WebProNews

Tag: Cool

  • Here’s Your Guide To Getting More Out Of LinkedIn Ads

    Here’s Your Guide To Getting More Out Of LinkedIn Ads

    LinkedIn’s Sponsored Updates have been available to all advertisers for two years now. As more and more online marketers look to the professional social network to expand their reach, these are likely to become a bigger part of the marketing mix.

    LinkedIn now has an ebook out looking at “10 Ways to Drive Killer Results with Sponsored Update,” which you can download for free.

    It goes well beyond a list of ten tips to include plenty of data, charts and additional advice. Here’s an example of the kind of stuff you’ll find:

    Screen Shot 2015-08-26 at 4.27.13 PM

    In announcing the ebook, LinkedIn’s Selin Tyler says:

    Content marketing is simple in theory: Professionals love reading good content. Why not create branded content to help them in their buyer’s journey while effectively introducing them to your brand and offerings?

    Because it is such a simple and attractive concept, 98% of B2B marketers say it is core to their marketing strategy. Yet only four in ten think that their efforts are effective. So while the concept is so simple, execution is everything.

    The guide gets into how to tailor your content to your audience, create effective campaigns for conversions, and extend the shelf-life of the content you have.

    Image via LinkedIn

  • The First Successful Penis Transplant Has Occurred

    It took nine hours, but a team of surgeons from Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital in South Africa have completed the world’s first successful penile transplant.

    Well, the team pulled it off in December of 2014. But it’s now being deemed “successful” because a “long-term result was achieved.” The first attempt at a penile transplant happened back in 2006 in China, but the procedure had to be reversed. That makes this transplant the first successful one in history.

    And the patient is doing even better than expected:

    “Our goal was that he would be fully functional at two years and we are very surprised by his rapid recovery,” said Prof André van der Merwe, head of Stellenbosch University’s Division of Uroloy. “It’s a massive breakthrough. We’ve proved that it can be done – we can give someone an organ that is just as good as the one that he had. It was a privilege to be part of this first successful penis transplant in the world.”

    The patient is expected to gain back all urinary and reproductive functions.

    So, what happened to the guy’s original penis?

    Apparently, the 21-year-old had his penis amputated when he developed life-threatening complications from a circumcision.

    “There is a greater need in South Africa for this type of procedure than elsewhere in the world, as many young men lose their penises every year due to complications from traditional circumcision,” explains Van der Merwe. “This is a very serious situation. For a young man of 18 or 19 years the loss of his penis can be deeply traumatic. He doesn’t necessarily have the psychological capability to process this. There are even reports of suicide among these young men.”

    Authorities estimate about 250 similar cases per year in the country.

    Of course, this surgery has implications outside of South Africa. The University says that it could help men who’ve lost their penises from cancer, or as a “last ditch” effort combat erectile disfunction.

    Have fun getting your insurance to cover that.

  • Kindle Finally Lets You and Your Family Share Ebooks

    Amazon told us that it was coming soon, and today is the day. You can finally share ebooks with your family on your Kindle devices.

    Amazon has announced a slew of new features for its Kindle line, and ‘Household and Family Library’ is one of them. This feature lets two adults (you and your partner) share your ebooks across Amazon accounts, and also gives you the ability to manage up to four kids accounts.

    Family Library lets you share across Kindle devices, and even lets you share across Kindle apps on non-Amazon devices. The only drawback is that this only applies to ebooks – not previously-purchased TV shows or movies.

    Though Family Library is the most significant new feature announced today, Amazon also unveiled a few other interesting things. For instance, there’s Word Wise, which aims to help people better understand what they’re reading by displaying simple definitions above difficult words.

    Amazon has also added deeper Goodreads integration and has improved search.

    You can snag the update here.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Launches Kindle Unlimited Service

    Earlier this week, a new Amazon product called Kindle Unlimited was spotted in the wild without any announcement from the company. Now, that announcement has come.

    Kindle Unlimited costs $9.99 a month, and gives customers unlimited access to over 600,000 eBooks and thousands of audiobooks on any device. It’s basically a Netflix for reading (and listening to books).

    “With Kindle Unlimited, you won’t have to think twice before you try a new author or genre—you can just start reading and listening,” said Russ Grandinetti, Senior Vice President, Kindle. “In addition to offering over 600,000 eBooks, Kindle Unlimited is also by far the most cost-effective way to enjoy audiobooks and eBooks together. With thousands of Whispersync for Voice-enabled audiobooks to choose from, you can easily switch between reading and listening to a book, allowing the story to continue even when your eyes are busy. We hope you take advantage of the 30-day free trial and try it for yourself.”

    The service may not offer all the books you’re looking for – just as Netflix doesn’t stream all the movies you’re looking for – but it offers enough popular titles to pique the interest of avid readers. It doesn’t have much of a Stephen King selection, for example, but it has the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter series, Life of Pi, and the DIary of a Wimpy Kid books, to name a few. It does include hundreds of thousands of Kindle exclusives, and thousands of “short-read” ebooks with less than a hundred pages, including Kindle Singles.

    Amazon is offering a free three-month Audible membership to those who sign up for Kindle Unlimited.

    For the company, it’s yet another way to suck people into the broader Amazon ecosystem, which is rapidly expanding with new shopping services, exclusive streaming video, streaming audio, and a new advanced smartphone.

    You can browse Kindle Unlimited’s offerings here.

    Image via Amazon

  • Kindle Unlimited Subscription Service Spotted in the Wild

    Kindle Unlimited Subscription Service Spotted in the Wild

    Before it was quickly removed from Amazon’s pages, some hawk-eyed users spotted a landing page for a service called “Kindle Unlimited” floating about in the wild.

    According to a web cache, Kindle Unlimited will offer over 600,000 titles and “thousands of audiobooks” on any device for $9.99 per month.

    GigaOm also points to an active page with results for a “KU test” which lists 638,416 titles and 7,351 ‘Whispersync for Voice’ titles.

    This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, considering we heard reports last months that Amazon was currently in talks with publishers about a subscription service.

    Of course, Amazon already has a sort-of subscription ebook service – their Kindle Owners Lending Library, which is free for Amazon Prime members.

    The 600,000+ titles available in the Kindle Unlimited test mainly come from Amazon’s own publishing arm and the ones available through the lending library. It doesn’t look like major publishers like HarperCollins or Simon&Schuster have their titles available on the yet-to-be-officially-revealed service, however.

    If Kindle Unlimited does in fact go live, Amazon will at least have a foot in the door with every major form of subscription-based media – movies and TV with Prime Instant Video and Music with the newly-unveiled Prime Music.

    Image via Google cache

  • Microsoft Is Making Its Own Reader App [Rumor]

    When it comes to reading eBooks on a Windows device, you really only have two options – Nook or Kindle. Now it looks like Microsoft wants to finally build a reader app to compete with those two options.

    Gizmodo reports that a new job listing on Microsoft’s site says the company is looking for an engineer to join its Music, Video and Reading team. The same team has already built products like Xbox Music and Xbox Video, and this job listing makes it appear that their next project may be Xbox Reader.

    Here’s the official description:

    As an SDE, you will be on the team building a groundbreaking interactive reading app on Windows, which incorporates books, magazines, and comics. In this position you will be expected to drive, design, and deliver the features that you work on. The ideal candidate will have strong technical skills, the ability to work in a fast-paced and collaborative, cross-discipline team environment, and a passion for digital entertainment.

    While not a confirmation, it certainly looks like Microsoft is working on its own Reader app. It’s a little strange too considering how much money Microsoft previously pumped into Barnes & Noble. In 2012, Microsoft was pushing the Nook app on Windows 8 as part of their investment. Perhaps Microsoft doesn’t see a future for Nook and is working on a replacement in case Barnes & Noble kills Nook. It could also just be the result of Microsoft wanting its users to stick with its products and services on Windows with the trifecta of Xbox Video, Xbox Music and Xbox Reader.

    Whatever the cause – it’s probably safe to say that we’ll be seeing an Xbox Reader app this year. It only makes sense for Microsoft to have its own reading app. After all, both Google and Apple have offered a reading app on their platforms for years now. Microsoft needs to catch up.

    Image via imgur

  • Ebook Readers Still Love to Turn a Real Page

    Ebooks still haven’t killed off print books, just in case you were wondering.

    Years ago, when ebooks and ereaders first began to climb in popularity, a common question was “will ebooks kill print?” Some people thought that we were on the precipice of a revolution – the freedom to never again have to comb through a dusty book in its physical form. No more papercuts, am I right? Of course, there were plenty of voice urging those other voices to hold their horses.

    Well, it’s 2014, and apparently people still love the feel of a real book in their hands – at least according to a new study from Pew.

    From the survey in Pew’s Internet & American Life Project:

    “Though e-books are rising in popularity, print remains the foundation of Americans’ reading habits. Most people who read e-books also read print books, and just 4% of readers are ‘e-book only.’ Audiobook listeners have the most diverse reading habits overall, while fewer print readers consume books in other formats.”

    Takeaway? Readers love to read – in any format. Only 4% of those surveyed have made a complete break with traditional books – a small portion of the 28% of Americans that read an ebook last year (that number is up from 23%, by the way).

    Long live books (of all kind, but especially the ones with pages)!

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Barnes & Noble Offers $5 Credit To All New Nook Owners

    Did you get a Nook for Christmas? Well, Barnes & Noble thanks you for helping to keep its beleaguered tablet business alive for another quarter. As thanks, it wants to give you a little gift before the holidays are officially over.

    Barnes & Noble announced today that all new Nook device owners will get $5 credit which can be used on anything in the store, from books and movies to apps and games. To redeem your credit, you just have to activate your new Nook by setting up an account on the device.

    “Nook tablets and eReaders continue to be big hits with kids and adults who want the best experience for digital content, and we are welcoming all of the new Nook owners with $5 to help get their library started,” said Jim Hilt, Vice President of eBooks at Barnes & Noble. “Barnes & Noble is also offering great post-holiday values on the leading digital content, making now the best time for customers to load their new Nook device with books, magazines, apps, movies and more.”

    To help you buy something with that $5 in credit, Barnes & Noble says that the bestselling Nook titles are half off for a limited time. Some of the books included in the sale are Dan Brown’s Inerno and Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep. In addition to the book sale, Nook customers can also subscribe to two magazines for the price of one. You can find out more here.

    There’s no word on when the $5 credit offer expires, but you might want to pick up a Nook sooner rather than later if you want to take advantage of this admittedly meager offer.

    Image via Barnes & Noble

  • Scientists Use Vodka to Send World’s First Molecular Text Message

    Researchers at York University in Toronto have finally found a good use for vodka.

    Using a simple setup with a spritzer and a receiver, placed apart from one another on a table, they were able to send the world’s first molecular text message. The message was programmed into a series of sprays, and the alcohol was sprayed across the room to a receiver, which determined whether the level of alcohol was increasing, or decreasing. The researchers were able to deliver a simple communication using this rig – O CANADA.

    “In the final part of the paper, we demonstrated a practical molecular communication system capable of transmitting short text messages. Although high transmission rates were not achieved in this work, the transmission rates can be significantly improved by using better fans, more sophisticated protocols and detection algorithms, use of multiple chemicals, use of multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communication, designing better sensors, and using sensor arrays. We leave these for future study,” said the researchers in a research article.

    In other words, it worked – but there’s a lot of improving left to do in order to make this sort of communication reliable. What they have proven is that it is possible, and highly plausible, that future communications could be sent chemically.

    Image via York University, YouTube

  • Amazon Upgrades Whispersync For Voice For Kindle Books, Expands Available Titles

    Amazon announced today that it has launched some upgrades to its Whispersync for Voice technology to make it easier for people reading Kindle books to switch between reading and listening to the Audible audiobook version on a smartphone or tablet.

    For one, they’ve doubled the number of titles that support the technology. They’ve also launched a couple of new features.

    Audible has a new “Matchmaker” feature, which will find titles in the Kindle user’s library that are Whispersync for Voice-enabled, and let users upgrade the books to have narration available with one click. They’ve also made some changes to the checkout process so the technology can be added to purchases with a click.

    There are now over 30,000 titles that are ready to take advantage of Whispersync for Voice. More are being added every day, according to Amazon.

    Audible founder and CEO Donald Katz said, “Whispersync for Voice customers continue to marvel at how this innovation has changed their lives. Some customers love the feature so much that they are now only buying books that are Whispersync for Voice-enabled. Whether commuting to work, driving to a soccer game, taking a road trip, exercising or making dinner, Whispersync for Voice allows people to continue enjoying books even when their eyes are busy, so a great story can continue throughout an active day. It truly is the future of reading.”

    “Whispersync for Voice was invented by Amazon and Audible as a way to insert the myriad intellectual and emotional benefits of books into all available moments of a busy life,” says Amazon, who acquired Audible back in 2008. “To switch back and forth between reading and listening, all you need is a smartphone or tablet. Next time you buy a Kindle book, simply follow the Whispersync for Voice prompt on the purchase page to add the narration and activate the pairing (when available), and your ebook and audiobook will be automatically synchronized. When you stop reading the ebook on your Kindle, you can switch to listening to the corresponding audiobook on your smartphone once you select the title in your library—and the audio will begin wherever you left off in the text.”

    The company points to a recent poll from SodaHead.com, which found that 83% said they wish they had more time to read.

    Image: Audible

  • Amazon’s Kindle MatchBook Is AutoRip For Books

    Early this year, Amazon announced a new service called AutoRip that would give customers the mp3 version of any physical album bought through the retailer. It was only a matter of time before a similar initiative came to its book selling services, and that time is now.

    Amazon announced today a new service called Kindle MatchBook that allows customers who buy a physical book through Amazon to receive the Kindle edition for free or for a reduced price. To be more specific, the Kindle Editions will run you either $2.99, $1.99 or $0.99. It’s also retroactive so any physical book you purchased from Amazon since 1995 will now be available to you in a cheap, digital format.

    “If you logged onto your CompuServe account during the Clinton administration and bought a book like Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus from Amazon, Kindle MatchBook now makes it possible for that purchase—18 years later—to be added to your Kindle library at a very low cost,” said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. “In addition to being a great new benefit for customers, this is an easy choice for publishers and authors who will now be able to earn more from each book they publish.”

    But wait, there’s a catch, isn’t there? Unfortunately, the world of book licensing is a depressing world filled with greedy publishers who would love to charge you the full price twice for both the physical and digital versions of a novel. Amazon hopes this service will change their tune, however, as the retailer is calling on authors and publishers to embrace MatchBook.

    “I love this idea. It’s simple, brilliant, and good for everybody,” said best-selling author Marcus Sakey. “I love to have print books on my shelf, but I love reading my Kindle on the go, and there are plenty of titles I’d like both ways. It’s ridiculous to ask readers to pay full retail twice for the same book.”

    Starting out, Amazon announced that some top notch authors will have their books included as part of MatchBook’s launch, including Ray Bradbury, Michael Crichton, Blake Couch, James Rollins and others. The retailer also notes that any book published through Amazon Publishing will be automatically enrolled in MatchBook.

    Kindle MatchBook will launch at some point in October. Until then, check out Amazon’s landing page for the service to see a small selection of the books that will be made available at launch.

    [Image: Amazon]

  • IKEA Uses Augmented Reality to Show You How Furniture Will Look in Your House

    IKEA Uses Augmented Reality to Show You How Furniture Will Look in Your House

    The new 2014 IKEA catalog app is debuting a new augmented reality feature that lets users see how certain pieces of furniture will look in their homes. All you have to do is scan one of the select item pages, throw your catalog on the floor and use your mobile device to project an image of what it will look like in your space.

    “The 2014 IKEA catalogue gives you the ability to place virtual furniture in your own home with the help of augmented reality. Unlock the feature by scanning selected pages in the 2014 printed IKEA catalogue with the IKEA catalogue application (available for iOS and Android) or by browsing the pages in the digital 2014 IKEA catalogue on your smartphone or tablet. Then simply place the printed IKEA catalogue where you want to put the furniture in your room, choose a product from a selection of the IKEA range and see how it will look in your home!” says IKEA.

    Now this is pretty cool. Check it out in action:

    IKEA first started to experiment with augmented reality with last year’s catalog app, allowing users to unlock expanded content with their devices. But the ability to see products in your living spaces is entirely new for the Swedish furniture company, and it’s sure to make die-hard IKEA fanatics pretty happy.

    You can grab the new 2014 IKEA catalog app on both iOS and Android.

  • The Dept. of the Interior’s Instagram Account Is Awesome, and You Should Follow It

    This isn’t really new news – just a quick reminder. If you’re not following the U.S. Department of the Interior on Instagram, you’re missing out on some truly incredible photography, delivered free of charge to your smartphone every single day.

    The DOI first started posting breathtaking photos on Instagram back in June of last year, and in just over a year the department has posted 671 photos and has amassed nearly 67,000 followers. The DOI, whose stated goal is to “protect America’s great outdoors and power our future,” provides some of the best content available on the photo-sharing site.

    The feed features stunning nature photographs from a variety of photographers, and the DOI has even launched a contest involving its social media feeds. Called the “Share the Experience” photo content, the DOI is looking to find the best photos that showcase America’s public lands. The contest, which kicked off in May and lasts until December 31st, offers a grand prize of $15,000 and a bunch of runner-up prizes as well.

    You need to follow this account, and you can do so here. And while you’re at it, you should probably check out the TSA’s Instagram account, which is not nearly as beautiful but it’s weirdly fascinating in its own right.

    Here’s are some of the best Instagrams from the DOI:

  • Astronaut Luca Parmitano’s Selfie Puts Your Selfies to Shame

    I know that your hair looked super awesome when you decided to snap that selfie in the girl’s bathroom of your local Target. Yes, your face looks super cute – I love the way you pursed your lips. Brilliant.

    But your selfies suck compared to space selfies.

    Luca Parmitano is an Italian astronaut, currently aboard the International Space Station – and he’s just completed a spacewalk. Luckily, we have pictures.

    This is nothing new for Parmitano, who’s been taking photos from his spacewalk for the past 18 hours or so.

    Honestly – space, science, photos, social media…it’s just so damn cool.

  • Judge: Apple Violated Antitrust Law

    The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled on Wednesday that Apple violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by conspiring to raise e-book prices and hurt e-book retailer competition.

    Reuters reports that U.S. District Judge Denise Cote cited “compelling evidence” that the company violated antitrust law and played a “central role” in said conspiracy. Quoting from the decision, Reuters reports:

    “Apple chose to join forces with the publisher defendants to raise e-book prices and equipped them with the means to do so. Without Apple’s orchestration of this conspiracy, it would not have succeeded as it did.”

    Apple, of course, intends to appeal the decision, with a company spokesperson saying:

    “Apple did not conspire to fix e-book pricing. When we introduced the iBookstore in 2010, we gave customers more choice, injecting much needed innovation and competition into the market, breaking Amazon’s monopolistic grip on the publishing industry. We’ve done nothing wrong.”

    Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division made this statement following the ruling:

    “This result is a victory for millions of consumers who choose to read books electronically. After carefully weighing the evidence, the court agreed with the Justice Department and 33 state attorneys general that executives at the highest levels of Apple orchestrated a conspiracy with five major publishers – Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster – to raise e-book prices. Through today’s court decision and previous settlements with five major publishers, consumers are again benefitting from retail price competition and paying less for their e-books.

    “As the department’s litigation team established at trial, Apple executives hoped to ensure that its e-book business would be free from retail price competition, causing consumers throughout the country to pay higher prices for many e-books. The evidence showed that the prices of the conspiring publishers’ e-books increased by an average of 18 percent as a result of the collusive effort led by Apple.

    “Companies cannot ignore the antitrust laws when they believe it is in their economic self-interest to do so. This decision by the court is a critical step in undoing the harm caused by Apple’s illegal actions.

    “I am proud of the outstanding work done by the trial team. The Antitrust Division will continue to vigorously protect competition and enforce the antitrust laws in this important business, and in other industries that affect the everyday lives of consumers.”

    You can read the full decision below (via Jeff John Roberts):

    Cote Ruling in DOJ v Apple

  • Tor UK Finds That DRM May Not Be Necessary After All

    DRM, or digital rights management, isn’t well-liked among consumers. More often than not, it punishes legitimate consumers while doing nothing to stop piracy. Most legacy content industries still insist that DRM is needed to stop piracy, but is it really needed?

    Last year, Tor Books UK went completely DRM free. At the time, the publisher said that it was removing DRM from its e-books because it was a “constant annoyance” to its customers. It also said that DRM prevented customers “from using legitimately purchased e-books in perfectly legal ways, like moving the from one kind of e-reader to another.”

    It’s been a year since Tor Books removed DRM from its products. Did the publisher suddenly see a sharp increase in piracy? Is the company finding that its business is failing because of its move? Will publishers that still insist on DRM look at them and say “Told you so” while sporting a malicious grin?

    In all actuality, none of the above occurred as removing DRM has had no discernable effect on the publisher. Tor UK’s Editorial Director Julie Crisp said just as much in a blog post this week:

    As it is, we’ve seen no discernible increase in piracy on any of our titles, despite them being DRM-free for nearly a year.

    Crisp never outright says that sales increased when Tor UK removed DRM, but she does say that it has endeared readers and authors to the publisher:

    The move has been a hugely positive one for us, it’s helped establish Tor and Tor UK as an imprint that listens to its readers and authors when they approach us with a mutual concern—and for that we’ve gained an amazing amount of support and loyalty from the community.

    Of course, some publishers will argue that Tor’s experience with ditching DRM is the exception. They’ll argue that DRM is necessary to stop piracy, but we already know that DRM does nothing to stop piracy. Instead, in the words of Charles Stross, DRM is a “monopoly” that reduces readers’ freedom while hampering competition.

    Even with Tor’s evidence, DRM will still be used for many years to come. Legacy industries refuse to even entertain the idea that DRM may be negatively affecting legitimate customers opting instead to continue beating the anti-piracy war drums.

    [h/t: TechDirt]

  • The Xbox 360 ‘Achievement Unlocked’ Sound, Visualized

    You spend countless hours seeking it. You do crazy things to obtain it. You play games over and over again for a chance at it.

    It, of course, is the elusive (depending on the game) Xbox 360 achievement. Think about that glorious sound. How it reverberates in your ears – the satisfaction of winning points where everything is made up and the points don’t matter.

    Well, this is how that achievement unlock sound looks like.

    Yes, looks. As Xbox LIVE’s Major Nelson explains, he contracted Born of Sound to make him a “sound-form” based on this special sound. A sound-form is basically a visual representation of sound, specifically how it moves through the atmosphere.

    Now, this is what I’ll see in about 5 more hours when I finally beat Bioshock Infinite in 1999 mode.

    [Major Nelson]

  • Redditor Handcrafts Fallout Monopoly for Incredibly Lucky Wife

    Redditor Handcrafts Fallout Monopoly for Incredibly Lucky Wife

    So, reddit user XsimonbelmontX has made me extremely jealous, as he has created a undeniably awesome Monopoly-like board game based on Fallout. Did I mention it was awesome?

    “I spent about 8 months making this. It is a birthday gift for my wife, who is a huge Fallout fan. It is based on Monopoly, but aside from purchasing properties, collecting rent, and a few other things, the mechanics of the game are completely different,” says user XsimonbelmontX.

    Nuka Cola and Sunset Sarsaparilla caps serve as the currency, with Nuka Cola Quartz worth $1 – all the way up to Sunset Sarsaparilla Star caps being worth $500.

    And here are the seven game tokens:

    The “Chance” and “Community Chest” cards:

    The wife chimed in on the reddit thread, adding this little tidbit:

    “He was working on this for 8 months and I had no idea what it was. He would take people into our music studio to show them and I would piece together the things that I knew and still had no clue!”

    When another user asked if they could marry him if they ever divorced, she responded “I wasn’t planning on it even before this, he’s a keeper!”

    Yeah, dude scored some major points.

    You can check out the whole Imgur album of photos here.

  • Buttercup and Westley’s Plunge into Dry Quicksand, Explained

    Dry quicksand‘s prevalence in nature may be debated, but it has been created by scientists – so it exists. Of course, if you’ve ever watched The Princess Bride or Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, you know dry quicksand’s potentially devastating effects.

    Well, here’s a nice demonstration into the Jenga-like principles behind dry quicksand from geologist Matt Kuchta.

    [Matt Kuchta via BoingBoing]

  • Reagan Daughter’s Lesbian Novel Self-Published on Kindle

    It turns out that not even having a U.S. president for a father can guarantee a publishing contract.

    This week, Patti Davis, born Patricia Reagan, self-published a novel in the Kindle book store. Titled Till Human Voices Wake Us, the book deals with a woman’s lesbian relationship with her sister-in-law. From the book description on Amazon:

    In the empty days after her son’s death, left alone in her grief by her husband, Isabelle Berendon falls in love with the unlikeliest person in the world: her sister-in-law.

    Davis has previously written 8 books, including The Long Goodbye, which chronicled her father’s, Ronald Reagan’s, battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Now that she has penned a fictional novel (and one dealing with lesbianism at that), she states in her author biography that she finds herself in the same boat as other authors who can’t get an offer from a publishing house. However, she is also embracing the self-publishing model that ebooks are making more possible:

    I’ve written a lot about my famous family, the Reagans — maybe this non-autobiographical novel was too much of a departure for publishers to wrap their heads around. But now there is KDP and the room to publish a book yourself. It’s exciting to me — a new era in publishing. Most writers have books they have labored over for years and long to put out into the world. Till Human Voices Wake Us is one of those books.

  • Google Takes You Atop the Tallest Mountains in the World with Insane New Street View Imagery

    Google has taken its Google Maps team to some awesome places to capture some amazing street view imagery. Recent expeditions that come to mind include treks to the Arctic, the Grand Canyon, and under the sea. But this just might be the coolest Street View imagery yet.

    Starting today, you can check out some incredible Street View images from the tops of some of the tallest mountains in the world.

    “Now you can explore some of the most famous mountains on Earth, including Aconcagua (South America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Elbrus (Europe) and Everest Base Camp (Asia) on Google Maps. These mountains belong to the group of peaks known as the Seven Summits—the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. While there’s nothing quite like standing on the mountain, with Google Maps you can instantly transport yourself to the top of these peaks and enjoy the sights without all of the avalanches, rock slides, crevasses, and dangers from altitude and weather that mountaineers face,” says Google.

    Check out Uhuru, which at 19,341 ft. is the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro. Or Russia’s Mount Elbrus and its small encampment of huts made from Soviet-era fuel barrels.

    Seen below is the Aconcagua summit, the highest mountain in South America and the highest point viewable in Street View (22,800 ft):

    This awesome imagery is the work of years of climbing, starting in 2011 with a trip to Everest base camp.

    “This imagery was collected with a simple lightweight tripod and digital camera with a fisheye lens—equipment typically used for our Business Photos program,” says Google’s “lead adventurer” Dan Fredinburg.

    “In every one of these trips you are going up against the elements,” he told The L.A. Times. “In the Everest expedition, a plane crashed similar to the one that we were on to get in, and after that, there was three days of mudslides, snowstorms and then there was the earthquake, which was a 6.9 magnitude earthquake which was absolutely terrifying for everyone who was on the expedition as well as the locals.”

    You can start exploring the World’s Highest Peaks gallery here.