iPad's missing core apps. Free-books page update

Free and Low-Cost Books page Update
Added two free book online sources to the ongoing free-books article.  Also, Two RSS readers are not catching that article for some reason and it doesn't display for their subscribers, so this is a way to get to it.
    If there's interest, I can make a downloadable copy of it for the Kindle, for Kindle Edition subscribers, as a sort of reference, though it's currently not well-organized.

Minor Puzzle on iPAD's core apps

I first read from Trusted Review's Gordon Kelly that Apple has pulled core apps from the iPad.  While they mention the Daring Fireball blog has a possible answer, they reference a Wired article by Brian X. Chen for the basic details.

Chen noticed that Apple's press statement for the official release date of its iPad Apple suggested the iPad won't ship with all the apps that came with the iPhone.

' Apple’s press release states the iPad includes “12 new innovative apps designed especially for the iPad.”  That number presumably refers to the brand new Videos app and the redesigned iPod, Maps, Photos, Mail, Safari, App Store, iTunes, YouTube, Contacts, Calendar and Notes apps that were present on demo units of the iPad in January. '

He notes that the iPhone ships with some apps that appear to be left out from the iPad: Stocks, Calculator, Clock, Weather and Voice Memos.  Why?  He thinks they'll be in the Apps store for free download.

  I remember people talking about space for more core apps the way they were distributed on the screen at the time.  So, maybe they're working on revisions to suit the iPad.

  Chen mentions that blogger Kevin Fox thinks they'll reintroduce the missing apps as Dashboard widgets that run in the background, accessible with the F12 hot key, since they were originally Dashboard widgets, except for Voice Memos.

He adds: "(Contrary to popular belief, the iPhone can multitask, but it’s limited to running a select few apps made by Apple in the background...)"

See the pictures at Wired.

Trusted Reviews's Kelly explains Daring Fireball blogger John Gruber's theory that these particular apps originally made for much smaller screens just would not look very good on the iPad, either because they'd be really tiny, in a 3.5" rectangle, surrounded by a huge blank space, or the user could choose to fill the screen with it and it would then be in quite substandard resolution and the design would look odd.  Read the article for the full explanation of why it probably happened.  Gruber says they were therefore scrapped by "you know who."

The article also has a link to the long, official Apple introductory video by several excited executives using the mantra "It's the best...," "magical," "revolutionary."

 I like the look of the product but not this overdone delivery of it.

The article also carries the HP Slate video I linked to yesterday.  Competition looks fierce for both tablets and e-readers.

Free and low-cost books reminder 2/12/10

Well, this is not exactly the kind of free book that most would be looking for, but Amazon has announced that The Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011, and Economic Report of the President are both available now as free wireless downloads in Amazon's Kindle Store.   $0.00

I haven't lept at this offering at this time as it isn't likely to raise my sense of well-being to read it ;-), but there it is.  And am I reading something into Amazon's recommending to me Crossing the Gates of Alaska or Devotions for Lent when looking at the page for this particular "product"?

Another book that's gone on the $0.00 list temporarily is what looks to be a rather glib (and even admirers say 'redundant') book, which at $12.95 has had 24 reviews and an average rating of 4-1/2 stars.
  The title is Love Yourself and Let the Other Person Have It Your Way, by Lawrence Crane and Lester Levenson, with a sales ranking of #4 in the Kindle store.  I'm not recommending it, just letting people know it's being offered for $0.00 for probably a short while and that people who paid for it seem to have liked it.

The weekend reminder:

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LINKS FOR SEARCHING FOR FREE OR LOW-COST E-BOOKS
  As ever, here is the ongoing set of links for various Searches for free or low-cost Kindle-compatible books.
  If you use the "2.b" link there for finding newest non-classics, you can see the latest non-classic and non-public-domain ones coming onto the free listings.  This lets you find them whenever you decide to call up the Free & Low Cost Books page.
  You can also just bookmark that page while there, to make that easier.

Another 1.5 million Free Books-Documents + Other good items

Internet Archive Text area - almost 2 million free books and documents - Kindle formats included, via ".mobi" or ".prc" files or specifically labeled "Kindle."
  Remember that the Kindle also directly reads .txt and PDF files although .prc or .mobi ones may be more readable in font size.

  There are also areas of files with somewhat questionable value, but the main sub-collections include American Libraries, Canadian Libraries, Universal Libraries (Carnegie Mellon, governments of India, China, Egypt), Project Gutenberg (another access point) -- and there are recent contributions from The Library of Congress, UCLA Scanning Center's special collections, etc.).  Thanks to Courtney who reminded me of this in a Comments area here.  I'll add this to the ongoing free and low-cost books posting next time.  Note that there is also free live music and audio linked on the home page.

The Get a Human page
This is one of my all-time favorite resources, the Get a human on the phone page.  It includes almost 1,600 companies, with each link expandable to show several phone numbers found (for each company) which can eventually get you a human, and with instructions on how to do that.  This is a webpage rather than a book, and there's no charge for the information there.

When you're away from a computer, a Kindle book with similar focus could be useful (although you can use the Kindle web browser to reach the Get a Human page even if you're away from a computer).
  Here's a Kindle book of phone numbers gathered by Mobile Reference, titled Secret Toll-Free Customer Service Phone Numbers and Shortcuts to an Operator for Nearly 600 Businesses and US Government Agencies
  2 customer reviews, 5 stars - $3.99

Also useful, maybe, Country Calling Codes, Dialing Instructions, and Worldwide Emergency Phone Numbers.
  1 customer review, 5 stars   (not a useful review but an example from the book helps) - $0.99

UNUSUAL ITEM - Microsoft WordTalk - Free
Microsoft WordTalk has been developed for use with, you guessed it, Microsoft Word, versions '97 and above. Its functions are:

"It will speak the text of the document and will highlight it as it goes...
  It contains a talking dictionary to help decide which word spelling is most appropriate." You can:
  . adjust the highlight colors
  . change the voice and the speed of the speech
  . convert text to speech and save as a .wav or .mp3 file so that it can be played back on an iPod or mp3 player."
UPDATE 1/25/10
  I'll add that an mp3 can be played back on the Kindle by placing the file in the "music" folder of the Kindle.  These are played in the order they were placed on the Kindle though.  And mp3s take much more space than books.

  If interested, download Wordtalk at www.wordtalk.org.uk.   It's a free plug-in.  If you don't have .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 you'll need to download .Net Framework first, which you can get here.

Almost free - A Kindle shortcuts book
FIRST, be sure to check out Kindle books I've read and enjoyed, shown on the right-hand side of the webpage.

Am adding here another Kindle book (I haven't read it and can't rate it):
  Kindle Shortcuts + guides and hidden features, by Aaron Steinhardt.  Publisher: MobileReference
  31 customer reviews, 3.5 stars out of 5, $0.25


Free and low-cost books, Jan. 14, 2010 - Update3: Still current
  Miscellaneous items


MP3's from the Hope for Haiti Now Telethon, with proceeds to groups working in Haiti
  Amazon is offering an album of mp3s of songs from the telethon Friday night.  Here's the Los Angeles Times report of the event.
  From the report and some video clips I've seen, buying the album (mp3's) or some individual tracks from that night will benefit any of us as well as help the relief work in Haiti.   Amazon explains:

' All proceeds from album sales of Hope for Haiti Now will go to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, and Yele Haiti Foundation. In addition, all proceeds from the special studio version of "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" by Jay-Z, Bono, the Edge, and Rihanna will go to Partners in Health. '

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LINKS FOR SEARCHING FOR FREE OR LOW-COST E-BOOKS
  As ever, here is the ongoing set of links for various Searches for free or low-cost Kindle-compatible books.

Temporarily free or low-cost Kindle books - 1/8/10 - UPDATE

UPDATE 1/9/10 - Unfortunately, while $0.00 at 07:53 AM 1/8 -- these are
all now changed to $1.99 on 1/9. I've changed them and will check the new free books more often. Am changing the entries now after getting an email alert.

Temporarily free Amazon Kindle books this month are centered around health concerns!


Leslie Sansone's Eat Smart, WalkStrong: The Secrets to Effortless Weight Loss
  By Leslie Sansone     Digital List Price: $14.99
$0.00 U.S.  $1.99   13 user reviews, 4.5 stars



Going Gray: What I Learned about Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, Authenticity, and Everything Else That Really Matters (Kindle Ed.)
  By Anne Kreamer     Digital List Price: $14.99
$0.00 U.S.  $1.99   28 user reviews, 4 stars



Chasing Life: New Discoveries in the Search for Immortality to Help You Age Less Today (Kindle Ed.)
  By SanJay Gupta     Digital List Price: $14.99
$0.00 U.S.  $1.99   41 user reviews, 4 stars



UltraLongevity: The Seven-Step Program for a Younger, Healthier You (Kindle Ed.)
  By Mark Liponis     Digital List Price: $14.99
$0.00 U.S.  $1.99   12 user reviews, 4-1/2stars

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LINKS FOR SEARCHING FOR FREE OR LOW-COST E-BOOKS
  Here is the ongoing set of links for various Searches for free or low-cost Kindle-compatible books.

Free or low-cost Kindle books - 12-19-09 - Update

Many of these are likely to be short-term.

Paul Carr and TechCrunch are offering his book, Bringing Nothing to the Party - True Confessions of a New Media Whore, in PDF format, for free, in the U.S., under a Creative Commons License though it is for sale outside the U.S., with rights owned by his publisher and it is still available as a Kindle book (for $9.99) at Amazon.  His friends apparently don't tend to have Kindles and I guess wouldn't want to read it on an iPhone, iPod, or on their laptops etc., so he is making the book available for $0.00 in the U.S.

  He still owns the U.S. rights to his books, despite the frowns of his publisher, W&N, and its parent company, Hachette Livre, about releasing one of his books for free -- Hachette has "decreed that they will not allow any ebooks to be distributed for free, or without DRM."  W&N and Hachette have reminded him that foreign readers would be able to download the PDF e-book from the U.S, which would breach W&N's contractual rights.

  But you can download the PDF version now.  He adds:

' Finally it’s worth saying that, for all of my ego, the book is actually quite a hard thing for me to give away: its 275 pages tell the story of a very strange few years of my life – years that cost me my career, my reputation, the love of my life, and very nearly my freedom.  In other words, it’s a real feel-good Christmas romp. '

Read the background article I link to in the beginning to get the full background.  You can also get the HTML version with linked footnotes.

Midnight in Madrid   By Noel Hynd, Kindle Ed. $0.00 U.S.     10 user reviews, 4.5 stars "...With echoes of classic detective and suspense fiction from The Maltese Falcon to The Da Vinci Code..."	My Bondage and My Freedom   By Frederick Douglass, 1818-1895, Kindle Ed. $0.00 U.S.     8 user reviews, all 5 stars (Hardcover, 2008 - $24.95  Paperback, 2005 - $6.95) "...he ...documents the memories of being owned, how slaves coped during these times, and how he managed to pull himself out of it all." -from James Hiller's review.
Metagame   By Sam Landstrom, Kindle Ed. $1.59 U.S.     53 user reviews, 4.5 stars There are several rave reviews for this apparently quite creative science fiction book by a writer new to the readers.	The Voice: New Testament   By Thomas Nelson, Kindle US Ed.   (with book and chapter navigation) $0.00 U.S.   16 user reviews, 4 stars Very unusual translation using modern expressions -- script-like, and with additions that are noted and sourced.  Controversial for those reasons but liked very much by many.

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LINKS FOR SEARCHING FOR FREE OR LOW-COST E-BOOKS
Here is the ongoing set of links for various Searches for free or low-cost Kindle-compatible books.

Mobile Reference books are back

MobileReference posted in the Amazon forums last night, the following note:

Our Dear Readers,

Today 09/11/09 Amazon informed us that "We wanted to let you know that after further review, we will be re-instating your account and once again making your titles available on the Kindle store. We thank you for your patience as we work to provide the best experience possible for our customers."

We thank you for your support!
-MobileReference

That's an UPDATE to the article on Amazon's decision to whittle down the number of duplicates of public domain classics, as some Kindle owners on the forums had worried that they would lose access to MobileReference books at Amazon.

Here are Mobile Reference Kindle books:
. sorted by bestselling
. sorted by "low to high" price
. sorted by avg. customer review
. sorted by most recently published
. sorted by relevance


As ever, here are the regular free and low-cost book links

Books, blogs, auto charger, iRex and Barnes & Noble - Update2

UPDATED 8/25/09 to correct the recommendation for the Ambrose Pierce Devil's Dictionary, as that edition has problems with the Table of Contents.
  Original posting was 8/24/09 at 10:12 am

1. Kindle Blogs & News Feeds
Many will have received in email a notice that the Kindle Daily Post is now available for the Kindle.  This Amazon Kindle-dedicated blog contains the daily Kindle news we've been able to read on the Kindle device only when we were at the 'store' while Kindling with wireless turned 'On.'  I suppose that was because we'd also be more likely to buy something while there.  In the meantime, people like me then seldom saw this otherwise interesting daily.
  Now you can get that daily blog for your Kindle at no cost.

  Another blog available along with 7,000+ other ones Amazon offers for the Kindle device is this one, Kindleworld.  Delivery includes the full text of Kindleworld's latest 25 articles (with images), delivered whenever there's a new entry or updated information (usually daily).  Each Kindle delivery replaces the previous one, so there's no clutter.

 Selecting this blog, if you haven't subscribed earlier, starts a 14-day free trial.  The Kindle version is easier to navigate than the usual RSS feeds are on a Kindle and you can search the blog for info in the latest 25 articles, which might be worth 99c/mo. for some.

2. It's time for the irregularly repeated low-cost books reminder.
  Be sure to check out the most recent Free and under $1 books in the blog entry listing links for those.
  I've added a listing sorted by NEWEST first, for free non-classics there.

3. UPDATED 8/25/09. The photo of Bierce below links you to the best under-$1 edition of Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary, republished by Xinware Corporation in Canada, Jan. 2008, and with a working Table of Contents and very good formatting.
 The cover for that one is seen on the right.
  The book highlighted yesterday had problems with the table of content links, and some of the quotations did not wrap well.  Amazon will give a refund for a book that is giving you problems if reported within 7 days.  Call 866-321-8851 to request the refund.

  While there are several editions offered on the Amazon page - most do not have working table of contents and have very rudimentary formatting.  I sampled each one under $1, and one sample even froze my Kindle causing me to need to reboot or reset it twice.  The 80c version I link to here was the best of those under $1 and I didn't try any above that dollar amount, as I'm very happy with this one.  The free one from Project Gutenberg froze my DX each of 3 times I tried it, so I can't recommend the one there right now.

UPDATED 8/25/09 - LATER.  Elmo let me know tonight of a free Devil's Dictionary file made available by "vivaldirules" at MobileRead Forums.  This is extremely well formatted with quotations in italics.  You can get it from their site.  Thanks, Elmo!

Typical of the definitions in this often hilarious and always cynical classic is:

" Gold n. A yellow metal greatly prized for its convenience in the various kinds of robbery known as trade..."

  Caution: the book, 90 yrs old, is wholly impolitic.

4. Auto Charger for the Amazon Kindle 2 and Kindle DX.

5. iRex signs up with Barnes and Noble.  This doesn't appear to be an exclusive arrangement, unlike the one with Plastic Logic where B&N will be PL's sole book store.  Current large-screen iRex models average $850 and that's before any monthly cellular wireless access charges.  Not likely to be (successfully) after the Amazon audience at that price.