Equal access to books should be a european right

Absolutely agree with this article.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/28/ebooks-restricted-european-borders?newsfeed=true

Books should not been limited by EU borders. ebooks and books should be charged the same tax anywhere in the EU. And ebooks should be readable on all eReading devices.

Sermon over...

Nexus Tablet will be available mid July in UK

Well it has finally arrived.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18618521

Or will do so by the middle of next month. I am quite interested in the 16GB version (under £200 according to the link I have posted)

I already have plenty of reasons to get this device. Apart from being an excellent platform for ebooks, I would love to play with the voice recognition applications (And the tablet runs Android 4.1 which may mean greater integration with voice technology from Google). I may be able to use the Tablet for writing...

So another toy for my playpen... sigh!

The book business is going to endure

This is a heartening article from America about bookselling in general and independents in particular

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/06/the-incredible-resilience-of-books/258677/

So indie booksellers saw an increase in revenue last year in the USA? Good news indeed.

I hope that there is always room for them in market. If Amazon gets more competition from the likes of Google, Microsoft and co then it might give the indies more wriggle room to earn money from digital sales.

And I think there will always be a number of readers who want a physical experience. A real book and real place to browse and read. So The Book is here to stay...

The Nook will survive.

The Nook product line is going to survive I hope.

This link puts the opposing argument.

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2012/06/21/microsoft-could-kill-the-barnes--noble-nook

Barnes and Noble still need a flagship (physical) product to focus there ebookstore offerings. Microsoft is investing hundreds of millions of dollars into their business and Windows 8 is about to be released. These are good reasons to thing that some very resource rice individuals and organisations want the Nook to succeed.

Also don't forget that Amazon has a lot of enemies. The Nook is a way to strike back.

I hope that this product makes it. Although it has not been made available in the UK (so I have not got my mitty paws on the thing yet...) but the reviews are good.

And I like the idea of competition.

Don't write the Nook off just yet....

A good mobile app from Nuance - FlexT9 - Take a look

Another link providing useful background on voice recognition experts Nuance Communications.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-14/why-nuance-is-giving-it-away

I am increasingly impressed with this company. I have recently downloaded their Android app FlexT9 from Google Play. I have found that, so far, it is as good a dictation tool as Dragon Naturally Speaking, another Nuance application I use.

I am planning to write a short piece of science fiction using this app. I will try to use my Samsung Galaxy S II smart phone for this... yes it can be done!

Wish me luck please....

The future of voice recognition and creative writing?

I use Voice Recognition as part of my creative writing process

Here is a link to an interesting article about the possible future of this technology

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/nuance-space-age-voiceled-technology-is-just-around-the-corner-7847731.html

For me, the advantages of Voice based writing are finely balanced by the current limitations it poses. Yes I write faster, but the accuracy is not always good enough to 'keep the flow' going. The fastest I have managed to go (first draft) is 55 words a minute. I always have to go back and correct mistakes.

The other problem is that the very speed of voice recognition can cause issues with quality. I have found that the best (but slowest) way to write is to input text directly into a computer via typing manually. it is glacially slow but the delay between forming the story in my head and delivering the words into a word processor actually helps me to weed out poor quality storytelling and word use.

I also use the technology to 'write up' handwritten work. This is probably one of the most useful aspects of the technique.

Without a doubt mind mapping is the way to go and Nuance provide me with an excellent tool.  All in all I love the idea of dumping my thoughts straight into a machine...

Those are the pros and cons as I see them.

Will Nook be sold in UK Supermarkets soon?

I have just read and inwardly digested the news that Sainsbury's is entering the ebook market

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/9325967/Sainsbury-takes-on-Amazon-with-ebook-seller-deal.html

So how long before they (or one of their UK rivals) do a deal with Barnes and Noble.

The Nook will arrive in Britain soon and it would make sense to be sold in supermarkets as well as bookstores. Waterstones has a deal with Amazon and WHSmith's with Kobo but I can see that in a year or two that Tablets and ereaders from a whole range of suppliers will be available in Supermarkets.

So will it happen? I don't know but it would make sense.

The importance of creative writing in schools

I absolutely agree with this article

http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2012/jun/07/creative-writing?newsfeed=true

It is so important to teach creative writing in primary and secondary schools.

Storytelling is at the heart of human behaviour. Governments of all colours have been banging on about improving literacy in school children so what could be better that letting them have a go at writing stories.

Any story will do. Teach techniques of course but just let the kids enjoy the full creative power of their imagination.

That is how I started.

Forget exams and targets. Teach the joy that comes from 'putting black on white'

Sony Wonderbooks?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18327724

The wonderbook?

Well why not? If it gets more people reading it must be a good thing.

I do not own a games console. I suspect this latest product is an attempt by Sony to generate sales for the ageing Playstation 3. If I do dip my toes into the world of wonderbooks it will be when the next generation of gaming consoles have surfaced.

But the idea Itself is fantastic.

RIP Ray Bradbury

Another Giant of Science Fiction has sadly passed on.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18345350

Ray Bradbury wrote many of the books and TV shows that shaped my view of science fiction.

In an ideal world I would have shared his view on ebooks. Alas needs must....

You won't be forgotten!