Computing for literary sneaks: a laptop concealed in a book

Boing Boing:

“
Is Kyle Bean’s
laptop design our age’s equivalent of a pistol hidden in a bible? The
answer is “No,” but I still prefer the idea of it being a violence
facilitator for literary ninjas, rather than yet another comment on the
changing nature of media in an increasingly virtual world.

Next: in the thick of battle, the villain springs onto a table to
grab what briefly appears to be an ornamental wall-mounted axe, but
finds himself wielding a slimline iPod dock.”

The Future of Books [Yanko]

Plot of New Neal Stephenson Novel Revealed [Anathem]

i09:

“We’ve heard rumors about Neal “Snowcrash” Stephenson’s new novel, but nothing more concrete than that it would be called Anathem
and it would be a space opera about math and aliens. That would mark a
real departure for the novelist, who has dealt only with human
histories and futures in his previous works like The Diamond Age, Snowcrash, and Cryptonomicon. Now Lev Grossman, Time magazine’s nerd correspondent, has more details about the plot of Anathem.

Grossman says he’s received a notice from the publisher with this catalog copy about the book:

Since childhood, Raz has lived behind the walls of a
3,400-year-old monastery, a sanctuary for scientists, philosophers, and
mathematicians—sealed off from the illiterate, irrational,
unpredictable “saecular” world that is plagued by recurring cycles of
booms and busts, world wars and climate change. Until the day that a
higher power, driven by fear, decides that only these cloistered
scholars have the abilities to avert an impending catastrophe. And, one
by one, Raz and his cohorts are summoned forth without warning into the
Unknown.

A little bit Ender’s Game, a little bit Name of the Rose? You know, that is sort of the perfect combination for Stephenson. But where are the aliens? And the space opera?”

The Return of Stephenson [Nerdworld]

Podcast of Ted Chiang’s THE MERCHANT AND THE ALCHEMIST’S GATE

Boing Boing: “Starship Sofa has made Ted Chiang’s marvelous arabesque time
travel story ‘The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate’ available as a
podcast.”

Oh yes, thank you very much. I brake for Ted Chiang stories — hell, I’d stop, drop and roll for a chance to read one.

MP3 Link, Text of the story

Find Books You’ll Love at BookLamp

Click the Lifehacker link right below this sentence to see the video demo, or just go to the website and have some fun…very cool…

Lifehacker: “Web site BookLamp analyzes books by writing style, recommending new
books you might liked based on how closely they match your previously
loved reads, very similar to how music web site Pandora suggests new
music you may like based on style.

Do
you like Stephen King’s It, but thought it was too long? The technology
behind BookLamp allows you to find books that are written with a
similar tone, tense, perspective, action level, description level, and
dialog level, while at the same time allowing you to specify details
like… half the length.

The video above demonstrates the technology behind BookLamp, and
while the service is still rather young and currently has a limited
selection (it’s still in beta), it seems to have potential. If you give
it a look, let’s hear how well it does matching your tastes in the
comments.”

BookLamp

Free audiobook of Stross’s Heinlein-meets-Wodehouse science fiction novella “Trunk and Disorderly”

Boing Boing: “Subterranean Press has produced a free MP3 audiobook of Charlie Stross’s comic science fiction novella “Trunk and Disorderly.”

Charles Stross is damned funny, both in person and on the page. You’ll
have to take my word on the first count. As to the second, here’s a P.
G. Wodehouse meets Robert A. Heinlein as filtered through Mr. Stross’s
sensibilities. In other words, it’s funny and indescribable as hell,
and probably my favorite story this year.”

LINK 

(via Charlie Stross)

E-book concept combines leather and multi-touch

Now this i like…still need a color screen for graphic novels tho…

Engadget:

“It’s likely that the Kindle’s popularity
is going to spawn a whole slew of e-books vying for the eyes of
readers. A concept from a student named Nedzad Mujcinovic at Monash
University could very well stoke the fires of competition if his Livre
ever makes it to store shelves. The system uses an e-ink screen
overlaid with a touch surface, thus forgoing the multitudinous buttons
of the Kindle for an ultra-simple, gesture-based input scheme. Pages
can be turned by sliding your finger from corner to corner, though
double- and triple-finger gestures will advance the book by ten and 50
pages, respectively. Most notable for real book fans is the inclusion
of a leather stitched cover, meant to evoke the look and feel of the
device’s analog counterpart. Amazon’s designers would be wise to, uh… take a page from Nedzad’s book for the Kindle 2.”

Bookshelf Staircase

Neatorama:

“Tom Sloan at Levitate Architects came up with a neat solution to a storage problem in this London Victorian apartment:

We created a ’secret’ staircase, hidden from the
main reception room, to access a new loft bedroom lit by roof lights.
Limited by space, we melded the idea of a staircase with our client’s
desire for a library to form a ‘library staircase’ in which English oak
stair treads and shelves are both completely lined with books.

Apartment Therapy has the story and photos: LINK

The Book Lamp

Neatorama:

“Dutch design company Studiomeiboom gives a new meaning to book
light. Their white plexiglass “book” lamp, cleverly shaped like a heavy
tome, is named The Enlightenment in honor of the intellectual movement
of the 18th century.

If you’d like to lighten your room (and lighten your wallet as well), here is the: Link - via Aqueos”

Amazon adds Audible to its digital empire

Amazon’s been making some interesting moves as of late…

Engadget:

“Amazon just announced an agreement to acquire Audible Inc. The move,
once approved by the Feds and shareholders, leaves Audible.com’s 80,000
strong library of audiobooks, radio programs, newspapers, and such in
the hands of Amazon. Funny how a company built on a foundation of paper
now finds itself knee deep in digital music, books, video and even devices. The $300 Million deal is expected to conclude by Q2, 2008.”

Gaiman’s Cthulu/Sherlock mashup “Study in Emerald” — free audio

Boing Boing: “HarperCollins has released a free MP3 of Neil Gaiman reading his Hugo-
and Locus-winning story “A Study in Emerald,” which mashes up Sherlock
Holmes and Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos — a story that transcends mere
gimmick and is poignant, and engrossing. I first heard Gaiman’s reading
of the story in the audiobook edition of Gaiman’s excellent collection Fragile Things and had to pull over to give it my full concentration. Gaiman’s a great reader and an even better writer.

Link,  MP3 Link