David Rothman, Author at The Digital Reader

How to read ebooks on a $20 cellphone: 72 Tips for the cash-strapped

2 September, 201411 May, 2017e-Reading Hardware, Tips and TricksOne Comment

When I ran across $20 cell phones on Amazon, I couldn't resist buying one to see if I could read e-books on it. Yes, I could—hour after hour. I’ll...

On Tablets, Summer Reading, and Parental Role Models for Young Readers

20 August, 201411 May, 2017Tips and TricksLeave a comment

It’s summer. Is your child reading—one way to guard against a seasonal slump? Oh, and here’s a very much related question. Are you reading? “You are a role model for your children,” writes Dr....

Hip Video Explains All-Digital Library in Bexar County, Texas

24 July, 201412 June, 2017Digital Library, Library eBooks5 Comments

–Read an e-book at home or in the library, or a digital comic or graphic novel. –Maybe even read E to your visiting child if you’re a jailed mother....

‘Close The Libraries And Buy Everyone An Amazon Kindle Unlimited Subscription’ – Forbes

21 July, 201410 May, 2017Kindle (platform), Library eBooks9 Comments

Amazon’s new subscription plan for e-book readers is already ammo for library-haters. Check out this gem in Forbes online. The headline I’ve quoted reflects the precise sentiments of the...

Amazon, please unmute the Kindle Paperwhite: No need for the workaround shown in this video, when TTS chips cost next to nothing!

24 February, 201411 May, 2017Editorials17 Comments

At first glance, the MIT-designed FingerReader shown in this video looks intriguing for people with print-related challenges. But major catches exist, beyond the robotic voice. Using the little text...

Should public libraries give away ebook-friendly tablets to poor people? $38 tablet hints of possibilities

10 January, 201411 May, 2017Digital Library, Editorials14 Comments

Young people love suitable paper books, ideally new, that they can own. Could the same idea work for econo-tablets that public libraries gave away to low-income families—with a big,...

eBooks and Public Libraries vs. Cruise Ship Subsidies in Miami-Dade County, FL

22 December, 201311 May, 2017Digital Library, Library eBooks, TaxesLeave a comment

Jessica Nunez and her family are just the kind of people who could benefit from well-financed physical libraries, paper books, the digital variety, loans of e-readers, and technical support...

New Pew survey helps show need for full-strength digital libraries— especially if we’re to help Hispanics, African-Americans and the poor.

12 December, 201311 May, 2017Digital Library, Library eBooksLeave a comment

Should Pew researchers survey Americans on the need for a national digital library endowment and two separate digital library systems—-one public and one academic? Definitely, if you extrapolate from...

Ouch! Text to speech is also AWOL from THIS year’s Paperwhite from Amazon

3 September, 201325 August, 2015e-Reading Hardware, Editorials6 Comments

Drat! The newest Kindle Paperwhite E Ink reader from Amazon is still missing text to speech—among the very features Jeff Bezos touted when he unveiled the second Kindle in 2009. Doubt me?...

Review: Voice Dream Reader e-reading app

13 May, 201313 May, 2017Reviews4 Comments

A Catch-22 dogs those of us who most often read e-books visually but also want to hear them when we’re exercising or driving. The usual e-bookware doesn’t always come with or...

Saving Barnes & Noble from itself: The DRM angle

6 January, 201310 May, 2017Barnes & Noble, Editorials22 Comments

Here’s a heartfelt suggestion for the besieged people at Barnes & Noble, in the spirit of the recommendations that Joanna Cabot and my other friends at TeleRead have offered:...

Amazon’s zapping of customer’s Kindle library shows why we need library-provided ‘content lockers’ for e-books and perhaps other media

22 October, 201210 May, 2017Amazon, eBookstore7 Comments

What if Amazon wiped out all your Kindle books and refused to let you open another account? I don’t know what if any sins a customer committed, but such...

All-text bold, multiple columns, other capabilities enhance OverDrive’s upgraded library app for iPads, iPhones and Touches

16 October, 20125 May, 2017e-Reading Software4 Comments

For years I’d hoped that OverDrive’s e-book-and-multimedia app for libraries would do all-text bolding. So many library fans have their own wish lists of accessibility features, and full bolding...

Good news for Stanza fans: It apparently works under Apple’s new iOS6

25 September, 201213 May, 2017e-Reading Software11 Comments

Stanza, one of the best e-reading apps around, was brokenwhen Apple upgraded to iOS 5. Amid the uproar from the app’s users, Stanza’s overlords at Amazon tweaked the ePub-capable...

No text to speech in Amazon’s new Paperwhite Kindles: Why? To push us toward Fire tablets and boost Amazon-owned Audible?

7 September, 201210 May, 2017Amazon, Kindle40 Comments

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ballyhooed text to speech in the Kindle 2 in 2009. But guess what’s now missing from the new Paperwhite Kindles even though it’s still present...

Author: David Rothman