reader

B&N reportedly to 'move away' from making Nook hardware

The Nook hasn't worked out as Barnes & Noble had hoped, reportedly leading executives at the bookseller to rethink its hardware strategy.

The bookseller, which acknowledged last month that Nook segment sales for the holidays were much lower than expected, will "move away" from building its own hardware to a strategy that focuses on licensing content to third-party developers, sources tell The New York Times.

"They are not completely getting out of the hardware business, but they are going to lean a lot more on the comprehensive digital catalog of content," said an unidentified person … Read more

Adobe patches critical security flaws in Reader, Acrobat

Adobe has issued a patch to plug up critical security holes in its Reader and Acrobat software.

Released yesterday, the security updates address flaws that could cause the applications to crash and potentially let an attacker gain control of an infected computer. Adobe confirmed last week that the exploits have already led to some targeted attacks against vulnerable systems.

The patches are directed toward the following products and versions:

Adobe Reader XI (11.0.01 and earlier) for Windows and Macintosh Adobe Reader X (10.1.5 and earlier) for Windows and Macintosh Adobe Reader 9.5.3 and earlier … Read more

Use grid layout for Google Reader in Chrome

Google Reader isn't known for its beauty. The user interface is very similar to Gmail, except with fewer bells and whistles. The spacious gaps between columns and menu items can sometimes be more distracting than helpful.

As an alternative to viewing Google Reader in list or expanded mode, there's a Chrome extension that can transform it into a grid of stories. Installing and configuring the extension is quick and easy, so let's get started:

Step 1: Install a copy of Grid Preview for Google Reader for your Chrome Web browser.

Step 2: Head to Google Reader in … Read more

View and edit PDFs with Altarsoft's free PDF Reader

Individuals, small business owners, and others who need to use PDFs often find themselves between a rock and a hard place; the PDF tools they need are just too expensive. Fortunately, more and more freeware alternatives are putting good, basic PDF utilities in the hands of such users before they're forced to pay big bucks for big-box programs. Altarsoft's PDF Reader is a fine example. It's not a full-fledged PDF solution; it doesn't create PDFs, for instance, but it does display and edit them. It's not flashy; it's just a free tool for viewing … Read more

Barnes & Noble Nook business to sink deeper this year

The Nook business ain't what it used to be.

Barnes & Noble announced yesterday that it expects a higher loss from its Nook business for fiscal 2013, which ends in April. The company didn't reveal specific numbers, but its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) showed a loss of $262 million for fiscal 2012.

B&N expects overall annual sales from the entire Nook Media business to be less than $3 billion. The Nook business itself includes the tablet, an e-book reader, accessories, and digital content such as books and movies. The Nook Media business … Read more

Adobe confirms targeted attacks due to security hole in Reader

A zero-day security flaw in Adobe Reader and Acrobat is being exploited through a series of targeted attacks against vulnerable computers, Adobe Systems said yesterday.

In a security bulletin, Adobe confirmed that the vulnerabilities could cause Reader and Acrobat to crash, potentially opening the door for an attacker to gain control of the system.

"Adobe is aware of reports that these vulnerabilities are being exploited in the wild in targeted attacks designed to trick Windows users into clicking on a malicious PDF file delivered in an email message," the company revealed in the bulletin.

Adobe said it's … Read more

Google Reader goes haywire for many users

Sometime over the weekend users of Google's RSS feed reader started issuing complaints on the Google Reader forum: "my feeds don't mark as read," "reader subscription and folders mysteriously reverted back to old settings," "feeds keep refreshing," and "my subscriptions keep disappearing."

Apparently, a number of users experienced sporadic service with their accounts, while others remained unaffected.

Google did not respond to user comments until this morning when it said it was looking into the problems. The delay in response caused panic in some users. One desperate person took to … Read more

The Audiophiliac wants to see your audio system

If you have a state-of-the-art high-end system, or a tricked out iPod speaker, we'd love to see it. Take an interesting picture of your headphones, Bluetooth speaker, turntable, home theater, or whatever you have. If you built your own speakers or amp, that's right up my alley!

Send JPEGs (not huge files) to theaudiophiliac (at) hotmail (dot) com. Of course, anyone submitting should be comfortable with the photos being publicly posted online "forever after." Please include your name (first name and first initial of your last name). And if you're up for it, tell us … Read more

How to check your Facebook notifications with Google Reader

There are many ways to check your Facebook notifications throughout the day. You might use push notifications from your mobile app or perhaps you simply go to Facebook's Web site and see if you have any new notifications.

Another way to check Facebook notifications is to use an RSS reader, like Google Reader. If you're already in Google Reader for most of the day checking your news updates, adding your Facebook notifications might make sense. Here's how:

Step 1: Go to https://www.facebook.com/notifications and make sure you're logged in to your Facebook account.… Read more

Get a Kobo Mini e-reader for $59.99

Tablets are great and all, but if you're mostly into reading, it's hard to beat an e-reader. Eye-friendly screens, ultra-light designs, amazing battery life -- the perks go on and on.

And let's not forget price. Amazon's entry-level Kindle is now down to $69. But here's an even more wallet-friendly option: Best Buy has the Kobo Mini e-reader for $59.99 shipped (plus sales tax). That's for the white model; the black one literally sold out while I was writing this post.

So that's only a $10 difference, right? And when you factor … Read more