Week 8/Final Post: A Short, but Sweet Summary of my Techie Adventures

So, after eight weeks of weekly posts about how new technological and marketing ideas can help take the electronic publishing industry and the ebook to a whole new level of popularity, the time has finally come to sum up our time together.

 

Throughout the semester, we've come to discover how new technological devices like RFID tags/readers, and other marketing tools such as Twitter/other social media and Excel can help improve the electronic publishing industry. We've also learned about the types of operating systems that are the brain power behind the devices, which I myself and I'm sure plenty of others, had no clue about before reading the posts. From week to week, I learned a lot about the technology behind the ebook, which I never would have understood or known about before taking this class and learning technological lingo during lecture.
Overall, I think I gained a lot of practical knowledge from this project. Instead of just listening to the weekly lecture and memorizing the buckets of information covered during that short time period two times a week, this project forced me to apply each concept to my idea. In this way, I was forced to understand each concept covered in lecture on a deeper level of understanding. By applying the concept to a real life problem, I've come to love this field of study and hope to minor in IST in the future so that I can continue to understand various elements of technology on a much deeper level that will allow me to apply each concept to other parts of my life.

Here's a short guide to the blogs I commented on:
1. I'm an Entrepenuar - by Sarah Schuster
Where is the comment?: I commented on "Blog Post #1"

2. E.Brennan's Blog - by Evan Brennan
Where is the comment?: I commented on the first post, "Guitar Case Auto-Humidifier/Thermometer"

3. Pocket^2 - by Andrew Carlson
Where is the comment?: I commented on the first post, "My Big New Idea"

So that's all for me and my Techie Adventures, I hope you enjoyed my journey through IST195!

Lots o' love,
Christina

Week 7: Blogger Review - Melville House

So instead of posting about a lecture topic this week, I've decided to review a blog somewhat related to my own topic of technology mixed with the publishing industry.

After doing a Google Blog search, I came across Melville House, which is an independent publisher located in Brooklyn, New York that was founded in 2001 by Valerie Merians and Dennis Johnson in order to publish Poetry After 9/11, a book of material culled from Johnson’s groundbreaking MobyLives book blog. Melville House runs a blog of sorts, which publishes many articles and stories about the ebook and the publishing industry as a whole.
In terms of appearance, the Melville House website is very clean and concise - there's not very much clutter and all of the important elements on their homepage are highlighted very well. In terms of content, many articles have been published on their blog concerning the electronic publishing industry, including this insightful one, which talks about Barnes & Noble expanding its ebook business. Many of their articles focus on the transitions in the publishing industry, some involving technology and others involving the retail side of the publishing industry. Overall I think that Melville House runs a very informative blog of up-to-date information based on the publishing industry, always making sure to provide great information on how the electronic publishing industry is expanding and gaining popularity, especially among Amazon users.
In terms of differences between Melville House and my own blog, it seems that I cover more of the technological side of the electronic publishing industry, while Melville House covers more retail driven topics. Nevertheless, I think that we both run very informative blogs that talk about how the publishing industry is changing rapidly to include more electronic based products.
My Professional Blog Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Reasoning: I wish there was more of a technological basis to some of their blog articles, so that way users know more about how ebooks actually work, in terms of operating systems and other little technological perks like a color LCD screen and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Only one more post left for my blog! Get excited!

Until next time -

Week 6: Operating Systems

So this week's lecture was based on operating systems, like Linux and iOS. Each type of e-reader has a different operating system and in this post I'm going to first tell you a little about each major operating system and then about which e-readers use which OS.

First, Linux:

Linux is the most successful open source project; it is a computer operating system which is based on free and open source software. Many different varieties of Linux exist, all are Unix-like and based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released by Linus Torvalds on October 5, 1991.

Pros v Cons:
Pros:- Runs on just about any hardware.
- More options than any other system. This is a pro and a con. If you want to change anything in Linux you can. The only limiting factor is your desire to figure out how.
- Way more secure than Windows XP and even OSX.
- Everything is free.
- Full access to the free open source library of software

Cons:
- The latest and greatest hardware is typically slower to reach Linux.
- The shear number of options can be daunting to a non-technical user. Although, like OSX, the distribution you select will determine the level of complexity presented or hidden from the end user.
- Limited support for proprietary applications
- Limited vendor support

Systems run on Linux:
Amazon Kindle (Linux 2.6.26)




Second, iOS:

iOS is Apple's mobile operating system. Apple, Inc. does not license iOS for installation on third-party hardware. As of October 4, 2011, Apple, Inc.'s App Store contains more than 500,000 iOS applications, which have collectively been downloaded more than 18 billion times. iOS is derived from Mac OS X, with which it shares the Darwin foundation, and is therefore a Unix-like operating system by nature.

Pros v Cons:
Pros:
- Easier to use for the non technical.
- Content creation is its strength.
- More secure than Windows due to its UNIX base
- More stable than Windows due to Apple’s tighter control over the configuration options and its UNIX base.
- Almost no spyware or virus applications.
- More powerful than Windows due to its UNIX base.
- You have almost complete access to the enormous library of free open source applications.

Cons:
- More expensive upfront than other choices. Some would say this is offset by less maintenance required over the life of the system.
- Less support. You have to go to Apple for all your hardware problems.
- Less hardware choices than Windows. For your average user this isn’t much of a problem. All the common hardware types will work.
- More complex than Windows due to its UNIX base. This really isn’t a major con because OSX does a great job of hiding this complexity from the end user.

Systems run on iOS:
Apple iPad

Now deciding on which operating system is better for e-readers is a matter of complete preference. If you're looking for a more tablet-like e-reader, then an Apple device with iOS would work better. If you just want a solid e-reader without a lot of tablet-like features, then an Amazon device is the way to go.

Until next time -

Week 5: Bits & Bytes

So based on this week's lecture about bits and bytes and the difference between WAV and MP3, I've decided to talk to you about storage and speed in terms of downloading media files onto a tablet or e-book reader. Instead of books on a shelf, the iPad and other varieties of the e-book are filled with bits and bytes of books. Each book in essence houses bits and bytes of audio and other media files in various formats ranging from AAC to MP3 formats with different downloading speeds.

First, with the iPad:
The iPad has the ability to download AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), and WAV, among many others. Having such a wide variety of downloading formats, all of which download at different speeds (none more than a few seconds to minutes depending on the size of the file). In terms of storage, one e-book on the iPad can take up less then 1/2 GB per 10 pages so the number of books you could store on the device could amass to way more than a bookshelf could hold. The iPad can hold anywhere from 16 - 62 GB, can you imagine the number of books you could hold?!

Kindle Fire:
The Kindle Fire, a more recent addition to the Amazon Kindle family and more similar to the iPad in a tablet sense, also has the ability to download AAC, MP3, WAV and many others. Just as with any other device, the Kindle Fire has such a wide variety of downloading formats and speeds, making it a more versatile device. Also, like the iPad, the Kindle Fire has the ability to store a large mass of books, only taking up about 1/2 GB per 10 pages as previously stated. The Kindle Fire holds 8 GB internally, which is about enough to hold 80 apps, plus 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.

Overall, today's tablets and e-book readers are very versatile in terms of download formats, speed and storage space, so much so that book lovers will never have to worry about running out of room for their virtual bookshelf.

Until next time -

Week 4: Input/Output

RFID and the E-book:

 If you've ever used an EZPass device at a road toll then you already know a little bit about how RFID works.
First, let me talk a little bit about what RFID is...
RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification and it can transmit the identity of an object or person wirelessly using radio waves. It is an Automatic Identification Technology (Auto-ID) - other examples of this type of technology are barcodes.
Now you're probably wondering how RFID technology could drastically improve the e-book experience, right? Well imagine that you walked into a bookstore with your e-book that now has a handy RFID reader attached to it, and you walk by the shelves of books looking for your next read. On each book there is an RFID tag, which when you activate your reader on the e-book it will immediately log all of the information about the book - what the story is about, author background information, ratings and reviews, etc. In addition to that, it will bring up a screen on your e-book that enables you to scroll through all the books you've scanned and buy any of those books instantly for your e-book.
Eventually as bookstores begin to become outmoded, they'll start manufacturing catalogs. These catalogs will be full of RFID tags categorized by genre, time period, and any other method you'd like. As you thumb through the catalog, when you come across a page of books that spark your interest, you can just activate the reader on your e-book and scan that page to find out which books you truly want to read from that list.
Having an RFID system with the e-book would make shopping for books hassle-free and give you more information about the books and their authors than ever before. All within one quick switch on and slight motion, you can find any information you want about a book.
Even though having RFID readers and tags in the e-book world has its perks, there are a few bugs that will need to be ironed out first with the technology. RFID has the ability to pick up information from a tag at over 100 meters away, which could make trying to scan one page of a catalog much more difficult. At this point, the technology might pick up every tag in the catalog once turned on, defeating the purpose of the selective technology. So in order for RFID to become commercialized within the e-book world, manufacturers must find a way to narrow the RFID reader to only pick up on tags close to it.
Despite the fact that this technology is still fairly new and still needs to be improved upon before being put out for commercial use with the e-book, it can be a very helpful feature for the e-book in the future.

Until next time -
 

Week 3: Hardware

Instead of talking this week about the hardware of a traditional computer or laptop, I wanted to discuss the hardware associated with the latest models of ebooks, ranging from the Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook and Apple's iPad.

First, let's start with the latest version of the Amazon Kindle, known as the Kindle DX (or the third generation of the Kindle). It has a 9.7" diagonal E Ink Pearl display that measures 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38" and weighs 18.9 oz.. It has the battery life of 7 days (wireless on) or up to 2-3 weeks (wireless off) and can store up to 3,500 books! The only downside to the newest version of the Kindle is that it doesn't have Wi-Fi like the previous versions did. In terms of additional hardware, the Kindle DX has
a HSDPA modem (3G) with a fallback to EDGE/GPRS and utilizes Amazon Whispernet to provide wireless coverage via AT&T's 3G high-speed data network in the U.S. and partner networks outside of the U.S.. It also has a USB 2.0 (micro-USB connector) port for connection to the Kindle DX power adapter or optionally to connect to a PC or Macintosh computer. Finally, it has a 3.5mm stereo audio jack and built-in stereo speakers for great audio capability. The Kindle has just enough techie specs to satisfy the average reader looking for just a few more perks, like Internet capability and built in audio.
Here are a few of its hardware specs:
Operating system - Linux 2.6.26
Power - 3.7 V, 1750 mAH lithium polymer, BA1001 model
CPU - Freescale 532 MHz, ARM-11
Storage capacity - 4 GB/3.3 GB internal flash memory
Memory - 256 MB

Next up is the latest version of Barnes & Noble's Nook, the Nook Color. It has a 7-inch 1024x600 resolution multi-touch touchscreen LCD display, as opposed to the original Nook's 3.5-inch secondary touchscreen. It doesn't have an e-ink display like the Kindle, making it a tablet computer as well as an e-reader. It has a customizable display with color options, six font sizes, and internet browsing over Wi-Fi (which the Kindle DX lacks) and it also has a built-in media player that supports audio and video.
Here are its hardware specs:
Operating system - Android 2.2
Power - Installed battery 3.7v 4000mAh (8 hours with Wi-Fi off)
CPU - 800 Mhz ARM Cortex-A8-based TI OMAP3621
Storage capacity - 8GB internal storage, MicroSD expansion up to 32GB
Memory - 512MB
Display - 7-inch 1024 x 600 px WSVGA IPS LCD at 170 ppi
Graphics - PowerVR SGX 530
Input - Capacitive multi-touch screen with side volume, Nook Home, and Power buttons

Last is Apple's iPad 2, their second generation tablet computer. Of the three ebook readers, the iPad 2 is by far the most advanced and has more tablet computer capabilities than the others.
Here are some of its hardware specs (based on the version with Wi-Fi + 3G):
Size - 9.5" x 7.31" x .34"
Weight - 1.35lbs (much heavier than the other ebook readers)
Storage - 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
Processor - 1GHz dual-core Apple A5 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip
Audio and Video - Has a back and front camera, built-in speaker, microphone, 3.5mm stereo headphone minijack
Power - Built-in 25-watt hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery, up to 10 hrs of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video or listening to music, charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

So there you have it! With so many great ebook options, it's hard to choose. If you want something for strictly reading books, I would go for the Kindle DX. For those who want some tablet specs and some reading specs with more enhanced imagery and color, I would go for the Nook. And lastly, for those who want the absolute full package, you've got to get the iPad 2.

Until next time -

Week 2: Excel and the E-book

As all business types know, Microsoft Excel can be a very useful, if not one of the most useful, tools in a business setting. It is known for its' seemingly never-ending spreadsheets featuring calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables and a macro programming language. While many business use Excel to crunch numbers and check figures, it can also be used to create trending graphs and schedules - which are also very useful in the business and non-business worlds alike. Basically, if you have Excel and know how to use it properly and completely, then you will be on your way to success.

When it comes to the e-book, Microsoft Excel has plenty of applications. First, concerning popularity, Microsoft Excel can be used to create trend graphs, which can help e-book companies figure out what types of books are most popular and more likely to make further profit. Excel can also organize lists; when applied the the electronic publishing industry, lists on excel can be create to keep track of all factual information concerning a company's novels alongside their base costs, distribution costs, advertising costs and so on. Excel can organize all of those little bits of information involved with running a company, and help them make more sense to the reader. In addition to all of that, Excel can also be a huge help when trying to calculate appropriate prices for products. In the case of the e-book, you could punch in data to Excel that would analyze the price for creating the e-book compared to the price of distribution and selling it. Once those figures are in place on Excel, financial terms can be spelled out that tell the manufacturer how much they can pay to create a book and make a profit at the same time.
Excel is such a common application and very simple to use. By using Excel to organize and calculate the finances of an e-book publishing company, the company will run more efficiently, quicker, and also more accurately than ever before. The days of crunching numbers in your head and imagining a trend graph are over, and have been replaced by Excel and its' simple and easy to use tools.Excel can and will be able to crunch numbers for the company, make sure it doesn't overextend its funds, let it know when it's time (financially speaking) to back down on a book offer or keep going at it. Overall, Excel is a pivotal tool for any company to use in order to stay organized, accurate and efficient. So in order for my book publishing company to survive, thrive and succeed, it must take full advantage of Excel and its' wide array of tool options.

What are your thoughts on Excel? Is it overrated or a necessity in the workplace?

Until next time -