Category: software

  • Insane eBook rip-offs — I tried to warn you

    Back when the major book publishers joined with Apple to go to war against Amazon and ebook consumers, there was some serious p.r. spin coming from the publishers’ camp and their toadies. In this bizzaro world, Amazon was hurting consumers by “forcing” an inflexible maximum ebook price of $9.99. If only publishers could get control…

  • Kindle for Mac review: Just the basics (updated)

    (Updated 10/19/10) Well, the free Kindle application for Macintosh computers has finally arrived. The press release is here, which repeats the promise that there will be an app for the iPad as well. It’s pretty much what you would expect, with all the flaws and strengths of the prior apps, starting with the iPhone/iPod Touch…

  • Zenfolio iPhone photo app is great – finally!

    The kids and I have been watching an old Bill Cosby routine lately — chocolate cake for breakfast. Of course, my favorite part is after Bill has given his kids cake for breakfast and they start singing: “Dad is great, gave us chocolate cake.” I found myself humming the tune after I downloaded and installed…

  • The real agenda of Apple’s ebook partners: death to ebooks

    The head of one of the big book publishers, MacMillan CEO John Sargent Jr., is out with an “open” letter about his dispute with Amazon over the pricing and timing of electronic books. It’s telling that this “open” ebook letter wasn’t released publicly and isn’t directed towards readers, book lovers and customers. It was placed…

  • Apple’s iPad may be the perfect computer for kids

    I’m excited about Apple’s new iPad for a couple of reasons. While a lot of the iPad’s features and services had been leaked in advance, I found myself gasping along with the audience in San Francisco when the price was announced. This is a product that is going to have vastly more impact for under…

  • Steve Jobs’ ebook logic: I win, All of you lose

    Soon we’ll know just what Apple’s new tablet will really do, how much it will cost and whether it can save the world from global warming. Okay, just joking about that last bit — I think. In any event, many believe the tablet will shake things up in ebook world where Amazon’s Kindle is the…

  • Evernote is the best note keeper in the cloud and on the ground

    Wall Street Journal tech reviewer Walter Mossberg doesn’t always hit the rights notes, in my view, but he was pitch perfect today in a rave about note-stashing software program and web site Evernote. This is the data storage program that runs on practically every platform — Windows and Mac desktops, iPhone, Blackberry, Palm and Android…

  • Will Apple continue to allow competing ebook reading apps?

    There are many, many unanswered questions about Apple’s forthcoming tablet computing device, or the “God tablet” perhaps I should call it. For those of us particularly concerned about the future of electronic books, I have one pointed question for Apple. Will the company, which at times acts against its own customer interests, allow competing ebook…

  • Google slashes price of online storage vs. Apple, others

    (Update April, 2012: Google finally opened its GDrive service and promptly raised the price of storage. Doh!) In a much-commented-upon announcement today that I first saw on Rex Hammock’s blog, Google said it would start selling online storage space for keeping any kinds of files. Previously, the company’s cloud-based storage was limited for use with…

  • Nook Delays: Why Barnes & Noble hates its customers

    Back in October, when Barnes & Noble finally took the wraps off its Nook E-Reader, I expected to see David Pogue, Walter Mossberg and the whole rest of Gadget World publish their reviews within a few days. After all, Barnes & Noble was happily taking customer orders (and customer money) on their web site. At…