Tag - Ebooks
New MacNN Book: Work Smarter with Shortcuts
Behind every product Apple ever releases at WWDC, there are shortcuts. Little steps you can take to speed up how you work with them: methods to do things faster, to skip steps you don't need. They never get mentioned, except for now: our favorite tips are now in the new MacNN Pointers: Work Smarter with Shortcuts e-book, now available on Kindle and iBooks.
Briefly: Deezer adds CarPlay support, Scribd expands paid catalog
Deezer is adding CarPlay support to its iOS app later today, allowing it to be controllable from a car's entertainment system. The music streaming service's support for CarPlay effectively allows drivers and passengers to play songs and navigate through the company's catalog of 35 million tracks and 40,000 podcasts, including accessing playlists, Mix channels, Flow, and music stored offline, all via the central media unit.
Antitrust monitor tells court Apple is obstinate but 'improving'
Michael Bromwich, the combative antitrust monitor appointed seemingly due solely to his close relationship with original trial judge Denise Cote, has claimed that Apple "is its own worst enemy" in terms of cooperation with the court-appointed monitor, but admitted that Apple's antitrust program is "substantially stronger" in what might be his final report for the court, unless Judge Cote extends his appointment. Bromwich, who was restrained from previous excesses by an Appeals Court that barely upheld Cote's original decision, has had a difficult relationship with the iPhone maker from the start.
Hands On: Kindle 4.9.1 (OS X, iOS)
The latest release of Amazon's Kindle software for iOS and Macs is devoted to improving how text looks on your screen as you read. Excuse us? With Kindle 4.9.1, it's five years since the application came to Apple gear and only now it's concerned with how you read on it?
Pointers: Summer Project E-publishing -- part one, introduction
Self-publishing -- once known as the "vanity press" -- has been around for decades. If you had a burning desire to be a published author, but mysteriously the conventional literary "mafia" couldn't see the value in your heartbreaking work of staggering genius, you could pay to have books created for you in the hopes that this would lead to your "discovery." It rarely worked out that way (until 50 Shades of Gray took that path). With the advent of desktop publishing in the late 1980s and the emergence of e-books into the mainstream more recently, authors can now take much more control over their literary fate. In this new Summer Project, MacNN is going to show you what we mean, by putting out a book ourselves over the next eight weeks. Read on to find out more.
Appeals court seems sympathetic to Apple call for monitor removal
Judges hearing two separate cases brought by Apple against (respectively) Judge Denise Cote's appointment of an unqualified personal friend as an antitrust monitor, and an appeal of the whole of Cote's ruling against the company in the Department of Justice e-book "price fixing" lawsuit appeared to find sympathetic ears in the Second US Court of Appeals in New York on Tuesday. At least one judge said the court's monitor was grossly overpaid, while another panel appeared to agree with Apple's arguments with Judge Cote's ruling.
Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription e-books service leaks in testing
Amazon is allegedly testing an e-book subscription service the retailer could offer to Kindle customers sometime in the future. Effectively operating in a similar way to Netflix for video or Spotify for music, Kindle Unlimited will apparently provide "unlimited access to over 600,000 titles and thousands of audiobooks" at a cost of $10 per month.
Samsung, Amazon launch Kindle for Samsung app with free ebooks
Samsung has entered into a partnership with Amazon to provide owners of its Galaxy smartphone and tablets free books. The Kindle for Samsung app, a custom-built version of Amazon's e-reader just for Galaxy devices, will provide not only access to the online retailer's collection of books and reading material, but will also give app users a free ebook every month.
Hands On: Oyster e-book subscription service
We're not sure that there's any debate about the future of subscription services for digital content. Between Netflix, Amazon Video, Next Issue, and a few other services offering near-unlimited consumption, our appetite seems voracious for digital offerings. A subscription service for e-books has recently launched for iOS called Oyster -- it purports to allows users access to over 200,000 titles offline and online. How well does it accomplish that goal, and does it give the reader a positive reading experience?
Amazon launches Kindle MatchBook in US with 70,000 e-book collection
Amazon has launched its program that provides digital versions of books they already own in physical form, which can be read on a Kindle device or the Kindle app. Kindle MatchBook will provide Amazon customers in the US with Kindle titles that match books bought from the retailer in the past, with the Kindle copies being provided either at no charge or priced between $0.99 and $2.99 each.
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Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit
Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj
Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket
The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]
Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera
Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94
Apple employees testing wheelchair features
New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa
SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards
SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If
Apple's third-quarter results due July 26
Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm
Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users
Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE
