Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
What Is an Electronic Book Reader?
November 22nd, 2010 |What Is an Electronic Book Reader?
Electronic book readers are devices that display electronic books, also known as eBooks. At its most basic, an electronic book reader has an input device, like a keyboard, and a screen to display eBook text.
Files called “eBooks” have been around for decades, though they were little more than books stored as text files on disks. The first electronic book readers were released in 1998, the most popular and best-known of the early models was called SoftBook. Priced near $600 and featuring a leather cover and touchscreen display,…
What Is Amazon?
November 6th, 2010 |What Is Amazon?
The dictionary definition for Amazon goes something like this — Amazon is a multinational electronic commerce corporation. That’s a little too dry for us here at AskDeb. We like to think of Amazon as a giant bookstore on the Internet. Sure, you can buy lots of stuff other than books, but most people are familiar with Amazon first and foremost as a retailer of books.
Though they operate multinationally, Amazon.com is based in America. In fact, Amazon.com is still America’s largest and most successful online retailer. Amazon is such a hugely successful entity that it does at…
How to Get a Book Published
September 9th, 2010 |Publish Your Book
The world of book publishing may seem impossible to break into, but the truth is that anyone can have their book published. If you’ve done the hard work — writing a book — then the rest of your task is easy. Trust me — there are so many publishing companies out there who want to publish good work, that sorting through them to find a publisher is like shooting fish in a barrel. Publishing a book is not easy, but if you take the proper steps, you can publish your book in no time.
The editors at…
How to Copyright a Book
August 18th, 2010 |How to Copyright a Book
The best news for new authors is that your book or other literary work is copyrighted as soon as you put the words on paper. The Copyright Amendment Act of 1989 states that even unofficially copyrighted creative works have a built-in “copyright” affect allowing the author to claim their originality without all the red tape. So your book or other written document is automatically copyrighted as soon as you write it.
The easy way to claim your creative rights to your work (allowed under the 1989 amendment) is simply to put the symbol (c) on…
What Are the Best 2010 Summer Books?
July 7th, 2010 |What Are the Best 2010 Summer Books?
Ask ten readers the names of the best books for reading this summer and you’ll get ten unique lists. Reading is a very personal thing — a great page-turner for you may be boring past my endurance. When it comes to summer reading many people are even more particular. Lying on your back on the beach isn’t necessarily the best time to crack into Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way, but might be the only time of year you’d be tempted to read a romance novel or a piece of true crime writing.
Whatever your…
Kindle For Mac
March 24th, 2010 |With the March 2010 release of “Kindle for Mac“, Apple users can enjoy e-books downloaded from Amazon.com. The MacIntosh version of the Kindle e-book reader means that most every major computer, cellphone and mp3 player on the market is compatible with Amazon’s Kindle.
Amazon came out with the first generation Kindle e-reader in late 2007, the device sold out 5 & 1/2 hours, and wasn’t in stock for nearly 5 months. Demand for Kindle readers, as well as improvements to the original design, led Amazon to release the Kindle 2 in February of 2009, then Kindle DX, which was released…
Kindle Deals, Discounts, and Best Prices
January 25th, 2010 |Kindle Deals, Discounts, and Best Prices
Amazon’s eBook reader Kindle features an electronic paper display, a super-thin body, and hundreds of thousands of book titles available for download from the Kindle store. Amazon’s asking price, as of January 2010, is $259 for the Kindle 2. The most popular books cost $9.99 to download too. So who could blame you for searching for Kindle deals, Kindle discounts, and best prices on Kindles?
The Original Kindle
Amazon no longer sells their original Kindle reader, but that doesn’t mean you can’t buy one. The first-generation Kindle was a good device and even featured…
The Kindle Pricing Strategy & The Kindle Pricing History
January 20th, 2010 |The Kindle Pricing Strategy & The Kindle Pricing History
Some people criticized the original price of the Kindle 2 after accusations surfaced about the device’s production cost. More questions have come up about the feasibility of Amazon’s business model concerning their Kindle store and the selling of eBooks online, especially when many of the titles are completely free. Amazon has since decreased the price of the Kindle 2 device and refined the pricing strategy of their Kindle store.
The Kindle Pricing History
The original Kindle, which was so hotly anticipated it sold out online in a matter of hours, was…
Kindle Covers and Cases
January 18th, 2010 |Kindle Covers and Cases
Amazon’s Kindle is popular. If you got your hands on one, the first thing you’ll probably want to do is get a good Kindle case, or cover. You want to protect your investment, and a cover is the best way to keep the dings and scratches at bay. (Please note that all of the Kindle covers and cases mentioned in this post were available at these prices as of January, 2010, but those prices and availability could have changed since then.)
Not only are Kindle covers and cases important for protecting the device, you can express…
How Do You Make the Kindle Read Aloud Function Work?
January 16th, 2010 |How Do You Make the Kindle Read Aloud Function Work?
Amazon’s Kindle 2 eBook reader promises to revolutionize the act of reading. Amazon hopes the Kindle will do for books what the iPod did for music. To this end, the Kindle and Kindle 2 devices boast features to entice users to use the Kindle for all their reading, kind of like how iPods became everyone’s “default” music player a few years ago.
The Kindle 2′s dictionary function allows users to look up unfamiliar words without interrupting the reading time, and with the bookmark function, you can mark a page for…
What Are Some Kindle Alternatives?
January 16th, 2010 |What are some Kindle alternatives?
The two Amazon Kindle devices are the best known eBook readers on the market, but the two Kindles aren’t the only fish in the eBook reader sea. As with any major tech purchase, you should shop around before plunking down hundreds of books on a Kindle.
What are some Kindle alternatives? Listed here are five options to consider if you’re looking for an eBook reader but aren’t sure the Kindle is right for you.
Kindle App for PC / iPhone / iPod Touch
What if you’ve already got one fancy gadget you use on a…
Good Books Available on the Kindle
January 14th, 2010 |Good Books Available on the Kindle
Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader transforms the experience of reading. Imagine carrying your entire library in a device as slender as a ballpoint pen and lighter than your average paperback.
The Kindle can download titles in less than a minute. Books on the Kindle cost anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars depending on the title.
The Kindle is a great device, but even the best eBook reader in the world is useless if there aren’t good titles available to read. Which good books are available on the Kindle?
Not only is the…
How Does the Kindle Work in Australia?
January 12th, 2010 |How Does the Kindle Work in Australia?
The first Kindle device released by Amazon was not compatible for use in Australia. In fact, the Kindle 1 was for Americans and Americans only.
Late last year Amazon released the Kindle 2 which works with multiple wireless networks like 3G and others. The Kindle is now available to people in over 100 countries, including Australia.
But how does the Kindle work in Australia? Before you rush out and buy a Kindle down under, consider the following..
How To Find the Australian Kindle
In order to purchase a Kindle for shipment to Australia…
How Does the Kindle Work in Canada?
January 12th, 2010 |How Does the Kindle Work in Canada?
Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader is one of the most popular new gadgets this decade. The first group of Kindles sold out within hours and was out of stock for months.
Despite their popularity, the original Kindle had a major flaw — it was available only in the United States. International customers were out of luck.
The Basics
In October of 2009, Amazon released the international version of the Kindle 2. The Kindle 2 is an improvement on the original Kindle for many reasons, the most relevant to those outisde of the USA is…
How Does the Amazon Kindle 2 Work?
January 11th, 2010 |Amazon Kindle 2 Review
Amazon’s Kindle, released in 2007, was a hardware device designed for the purchasing, reading, and storage of e-books through the online bookseller’s retail store. The device proved so popular that Amazon released the Kindle 2 in late February 2009. Like it’s predecessor (which is no longer available, although you can still get a great deal on one at places such as eBay or Craigslist), the Kindle 2 uses the E ink brand electronic paper display to mimic the look of text on regular paper rather than a screen.
Users purchase e-book files over Amazon’s Whispernet Internet…
What Is an Aztak EZ Reader, and How Does It Work?
January 1st, 2010 |What is an Aztak EZ Reader, and how does it work?
The Aztak EZ Reader is an eBook reader device that is relatively low-cost and very user friendly. These devices stand in contrast to Amazon’s Kindle (the EZ Reader is over $100 cheaper) which throws in a lot of features that many people don’t mind sacrificing for a lower price.
The EZ Reader is known for being the energy efficient and affordable version of popular eBook readers.
Aztak EZ Reader Pluses
There’s a lot to love about the Aztak, especially considering it is a piece of “budget technology”.
The EZ…
What Is an iRex Digital Reader, and How Does It Work?
December 30th, 2009 |What is an iRex Digital Reader, and how does it work?
The iRex Digital Reader, aimed at the businessman or business professional, is a feature-packed alternative to the Amazon Kindle.As a matter of fact, the iRex Digital Reader is the only other eBook reader I’d want after the latest version of the Kindle.
The iRex Digital Reader is as small as the newer versions of the Kindle without losing many of the features.
The Good Points
The iRex’ newest version has an 8.1 inch touch screen (that’s right — touchscreen functionality) that uses the same E Ink tech
…
What Is a Sony Portable Reader, and How Does It Work?
December 30th, 2009 |What is a Sony Portable Reader, and how does it work?
Portable Reader is the result of Sony tossing their hat into the eBook reader ring. The full name is the Sony PRS-500 Portable Reader, but most people drop the nerdy “PRS-500″ label when discussing the device.
The price of Sony’s reader is equivalent to similar devices from Amazon and Barnes and Noble–around $300, though it must be said that Amazon’s Kindle averages about $40 cheaper. The big knock on Sony’s eBook reader is the slightly higher cost compared to the features offered by the device. You’d think if you’re…
What Is Barnes & Noble’s Nook, and How Does It Work?
December 29th, 2009 |What is Barnes & Noble’s Nook, and how does it work?
The battle for eBook reader dominance is raging on. Though Amazon was the first company to put an eBook reader in wide release (the first Kindles came out in 2007 and completely sold out nationwide within fifteen minutes) there is one company whose reader is fighting for some of that company’s market share.
Barnes and Noble, whose bookstores pepper the American shopping mall landscape, put out an eBook reader this year called the Nook. Fortunately for Amazon (and unfortunately for the eggheads at B&N) the Nook is receiving the…
What Is an EBook Reader, and How Does It Work?
December 28th, 2009 |What is an eBook reader and how does it work?
This is the first in a week-long series of articles on eBook readers, from Amazon’s Kindle to newer models like Barnes and Noble’s “Nook”. We’ll be looking at each device in detail and talking about how various types of eBook readers work.
What is an eBook Reader, how much does an eBook reader cost, and how does an eBook reader work?
To get started on the right foot, let’s describe what an eBook reader is, how much it costs, and how it works.
An “eBook reader” is a device used…
Who Is Glenn Beck?
November 20th, 2009 |Why Is Everybody Talking About Glenn Beck?
Glenn Beck is a conservative talk radio show host, author and tv commentator on FoxNews.
While Glenn Beck had been for years a solid second-tier radio personality in the tradition of Rush Limbaugh, with a show on CNN and Headline News and his nationally syndicated Glenn Beck Program on the radio waves, it was the move to Fox News and the airing of the Glenn Beck Show that made Beck a household name.
On a cable channel known for outrageous characters and wild-eyed opinions, Glenn Beck soon stood out from the crowd with…
What Are the Best Career Books to Read?
October 28th, 2009 |Best Books About Jobs and Money
If you’re trying to master your old career, it’s always good to inject some new ideas into your old habits. Or if you’re looking for a new career, you probably need a little inspiration and advice to get through the darkest moments between jobs.
The problem is, there are so many books related to jobs and career advice, just looking through the list of names is enough to drain you of your brain power and life force. So I’ve compiled a list of the best career books to read.
Whether you have a company…
Who Is Ray Kurzweil?
August 19th, 2009 |Who is Ray Kurzweil?
My first exposure to Raymond Kurzweil, better known as Ray, came while reading Rolling Stone magazine earlier this year. In the January 2009 issue, Kurzweil appeared in David Kushner’s article “When Man and Machine Merge”. Kurzweil’s words in that article stuck with me. Ray Kurzweil said in Rolling Stone that he wanted to clone his dead father via an exact genetic copy obtained from DNA in the father’s grave. That’s right — Kurzweil expressed an honest desire to build a copy of his dead dad by inventing special nanorobots that could enter his father’s grave…
What Is Food Inc.?
June 9th, 2009 |What is Food Inc.?
“Food Inc.” is an upcoming documentary by filmmaker Robert Kenner, probably best known for his film The American Experience, which won an Emmy in 2006.
One of the best reviewed films this year (a quick Google search of the film’s reviews revealed only one negative review, posted by an anonymous blogger), “Food Inc.” promises to be an eye opening experience for Americans, who probably don’t give a second though to exactly what it is they’re eating. Kenner’s goal with “Food Inc.” is to change, or at least slightly alter, that behavior.
You may remember a…
What Is the Skinny Bastard Diet?
May 12th, 2009 |What is the Skinny Bastard diet?
The Skinny Bastard diet can be found in the book “Skinny Bastard”, a foul mouthed companion diet to the popular “Skinny Bitch” series of weight loss books which suggest a vegan diet as a route to weight loss. One difference between “Skinny Bitch” and “Skinny Bastard” — the book aimed at men suggests ways that men can “get ripped”, or add muscle mass.
In an effort to capture the attention of males, the “Skinny” series authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin have reclothed their vegan manifesto with terms and concepts aimed at men. Their…
80 Fun Questions to Ask Friends
March 5th, 2009 | Fun questions to ask friends can make great icebreakers and conversation starters at parties. Here are 80 ideas of some fun questions to ask friends or dates.