Posts tagged with technology
Efficient!
There's an article on Mental Floss about the new "tiny train" book-delivery service that has been installed in the New York Public Library located in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Sadly, the library refrained...
Next up: hovercars
In another recent NPR post, there's a discussion of an early childhood test that claims to be a clear indicator of a person's eventual reading ability...
Agree, like, 1000%
NYMag's "Science of Us" section published an article earlier this month about the small but growing number of schools and professors who have chosen to ban laptops and smartphones from their classrooms, feeling that the technology is more of a hindrance than a help...
Tactile reading
NPR recently posted a fascinating article about how 3-D printing might change books printed for blind readers—imagine a sculptural version of Goodnight Moon, with the mittens and kitten and everything standing out from the page...
SO. COOL.
The humanitarian group WaterisLife and ad agency DDB have teamed up to promote and distribute a product called The Drinkable Book. Based on the research of Teri Dankovich, The Drinkable Book features...
Smell-o-vision 2.0?
The Guardian recently posted an article about a group of MIT scientists who have created a device that uses temperature controls, lighting, and a "heartbeat and shiver simulator" worked into a fancy... vest... thing(?) to allow readers to share the experiences of a story's protagonist as they read...
Another step forward
See that little bar on the right? The one above the long ad, with the bird on it? Yes, dear readers, today Wordcandy joined Twitter, once again bringing us up to date with the cutting-edge technology of, oh, 2007 or so...
Book cover art for your phone
If you own an iPhone 4 and you're looking for a new case, Nordstrom currently has three "Out of Print" cases inspired by classic book covers on sale: Animal Farm, The Outsiders, and On the Road...
Texting Jane
Following up their Texts from Scarlett O'Hara and Texts from Sweet Valley High posts, The Hairpin has produced a series called Texts from Jane Eyre. They're very Hark! A Vagrant in style...
Unnecessary
I don't know about this iPad cover, guys. It's snazzy-looking, sure, but "BookBook" is a ridiculous name, and "Curl up with a good BookBook" is an even more ridiculous tag line. Plus, $69.99 for a fancy iPad holder? Please.
A tough sell
NPR has posted a helpful article explaining the Justice Department's newly-filed price-fixing suit against Apple Inc. and a large group of publishers, including...
An Austen FarmVille
Are all Legacy Interactive games this irritating? I've been trying to find out more information about the upcoming Facebook game Rogues & Romance (appalling name, I know, but it's based on Jane Austen's novels), but their website sucks....
For all those kindergartners with smartphones...
The creators of the Reading Rainbow television series have partnered with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Holiday House, and Charlesbridge Publishing to create a Reading Rainbow app, due out this spring. Details are still sketchy, but the app will feature an array of titles curated by Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton.
Impressive... but morally wrong
I'm never thrilled when people take real books and transform them into fake books, and it's even worse when the books in question are actually nice. That said, these Book Charging Docks are kind ...
Parenting in a digital age
NPR's "All Tech Considered" blog has an article up featuring a handful of parenting tips about girls and social media from Rachel Simmons, author of the best-selling nonfiction title Odd Girl Out:...
Plus after plus
Finally, some e-book news I'm genuinely excited about: Google has launched an online e-book retail store. Their e-books aren't fancy (no 3-D pictures or dictionary definitions on demand), but the...
Looking to waste some time?
Have I got the iTunes app for you: several "classic" Choose Your Own Adventure titles have been launched recently as interactive reading experiences for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Even as a...
A far, far better thing
I was hanging out in the Vienna airport a few years ago, and was thrilled to discover that they sold packets of gummy bears in the ladies' restrooms. (I don't actually eat gummy worms, being vege...
For serious?
Whoa: the Royal Shakespeare Company has arranged something called Such Tweet Sorrow, a five-week-long event that allows six actors (playing Romeo, Juliet, and four additional characters) to tweet ...
Tempting... but not tempting enough
Barnes & Noble is throwing its hat into the e-book ring with the Nook, a $259 reader with a 7.7 inch screen. It is the first color reader, features 3G Wireless and Wi-Fi, and will work with either...
Foldable-e-readers: gimmicky or cool?
I was reading an Unplggd post about the Readius e-reader, an upcoming e-reader with a newfangled roll-up display. Behold:I don't know anything about these machines (no info on price, etc.), but th...
Picture books for baby techies
Slate is currently featuring a slideshow about the frequently out-of-date portrayal of technology in kids' books.The slideshow introduced me to Sylvia van Ommen's Jellybeans, which kicks off with ...
eBooks GALORE!
Girlebooks.com is a website with a mission: it offers free e-books by female writers, all in an effort to “make classic and lesser-known works by female writers available to a large audience throu...