readers

How to print e-book pages

New e-reading converts might be surprised to find out that despite the fact that e-books can be read on computers, there's no real way to print out a page for reference. In the olden days, you could just put a paperback facedown on a copier, but with e-books, it's a little trickier.

Just in time for school bells and syllabi, here are some go-to ways for printing out pages from an e-book.

Remember, though, that policies for the many book publishers vary, so review those policies and move forward at your own risk. Distributing copyrighted material without authorization … Read more

Getting started with Barnes & Noble's Nook for Web

You no longer need a Nook to read Barnes & Noble e-books. With Nook for Web, you can read e-books right in your browser on both PCs and Macs. To tempt you to try Nook for Web, Barnes & Noble is offering six titles for free until July 26. Here's how to take Barnes & Noble up on its offer and get started:

Head to the Nook for Web page on the Barnes & Noble site and you can immediately sample these six titles:

Click on a cover, and a sample containing the first few pages will open in … Read more

Nook chases after Kindle with browser-based service

After a long wait, Barnes & Noble has finally unveiled a browser-based platform, allowing users to explore and read the company's e-books from a Mac or PC.

Dubbed Nook for Web, the platform requires no sign-in, software download, or Nook account for users to start reading. According to Barnes & Noble, the service allows users to search for books and sample them, as well as read entire titles after purchase. Barnes & Noble says that Nook for Web comes with the same "Nook-like reading environment" found in the company's applications and e-readers.

Barnes & Noble took … Read more

Replace a 'dumb phone' with an iPhone now or wait until later?

It's that time in the iPhone life-cycle when Apple is expected to launch a new version of the popular smartphone in a couple of months, leaving many potential first-time iPhone fans wondering what they should do about getting a new phone.

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I lay out the options for a reader considering buying a used or refurbished iPhone now to replace her basic "dumb phone." I also explain to another reader the difference between a tablet and e-reader.

Where can I get a cheap iPhone?

Dear Maggie, I think I'm one of … Read more

Apps crashing? Apple's App Store to blame, says developer

Apple's App Store might be causing some trouble for application users.

Marco Arment, the creator of Instapaper, reported yesterday that he was "deluged" earlier this week by users who had downloaded Instapaper 4.2.3 and found that upon opening it, the application "crashed immediately." The issue even occurred after users removed the application from their devices and reinstalled it with a clean version.

After inspecting the issue, Arment found that the problem was due to what he said was a corrupt update Apple distributed through its App Store. According to Arment, the update he … Read more

Flipboard in deal to carry New York Times content

The New York Times announced late today it would collaborate with Flipboard to make the entire newspaper available on the popular social news-reader app.

Beginning Thursday, Times subscribers will have access to articles, videos, photo slideshows, and blogs produced by the newspaper from within Flipboard. Nonsubscribers will be able to read a limited sampling of the newspaper's content.

The partnership is being touted as a first for both companies. It marks the first time the startup has persuaded a large publisher to make its content available on its platform. Indeed, Flipboard says the authentication process and navigation experience was … Read more

Getting started with Flipboard for Android

Flipboard is your one-stop app for many networks and news sources. In fact, Flipboard supports Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Google Reader, LinkedIn, Instagram, Tumblr, and a few others! Once you have all your networks linked to the Flipboard account, a beautiful stream of information will appear in the app.

Here's a quick guide to getting your feet wet with an app favored by many:

First you'll want to get a copy of Flipboard for Android. After it's installed, open the app and flip your finger upward on the screen to reveal the Get Started and Sign In … Read more

Flipboard is more than just a news reader

If you're not familiar with Flipboard, it's a magazine-style news reader that has been wildly popular on iOS for quite some time. What gives it extra cool points is its ability to handle social media. See, Flipboard can integrate your social accounts into its feed, and present tweets or other status updates just as it would news stories or blog posts (complete with images and video thumbnails). Couple this with Flipboard's gorgeous tiled interface, and it's easy to see why the app is such a fan favorite.

With its clean design, vibrant display of photographic tiles, … Read more

Open social-reader links on Facebook without installing them

Facebook is a place for sharing (and sometimes oversharing) information between friends and family. As of the last few months, more and more "social reader" apps have been making their way to your Facebook timeline. You'll see that a friend watched a video on something like SocialCam, and when you go to click the video, you're asked to grant the service access to your Facebook.

Instead of authorizing a bunch of social-reader apps to post on your Facebook wall or gain access to your information, you should try Unsocialize. With this Web browser add-on you can … Read more

iPad still dominates tablet traffic, but Nook surges past Kindle Fire

While the iPad continues to dominate tablet traffic, there is a new leader in the e-reader battle between Barnes & Noble's Nook and Amazon's Kindle Fire.

Apple's tablet accounted for 91 percent of the hundreds of millions of Web traffic impressions sampled by the Chitika Ad network during the week of June 4 -10, a decline of 3.5 percent from 94.6 percent in May. Coming in at a very distant second place was Samsung's Galaxy Tab, which captured only 1.7 percent of tablet Web traffic, followed by Acer Iconia, Toshiba Thrive, and Asus … Read more