours. The complaint was lodged by a radical feminist Anna Ardin, 30, a one-time intern in the Swedish Foreign Service. She's spokeswoman for Broderskapsrrelsen, the liberation theology-like Christian organization affiliated with Sweden's Social Democratic Party. She had invited Julian Assange to a crayfish party, and they had enjoyed some quality time together. When Ardin discovered that Julian shared a similar experience with a 20-year-old woman a day or two later, she obtained the younger woman's cooperation in declaring before the police that changing partners in so rapid a manner constituted a sort of deceit. And deceit is a sort of rape. The prosecutor immediately issued an arrest warrant, and the press was duly notified. Once the facts were examined in the cold light of day, the charge of rape seemed ludicrous and was immediately dropped. In the meantime the younger woman, perhaps realizing how she had been used, withdrew her report, leaving the vengeful Anna Ardin standing alone."

Just watched CNN replay there aborted attempt at ambush journalism and Assange walking away from the interview. CNN continually fails to explain that they had agreed to the subject matter to be covered in the interview before he would sit down with CNN. His disgust with CNN is the disgust we should all share with news organizations that emphasize the lurid and video-worthy over serious journalism.

Stross gives a good overview of the facts that you won't see on cable TV.

Google Editions e-book store to launch this month - late to the game

Google Editions e-book store, Chrome Web Store rumored to launch by year’s end | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics:

"Unlike other stores, Google wants to offer a “read-anywhere” model that will let readers access their e-books on almost any platform with a web browser. (It’s not clear how DRM will play into this.)
...
PaidContent seems to have its own sources, and is saying that Google Editions will launch with 500,000 titles—which is considerably more than the 350,000 “books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs” Amazon has to offer"

The success of Google's store this late in the game will be depend upon the quality of the shopping experience, the quantity and quality of books for sale, and the way Google handles DRM.
Everyone will be quick to take a shot at the giant so if there are any newsworthy issue regarding any of the aspects of this launch it will be a big problem for Google.

271 Works of Picasso Revealed | Geekosystem

271 Works of Picasso Revealed | Geekosystem:

"Retired French electrician Pierre Le Guennec revealed 271 previously unknown works of Picasso that he had sitting around in his garage, worth about $80 million. Though Le Guennec claims he legitimately received the pieces as gifts, the Picasso family is suing Le Guennec, claiming he stole the works."

Wow. I don't care who sues who, I just want to see this hi-res digital stuff online as soon as possible.

Missing page numbers on Kindle (or any e-reader) shouldn't be a deal breaker

Why the Kindle Is Losing Me -- Sarah Lacy:

"So how the hell is it possible that the Kindle doesn’t have a feature as obvious as page numbers? You know what happens when you don’t have page numbers? You can’t do a basic footnote for anything you’ve read. Yeah, that’s going to be a slight problem for the college market."

Page numbers as a reference have always been dicey. If everyone is using the same printing of a book it works fine. Hardcover vs. paperback or printings of the same book from different years or publishers, the page numbers have always been different.

Act one, Scene one... Its gonna be a Chapter/Paragraph Number here on out. We need to wrap out heads around this and make sure all e-reading software can handle it. HTML/XML can handle tagged paragraphs, otherwise its just a matter of counting--I hear computers are good at that.

Of course, there are always hyperlinks.

Check out Chris Meadows's take on the subject:

How do you cite an e-book’s ‘page number’? | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics: "There are MLA and APA guidelines to citing e-books, too, though neither of them expressly mentions (that I can find) what to do about a book that has no page numbering. But I imagine “location number” would suffice in those cases too, especially with some explanation to the professor of the nature of the source.

It really does seem a bit odd that neither of these citation guides addresses the page-numbering matter. Lacy does have a point, though perhaps not the one she meant to make: the academic world does need to come to terms with how to do citation of e-books without page numbering, because e-books are only going to get more popular from here."

Nook Color - eBook Reader Reviews by MobileTechReview - 41/2 stars

Nook Color - eBook Reader Reviews by MobileTechReview

"Conclusion

The Nook Color is a wonderful surprise. As a long time E-Ink bookworm, I didn't expect much from Barnes & Noble's LCD reader. But B&N has turned out one of the hottest consumer electronics items of 2010 and perhaps 2011. The Nook Color offers an excellent reading experience thanks to its retina-friendly IPS display with high pixel density and wide viewing angles. Reading on an LCD has never been this pleasant and my eyes are feeling good when reading in my usual 1 to 2 hour sessions. That said, the Nook Color excels if you read indoors and particularly if you read in poor lighting conditions. If you read outdoors or in very sunny rooms with large windows, an E-Ink reader is your best bet since it looks wonderful under very bright conditions where LCDs fade and glare."

Great in-depth review with lots of pictures and video. They give it 4 1/2 stars and I pretty much agree except it should be $150 instead of $250. Of course, it will be $150 in 6 months.