MIT Researchers have released a prototype for the FingerReader, a wearable device that assists the visually impaired in accessing printed text. Consisting of a ring the user wears on her/his finger, the FingerReader’s internal camera scans text off a printed page and gives immediate audio feedback – that is, it reads the text out loud. →
Want to read a novel, but don’t have much time? Thanks to the latest technology in mobile reading, now you can – without Cliff’s Notes, and without skipping a single word. Rapid serial visual presentation is a trend among app developers to enhance and streamline the mobile reading experience. The idea is to tweak the →
Earlier this year, Adobe made a shocking announcement: with the July ’14 release of Adobe Digital Editions 3.0, and the attendant upgrade to its Digital Rights Management (DRM) encryption system, the majority of e-reader applications will no longer be able to read purchased eBooks. In layman’s terms, this means that the digital bookshelf you have →
As the immigrant population swells in the United States, the number of Americans growing up with English as a Second Language (ESL) has increased as well. While some debate whether one can be considered American if they do not speak the nation’s official language, the reality remains that in some U.S. public schools, over 40% →
OBS intern Oliver notes that: “In the near future, custom publishing may run only skin-deep. In light of Apple’s recent introduction of Touch ID, a fingerprint scanner to the iPhone 5S, it could soon become possible to receive any amount of pre-packaged, personalized information everywhere you go at no more than the push of a →
“BioBibliometrics.” Sounds almost holy, doesn’t it? It’s a useful new word to describe the impending nuptials of content and reader that’s starting to be possible thanks to Near Field Communications (NFC)-enabled smartphones, a development that promises to do away with clunky old encumbrances of yesterday such as usernames, passwords, credit cards, and bookshelves. I am →
From the downward spiral of ebook prices to the major content grab of digital giants such as Amazon, Apple, and Google, the writer as we know it is seriously threatened. In a letter released by the Authors Guild, an advocate for writers’ interests in effective copyright protection, fair contracts and free expression, bestselling novelist Richard →
At first glance, the OBS Archives Site appears to be an outdated list of hyperlinks with layout and formatting reminiscent of the early 1990s. At that time, Mosaic browsers and hyperlinks were completely reforming our ideas about creating and sharing information. The Internet was just entering into the public consciousness. The world was changing, and →
Ever stop to wonder what’s behind the current Yoga craze? It seems like the number of practitioners has been growing by some 20% a year in the USA; “Statistics Brain” tells us that $27 billion was spent on Yoga products in the USA alone in the last year. It might be interesting to correlate the →
When the Library of Congress published a free edition of Jefferson’s Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress, Ralph Eubanks, former Director of Publishing at the Library, noted in his introduction Most important, this free, electronic book fulfills Thomas Jefferson’s belief in universal education. “…Enlighten the people generally,” he urged, “and tyranny and →