[Update: This contest is now closed, and the winner is melvynadam. Thank you for participating, we'll have more give-aways starting soon!]

Don’t have time to read? Then it’s time for Simply Audiobooks! North America’s largest audio book retailer with over 22,000 titles for sale, rent or download.

Simply Audiobooks is a service which allows you to rent up to four audio book CDs at a time, as many times in a month as you would like. They have over 22,000 titles, so your odds of finding something you’ll enjoy should be pretty good. They also offer a “prepaid rental option, enabling subscribers to pay up front for a full year’s worth of audio listening.  Plans are cancelable at any time, with refunds prorated at the discounted rate.

Last month I posted about the Simply Audiobooks service, and now they have offered to sponsor a fab giveaway. The prize is what they are calling the “Cure Your Commute” package, and it includes ten audiobooks (a $200 value).

This contest is open to readers in North America (US & Canada). You can win by simply posting a comment naming the last good book you read - extra consideration will be given to those entries which explain why you enjoyed it so much.

One winner will be chosen, and the contest will close Sunday, June 1 at midnight.

Punch in this week’s Promo Code HUGESALE to receive a 25% discount off any eBook that you purchase at eReader.com. Offer good through June 1, 2008 on all eBooks. This discount cannot be used with any other special offers.

eReader’s parent company may be eight, but before all the name and ownership changes, they were simply Peanut Press. I bought my first book from Peanut on November 7, 1998, and I have purchased 503 since then. We will not add up the grand total for how much I have spent there, because I honestly do not want to know.

Never let it be said that there is not enough time to read, and never let it be said that carrying a book is a hassle; as long as we have PDAs and Smartphones, I’ll be trying to read off of their screens. Since 1998, other readers have come along, but to this day eReader remains my favorite. You had better believe that I will be taking advantage of this sale.

Link: eReader Storewide Anniversary Sale - 25% off - use code HUGESALE at checkout

If you commute, travel a lot, or just don’t have time to read - but you do like to keep up with your favorite authors, then I’ll bet that you discovered audio books a long time ago. If you’ve ever purchased them, then you also know how pricey they can be. But have you ever considered renting them? Did you know that you could? Well, you can…

Simply Audiobooks is a service which allows you to rent up to four audio book CDs at a time, as many times in a month as you would like. They have over 22,000 titles, so your odds of finding something you’ll enjoy should be pretty good. They also offer a “prepaid rental option, enabling subscribers to pay up front for a full year’s worth of audio listening.  Plans are cancelable at any time, with refunds prorated at the discounted rate.

Continue Reading

I placed an Amazon Kindle order on March 15, 2008. Wednesday I received notice that it was shipping (about one month from order to delivery). It should be here today. Watch for feedback as this device gets passed around the Geardiary offices. And, yeah, I was (and still am) doubtful that a non-backlit screen is going to work well. So - why’d I buy? I’m looking for a way to avoid storing the many books and magazines that I purchase. It’s been two years since I subscribed to a newspaper in large part because I felt that I was wasting paper by collecting and disposing of 3 daily newspapers. I’m not opposed to paying for good content. I am also intrigued by the Kindle’s ability to subscribe wirelessly to newspapers, magazines and blogs. More updates this weekend after I have a chance to set it up. PS: The Amazon site has changed the product status for the Kindle to “Expected to be in stock on April 24, 2008. Order it now. Ships and sold by Amazon.com” - I take this to mean they will have fulfilled all backorders by that date and the Kindle will be available for same day shipping.

I’m a big fan of ebooks. Unfortunately, they haven’t really lived up to their potential yet. As a fan - I’ve been watching the release of the Kindle closely. In some ways, it feels like it has to succeed if ebooks have any chance of becoming more than a niche market. I really want to buy a Kindle, but I need decent backlighting and I’d prefer a color screen first. The fact that’s it’s based on Sprint service is unfortunate since their coverage in my part of the world is terrible, but all that aside, the Kindle has always struck me as a cool idea that I hope is successful.

So today I browse over to the Amazon.com website and I’m greeted not to the usual Amazon.com opening page, but rather one that contains a big apology from Jeff Bezos to people who’ve been patiently waiting for shipment of their Kindle.

Continue Reading

Once again, we invite you to eavesdrop on our email conversations…

Wayne: R.I.P. … the Internet slays another print publication…

Mitchell: I was a subscriber to PC World for about 5 years, and then I realised that I was paying for a magazine with content that I had read weeks earlier on the internet.

It really is inevitable I suppose, tech magazines just can’t stay ahead of the game with online news sites getting information out hours after release. They have to wait a whole month…

Clinton: This is the same problem that many tech magazines face. Granted, most have a much smaller circulation than PC World, but the net result is the same: very few subscribers but a massive uptick in online “subscribers”. Amongst us Gear Diary types, I’d be shocked if many of these magazines were still printing this time next year.

Mitchell: Yeah I have the same thought each time I receive various magazines I have subscribed to, they just feel out of date. They have to know the end is coming as well.

Continue Reading

“Dear Frustrated Windows User,

Want to make my blood boil? Just tell me that someday, in the not-too-distant future, my refrigerator will include a computer that alerts me when I’m low on milk. Just tell me that someday my microwave oven will feature a computer that “senses” what’s inside and cooks it accordingly. Just tell me that someday my car will include a computer that lets it repair itself by “downloading” some kind of software off the Internet.

The crazy thing is that there are scientists and engineers actually working on these kinds of pie-in-the-sky ideas. Don’t these eggheads know that our regular computers are still too hard to use and are still too unreliable? Why can’t they work on fixing that?

So want to make my heart sing? Just tell me that someday, in the not-too-distant future, Microsoft will release a version of Windows that’s truly simple to use; a version of Windows that doesn’t make everyday tasks as easy as herding cats; a version of Windows that doesn’t crash if you happen to breathe out through both nostrils at once; a version of Windows that, in other words, doesn’t make otherwise-smart people[md]people who know how much milk they have in the fridge�feel like complete idiots.

Until that day comes, we have to content ourselves with trying to live with the Windows we have. And that’s why I wrote The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Windows Vista. My aim is to show you that although Windows Vista can be downright ornery at times, anyone with the regular complement of gray matter can soothe the savage Windows beast. No, you’re no idiot. In fact, you’re smart enough to know that there must be an easier way to get things done. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Windows Vista will show you how.

Happy computing!”

So reads the inside cover of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Microsoft Windows Vista by� Paul McFedries, and what follows is a user’s manual of sorts for those that are truly left befuddled at the thought of attempting to learn the ins and outs of the newest Windows operating system.

Continue Reading

If you read my intro to eBooks, you’ll know that I’m a big eBook fan. So I was really excited to get a look at the new Sony Reader, a dedicated eBook reader that uses the (new! revolutionary!) e-ink technology.

Look, I don’t know how revolutionary the e-ink technology is, honestly. I’ve been in the online doc game for a long time, and I’ve heard proselytizers try to sell me on e-ink, and I’ve never been very convinced. Maybe sometime, when they’ve got it working in color, and they’ve gotten it to be a little brighter, and you can use it to display moving images, then I’ll get worked up. But in the meantime, I have to admit that I’m in favor of regular screens. Sorry, e-ink aficionados; best to know my prejudices up front.

But still, I was excited when I opened that Sony Reader box. Here’s the specs of the Sony Reader:

• 6.9″ x 4.9″ x 0.5″ (175.6mm x 123.6mm x 13.8mm)
• 8.8 oz (250g) without the leatherette cover
• 6″, 800×600 SVGA display (4-level grey-scale)
• 64MB internal memory
• SD card slot
• USB plug
• 3.5mm headphone jack

Here’s the reader inside it’s leatherette “case” with the cover closed:

Continue Reading

Soon I will be lucky enough to review Sony’s Reader, an eBook reader by Sony.� But before I do and give y’all a review, I thought it might be nice to give folks a brief overview of eBooks, both on devoted devices and PDAs.

I’ve been in the online documentation game for a long time.� A long time.� I was writing online doc back in 1991, before the Web even got going, back when Acrobat wasn’t even a twinkle in Adobe’s eye.� So I have some pretty (ahem) strong views on online doc, eBooks, eBook readers, and what makes for a happy online reading experience.� And before I foist my opinions of the Sony Reader on you (and hopefully other eReaders, like the upcoming WordsGear, by Panasonic–sorry; Panasonic doesn’t have an English version out yet), I thought you might like a brief overview of the whole eBook/eReader deal.

Or maybe not.� In which case, move along!
I love eBooks. For one thing, while I don’t do a lot of travelling, I do enough so that it’s nice to have a big ol’ library of books handy on a pocketable gizmo that’s the size of (or smaller than) a paperback that I can take on a plane. If it can double as a game platform and/or a PDA, hey, so much the better. For another thing, being able to read in bed without having to juggle a booklight is a wonderful thing.

Continue Reading