books

Orbino is single-handedly trying to prove that there are better ways to design a MacBook Air case than the much-copied inter-office envelope look. Only a few months ago the Italian designer came out with its "Arista" series of bags for Apple's runway-model-thin laptop, and now it's introducing yet another case.

The "Aria" seeks to complement its beauty with brawn, made from both premium leather and "sculpted anodized aluminum frame." (There's apparently something about aircraft-grade aluminum that goes hand in hand with luxury products.)

It's a form-fitting case that hugs the … Read more

As a longtime fan of e-books (I used to read them on my PDA; now I read 'em on my smartphone), I've been waiting for a good deal so I could spread the word. Fictionwise answered the call: The Web-based e-bookstore is offering three complete Stephen King novels for free. Yes, there's a catch, but it's not hard to swallow.

Here's how it works: First, you create a Micropay account, which is basically a debit account into which you deposit funds from your credit card or PayPal. Next, you buy Carrie, Night Shift, and/or The … Read more

comScore has done a wonderful job. Of marketing comScore results.

If the Internet abacus company sees its readings suggest a significant conclusion, it releases the information in an interesting and digestible form.

However, I understand that both comScore and its frats-in-stats at Nielsen Online are having their audits audited by the Interactive Advertising Bureau after mlb.com declared that Nielsen Online's score for its site of 6 million was a "conScore." The real figure, according to mlb.com, was actually 19 million. (the results of the audit's audit are due at the end of this year.)… Read more

If you're not one of the cool kids with a Kindle, the good news is that paper books are still quite popular and less likely to be taken at gunpoint by muggers. The sad truth is that browsing through them on the Web is not nearly as fun as loitering in a bookstore (or on the Kindle), which is why Zoomii was created.

Zoomii is a virtual bookstore with simple bookshelves that highlight Amazon.com's massive collection. It's set up to work just like Google Maps. You can zoom in and out, and simply drag your mouse … Read more

If you're still mystified about the ins and outs of HD content and hardware, or know someone who is, we were both surprised and impressed by this semi-snarky PDF coloring book on the topic (which we first saw on The Consumerist).

Despite the ironic hipster tone (the narrator is a hippo in a dress), there's actually some good, simplified information in the project--created by the guy behind the kids' product review blog NonToxicReviews.com.

Heidi, the HD Hippo, explains the difference between SD and HD, asking readers to, "Take your crayon and draw 480 dots inside this … Read more

Western Digital today added a new member to its My Book line of external hard drives. The My Book Mirror Edition is a USB-only, dual-drive unit with RAID 1 redundancy. The 1TB model costs $290, and the 2TB model costs $550. With your data mirrored on both drives, your total storage space is half the stated capacity. The My Book Mirror can be configured with RAID 0, should you want to make use of the full capacity of each drive.

The My Book Mirror's two hard drives are replaceable--no tools required. The drives feature Western Digital's GreenPower technology, … Read more

It's nice to see that someone is showing a little originality when it comes to cases for the MacBook Air. Until now we thought all of them would be some form of the inter-office envelope look, with the only variation being the occasional cowhide option.

Granted, Vaja's "Ivolution Leather Suit" does take the bovine route as well, but it's distinctly different from other models in some basic ways. Namely, it's meant to stay on at all times, hugging its charge like a wetsuit while allowing it to breathe through mesh vents sewn into the … Read more

A new solar panel kit for the MacBook Air will both charge and power the laptop at the same time.

QuickerTek, a Wichita, Kansas-based company that sells accessories for Apple devices, calls its new portable solar power gadget the Apple Juicz MacBook Air Solar Charger.

The Juicz comes in three size and power options and has a one-year warranty, QuickerTek said Tuesday. As usual with solar energy, all that "free" power is going to cost you.

The smallest 19-watt Apple Juicz, which takes 14 hours to recharge the laptop, will sell for $500; the 8-hour, 29-watt model is $… Read more

Correction on June 13: The spelling of Johnathan Nightingale has been fixed.

On Wednesday, Mozilla announced next Tuesday, June 17, as "Download Day" for Firefox 3. The company also released Firefox 3 release candidate 3 as a final step toward full release.

With Firefox 3, Mozilla is attempting to set a Guinness Book of World Records for the largest number of software downloads within a 24-hour period. There is currently no Guinness Book record for that accomplishment.

Firefox 3 includes a new rendering engine, so pages load faster. It also uses fewer system resources, addressing a complaint in … Read more