Free Agatha Christie E-Reader

The Agatha Christie E-Reader

Download a free 100+ page Agatha Christie ebook sampler for Adobe Reader, Microsoft Reader, or Palm Reader ebook software.

The e-reader includes plot summaries for every Poirot and Miss Marple mystery, as well as excerpts from The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Body in the Library, and They Came to Baghdad.

Available for Palm Reader, MS Reader, and Adobe.

Here's a direct link to the palm version:

http://www.harpercollins.com/rd-eb/powells/palm/0060595051

IP Justice on DCMA Exemptions

Here's Robin Gross' take on the Fair Use Exemptions to the DCMA: "Unfortunately, the ruling leaves the vast majority of consumers unable to access their own property, such as skipping commercials on DVDs, playing CDs in their PCs, and reading eBooks on PDA’s without violating the DMCA."

Read the whole opinion at http://www.ipjustice.org/102803.shtml

DCMA Fair Use Exemptions

TeleRead has some interesting information on the just promulgated Fair Use Exemptions to the DCMA.

Fictionwise eBooks: Blood Canticle: The Vampire Chronicles [Secure Mobipocket/Microsoft Reader/Palm Reader/Adobe Reader] by Anne Rice

Are you an Anne Rice fan? Fictionwise has a 50% Micropay rebate on top of the 15% Horror thru Halloween discount. You end up getting the new book pretty cheap.

Oxford American Desk Dictionary and Thesaurus

Looking for a good dictionary for your Palm? Handmark has a 25% off sale on the Oxford American Dictionary:

"Special Offer from Handmark

Oxford American Desk Dictionary and Thesaurus combines two indispensable language tools.
Get both for the price of one; definitions and related words together in one entry!

Enter coupon code OADDT25 to save 25%!
Offer expires 11/23/03"

Microsoft Reader Free Books

This week's books are up:

Balance of Power
by Richard North Patterson

How to Find Hidden Real Estate Bargains
by Robert Irwin

The Gathering Storm
by Winston Churchill

PerfectBound Ebook Discounts

What's the story on these newsletter coupon codes from Palm Digital Media et al? Are they supposed to be a way to bring in customers or a secret?

Anyway, from the latest PerfectBound Newsletter:

"Through October 31, enter coupon code HARVEST at checkout to get an extra 10% off your entire purchase at the PerfectBound e-book store."

Free Fonts for Palm Reader Pro

Here's something I just learned - tho everyone else may have known it for years:

You can use any bitmapped Palm font with Palm Reader Pro, not just the wildly expensive, 3 fonts for $15 Agfa Font Pack sold by Palm Digital Media.

These bitmapped fonts are the free ones often used with FontHack123 (not FontBucket - as far as I know). You do NOT need to have FontHack installed or activated to use the fonts. Just install the fonts via HotSync and then choose the one you want to use from the Font list within Palm Reader Pro.

You can find literally hundreds of free fonts for the Palm. Try some of the Alpha Font collection to start
or the fonts at FreewarePalm (use your pop-up killer)
or Lubak's very elegant collection

Because you don't need FontHack, these fonts will also run on OS5 Palms. I've experimented a bit with my new T3 - and I'm not sure that Palm Reader Pro with FontHack fonts is 100% stable on OS5 - so proceed with caution. So far, all I needed was a soft reset, but you never know...

Fictionwise October Sale

"Throughout October, all Horror eBooks are on sale at Fictionwise (unencrypted 'MultiFormat' eBooks are discounted 30% and encrypted 'Secure' eBooks are discounted 15%). "

This week's free MS Reader Books are available

lost boy lost girl
by Peter Straub

The Vor Game
by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book
by Dan Poynter

At least you won't have to uninstall the reader and reactivate a new, screwed up version again this week.

Meanwhile, the clock's ticking on ConvertLit. If you want to find out more about it, or just find it, check out PocketPC Ebook Watch or TeleRead

Microsoft Reader Free Books

It looks like Microsoft may be keeping last week's long delayed ebooks on-line for another week.

Blindfold
by Kevin J. Anderson

An American Tragedy
by Theodore Dreiser

Death Watch
by Elizabeth Forrest

Are any of these worth another round of activation? Sheesh.

Interview with Winston Smith

TeleRead has a very interesting interview with "Winston Smith," one of the authors of ConvertLit.

If you are an MS Reader user, you've probably been cursing the latest demand that you register your reader (again) and activate your reader (again) to get the latest free books -- and possibly lose access to your other MS Reader books (again). Microsoft's copy protection software (DRM = Digital Rights Management) is a real pain in the butt for consumers.

Winston Smith, Dan Jackson, and the rest of the ConvertLit crowd have been making it possible for the legitimate owners of MS Reader ebooks to back up their books. This isn't about piracy. This is about who owns the books you buy. You may not agree with "Winston Smith." But the interview is definitely woth a read.

http://www.teleread.org/blog/2003_10_05_archive.html#106580155841919611

Disheartening News at Palm Digital Media?

Publishers Weekly has a worrisome story about the effect of PalmGear's purchase of Palm Digital Media on PDM's content and selection. Here's the relevant paragraph:

"The sale of Palm Digital Media, the e-book retail Web site of the maker of Palm handheld devices, to PalmGear, a company that sells other Palm OS applications, in early September has led to the departure of PDM’s founding managers and spurred concern that the new owner is arbitarily removing or concealing titles that deal with sex or are aimed at gay and lesbian readers."

Sheesh ... I remember when PalmGear removed an inocuous app, called something like GayDar, from their site several years ago. If you pointed your Palm at someone, it would tell you whether they were gay or not. If I recall correctly, everyone was gay. Except apparently Kenny and the boys at PalmGear.

Let's hope they wise up.

Meanwhile, keep those bookmarks for Fictionwise and Powell's at the top of your list.

This weeks' free ebooks from Microsoft:

"This week's free Microsoft Reader eBook titles are not currently available. Please check back with us in a few days. We regret this inconvenience. Thank you for your continued interest in Microsoft Reader.
The Microsoft Reader Team"

This is getting old fast. The quality of the books has been slipping, too. And where's that Tony Hillerman novel they promised?

Sony CLIÉ® News Issue 008

The latest Clie newsletter from Sony has a nice Palm Digital Media book bundle.
4 separate & complete novels for $1.00

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
A Certain Justice by P.D. James
A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams

Not bad!

http://www.pdabuzz.com/clienews/news/index.html#pdm