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We have introduced Microsoft Reader to our  Modern Books by Living Published Authors .    You can download Microsoft Reader from www.microsoft.com/reader
Microsoft Reader is now available in the upgraded Reader version 2

New Microsoft Reader v2

 

NEW! Microsoft Reader Text-to-Speech Package 1.0

Microsoft Reader 2.0 for Windows-based PCs and laptops boasts several new additions in accessibility that are bringing eBooks to more communities and providing a richer on-screen reading experience with additional TTS and Verbosity functionality. To enable Microsoft Reader to take advantage of existing speech technologies, you must install the new Microsoft Reader Text-to-Speech (TTS) Package 1 This will make our eBooks into talking books.

Hot News on the Internet

    

 

Recent New Book Titles or New Authors ...... 

The Speakeasy Club 

by Alan Green

The Speakeasy Club is a place where people tell stories (sad, happy, funny and, sometimes, tall) of love, of fear, of trust and of hate; in short, their stories are about people. Those who tell them live in the Luberon, a beautiful, rural area of southern France. At their monthly meetings, club members of different nationalities relate their experiences and gossip about their friends and enemies. There are fifteen tales, through which we are guided by the club's president, Freddie Makepeace.
Download a few sample pages

 

Stickshapes

by Brian Cullen

STICKSHAPES is a dark comedy about survival on a Council estate. Aged 25, Kevin has never had a proper job. Abandoned by his mother at birth, he loses his father at age 18. He loses his girlfriend after an argument about the R word, and his best-mate is losing his mind (not that he’d ever been in possession). Kevin is stitched-up by the police and dropped in it with the estate gang. Trying to be cruel to be kind, the local housing officer gets it half-right and threatens eviction.
The stories of the best-mate and the housing officer are also told. Their stories are also stories of survival, but more a fight for the survival of their identities. Kevin already knows who he is. But he’s not got much going for him, except the ability to duck and dive - and great-uncle-Tommy’s black-and-white baccy.

 
Download a few sample pages        

 

 Browsers Corner ...... 

People love paper - they need to be able to "curl up" with their books, take them into the bathtub, and they need paper copies of their favourite web article. This is a “comfort zone” response. People have mastered the paper technology and are reluctant to have to learn a new reading platform.

So, enticing people over to the electronic reading experience, with e-book devices that “read like a paper book” is probably a shrewd move. Eventually, we will get beyond this paper clinging mindset and embrace an electronic world. Electronic books will help move us through this transition phase to a paperless society, but they may, themselves, need help in the shape of another product - Electronic Ink.
 
We have been following the progress of electronic ink for quite some time. While the technology holds the promise of bringing flexible electronic newspapers to the masses, the first commercial product using technology developed by Philips and E Ink will be the LIBRIé e-Book reader from Sony. 

The Electronic Paper Display is reflective and can be easily read in bright sunlight or dimly lit environments while being able to be seen at virtually any angle - just like paper. Its black and white ink-on-paper look, combined with a resolution in excess of most portable devices at approximately 170 pixels per inch, gives an appearance similar to that of the most widely read material on the planet - newspaper. Because the display uses power only when an image is changed, a user can read more than 10,000 pages before the four AAA Alkaline batteries need to be replaced.

The LIBRIé has enough memory to store up to 500 downloaded books with additional storage available using Memory Sticks. For English speaking readers, details about the LIBRIé are sparse, but Sony does have information on their Japanese website. The display has a 6 inch (SVGA 800x600) reading area at 170 pixels per inch, while the entire reader is 126mm x 190mm x 13mm and weighs in at 190 grams (300g with batteries and folding cover). According the website, the LIBRIé will cost JPY 41790 (~US$400 or  £220) and should be available on April 24th 2004. It is not clear if the LIBRIé will sport any PDA functionality, nor is it clear what media formats  the LIBRIé will use. 

While this is the first generation e-Book using E Ink and Philips technology, the price seems a bit steep for a stand alone e-Book reader. The lack of PDA functionality along with the non-flexible 7.5" x 5" package could be a turn-off for many. Unfortunately, we may have to wait for the second generation LIBRIé to see PDA features along with a flexible, removable screen. For  the reader and author of e-Books, the future looks promising.

See:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,1197495,00.html

 

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