Barnes and Noble Acquires Ereader.com and Fictionwise
March 6, 2009
Barnes and Noble has acquired Fictionwise, which owns Ereader.com. The acquisition is part of Barnes and Noble’s strategy to open an e-Bookstore later this year.
This looks like an attempt to fend off Amazon.com’s Kindle-inspired expansion into the possibly lucrative e-book market. Amazon.com has been selling Kindle hand-held electronic readers to sync and read electronic books, and recently unveiled an iPhone version which should prove to be hugely popular.
I have been purchasing e-books from Ereader.com for several years now — heck, I *ONLY* read e-books nowadays. People may think I’m crazy for reading e-books on my comparatively tiny Palm Treo 755p screen, but believe me, once you get used to it, it’s hard to live without it! I read in the elevator, I read while walking to a restaurant near work, I read on the train, I read in bed, I read while standing in line … I read so much that if I had paper copies of all the books I’ve read over the past several years, I would have filled up a small library! Ereader.com carries a good number of new releases, plus books written by some of my favorite authors. Hard for me to run out of what to read from ereader.com.
However, I’d begun to be unhappy with ereader.com. Despite the addition of a new (but slow!) mobile site and a iPhone app, the site had been stagnating. I’m hoping that the Barnes and Noble acquisition will give it a much-needed boost, and that it will serve as a viable competitor to Amazon’s Kindle bookstore. Especially since ereader.com’s e-books can be read on a wider variety of smartphones than Amazon.com’s e-books.
Good move, Barnes and Noble. Now, start advertising — you need to overtake Amazon.com’s headstart!
Strange Maps: Canada extends as far south as California
March 4, 2009
A long time ago, I heard a joke:
What do you call someone who knows three languages?
Trilingual.
What do you call someone who knows two languages?
Bilingual.
What do you call someone who knows one language?
An American.
The punchline holds true when it comes to geography. Most Americans think of Canada as cold, remote, barren. California? Ah, southern, verdant, sunny, palm trees …
Most Americans would be amazed to learn that Canada actually extends further south than the northern border of California!
Pelee Island, Ontario is the largest island in Lake Erie. Although its location is close to chilly Detroit, the lake effect gives it a milder climate than nearby mainland cities. Its climate is similar to North / South Carolina, and wine is actually grown there. It lies south of Latitude 42° N, which serves as the northern border of California. (Incidentally, the 42nd also serves as most of the northern border of Pennsylvania.)
Middle Island, Ontario is actually further south in Lake Erie than Pelee Island and is officially the southernmost point of Canada. No permanent settlements are present, however, since it is a conservation area.
“Wait a minute,” you may be saying. “These are islands. So does that mean the Canadian mainland doesn’t extend as far south as California?” Hold your Canadian Mounties horses, willya?
Point Pelee, Ontario and the hamlet of Colchester, Ontario are both on the Canadian mainland. Both also lie south of Latitude 42° N.
Consider this part of the education of us Americans so that we will no longer be the punchline of (as many) jokes. I actually didn’t know this until Guy commented on this. Thanks, Guy.
Ciao!
Strange Maps: Beebe Plain, Vermont, no, Quebec, uh …
March 3, 2009
Can you imagine crossing the street into another country just to ask for sugar? That’s what neighbors along a street in Beebe Plain, VT / Quebec can do! The USA / Canada border literally runs along Canusa Avenue and splits a small village named Beebe Plain in two.
Residents along the south side of Canusa Avenue (get the pun in the name? HA!) live in the USA, while residents of the north side live in Canada. Doesn’t look like one needs to go through an International checkpoint just to cross the street, although I wonder if there’s one just south of the village.
According to the Wikipedia entry of the Quebec side, Canusa Avenue lies entirely in Canada, and the border runs through the front lawns of the houses along the south side. So, these houses are in the USA and most of their driveways are in Canada.
The border even runs through a tool-and-die factory and at least one house. Imagine cooking a meal in one country, walking down the hall, and serving it in another country! Let’s hope that family doesn’t need to go through an International checkpoint just to get something from upstairs.
(Thanks to commentator Anman for this gem!)
Ritz Camera Declares Bankruptcy
February 24, 2009
Ritz Camera has declared bankruptcy.
Why do I care? Ah, let me tell you.
I wanted a high-quality camera. After shopping around at various stores, both big-box and small, I bought a Nikon D40 camera with two lenses (18-55 and 55-200 VR) from Ritz Camera last summer. What won me over was Ritz Camera’s package pricing, customer service, and exceptional warranty.
I paid extra so that if the camera gets broken or dirty, Ritz would clean or replace it free of (additional) charge. Insurance, ya know, in case a bouncing ball hits my camera while I’m focusing on it. Happened to a friend of mine, who got a set of replacement lenses from Ritz. Free and without fuss.
And now Ritz Camera has declared bankruptcy. Argh.
Silver lining? Ritz Camera “plans” to continue operation, despite the bankruptcy filing. Nonetheless, time to be extra-careful of my camera.
(Thanks, I think, to DCist for the news.)
VPAD+ Accessories
February 23, 2009
Now you’ve got your uber-cool VPAD+ from Viable. Now you’ve got to put it someplace!
Clear View Innovations — otherwise known as CVI Gear — has three mounts and stands for the VPAD+ which may help you decide. All three are useful for freeing up space on your desk or counter, and for raising the VPAD+ to eye level.
The CVI Flexarm Mount is a doo-hickey that clamps to the edge of a kitchen counter or desk, and has a flexible arm that can be bent one way or another.
The CVI Pivot Mount is similar to the Flexarm Mount in that it clamps to the edge of your kitchen counter or desk. It has a longer and straight arm that has a 360 degrees pivot for eye-level communications.
The CVI Table Stand can be put onto a table without having to clamp it to an edge. And you can quickly move the VPAD+ and stand to another location.
All three products are made to order. So if you want to hang your VPAD+ from up high, say from the top edge of your armoire or bookshelf, the manufacturer can make a “reverse” mount to make this easier for you. All three products are $99.99.
New Laptop, and Dang
February 20, 2009
My HP’s graphics card recently blew up, and so I had to buy a new laptop. Because I mainly use it for digital scrapbooking and browsing the Internet, I decided not to buy a top-of-the-line laptop this time. So, I bought myself a Gateway MD2614u with lots of bells and whistles for a cheap cheap price of $549 from Best Buy. Awesome bargain.
And then I came across Laptop Logic, a website that evaluates and lists top laptops and news. Dang, wish I saw this before I bought my new laptop! Good thing it gave my new laptop’s series a good review. Still, after seeing this list, I would’ve considered Lenovo and a couple other brands that I had previously ignored.
And Laptop Logic has several interesting articles, like this one on the World’s Largest WebPage — which has a staggering 8.1 nonillion pixels. I didn’t even know nonillion is a word (but interestingly enough, nonillion is still smaller than a googol).
I’m definitely checking Laptop Logic next time I (or a friend) plans on buying a laptop.
300 More Starbucks Stores Closing
January 28, 2009
CompUSA stores all closed? Good riddance. Circuit City stores all closing? Doesn’t bother me – much. (If Best Buy all closed, now that would make me sweat.) Home Depot’s EXPO stores closing down? Ok, that disturbs me a bit, but I’m okay as long as HGTV is still broadcasting.
But Starbucks closing 300 more stores, on top of the 600 stores it already has closed? Something is terribly, terribly wrong. *Gulp*
These stores will be closed by the end of the 2009 fiscal year. No word where Starbucks plan to close stores. Starbucks also plans on cutting back the number of stores it opens across the USA and internationally.
Stay tuned for a complete list of all 300 stores.
Now I gotta go and stock my bomb shelter with even more frap bottles. The end of the world is coming … (Not!)
(Thanks, Starbucks Gossip. May you blog on!)
Introducing The BarackBerry
January 23, 2009
Unlike McCain, who allegedly does not use a computer, President Obama is addicted to technology and especially to Blackberries. And he allegedly was very reluctant to give up his Blackberry upon being sworn in as President.
Do do?
Give him a BarackBerry, of course!
Here’s what he most likely will receive: a Sectéra Edge by General Dynamics.
According to General Dynamic’s product details page, here are some of the features that makes it different and more secure than our typical Blackberries:
- Secure phone, email, and web browsing via several different secure networks
- Designed to withstand rigors of everyday use
- Capable of connecting to GSM, CMDA, and WiFi networks
- Accepts various security network cards / keys
- Has classified serial and USB ports as well as unclassified ports
- Has an additional “trusted” display
- Sports a stylus (have you seen another Blackberry with a stylus?! I think not!)
How much? Ah, cheap at $3,500 (or so).
I want one. NOT!
(Click for a larger photo)
The Palm Pre: A Deaf Geek Wishlist
January 19, 2009
The Palm just announced its next big thing, and it’s a BIG THING:
The Palm Pre. (Not to be confused with the Palm Treo Pro.)
It has almost everything I want, and more:
- Large 3.1 inch touchscreen – 320×480 resolution HVGA display
- Slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard (and if you complain about old Sidekick-like sliding keyboards, wait till you SEE this!)
- GPS
- WiFi
- EVDO via the Sprint network
- Integrated IM, SMS, and email
- 3 megapixel camera with flash
- Three sensors: ambient light, accelerometer, and proximity
- 8gig storage (but no SD card slot)
- Wireless charging dock (yes, I said wireless)
- … and it feels like a smooth pebble in your hand …
I’ve looked at the iPhone and found it wanting for several reasons. I’ve been waiting with bated breath for an Android smartphone running on the Verizon or Sprint network that looks and acts better than Tmobile’s new “brick.”
But the Palm Pre might win my heart quicker than a beautiful Android phone. Since the Sprint Palm Pre is coming out the first half of 2009, and since rumors have it that a Sprint Android phone will come out around the same time, it may be a true race to see which one I pick.
There are some things I really like about my trusty (but becoming ancient) Palm Treo 755p that I hope will carry over into the Palm Pre. Let’s call it a Deaf Geek Wishlist:
- Chatteremail was hands down the best email program I’ve ever used. It was ultimately bought by Palm. Will it be used as the default email program in the new Pre? I hope so.
- I loved the Palm’s LED notification that lights up (or blinks, depending on how you set it) if you’ve got new email. Will the Pre have this too?
- Via Chatteremail, I could set the Palm Treo 755p to vibrate up to 9 times for a new email. I could even set it to vibrate 5 times for email from my partner and 3 times for anybody else’s. The iPhone and the Android G1 only vibrates one time for new email etc. Will the Pre be able to vibrate multiple times (ok, I know this isn’t sounding right, but stay with me please), and can this be customizable?
- I must have an IMAP connection that works in the background while the smartphone’s screen is off. Yes, like Chatteremail (again, that program!) does. Emails must be fetched from my IMAP account (like Gmail) nearly as quickly as they arrive — and not 5 or 10 or 15 minutes later via polling. And this must be done without having to set up or sign up for an Exchange server. If this cannot be done on the Pre, then the deal’s off and I’m running off with an Android phone.
- Will the Pre have videocamera capability? I hope so. I like recording quick video messages and sending them to my love and our children. I just wish there was a videocamera on front of the Pre as well so I can have a videophone conversation. Ah well, can’t have everything!
Don’t Use Reunion.com!
December 4, 2008
My dear mother just fell victim to a phishing scam from Reunion.com. As a result, Reunion.com was able to hack into and steal her entire contact list and email everyone on this list. My mother had to email an apology to all her contacts.
Rather than explain what happened, I thought I’d reprint an edited version of her email. It’s chock full of info — now I know where I got my Proud Geek-ness from!
Dear Friends,
I sent out an email two days ago, asking you to join Reunion.com and it seemed a little strange. I did some online searching and apparently this is some kind of phishing scam. Here are some links to information about the scam. You may want to alert your address book to the scam!
http://consumerist.com/380751/reunioncom-will-scrape-your-address-book-then-spam-your-contacts
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/348/RipOff0348286.htm
Here’s the information from this one:
This company should be banned from the Internet. Here’s what happened to me last week. First of all, let me explain that I have been a member of Classmates.com for about 5 years, and it is a very reputable site that does nothing illegal or objectionable.
So when I got an e-mail about Reunion.com in my Hotmail Inbox, I thought it was similar. WRONG! I signed up for the free service, and started typing information into my ‘Profile’, which was quite inclusive, although you could pick and choose what information to give. Here’s what they did: the idea is to keep you online long enough for them to get into your e-mail account and literally STEAL your entire CONTACTS LIST!
How do I know? Luckily, two of my best friends were online at the time, and one sent an e-mail, and one called me on the phone, asking me ‘what’s up with this invitation to join me on Reunion.com?’ I hadn’t been on the site for more than 10 minutes and they had already hacked my e-mail!
Here’s what I did: I immediately deleted all the information I had typed in, logged out, and left the site, and my Firefox preferences prompted me to remove all my personal information from the previous session. It was too late, unfortunately, so I immediately contacted every single person on my Contacts List with a note of apology and explanation that I had been inadvertently, innocently been raided by this disgusting company before I had even finished my profile, and that in no way had I given them permission to contact my friends. I told every person to report the e-mail that they had received as a ‘Phishing Scam’ and then put the original message into their Junk Folder. and delete it.
(For those of you who don’t know what Phishing is, it’s a devious and much more effective cyber variation on the old ‘fishing expedition’ trick, wherein someone asks you a lot of personal questions in order to get something they want: your name, address, even your social security number, and then on to your whole ID.) Hotmail allows you to report any suspicious e-mail as a Phishing Scam; I don’t know about other sites, but Ã…OL makes it very difficult, it seems you can only put it in Spam,which still allows the perp to continue scamming other innocent people.
Anyway, after I did that, I went back into Reunion.com, and sure enough, all my info was still there. I searched around for a way to cancel my membership, and sure enough, the only way is to call the toll free number given, be put on hold forever, and only that after you navigate your way through endless prompts. I am so enraged at these people there is no way to express it. Since my info’s been out there, and even if my membership’s canceled, a whole lot of other people have it, I’ve been getting a lot of junk mail about ‘guess who’s looking for you’, ‘guess who’s got a crush on you,’ etc. etc. I trash them all.
This definitely should be a matter for the FCC, since they are using the Internet to steal people’s information nationwide, maybe even worldwide. Don’t fall for it under any circumstances. Join (((competitor’s name redacted))) instead: you’ll be glad you did.
