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Feb 08 2011
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Tech

Pros and Cons of The Daily app for iPad

I have been using The Daily app for the iPad for about a week now since it came out and this being the first subscription based daily newspaper type of publication I thought I would do a quick review here. If nothing else, this is going to open the flood gates of countless newspapers and other subscription based publications to release similar formats.

Any company who is in the business of producing paper for the purpose of it being read by a consumer should take close notice to The Daily. If these companies continue to ignore the digital age, as many newspapers and even book publishers have done, their long term viability (or profitability) will get more and more difficult. No question about it, they are going to have to try to find a way to produce a digital product or leave the market.

For those who many not know, The Daily is a daily newspaper type (I say type because it isn’t printed so it’s not a “paper”), delivered each day to your iPad. Subscription prices are very reasonable at $.14 a day, $9.99 a week, or $39.99 a year. With the flood of tablets now coming on the market like the Droid based Galaxy Tab and the Motorola tablet, it’s only a matter of time before The Daily is produced in multiple digital formats, but for now, it’s only available on the iPad.

The Daily Pros

  • New and fresh content delivered daily from professional journalists
  • Price is reasonable and month and yearly subscriptions are available
  • Format and design is outstanding and continues to improve
  • The daily publication can be updated throughout the day with live info
  • A true multi-media format that allows for video, high-def pics, caption pop-ups
  • Integration with Facebook and Twitter, local comments (with voice)
  • Portability and ease of reading on the iPad platform

The Daily Cons

  • Can’t access archives, if you don’t “clip” the article there is no way to access the previous day’s content, hopefully this will change
  • The app still crashes a bit but I’m more than willing to use an imperfect app now
  • Each day’s issue takes a while to download
  • Content is somewhat limited. There is no “TECH” section or “Business” section per say (although the Sports section is huge); too much “Gossip” section reporting and not enough hard news
  • The app is a bit slow to respond.  Although I like the carrousel view, it’s slow

Over time many of the issues I listed above will no doubt be addressed as they always are with new apps. The second generation iPad, the iPad 2 set to come out sometime around April to June should also have a much better processor and will speed everything up as well.

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Aug 14 2010
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Apple iPad Goes Mainstream with Mom’s Birthday

I haven’t posted any normal family fun stuff in a while so last night I thought I would grab my camera, take a break from studying for a while and do a birthday photo shoot. Last night we had the privilege of getting to celebrate my mom’s birthday with her. My dad did decide about a month ago that he was going to get her an iPad for her birthday, so I was quite looking forward to the unavailing myself.

Being one of those early adopters I was really looking forward to helping her get it all setup, and get to see how easy (or hard) it would be for someone totally unfamiliar with the iPad to get around at first glance.  So I guess you could say that Apple’s iPad has gone mainstream now.  Thrilled to see my mom giving it a go, she was thrilled to be able to get her email and had no problems at all getting around.  She was downloading apps and books within minutes.

We all piled in the car and headed to the local county diner (very elegant for special Birthday parties).  They happened to have live gospel music on Friday, wasn’t even aware they did live music, and then home for some GiGi’s cupcakes (which just opened up in Auburn) and presents.  Besides being over 100* outside for the umteenth week with 100% humidity, it was a wonderful evening, and it felt great to take the camera out again. Happy Birthday mom, hope you enjoy your new fruit.

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May 20 2010
12 Comments
Tech

How to Convert PDF to ePub File for an eBook Reader

I recently purchased a copy of John Shaw’s eBook called John Shaw’s Digital Processing, A Personal Workflow using Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS4 (a great book if you are a photographer looking for some insight into post-processing and the digital workflow process, well worth he $25) hoping I would be able to convert it to an ePub file and read it in iBooks on my iPad. I was able to convert his previous eBook, John Shaw’s Photoshop Field Guide, but have just about given up on his new one, the structure of the PDF looks to be just too complicated to convert, but I am going to use his two eBooks as the example since one will convert and one won’t.

I have searched long and hard for a how-to on converting PDF files to ePub files so you can read them in iBooks or a variety of eBook readers, and have found almost no consolidated information, so here it is.  There are several reasons why converting PDF files to an ePub file is not the easiest thing to do, and they often seem to error out or format improperly. This how-to guide is written for the intention of taking a PDF eBook (or any PDF file) for loading it into iBooks in iTunes for use on your iPad, but the same process can be used for most all eBook readers.

Some Basic PDF Info

All PDF’s are not made the same.  They all have different formatting, some have images, some are just plain text, some are print screen save-as files, you can basically take anything you can see or print on the Internet and turn it into a PDF.  The reason is most everyone everywhere can read a PDF, and most have the free version Adobe PDF reader (at this writing the current version is Adobe Reader 9.3.2).

Because these files can be created by almost any means, often they do not make the greatest, prettiest looking, eBooks, and it is not an exact science to get a PDF to an ePub file, even harder to get it to look nice on your eBook reader. Your final outcome is going to depend on how the file was created in the first place, not something you have control over most of the time.  Some PDF files because of their structure will never be able to be converted to an ePub file and you will have to look at alternatives like a good PDF reader like Goodreader on the iPad.

Ways to Convert PDF’s to ePub Using ePub2Go or Stanza

Once you have your PDF file you want to convert, you can try the quickest and easiest PDF to ePub converter first, and if that doesn’t work, then move on to the next alternative.  First thing to try is a site called ePub2Go.  This is basically the ONLY online PDF to ePub conversion tool you can access for free and without downloading another stand alone app or program.

Step 1 :: ePub2Go The process is pretty simple, just click the link the pdf is on my computer then let them convert the file.  Once it’s finished just click on view or save it on my computer and your done.

If you get finished with the conversion and you get an error message you pretty much have to move on at this point.  You can get a variety of errors like the screen shot below.  That is just one of the error message you could get, but once you get that, you won’t be able to convert the file using ePub2Go.

Step 2 :: Stanza The next thing to try would be to download a free copy of Stanza by Lexcycle (download available for Windows or Mac), a great generic type eBook reader, and convert the file using the desktop app or program. Stanza has moved their main product line to the mobile eBook reader but they have a great conversion tool in the desktop app.

After you download and install the program it will prompt you to open a file.  Just open your preferred PDF file. You will probably need to adjust the number of columns and on larger screens, depending on how the PDF is created, it may or may not look formatted properly, but this will be similar to your final ePub output file.

Next just go to the file menu and choose –> file –> export book as –> ePub.  You can also see there are a host of options available to convert the PDF to a Kindle file and many others.  If that works, great, if it doesn’t, you are quickly running out of options.  Stanza also has a tutorial on how to convert files as well that is very helpful.

Step 3 :: Adobe Acrobat / HTML / Word / Plain Text If step 1 or 2 doesn’t work then you are left with trying to manipulate the file into behaving properly enough to do a conversion, but even that may not work at this point, this is the last ditch effort before you have to just stick with reading the PDF.

If you have Adobe Acrobat (not the free reader but the full version of Acrobat) you can export the PDF as a variety of file types (but not an ePub).  Many times you can export a file as an HTML file and fix the issues the PDF had that caused the conversion to ePub error and then try step 1 or step 2 above after you have corrected the problem.  Explaining how to correct the file in HTML is beyond the scope of this article but it’s often easy to see where the conversion is getting hung.

In the case of my above issues with Shaw’s newest eBook, I tried to export it as a Word Doc, RTF, HTML, and Plain Text and due to the complexity of the PDF it just wasn’t feasible to convert the file in a readable format.  In that case, I am going to just pull it over to my iPad using Goodreader and read it as a PDF.

I was surprised how few PDF to ePub file converters were really available.  I did leave off several paid for programs that convert these file types but most of them just use the same process as step 1 and 2 above and I really wouldn’t pay for the programs myself.  You can get a PDF to ePub Converter trial from CNET, PDFtoEPUB from DNAML Software, or PDF to ePub from DONGSOFT, but all are pricy alternatives after the trial runs out.

Coming up I will finish this article with taking the new ePub file you have created (or the PDF that you couldn’t get converted) and showing how to load it into iBooks using iTunes.  How do you convert your PDF’s?

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Mar 16 2009
36 Comments
Tech

Damaged or Defective Kindle 2 Screen Failure :: Photos

Damaged Kindle 2 Screen

Damaged Kindle 2 Screen

Damaged Kindle 2 Screen

Damaged Kindle 2 Screen

Screen Shot of Damaged Kindle 2 Screen

Working Kindle Screen

Last week I traded in a few pieces of camera equipment for the new Kindle to really see if I could just whip through books at lightning speed and to my surprise, after about 2 days of use, I managed to mess up the screen.  I am in the middle of doing an in depth review of the Kindle 2 that I will post at a later date, but after having the Kindle 2 for about 2 days, I seems that the screen on the Kindle 2 was damaged beyond a simple fix.  The reason for this post was really to show what the customer service representative at Amazon did to fix the problem.

For those who don’t know, I really missed my calling in life to be a product tester.  No matter what the product, I can an uncanny way of being able to break the unbreakable and find problems or issues that manufactures somehow seem to miss.  I was told that the Kindle 2 was tested for durability and could withstand a drop from a two story building, but 2 days in my backpack managed to screw up the top of the screen.

Once I went through the normal troubleshooting that I knew how to do, I called the customer service number for the Kindle.  She walked me through a few other tests, had me “reboot” the system (you can hold the power slider over for 20 seconds and that will initiate a reboot on the Kindle 2).  After that (all of which took about 2 minutes total) Amazon told me they would just ship me a new one overnight.  No questions asked, they just shipped me a new one.  They paid for the shipping to return the old one, and I transferred all my book from the old kindle to the new kindle.  It was easy as it possibly could have been.

As for what I did to the Kindle, I have no idea.  I did put it in my backpack (in its own case) and perhaps to much pressure what applied to the top of the screen somewhere.  I am not sure about the 2 story drop, didn’t try that, but I will be a little more careful with it in the future regardless.  I was totally and completely thrilled with Amazon’s customer service on the kindle.

That doesn’t really have anything to do with the practicalities of the Kindle, that will come later, but as far as their customer service goes, it was great.  Having also sold on Amazon for years, I can say that all of Amazon’s customers service is geared towards their buying customers (as opposed to their sellers) and they will bend over backwards to provide the best service they can.

You can see the screen issue on the photos below.  It covers about an inch from the top with a blank line of gray going across the screen with a slash in the upper left corner.  The last two shots are what the screen shot from the damaged kindle looks like (so it is seeing everything correctly under the screen issue) and what the new one looked like when it arrived.

Update May 21, 2010

I thought I would update this post with a few comments since it is still one of the most read posts on my blog. As some have suggested, my Kindle was NOT dropped.  I simply put it in my backpack, which also wasn’t dropped, and took it out an hour later and it showed up with the damaged screen.

I did get a free replacement from Amazon, but I returned the replacement within a week for a refund (see my review A Not-So-Normal Kindle 2 Review for my reasons), but one major reason was I knew the “free screen replacement” was only going to last a short time, and it was a one time shot.  Amazon did replace the damaged screen, but they said they weren’t going to do it again.  Looking back now, more than a year later, it was the best decision and I am not super happy with my iPad.

Update February 12, 2011

As this post still gets heavy traffic and questions, I will say after using and testing the Apple iPad since it came out, I have never had a better ebook reader than the iPad and I am looking forward to seeing the new iPad 2 some time around April. The Kindle App for the iPad is one of the ebook reader apps I use, and although not my favorite, I do use it frequently.

The problem I still have with the Kindle is you basically can’t do anything else with it other than read a book. I can type out notes and highlights in my Kindle app on the iPad and it works great. The one great thing Amazon has done for the Kindle is continue to lower it’s price, but if you have an iPad I’m not sure what use one would have for the Kindle.

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Mar 04 2009
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Tech

Amazon Kindle iPhone App and the Future of Paper vs eBooks?

iphone-kindle

macbook kindle

This morning Amazon released the new Kindle iPhone App, or an iPhone eBook reader.  Since I do not yet (but probably will soon) have a Kindle the news of the Kindle iPhone app was really intriguing, but I started wondering if the app was putting the horse before the cart.  The very first reaction on the Internet was people saying they were disappointed they bought the Kindle and now they can get this on their iPhone.  Totally wrong way to look at it altogether.  What Amazon did by making an iPhone app for the Kindle was make their product more relevant and more useful than it was last week.

I won’t go through a comparison between the two, there is a great review over on CNET, see Comparing Kindle 2 with Kindle’s iPhone app, but one of the great features is being able to read a book between the two devices.  It doesn’t come quite as close as Seth Godin’s request in Reinventing the Kindle (part II) to share books between Kindle users, but it comes closer.  If Amazon keeps going down this road they will really make the Kindle a breakthrough device.

Breakthrough in the same way the iPod was for music, the Kindle can potentially be for books.  Everyone grumbled about the price of the iPod, and it took until the 2nd generation for me to plunk down the money for one, but after a while, people realized that the iPod revolutionized the way we listen to music.  There will always be people who want to read on paper, but for many, paper is a hassle, uses trees, and culturally is on the same track and path as Kodak 400 speed print film, but it’s more than just that.  Don’t blink, traditional media is going fast, and in some cases pretty much gone.

  • Photography – Print Film —> Digital (almost totally complete at this point)
  • Music – Vinyl –> Tapes –> CD –> Digital (niche markets for anything non-digital)
  • Movies – Film –> Tape –> DVD –> Download (slower but almost there)
  • TV – Tube –> Cable –> Satellite  –> Streaming Live (computer only is coming)
  • Books – Paper –> eBooks / Digital (the slowest of the 4, but catching up)
  • Magazines / Newspapers –> Paper –> Digital (totally dying media in paper form)

My wife is currently working on her Master’s degree and last semester she spent something like $300-$400 on books.  After the Kindle 2 came out, I started looking at which books she bought were available on the Kindle.  About 30-40% of them are currently available, at $9.99-$15.  She paid $40-$50 for some of these books which can now be downloaded on the Kindle for $10.  Doesn’t take a genius to figure out the savings potential for College students all over the world, and seeing that Amazon is working on things like iPhone Apps is only going to make the Kindle more and more relevant in our society’s future.

kindle iphone app

Sometimes we go kicking and screaming into the future, and change comes with a fight. The Kindle / iPhone app is a great example of a transition of all forms of media to digital, it’s just a question of how long will we hold on to the past print mediums because that is what we are use to today.

Update March 2011

I have since written an update to this post in light of the iPad, which makes eBooks even more appealing, you can read that posts Printed Books vs iPad or Kindle eBooks and the Future of Books

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