Companies are scrambling and in the next year we are going to see a variety of e-reader and tablet devices being released for our consumption!  E-readers, iPad, tablets.  The choices can overwhelm!

First let’s talk e-readers.

The big three are Amazon’s Kindle, the Sony Reader and Barnes and Noble’s Nook.  Each manages to have a unique feature or two that sets them apart from the other two, although as the manufacturers come out with new models their uniqueness will begin to disappear and your decision will be more about the access to books.  An example of this is the Sony Reader’s touch screen.  It is only a matter of time before Kindle catches up and has a touch screen of it’s own.  The touch screen allows you to easily flip pages without pushing a button.

All three use E-ink brand of e-paper display.  This is very different than a computer screen and if you are a voracious reader, this might be the number one reason to stick with an e-reader over a tablet which has an LCD screen.  All three are capable of storing plenty of books ; but,  Sony and Nook offer an expansion slot for SD memory cards.

Kindle:  Kindle is Amazon’s baby and supposedly the number one e-reader in sales though that’s hard to confirm because Amazon refuses to release sales information regarding the Kindle.  The Kindle is proprietary meaning that the files it can read are it’s own.  You are basically limited to reading what Amazon sells.  You can read PDF but they have to be converted using a third party software.    Kindle does not support the ebook standard EPUB.   Amazon offers apps for PCs, iphone/ipad, Blackberry.  This device is wireless and has rudimentary web surfing.

Sony Reader:  SR has a touch screen, the ability to take notes, play mp3, store books on the device or on a memory card and supports EPUB, the ebook standard.  Not wireless.  No web surfing though this is probably coming in the future for the Reader.

Nook:  Barnes and Noble claims that you have access to over 1 million titles with the Nook which is more than 2 times the other readers.  The trick is that many of those titles is through Google Books which would include public domain titles.   Nook is wireless, has an expansion slot and although does not have a touch screen it does have a touch pad.

All three are compatible in battery life which is excellent.  If they all begin offering color screens, this will change.  Battery life is another big advantage over a tablet or a smart phone.

Tablets:  ipad, numerous tablets by Dell, Toshiba, Samsung are here or coming soon.  They have apps from Amazon or some other reader software so that you can read EPUB, PDF, Amazon’s proprietary files and Mobi.  They are also mini computers and you can use them to surf the web, download apps for gaming, productivity, entertainment, etc.  The Dell Streak line of tablets with the smallest checking in at 5 inches will be smart phone/tablet hybrids and their success or failure could determine the path other manufacturers take.

ListenNJ  is a program we participate in that allows you to “borrow” 5 ebooks at a time for 10 days.

Click on the link below for instructions on how to use ListenNJ to download ebooks.

ebooks ht

Well.  Twitter is social.  Twitter is a conversation with one or more people.  Twitter is helpful.  Twitter is a way to share information and/or compare notes.  Twitter is addictive.  Twitter is annoying.  Twitter is being used in classrooms for students to share responses,  ideas and opinions while the teacher is lecturing.  Twitter is being used as a virtual water cooler for colleagues who are not at the same work sight.  Twitter is used to spread gossip.  Twitter is used to share news.  Twitter is a way for regular citizens to become reporters.  Twitter is a way to post a job or find a job.    Twitter is a way to network with other people in your industry.  Twitter is a way to campaign for votes.  Twitter is a way for you to connect with customers.  Twitter is a way for you to monitor traffic before your morning commute.

Twitter is many things to many people.  Come find out what it might mean to you.

April 14th, 7pm, Middletown Public Library: 55 New Monmouth Rd., Middletown, NJ

I’ve been tossing around the idea of buying a different car this summer.  I want something that gets better gas mileage; yet, still  meets my needs for space.  Purchasing a new or used car is a complex problem.  For some of us, MPG is important.  Sometimes, we need to be able to fit a certain number of people in the car comfortably.  Maybe you are a person who enjoys long road trips and have requirements about roominess, comfortableness of seating, and road noise.  Perhaps, image is important and you want your vehicle to reflect your values whether that means purchasing a hybrid to show your concern for the environment or a two seater convertible to reflect your affinity for sportiness and pleasure trips.

I’m not even sure I’m going to embark on this process; but, I have started looking around for resources to help me in my decision making.

Not much beats Consumer Reports reliability tests for a good starting place for the used car buyer.  I have never bought a new car and I always start with CR because I have found that those reliability reports on used vehicles are pretty reliable themselves!

We have these resources available in the library and you can access full text Consumer Reports through our subscription database, Ebsco by going to our website, mtpl.org and clicking on “Do Research” which takes you to a listing of all of the wonderful databases we have.

The Consumer Reports website is useful; but, they keep the best stuff locked down and only available to subscribers.  I saw one interesting, free article on there while browsing:  How to Spot a Lemon.

There are also a few other websites that are interesting to check out when researching a car purchase.

MotorMouths This is a newer website; but, I like how they have aggregated professional reviews on different models and you can sort by make, model, style, price, score and mpg.

Craiglist Car Buying Firefox Add-On This handy add-on for FireFox users who are car shopping on Craigslist shows users average car prices, reviews, and reliability reports, all without ever leaving Craigslist.

JD Power has always been a great source of information on cars.  Their Buyers Guides are great  resources for browsing.

Kelly Blue Book is more than just a great place to check prices.  Their website is chock full of articles and reviews.

Edmunds.com; Car and Driver; Cars.com:   All of these sites are pretty good.  I sometimes find them “busy” or just too much visually going on, which makes them harder to navigate.  But, if you have a few hours to kill they are great places to surf for car info.

IIHS is the place to go for safety reports.

Fuel Economy information can be found here at the United States Department of Energy.

Car Price Vault:  I have not spent too much time on here; but, it seems like a great idea and another benefit of the power of the crowd.  Real people reporting real, actual prices they paid for new cars.

I hope these resources help you get started on the research you need to do in order to be an informed consumer.  Car buying is a major expense and I’m always a little shocked when friends or family buy a car without doing any research before hand.  Do your research!  You’ll be happier in the long run.  In fact, when I think about all the cars I’ve had in my life, my favorites are two cars I researched extensively before purchasing.

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