Latest Gear Live Videos
Steve Jobs refused Tim Cook’s liver transplant offer
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple,
Fast Company has an adaptation of one of the stories from Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart Into a Revolutionary Leader, which releases one week from today on March 24, which you can pre-order now. Here's a short excerpt:
"Somebody that’s selfish," Cook continues, "doesn’t reply like that. I mean, here’s a guy, he’s dying, he’s very close to death because of his liver issue, and here’s someone healthy offering a way out. I said, ‘Steve, I’m perfectly healthy, I’ve been checked out. Here’s the medical report. I can do this and I’m not putting myself at risk, I’ll be fine.’ And he doesn’t think about it. It was not, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ It was not, ‘I’ll think about it.’ It was not, ‘Oh, the condition I’m in . . .’ It was, ‘No, I’m not doing that!’ He kind of popped up in bed and said that. And this was during a time when things were just terrible. Steve only yelled at me four or five times during the 13 years I knew him, and this was one of them.
You can head on over to Fast Company to read the full story. Definitely worth your time.
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| Fast Company
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2014 Holiday Gift Guide: StoryBundle
We covered StoryBundle back when they launched two years ago, and since then they've sold more than 500,000 books in all kinds of genres and continue to be a fantastic way to discover favorite authors you've never heard of. It's good. Good enough that we're kicking off our 2014 Holiday Gift Guide with them. If you're not familiar with StoryBundle, they offer about a bundle a week, and each bundle consists of around 9 full-length novels from all types of authors. Essentially they're like Humble Bundle for ebooks, and feature not only indie authors that are as good and deserving of your reading time as ones you find on the bookshelf, but big names too! They've featured Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher and Clive Barker, just to namedrop a few folks you may already know.
If you've got a book lover in your life, or if or someone you know is getting a Kindle, tablet or smartphone this holiday season, StoryBundle's the perfect complement to that. Just hop on over to their Gift Card page and you can send anybody a gift card for any future bundle. Instead of guessing what your giftee wants to read, the gift card lets them choose their favorite genre at any time. Best of all, the gift cards never expire. Plus, when they redeem their gift card, they can choose to give part of their purchase to a worthy charity. What's more in the holiday spirit than giving?
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Amazon discounts Kindle & Kindle Paperwhite today only
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Hot Deals,
If you're looking to pick up an Amazon Kindle or Kindle Paperwhite, today is the day to do it. Amazon has discounted both models by $20 today in recognition of National Reading Month, making it our Deal of the Day. Head over to Amazon now to take advantage of the deal, which ends at the end of the day today.
Read More | Amazon
New Amazon Kindle Paperwhite is faster and brighter, ships September 30th
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds,
Amazon has released an all-new Kindle Paperwhite today, bringing a few improvements and optimizations to the front-lit e-reader. For starters, it packs in a processor that is 25% faster than its predecessor, a display with higher contrast and better reflectivity (brighter whites and darker blacks,) smoother touch technology, and a battery that is rated to last for over 2 hours. Goodreads integration will also be coming to the new device, along with Kindle FreeTime for Paperwhite, bringing subscription books for the little ones. The new Kindle Paperwhite will go nicely with the new Amazon Kindle MatchBook service, and will start shipping on September 30th, and you can order it now for $119.
Read More | Kindle Paperwhite
Amazon Kindle MatchBook gives paper book buyers cheap and free Kindle copies
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds, Hot Deals,
Amazon has announced an awesome new program called Kindle MatchBook that it's set to launch in October, bringing free and cheap eBooks to buyers of paper books. Basically, if you purchase a paper book from Amazon, you can buy the digital Kindle version for $.99, $1.99, $2.99, or download it for free, depending on the book. Most interesting? It's completely retroactive, going all the way back to 1995 when Amazon launched. Any participating purchase you've ever made on Amazon is eligible, as long as it is a part of the MatchBook selection, which will launch at about 10,000 titles next month. Amazon says that there will be some big-name authors taking part:
Kindle MatchBook will launch with books from Ray Bradbury, Michael Crichton, Blake Crouch, James Rollins, Jodi Picoult, Neil Gaiman, Marcus Sakey, Wally Lamb, Jo Nesbo, Neal Stephenson, and J.A. Jance, among others. In addition, Amazon Publishing will include all its titles in Kindle MatchBook.
Definitely a cool service, and one that makes Amazon an even more attractive purchasing destination when compared to Barnes & Noble and the Nook store, and Apple's iBookstore (which doesn't even sell paper books.)
Read More | Kindle MatchBook
Google Play Books for Androids Adds New ‘Read Aloud’ Feature
Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Google, Software,
The new version of Google Play Books for Android has a new feature that reads books to users on its own. The feature is titled, obviously, "read aloud," and works with most books without the need for the book to come with a "read aloud" enabled feature.
You'll also find a new pinch-to-zoom feature, as well as double-tap-to-zoom. Further, the app now makes recommendations on other books you might find enjoyable after you finish reading one book. Though, if you're like me, you prefer to soak in the totality of a one book world before even thinking about diving into another.
Read More | Google Play
Unboxing Live 104: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds, Videocasts,
Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite is the first front-lit e-book reader that the company has released. Taking the spot as the prime e-ink reader in Amazon's Kindle line-up, the Paperwhite sports a touchscreen interface, Wi-Fi with 3G option, a paper-like display with lots of contrast, and of course, the light. We open up and set up the Kindle Paperwhite in this episode! Be sure to also check out Gear Live's full Kindle Paperwhite review, and our Kindle Paperwhite unboxing gallery.
You can buy the Kindle Paperwhite for $119.
Big thank you to GoToMeeting for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! GoToMeeting with HDFaces provides rich, super-simple collaborative virtual meetings.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds, Product Reviews, Videos,
Amazon introduced the Kindle Paperwhite alongside the rest of the completely refreshed Kindle family at a special event on September 6, and some would argue that, despite three new Kindle Fire tablets being introduced, the star of the show was the Kindle Paperwhite. The Paperwhite takes the place as the top E Ink Kindle model. Avid readers still have an affinity towards E Ink displays, as they're much easier on the eyes than backlit tablets and smartphones. The problem with them is that they generally are unusable in the dark. Barnes & Noble solved that with its Nook Simple Reader with GloLight, and now Amazon has its own solution with the Kindle Paperwhite, which features a front-lit, touch-sensitive, E Ink display. Does it live up to the hype? Follow along in our unique take on a Kindle Paperwhite review to find out.
Click to continue reading Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Review
Apple announces iBooks 3.0, available today
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Software,
Apple has announced a new version of iBooks this morning at its iPad mini event. iBooks 3.0 features vertical scrolling on a page, negating the need to turn pages. It also has Facebook and Twitter sharing, where you can just select a passage, and share it to one of these social networks. iBooks also supports 40 languages now as well. It's a free update, available today. Download it now.
StoryBundle launches its next e-Book pack focused on crime and thrillers
Posted by Ponzi Black Categories: Hot Deals, Misc. Tech,
We talked about StoryBundle back in August, when their first bundle launched with 7 Sci-Fi indie books. Now they're back with 7 more crime and thriller books.
The concept is still the same as last time. They take the indie game bundle model and bring it to ebooks. You can pay whatever you want for five DRM-free books, but if you pay more than the bonus price of $7, you get two bonus books. You decide how much to give to the authors, how much to give to StoryBundle to keep the business going, and you can choose to donate part of your purchase to one of two charities. That's good enough to make it our Deal of the Day.
Click to continue reading StoryBundle launches its next e-Book pack focused on crime and thrillers
