11:42 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

BBC runs a story how Totalhotspots.com has joined up with phone services firm Mobile Commerce to let UK people consult a directory of hotspots while on the move.

Anyone using the service can find their nearest hotspot by texting the word "hotspot" to the 84140 SMS short code number. In return they will get data about the name, address and telephone number of the nearest wi-fi locations

I hope this Wi-Fi finding service will soon become globally available!

08:56 AM by ignatz in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

[from ePublishing Blog]

PyGE (Python Gutenberg E-text Project) is an exciting SourceForge project to make it easier to use Project Gutenberg books. It consists of three component desktop programs:

• PyGETS (PyGE Transfer and Search): searches through Gutenberg archives and downloads selected texts
• PyGEMZ (PyGE Make Ztxt): compiles texts into zTXT for reading on Palm devices and on:
• PyGERS (PyGE Read and Speak): a desktop ebook viewer that can also read the books to you

Being python based, this software can run on Windows and Linux, but there is no Mac-native version as yet. This is pretty exciting stuff, since Project Gutenberg is a cornerstone of modern ebooks. I'm curious to see where this technology can go.

My only disappointment is that I cannot find any ebook readers for the PPC that support zTXT. Not that you need it. You can just use PyGETS and then either read the raw txt book, zip it up (µbook supports zipped files), or convert it to iSilo and read it that way.

07:56 PM by cbarnett in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

For those of us that remember, Stephen R Donaldson wrote two trilogies back in the late 70's and early 80's, dealing with a leper called Thomas Covenant, thrown into a fantasy setting he was definately not prepared for.

I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with these books at the time; they were great to read, with detailed characters and plot (the main character is one of the most flawed I've ever encountered), but the writing style of Donaldson was very challenging for me at the time, and I really needed a dictionary to get through it (and English is my first language!).

Having said that, these books helped set my on the path of fantasy reading (along with LOTR), and I've never looked back.

It appears, though, that the story isn't over yet, and 20 years later, a final trilogy is being released to complete the story of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever. This partial interview with Stephen Donaldson reveals a little about it, and the first book, The Runes of the Earth, will be released next month.

I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Craig.

08:05 AM by Mobipocket in E-Book Software | Reading and Management

The Mobipocket Creator Home Edition is now available on Mobipocket website.
- Create an ebook in a few clicks by adding HTML and image files to your publication
- Import Word and Text documents
- The Table of contents Wizard enables you to automatically generate links to the chapters of your ebook, based on smart heading extraction
- You can add a personalized cover page to your ebook

10 Applications in 1: the built-in Creator templates will allow you to easily create and edit the following databases and ebooks: My Photo Album
- Birthdays and Anniversaries Date Book
- Cooking Recipe Database
- Personal Dictionary/Glossary
- Cocktail Recipe Database
- Personal Travel Guide
- Quizzes
- Restaurant Guide
- Shopping list
- Simple Generic Database
- Personal Wine Database

* Web like navigation with the choice of list view or thumbnail view for the Publication List
* Integrated preview in web browser & edit in HTML editor
* Built-in Mobipocket Emulator allows to test your ebook on the PC
* Send ebook direct to PDA
* Three Security Options: no encryption, encrypted & password-protected

Built-in Mobipocket eNews Creator
Create eNews from any Web source: RSS, Web & PDA sites
eNews Wizard with WYSIWYG Interface
Post your channel to the Mobipocket eNews Search Engine

Only $29.95

06:10 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Until now, I have always bought eReader e-books directly when I wanted to read copyright-protected material on my Palm using eReader.

My worry is that I don't know what to do with my purchased books if I might switch to another platform one day, for which eReader is unavailable (for instance Linux-based PDAs). Trust me, I would hate losing my previously bought e-books!

So I was thinking about alternative DRM solutions. Mobipocket Reader is available for several PDAs, including Palm, PocketPC and Smartphone. That is perhaps better than eReader, but it still misses some platforms that might become important in near future (Linux).

Worse, both DRM formats, eReader and Mobipocket, force me to stick to the original reader software. What if I bought my e-books in eReader format, but actually prefer Plucker or iSilo to read them?

My solution to this dilemma is to purchase e-books in Microsoft's .lit format from now on. Yes, you have heart me right, evil Microsoft can also be a friend! DRM-protected Microsoft Reader e-books are the only ones I know that can be reversed to non-DRM-protected HTML code by using publicly available tools such as Dan Jackson's MS .Lit Cracker.

Is it legal? That probably depends on which country you are living in. But I think as long as you do it for your own personal use with e-books that you have also personally purchased, you are on the safe side ("fair use").

Please correct me if I am wrong!

04:48 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

According to a ABC News scoop we assumed that Skype would be introduced to PalmOS-based PDAs next month.

Unfortunately, it turns out that porting Skype to Palm is extremely difficult because the platform is completely different from the platforms Skype runs on today.

So if you want to use Skype, you have to either wait, or switch over to the 'dark side' (which looks even lighter to me day by day).

Skype Forum Thread 1
Skype Forum Thread 2

12:25 PM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Announcements

I am happy to announce that we have two new staff members!

Most of you know Craig alias cbarnett, who has been a loyal contributor (with a focus on PocketPC-related discussions) for almost one year.

To make sure Craig isn't feeling lonely, we also like to welcome Jess alias divajess. Jess just joined us recently, and is, like Craig, a true heart PocketPC user.

Welcome and enjoy you two!

12:10 PM by Francesco in Miscellaneous | Lounge

I always wanted to have my own Gmail giveaway.

You can have an invite, just answer this:

Mine are:
Nostromo, by Conrad (memoware.com)
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce (gutenberg.net)
Diary of a madman and other short stories, by Lu Hsun (blackmask.com)