11:18 PM by KenIsaacson in E-Book General | News

I, like so many of my friends, were shocked to hear last week that Jeremiah Healy took his life. Jerry was the author of the John Francis Cuddy private eye books and (under the pen name Terry Devane) of the Mairead O’Clare legal thriller series Rather than comment online immediately, I found I had to take some time to reflect on the news. I have nothing profound to say, but I do need to add my voice to the chorus of writers and readers who mourn this terrible loss.

My first contact with Jerry was in 2006, when I was preparing for the launch of my debut novel, SILENT COUNSEL, and I was looking for established writers willing to blurb the book. I’d never met Jerry, but was a fan of his work. I knew that he was a member of Mystery Writers of America, and I e-mailed him cold—“One MWA member to another”—asking if he’d be willing to help out. Within a day or two, and not knowing me from Adam, he responded with a yes. A few weeks later I had my first blurb. A wonderful one, at that.

I finally met Jerry at the Edgars Banquet in 2007, and though our contact through the years was casual, I would continue to run into him at conferences like Bouchercon and Left Coast Crime. The last time I saw him was at LCC in Monterey, last March, where I had the honor of moderating a panel in which he (along with Joel Goldman, Charles Rosenberg, and Sheldon Siegel) participated: “Legal Thrillers: NOT Your Father’s Perry Mason.” Jerry shared with us his encyclopedic knowledge of legal thrillers throughout the years.

One recurring theme I’ve seen in the online remembrances of Jerry is how helpful he was to so many beginning writers—something that his willingness to blurb my book demonstrated to me years ago. Going through my old e-mails this morning, I found this, from him, in response to my thanks for his confidence in me: “Ken, Happy to help, as folks like Robert B. Parker and Tony Hillerman did the same for me back in the mid-80’s when I was breaking into the field. My only hope: You’ll also ‘pay it forward’ to rookies once YOU”RE established as well.”

My thoughts are with his wife, Sandy Balzo, and with the rest of Jerry’s family. Jerry, I hope you are at peace.

10:03 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

Kobo's long-rumored new waterproof ebook reader showed up on the FCC website last week.

Most of the details are obscured by an embargo, but we do know that it has Wifi, a microSD card slot, and a 6.8" screen. We also know that the new device is explicitly labeled as the Kobo Aura H2O on the FCC ID label.

At this point it's not clear whether we are looking at a replacement for the Kobo Aura HD or an upgraded model, so we'll just have to wait for the official launch. Product listings for a sleep cover have already been discovered, so the launch will likely happen soon.

The Digital Reader

FCC (NOIKBN250)

You can catch the ongoign discussion here.

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

If you've been a bit too busy to keep up, here are a few of our favorite stories from the past week.

E-Book General - News

• Kindle Paperwhite now ships with twice the storage

02:09 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

The blogosphere has finally noticed a change that MobileRead members reported a week ago: Amazon is shipping a new Kindle Paperwhite.

The 2014 Kindle Paperwhite looks identical to last year's model, but it comes with a special surprise. Amazon has bumped the available storage from 1.3GB to 3.1GB while keeping all the other specs the same.

The new model with the extra storage has been sighted in Canada, France, and Germany, but not the US. It looks like anyone who wants one will need to order it specifically. The link below will take you to the correct page.

Amazon hasn't announced or explained the change, simply saying that "This is not a new product – we’ve added more on-device storage to the existing Kindle Paperwhite".

Amazon.com

The Digital Reader

You can join the ongoing discussion here.

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Have something interesting to say about e-books or mobile computing? Join our forums and share your view on topics like the ones discussed at MobileRead this past week...

E-Book General - News

• End of Sony consumer readers confirmed

05:32 PM by fjtorres in E-Book General | News

Comes third hand via the Digital Reader Blog via lesen.net:
http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/0.../#.U9zeEo7D_MJ

Sony has confirmed today that they will not be making another ebook reader – not even for their sole remaining market in Japan.

There will be no PRS-T4, and lesen.net reports that the remaining stock of the Sony Reader PRS-T3 will be sold until it runs out. That device was was launched last fall in Europe but never shipped in the US, so I’m not sure how many people actually have one.

TBH, this comes as no surprise. After Sony first pulled out of the North American ebook market, and then a short while later abandoned Europe and Australia, there was little reason for Sony to develop a new model

Expected but still...

Hindsight being 20-20; they did have an amazing knack of zigging when the market was zagging.

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Here are the highlights from the past seven days of MobileRead:

E-Book General - News

• Author Earnings looks at Nook... and Hachette...
• Apple acquired BookLamp
• Kindle iOS 4.4
• Format shifting now legal in the UK

05:35 AM by avantman42 in E-Book General | News

I doubt it makes much practical difference, since many people assumed it was legal anyway, and circumventing DRM isn't allowed. All that said, I'm happy to see this change, because I think it's reasonable to want to format shift, and reasonable activities shouldn't be illegal.

The exception is limited to personal use of lawfully obtained originals, and does not allow any sharing of the works, including with close family members.*It also does not allow for the removal of any anti-copy technical protection measures, including those found on most DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. Given most media consumption is moving to a pure digital environment constrained by such measures, it remains to be seen how effective the new right will be in practice. How many people will be ripping CDs in ten years time?

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog...ar-last-hurdle