Learncrest Blog

Author Archives: blueZhift

Generation e

By blueZhift | January 17th, 2014

When I started collecting books many many moons ago, I always imagined passing them down to my kids to read and enjoy. Books were, and still are, among my most prized personal possessions. And perhaps if I had been born a century or two earlier, this scenario would have played out as planned. Instead, as […]

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Apple Loses US Anti-trust Case

By blueZhift | July 10th, 2013

United States District Judge Denise Cote has ruled that Apple did indeed conspire with a group of book publishers in order to eliminate competition and set ebook prices higher, and force Amazon to do the same. This ruling came as no surprise to legal experts following the trial. And given that all of the publishers in […]

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Pour One Out For JManga

By blueZhift | May 30th, 2013

I’m pouring one out for JManga. Today, May 30, 2013 is the last day of the service before its complete shutdown. Can’t really say why exactly it failed. I’ve read elsewhere that even its most popular titles only sold in the hundreds of copies. And I’ve read speculation that the marketing was not as good […]

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eManga Revamp Brings Mature Manga to the Tablet

By blueZhift | January 19th, 2013

In the early days of eBooks, I marveled at the abundance of yaoi manga titles on the Amazon Kindle. And I wondered when more mainstream manga would make its appearance there and on other tablets. I did not have very long to wait before the collapse of large bookstore chains like Borders, coupled with the […]

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eBooks for Young Readers of Color

By blueZhift | December 6th, 2012

A couple of days ago, I had another one of those “You need to read more!” talks with my youngest son and daughter. The surest way to build vocabulary is to read, read, READ. The competition to enter selective enrollment programs in the Chicago area is tough. One cannot afford to leave any points on […]

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Kore Wa JManga Android App Desu Ka?

By blueZhift | October 10th, 2012

Is this the JManga Android app? I was greeted with the news of the release of the JManga Android app in the morning email and eagerly clicked through. And, now armed with the Android powered Nexus 7, I was looking forward to taking the new app for a test drive. Instead, I encountered a page […]

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Nexus 7 First Impressions

By blueZhift | October 2nd, 2012

My Nexus 7 arrived yesterday and after a night setting up and playing with it, here are some first impressions of Google’s 7 inch tablet. First off, it feels pretty good in my hands. It’s solid, but doesn’t have the dense heavy feel that my wife’s Nook Color has. And its compact size is perfect […]

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And The eBook Prices Came A Tumbling Down

By blueZhift | September 11th, 2012

When I started looking for some new iOS programming books for my Kindle last week, it wasn’t something I was looking forward to. The last time I had engaged in such a search, I was frustrated by the high cost of these books even in digital format. This time I was in for a surprise. […]

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I’m Melting! I’m Melting! The Slow Death of Printer Sales

By blueZhift | August 7th, 2012

CNET News reports that printer sales are declining in the face of the rising popularity of digital alternatives. As smartphones and tablets become the devices of choice for displaying what one might once have printed on paper, both printer and paper sales are in decline. I think that with the 7 inch tablet form factor […]

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Otakon Prep: OMG Kawaii Desu! Coming to the Nook Family

By blueZhift | July 25th, 2012

In a few hours I’ll be traveling to Otakon, so what better way to prepare than publishing OMG Kawaii Desu!: A parent’s guide to anime, manga, and cosplay on the Nook family of readers and tablets. If all goes well it will be available for purchase in a few days. So stay tuned! Update: Now […]

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