Kindle Books on Linux

Amazon Kindle 3 and Kindle DX Review and News Blog: "As of recently it is possible to run Kindle for PC application via Wine on Linux. I tested it on 64-bit install of Ubuntu 10.10 and put together this step-by-step instructions and a short review. Enjoy! ... "

Nook Color Gets Hacked Again, Now Runs Ubuntu Linux

Elizabeth Fish, PC World: "CES certainly didn’t put the XDA Developers forum users off from their usual tinkering. Ever since first getting jailbroken, the Nook Color has had plenty of hacker’s attention, mainly getting Android and Angry Birds (and then potentially blowing up). Now, hackers have moved their focus from Android to Ubuntu Linux. ... "

Barnes & Noble to Upgrade Nook Color with Android 2.2 in Early 2011

Techlogg.com: "Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color has already been hacked to handle Linux but it looks as though the book retailer plans a modification of its own. According to a report on Digitimes.com, the Nook Color will receive an upgrade early in 2011 to receive Google’s Android 2.2 operating system. The color e-book reader, manufactured by Invantec, is expected to hit one million units shipped by the end of 2011 according to the report. The operating system upgrade will firmly push the Nook Color into tablet PC territory ... "

Sigil eBook Editor = Well Worth a Try

After several weeks of experimenting and kicking the tires, I really must recommend the Sigil eBook editor. Check it out.

• Free and open source software under GPLv3
• Multi-platform: runs on Windows, Linux and Mac
• Full Unicode support: everything you see in Sigil is in UTF-16
• Full EPUB spec support
• WYSIWYG editing
• Multiple Views: Book View, Code View and Split View
• Metadata editor with full support for all possible metadata entries (more than 200) with full descriptions for each
• Table Of Contents editor
• Multi-level TOC support
• Book View fully supports the display of any XHTML document possible under the OPS spec
• SVG support
• Basic XPGT support
• Advanced automatic conversion of all imported documents to Unicode
• Currently imports TXT, HTML and EPUB files; more will be added with time
• Embedded HTML Tidy; all imported documents are thoroughly cleaned; changing views cleans the document so no matter how much you screw up your code, it will fix it (usually)
• An actually usable user interface
• Native C++ application

Linux e-Readers are Evolving into Android-Tablets - Computerworld Blogs

Computerworld Blogs: "Sources at Amazon tell me that the company will indeed produce a mass-market Android tablet. I can't tell you its size, pricing, when it's expected to ship, or anything else of substance. The one thing I do know is that, like the Kindle, it will run Linux with a Java-based interface. In short, this new tablet Kindle, let's call it 'KinTablet,' will run Android. Amazon developers are already working on an app store for this new device. Based on the wording of the developer agreement, I suspect Amazon might even launch the KinTablet in time for the 2010 holiday season. We already know that Barnes & Noble is releasing their Nook take on a tablet, the Nook Color, on Nov. 19. Anybody want to bet me that Amazon will announce their next step Kindle on the same day or the day before? Will these hurt iPad sales? I doubt it."

Inbound from South Korea - LG and iRiver Partner on an eReader for the American Market

The American version of the iRiver "Story" will supposedly be on sale in about a year. The current Story - distributed in Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, China and Russia - is a fairly robust device with a price just under $300. The dedicated eReader can handle all essential eBook formats, runs Linux (despite some blog posts and press reports to the contrary), and features a 6 inch E-ink screen. It will be interesting to see what design changes happen, since iRiver and LG must realize they'll have to up the specs (and lower the price) considerably in order to even have a chance against Kindle, Nook etc. The ghost of iRex is watching. Read more in the Wall Street Journal's "Digits" blog. Note that the Journal gets the Story's operating system wrong, claiming it runs Windows. It doesn't.