A Reading Voice

Jessie Atkin posted a blog on Digital Landing. Read about the new scanner than can read text and turn it into an mp3.

Scanners are incredible, color photos, signatures, articles, all can be duplicated. Yet, can a scanner go beyond the visual? Beyond saving a file to creating one? The answer is yes.

The Book Reader V100 is up and running and ready to create MP3 files out of the written word. It’s a simple and silent way to create your own books on tape. I can’t say anything about how nice the digital voice will be to the ears, but it’s a start. Think of the possibilities? Get me a scanner that can copy my comics into video files and then you’ll really have something :) .

Sofa Boy–A Cautionary Tale

Chris McGinn posted a new blog on Digital Landing! Read about the cute little story of the boy who couldn't set the controller down.

Sofa Boy book illustration

Video game veteran Scott Langteau, best known for his work with the Medal of Honor game series, has a new children’s book featuring “Sofa Boy,” an overzealous young gamer who takes his obsession to new levels.

The following description sums up the tale:

Sofa Boy invites readers into the living room of an average family. But this family’s son has a bigger than average obsession with videogames. Sitting from daybreak to dark on the family sofa, the boy will not stop his gaming and TV gazing to play outside, have dinner, take a bath, or go to bed. He is - quite literally - consumed with sitting on the couch. Penned with a clever rhyme scheme and accompanied by captivating illustrations, Sofa Boy encourages moderation in gaming habits, by showing the fantastical fate of one boy (and one cat!) who wouldn’t put the controller down.

This would make a great night-time read for the little gamer in your life.

Available from Amazon and other retailers. Sofa Boy ($14.95) ISBN: 978-0-615-25125-7

Kindle 2

Chris McGinn posted a blog up on Digital Landing. Read about the newer version of Kindle, the way to read books without lugging about books.

Amazon has announced the newest member of the Kindle family.

The Kindle 2 is sleeker and lighter but has a stronger battery. The Amazon homepage touts it as being thinner than a magazine and lighter than a paperback. It also can operate for two weeks on a single charge.

The Kindle 2 can also store 1,500 titles and with its text-to-speech feature it can even read it to you.

You can download more than 230,000 different titles to the Kindle 2, including more than 100 books on the NYT best seller list. Amazon says their goal is to have every book ever written available for download.

The new device will be available Feb. 24, 2009 and they are now accepting preorders. Price is $359.

If you already own a Kindle, you can get first priority if you place your order by midnight PST tonight (Feb. 10).

I’ve been a little skeptical in the past, but this new version is very enticing. See Amazon’s site for complete details. I never thought I would really be able to make the switch, but I can begin to see the appeal.

Book Glutton takes reading online

Chris McGinn posted a blog up on Digital Landing. Learn about how you can read books and other literature online.

If you aren’t ready for Amazon’s Kindle, but you want to see what online book reading is all about try out Book Glutton. (Found via Geek Sugar)

Now, in some ways there is no comparison as Kindle is its own dedicated device, but the Book Glutton site is an interesting option for those who don’t want to carry books or additional equipment with them.

You can read public-domain works (like all the classics and thousands of other things) via their reader. In addition, you can comment and read what others are saying page by page. If you have your own group, you can have a “virtual book club.” If you prefer, you can also read in private.

The site is currently in beta with additional features and more contemporary works in the plans. For now, it is a nice way to find public-domain works in a readable format. It also could work well for your kids who are online anyway so they could at least be reading a good book! Many English teacher favorites are on the site. You might recommend it to your child’s English teacher as an alternative to the “reader-response” notebooks we are all so found of assigning. Integrating technology in the classroom is a great way to get kids engaged.