Newest Device is Best Yet in its Most Popular Line

E-readers haven been a boon to active literature and periodical lovers since the early 2000s, though the first commercial attempt at the concept came in the late 90s via LCD. Reading is simply something that millions of people love to do and it is not likely even with all of the other things available to distract us that we will ever stop reading novels, plays, and magazines as a form of escapism or personal learning, among other pursuits. As e-readers go, any device that can display text on a screen can technically serve as one, but there is a reason specialized e-reader devices prevail. Unlike other devices that offer an app for downloading books or other reading material, an e-readers full resources exist for that sole purpose. An e-reader optimizes its portability, visibility, and battery life for nothing else, and Amazon’s Kindle Oasis does this better than most. Read more »

The computer and tablet reliability scores are in for the 2015 RESCUECOM Computer Reliability Report, bringing in some new names in the tablet market.

Most of the big names from previous reports have once again claimed a spot in the rankings for 2015, though several have notably risen or fallen in reliability score. Along with shifts in rankings among the report’s regulars, there are a couple of newcomers making a splash in the tablet world this year. Read more »

While the rise of the eBook market has made self-publishing a viable concept for new writers, the process of getting your eBook onto online retail stores can still be complicated and difficult.  However, a new company called Tablo is looking to change this aspect of the self-publishing process.  Tablo is a cloud-based company that offers authors tools to not only help format their novels and short stories, but also easily publish them to online retail stores with a click.  This attempt to disrupt the eBook industry could potentially save many writers hours of time and stress if it delivers on its promise of an easier solution.  Authors want to spend more time honing their craft and less time navigating the complicated route to getting their work online.  Tablo is a cool product that’s in a position to capitalize on this market. Read more »

This week, the U.S. Department of Justice takes Apple to court.  The government claims that the computer technology giant was part of a conspiracy to fix prices in the eBook market along with five major publishing companies.  Allegedly, Apple worked with all of the major publishers to radically change the eBook market and enforce their preferred “agency” model as opposed to the standard wholesale model.  Amazon, the dominant retailer of eBooks before Apple entered the market in 2010, sold eBooks on a wholesale model.  This model involved paying publishers a fixed price for each eBook sold, and then reselling it to the consumer at whatever price a company chose.  The wholesale model allows retailers to choose their own profit margins on books they sell.  The government says that Apple tried to create a new standard by working with publishers to replace this wholesale model. Apple’s new agency model had publishers, not retailers, set a standard retail price for eBooks. Retailers then received a 30% cut of the price specified by the publisher.  Read more »

Following the rise of consumer and privacy activists to defeat the Stop Online Piracy Act earlier this year, the reaction to the defeat both online and in the tech sector has been interesting to watch.  Many of the leaders who organized the fight against SOPA have formed organizations, like the Internet Defense League, to create watchdog positions and communications networks to prevent future SOPA-like legislation from passing.  Many businesses decided to beef up their legal department so they could better understand the potential consequences of such legislation to their specific business.  Amazon.com hired Jamie Gorelick to its Board of Directors. Read more »

For the Holiday Season, 2011, one of the hottest gifts on the market was the Amazon Kindle Fire.  Amazon released the right product, at the right time, to compete against Apple’s iPad and the Barnes & Noble Nook line.  Moving out of the pure e-reader market, Amazon moved closer to a full tablet computer with the Kindle Fire e-reader.  Their gambit (and marketing) paid off: the Amazon Kindle was one of the most-bought, most-desired electronic devices of the fourth Quarter, 2011. Read more »

Late last year, there was a news story that was anything but real news, despite how the technology and business press covered it: Verizon had outages.  Treated as huge news, because Verizon claims to have the “most reliable network,” Verizon was virtually tarred and feathered for having a few bad days last year, wherein the weather contributed to Verizon services going off-line.  What the sensationalists in the media and business sectors neglected to consider was that Verizon’s claim to be the “most reliable network” did not mean that the service would not fail; it is a claim that their network will fail less than its other major competitors!  Verizon, of course, got service back up and running, but there were weeks of analysis – i.e. how did this failure of service happen, who’s to blame for the failure, etc.  Now, it looks like tech sector enthusiasts are likely to endure a series of similar article. Read more »

At last week’s Google I/O conference, many new products were introduced, not all of them ready for the marketplace just yet.  Most of the products were very much to be expected from the search giant who now seems to have its hands in everything.  Google, through its Android operating system has become more associated with gadgets in recent years, instead of just being considered an Internet software/search pioneer.  As a result, the fact that the I/O conference was used to generate enthusiasm (and preorders) for new products like Google Glass and Nexus devices was predictable.  What was truly audacious was the way Google declared war on Amazon and the Apple iTunes store by unveiling a new shopping platform: Google Play Store. Read more »

There is a troubling psychology to the business end of the technology and entertainment industries at the moment.  Both the electronics and computers (tech) sector and the entertainment industry are manipulating consumers and it is troubling how long their behavior has gone unreported. Read more »

Those who use Amazon.com’s Amazon Prime service for streaming videos have had a good few months recently.  The Amazon.com library of available videos has only been growing in recent months.  While Steven Kessel, the company’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Digital Media, deserves a lot of credit for the arrangements that provide users with more and more digital video files, there is an unsung hero of Amazon who deserves equal praise.  No matter what arrangements Kessel makes, no relationship between Amazon.com and production studios or distribution companies is complete until is passes muster with L. Michelle Wilson! Read more »