Computerworld Article: 8 Apps for reading and writing on the iPad

Mitch Wagner reviews iPad apps for reading and writing.
My favorites are, for reading, iBooks; and for writing, Pages.






http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9178441/8_highly_useful_apps_for_reading_and_writing_on_the_iPad

iPad Reader Apps Compared by Jason Perlow of ZDNet

The article describes iBooks (my favorite), Kindle for iPad, the Barnes and Noble eReader, Kobo Reader (from Borders eBooks), the iBis Reader, Stanza, and vBookz.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/apple-ipad-showdown-battle-of-the-ereader-apps/13248

Can We Survive The Information Explosion ?

Read this article in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html

and this overview in WikiPedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_overload

And we will let you know when our forthcoming book is available, The Tao of Information:
http://www.zorbapress.com/books/taoinfo.html

Dead at 82: The Experimental Novelist David Markson

David Markson, author of a number of experimental and comic novels, has died at age 82. He published many of his books via small presses.

The Foreclosure Angel Foundation

Visit the Website of the Foreclosure Angel Foundation

"The Foreclosure Angel Foundation was born when Marilyn Mock saw a need
in November of 2008 to help her neighbor who was about to lose her home.
With no where else to turn but the streets, their home went up on the
auction block. Marilyn bought the home at the auction price and sold it
right back to the owners at the now lower cost."

Learning iPhone Programming (Book Review)

Learning iPhone Programming
by Alasdair Allan
Paperback, 384 pages, $ 29.99
(ebook editions also available)
ISBN: 978-0-596-80643-9
Published by O'Reilly, March 2010

With two million iPads sold in the first two months, and a new generation of iPhones just announced on Monday, June 7 (2010), it is obvious that the iPad/iPod/iPhone app gold rush has just begun. Two varieties of programmers will emerge: the full-time professionals, and a larger group of part-timers who will program for the pure pleasure of the work. As an enthusiastic member of the second group, I have been looking for a unique book. Learning iPhone Programming is almost exactly what I had been looking for.

The book is comprehensive, but it is not too large. It covers not only the nuts and bolts of the programming, but everything you will need to know before and after you develop your apps. It begins with a solid answer to the question; Why write native applications? Chapter 2 (Becoming a Developer) teaches how to register as an iPhone developer, install Xcode, install the iPhone SDK, and generate and deploy the developer certificates. Here also you will find a handy list of the four essential Apple websites that every developer will use again and again.

Chapter 3 guides you in the creation of your first app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Although the book's back cover recommends that you should have C-language experience before reading, there is a good deal of help for the uninitiated, including a concise introduction to key programming terms for new programmers. For those of us who have programmed in one of the members of the C language family (I have worked with C++), the author explains how the iphone's Objective-C is similar and different.

The heart of the book, the chapters about app development, contain easy-to-follow code and explanations, along with a generous supply of screen shots. Other sections that interested me included one about reasons why your app may be rejected; another about Regular Expressions; an overview of the PhoneGap platform; and a whole chapter about distributing your application after it's done. The final chapter (Going Further) provides a summary of books and resources for extending your education about Cocoa and Objective-C, the iPhone SDK, web applications, core data, push notifications and more.

The great strength of Allan's book is that it gives you a clear view of the big picture about iPhone development, and fills in most of the essential details. I can hardly imagine a better book to begin the great adventure of developing extraordinary apps.


--Michael Pastore

Ebook Sales Show Enormous Growth in 2010 (first quarter)

Ebooks have arrived.

The sales of ebooks in the U.S.A. for the first quarter of 2010, more than 90 million dollars, predict a record year for ebooks.

I created this chart using data from the IDPF.org, which shows only the sales from the largest publishers.

If you've been reading on the iPad, which is a pure delight, then you can understand why more people will be enjoying reading on the screens.

Dr. Michael Tobias To Speak at TEDx in Munich - 2010 June 7

Author, Film-maker, and Environmentalist Dr. Michael Tobias will be speaking at TEDx conference in Munich, Germany, on June 7, 2010.
Dr. Tobias will talk about "A sustainable society for a global future."

We will post a link to Tobias's talk soon after it becomes available from TEDx.

To visit the event's website, click HERE.