book

Have you ever purchased a physical book from Amazon? Then you may soon be eligible to receive a cheap or even free Kindle version of that same book. The new feature is called 'Matchbook,' and applies to any book that a customer has ever bought on ... Amazon (at any time) that is also available for the company's Kindle e-book reader. So far more than 10,000 books have been enrolled in the scheme, largely because of the involvement of publishing giant Harper Collins. Amazon is hoping to get other publishers on board soon. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) Once the system launches in October, users will be able ... (view more)

The Authors Guild has formally objected to Amazon's plans to take control of a new website domain dedicated to books. They say it is inappropriate for a private company to control such an important (and generic) domain name. The dispute centers on ... the new top level domain system. Until this year, all website addresses had to have an ending (or top level domain) that was either '.com' or '.org,' or a specific country code, such as '.ca' for Canada. Under the new system, organizations can apply to take control of virtually any term. For example, a technology site could move to a ".site" address ... (view more)

According to a new study, older people are able to read text off the iPad much faster than if they were using a "real" book. In fact, the iPad proved easier for reading than even e-readers like the Kindle. The study was performed by a research team ... from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, in Germany. "E-books and e-readers are playing an increasingly important role on the worldwide book market," the researchers said in their report. "However, readers can be particularly skeptical when it comes to e-books and electronic reading devices. The objective of the study was to investigate ... (view more)

Amazon is said to be considering a library-style subscription service that will allow users to read multiple books on its Kindle e-reader for a single fee. However, it appears publishers may not like the idea. It's reported that Amazon is currently ... in talks with publishing firms about the service, which would be offered to Amazon Prime customers. Originally, Prime (which costs $79 per year) simply entitled members to free two-day shipping across the US on all items, no matter their value. Amazon has since added access to a limited range of online streaming movies and television shows, so book ... (view more)

It looks like Apple fans will be able to learn about their favorite company's CEO earlier than expected -- perhaps even in time for the yet-unknown release of the iPad 3 tablet. Right now the Apple iPad 3 release date remains highly speculative -- ... though prominent Apple watchdog blog MacRumors believe it's possible we'll see the latest revision as early as the end of this year. (Source: latimes.com ) What is relatively certain, however, is that the new book "Steve Jobs: A Biography," will be available on November 21, 2011. The book is written by author Walter Isaacson, head of the Aspen ... (view more)

Last week's report that thousands of U.S. libraries were set to receive Kindle eBooks marked a major step ahead for digital reading devices. But a new app-based copy of a book written by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is not only changing the ... approach to commercialized reading, but also the very definition of what we consider a "book" to be. Push Pop Press, a company established by former Apple employees Kimon Tsinteris and Mike Matas, has published an app version of "Our Choice," the popular 2009 book about global warming. Apple Features Alter Book Layout The app is said to take full ... (view more)

A new book by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen reveals a lot about the company and the people who ran it during those heady days in the early 1980s. Some of the most fascinating content focuses on Allen's impressions of Microsoft's 'wunderkind' ... leader, Bill Gates -- and not all of it is complimentary. Along with Gates, Allen helped found Microsoft in 1975, though the latter left the company in 1983 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a form of cancer. Allen beat the disease but never formally returned to Microsoft, instead pursuing a number of other ventures with his newfound ... (view more)

Not long ago, Google agreed to pay $125 million to the book industry to settle claims of copyright infringement over its BookSearch scheme. The agreement means Google can now legally scan copyrighted books and put them online as long as they are no ... longer in print. The cash will go towards setting up a registry of books involved, compensating authors and publishers affected by Google's violations, and paying the legal fees of the case. The agreement will have to get the backing of a New York court (where the case was brought) before it takes effect. (Source: google.com) The case involved a ... (view more)

Reading, at least in the conventional way of leafing page by page through a book, is at risk and the blame is being placed squarely on the shoulders of the Internet and (of course) television. The decline of reading has fueled a massive national ... debate not only about 'if' we read but 'how' we read. The debate began in 2002 when the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) found that the number of non-reading adults had increased by 17 million to 89 million adults, roughly one out of three adults. According to the NEA, only 47% of American adults read 'literature', including poems, plays, ... (view more)

Last week, HarperCollins, publishers of popular authors Paulo Coelho, Ann Patchett, and Wally Lamb, announced that it will begin to offer some of its newer releases online for free. The company hopes to duplicate on its website what customers have ... done for decades in brick and mortar store. (Source: nytimes.com ) Visitors will be able to view the entire contents of some books for a limited time. The initial titles include: Paulo Coelho's The Witch of Portobello; I Dream in Blue: Life, Death, New York Giants by Roger Director; Mark Halperin's The Undecided Voter's Guide to the Next President: ... (view more)