Kit and book offers electronics for beginners

When my son was much younger, he expressed an interest in learning about electronics and I thought I had a great solution. I ordered one of the DIY kits advertised in the back of a magazine that promised a project that would be fun and easy.

It turned out to be neither and we both quickly lost our enthusiasm.

I suspect that things would have been much different if Charles Platt would have been around. Platt writes books for electronics hobbyists that are aimed at the complete novice. Platt's latest book is Easy Electronics, a book that includes projects so simple that Platt says you don't even need a screwdriver.

Of course, readers will need a few component items to create the experiments in Platt's book. A company called ProTech Trader has put together a collection of items specifically to match Platt's projects. And, it offers the kit bundled with Platt's book on Amazon.

The book and kit bundle costs $49.99 or you can buy just the component pack for $41.99. For more details, check out the ProTech Trader website.

By: Ric Manning On 12/06/2017

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Plugging into online book clubs

Reading a good book? People are talking about it over at Goodreads.

While the book chatter can be lively at Barnes & Noble's website and a few others, none of them can match the action at Goodreads. It's a book-lover's playground that boasts 25 million members, 29 million reviews and 20,000 book clubs.

With more of us reading books on Kindles, Nooks and computer tablets, we're making fewer visits to bookstores and libraries. But that's no reason to stop sharing opinions about the our favorite books and our latest reads. In fact, the Internet makes it easier to join a book club, meet other book lovers and even borrow books from people we don't know.

Online book clubs are blooming with dozens of discussions groups, reader guides, author information and connections to brands and celebrity sponsors.

The best-known book club is the one talk show host Oprah Winfrey launched in 1996 when the Internet was still in its infancy. Oprah selected a book each month for viewers to read and discuss and often followed with an interview with the author.

Today, the club has evolved into a section on Oprah's website where readers can read author profiles and interviews and download special ebook versions of here selections from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks and other sources. The Oprah ebooks are special editions that have Oprah's notes and comments in highlighted text.

Other clubs are hosted by The Wall Street Journal and NBC's Today Show. In the Journal's club, authors select a book by another author, then host a live discussion on Twitter and Facebook. One of the first events featured Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, talking about Hilary Mantel's historical novel Wolf Hall.

The Today Show's club puts authors online for a live chat in a Google Hangout. One of Today's first guests was Nancy Horan, who discussed her second novel, Under The Wide and Starry Sky.

Authors also make frequent appearances at the Barnes & Noble Book Club where the forums are divided among different genres such as Mystery, Romance and Fantasy. The most active areas include Teen Reads and the Harry Potter section, each with more than 50,000 posts.

While the book chatter can be lively at B&N and a few other sites, none of them can match the action at Goodreads, a book-lover's playground that boasts 25 million members, 29 million reviews and 20,000 book clubs. If you can't find one that fits your interests, you can start a new one. Someone out there shares your love of memoirs by punk rock stars from the 70s.

Goodreads connects to Facebook, so you can see what your friends are reading. It also lets you build lists of books you have read or want to read and a feature that will analyze your reading habits and offer books that you might like.

Can't afford to buy all the books on your list? Some ebook sellers, including Amazon, have a loaner program that lets you borrow or loan ebooks for a couple of weeks if their contract with the author allows it. You can pass a book around to members of a discussion group or use the website Lendl.me to connect with strangers who make their ebook library available for loans. The service only works with Kindle books and it tries to balance borrowers and lenders. The more books you make available to lend, the more you are allowed to borrow.

By: Ric Manning On 6/20/2017

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Publishers for your book are only one click away

The publishing industry is littered with tales of successful authors who spent their own money to publish their first books. You've heard of John Grisham? After 28 rejections, he paid to publish 5,000 copies of his first novel, "A Time To Kill."

Irma Bombauer used her life savings to publish "The Joy of Cooking," which would go on to become perhaps the most popular cookbook ever. And James Redfield sold copies of "The Celestine Prophecy" from the trunk of his car before it was acquired by a major publisher and became a best seller.

Self-publishing is a time-honored route for first-time authors to get their books out to the public. But it's also an expensive route, at least it was before the arrival of the Internet and a host of on-demand publishing services that have made self-publishing far more affordable and convenient.

Services like Blurb, Diggypod, CreateSpace, and Outskirts Press offer a wide range of publishing services for authors who think they have the next best-selling novel or for ordinary folks who want to create a photo album, a family history, or mom's recipe collection.

While online services are accessible to anyone and can accommodate almost any book project, don't expect them to be cheap or painless. In most cases, you will be doing all of the editing, photography and page design work. And plan to pay at least $15 per copy for even the smallest books.

My first self-published book was the story of a Southern ancestor's time in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. I had written a narrative that blended family accounts, military records, and historical sources and I collected photos from Civil War archives and my own battlefield visits.

To turn the story into a book, I chose Blurb, one of the more popular online publishing services. Blurb provides a free program called Booksmart to handle page layout and design chores. The software lets you choose from among several templates for the book and for individual pages.

After a few hours of tweaking, I had a pleasing layout for a 26-page book and a nice cover. From there, it was a simple matter of clicking the "Publish" button to send my project to Blurb. My finished book arrived about a week later.

Blurb's prices depend on the style of book and number of copies that you choose. For example, you could get 50 copies of a 200-page paperback book in the larger trade format for a little less than $200. My book of text and photos, printed on photo paper with a soft cover, cost about $25 for one copy. For a few dollars more, I ordered an ebook formatted for the iPad and a PDF version, which can be viewed on most computers and tablets.

People turn to self-publishing services to print books on a wide range of topics such as photo albums, how-to books, and genealogy reports as well as novels and books for children. Books that might have a broader interest beyond friends and family members can be offered for sale through a personal online store or through Amazon.com. And who knows? Lightning might strike. Not long ago Amazon announced that 27 of its top 100 Kindle books came from self-published authors.

By: Ric Manning On 5/29/2017

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Author tackles migraines with research and personal experience

There’s a good chance you know someone who suffers from migraine headaches. The Migraine Research Foundation says 36 million people - more than 10 percent of the US population and 1 out of 4 households - are affected by migraines. 

Jory Anick was one of those sufferers. When Anick became too sick to sit in front of a computer and was unable to find relief through conventional medicine, he launched his own research project. He examined toxicology journals and explored the effects of different foods, particularly minerals and fatty acids.

The result of Anick’s work was a significant improvement in his health, the end of debilitating headaches and a book called bodygarage: The Minerals, Migraine, Sinusitis & Digestion Solution Book that could help others understand and conquer similar issues.

The book is an interesting read for anyone seeking help with migraines as well as individuals looking for a healthier lifestyle. Anick begins with his personal journey to find relief from severe, debilitating migraines and how he took control of his toxic condition, his diet and health when medical professionals could not help. 

His effort to find a solution led him through a complex testing process that created a need for custom software. His results are documented in the book, along with extensive illustrations of steps to good health. 

One of the things I did not know was that heavy metals toxicity is a common contributor to migraines. According to Anick, you can detect the toxicity that causes migraine through a simple test, and can clean your toxic condition with supplements and a temporary change in diet.

He also describes the importance of minerals in the human body, and how today's diet is deficient. He goes on to describe foods with good minerals such as a wide variety of spices. 

The book also comes as an iOS app that makes the text available on an iPhone or iPad. The app puts Anick’s advice and his recipes close at hand in a portable format. He also provides a log that helps readers through a process of testing nutritional deficiencies, detoxification, and a new way of cooking for improved health. 

The recipes include photos and illustrations to help clarify the written descriptions and mineral content is listed with each recipe. His appendices include a shopping list, a To-Do list and a directory of recommended products and suppliers. 

Anick's advice could be especially welcome for people who work in electronic manufacturing environments, where they are exposed to industrial pollutants. And the people I know who suffer from migraines are eager to try almost any reasonable and practical approach to end the pain and take them to a productive life. This book looks like a good place to start.

bodygarage: The Minerals, Migraine, Sinusitis & Digestion Solution Book is available in app format for $14.95 in the iTunes App Store and as a Kindle book for $9.99 in the Amazon Kindle Store where it is published in five languages. For a closer look at the book and Anick's work, check out the video below and his blog.

By: Ric Manning On 7/05/2015

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Abby Stokes takes the mystery out of personal tech

Raise your hand if teaching your mom to use her new smartphone was a delightful and pleasant experience. 

That’s what I thought.  

Maybe you should direct mom to Abby Stokes. She’s made a career out of helping older people embrace and enjoy new technology.

“Look, anyone over 40 is a digital immigrant,” she told me. “We didn’t grow up with computers. We all need a little help.”

And Stokes is happy to fill that role with her books and training workshops at libraries, clubs and senior centers and her website, AskAbbyStokes.com. By her count, she’s helped more than a quarter million people step over the digital divide.

The third edition of her book Is This Thing On? was released this spring. It carries the subtitle: “A Friendly Guide to Everything Digital for Newbies, Technophobes and the Kicking & Screaming.”

And kick and scream they do. Stokes’ mother resisted learning about computers for many years. “She has a super-curious mind. Learning the computer didn’t interest her, but finding information did,” Stokes said. “That’s what I key into with my groups. They don’t need to know anything about the technology, they need to know the steps to get the answers they want.”

Older adults also know that technology can bring them closer to friends and family members. A weekly video session with the grandchildren is a good example. And Stokes said the young people will be more engaged if there’s a family project involved.

“You have to lure them in,” said she. “Send them some questions in advance, instead of just asking how they are doing. Get a photo of their dad when he was 11 or 12 and ask them what he might have been thinking about at that age.” Another session could be an interview with questions about family history that the children could record for a genealogy project.

In addition to computer basics, Stokes devotes large portions of her book and workshops to tablets, smart phones and social media. Learning the basics of photo sharing and the shorthand of text messaging helps older users connect with young people.

Her audience also is intrigued but cautious about social media, what Stokes calls “the green beans of the Internet.” They know it’s could be good for them, but they’re reluctant to try it. “I ask them who thinks this is all a bunch of hooey and all the hands go up,” she said.

Part of their worry, she said, is fear that Facebook in particular will suck them in and dominate their time. “They get the power of it,” she said. “But once they hear that they don’t have to say yes to every invitation on Facebook and that they don’t have to share everything or anything, ever, that opens them up.”

Feel like you’re getting stuck on Facebook? Stokes says get out a kitchen timer and set it for 40 minutes, then go off and do something else. Worried about scams? Use the “front door test.” And, if it sounds like something you wouldn’t let past your front door at home, don’t do it online.

“If you’re not stupid, you’re not going to be stupid online,” said says.

By: Ric Manning On 5/06/2015

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New book details tools of the cyber spies

When notorious leaker Edward Snowden spilled the beans about NSA surveillance techniques, he told us what we all suspected, that the government, including lower-level contract employees like Snowden, have easy access to our phone calls and email.

What I didn't know until recently is that it's also a fairly simple process to discover information about individuals by automatically sifting through the mountains of data available on Facebook, Twitter and other public channels. It's called open-source intelligence, or OSINT.

Government agencies and even private enterprises anywhere in the world can buy technology that will collect, store, digest and analyze that torrent of open-source content an often do it in real time. And that technology is getting better and faster all the time. That's what I learned while working on a new book with author Stephen E. Arnold, an expert in search technology and a long-time colleague.

CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access, which we published last week, details how new computer systems can collect, analyze and perhaps even take action on information gathered from public data streams. If you thought the Twitterverse was such a massive haystack that nobody could find a needle, you would be mistaken.

Government security agencies use next-generation systems to find relationships between people, places and events and information that might signal terrorist activities. Law-enforcement organizations use the systems for similar investigations. They might plot connections within an organized-crime enterprise, for example, or a drug ring. And the systems could also turn up juicy tidbits about celebrities. Or about me. Or you.

In the book, we profile more than 20 companies that sell software and hardware to clients in government and private business around the world. Some are big-name players like Autonomy (owned by Hewlett-Packard), British Aerospace, i2 (owned by IBM) and Palantir, which was referenced in Mark Bowden's book as a key player in the the hunt for Osama Bin Ladin. Some are small startups with names like Haystax and ZeroFOX. And some are based outside the US,  in Sweden, Great Britain, Italy and even China.

With the new technology, investigators no longer have to enter search terms and phrases Google-style to track a person or an organization. That's all done automatically, based on parameters that the user enters. The information that comes back can lead to fast action: a satellite scan, a terrain map or a target location for electronic monitoring or intrusion. It's not far-fetched to imagine a computer autonomously ordering up a drone strike.

If that scenario sounds intriguing, you'll want to check out Arnold's book. Here's the press release that we distributed. This page at Xenky.com has a link to download a sample version of the book that includes the table of contents, a list of all the companies that we profile, a chapter on automatic translation technology and one of our profiles.

And here's my interview with Steve:

By: Ric Manning On 1/31/2015

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Where to download free audiobooks

I enjoy listening to an audiobook as much as I do reading the printed version. And, apparently, I'm not alone. While sales of printed books have declined in recent years, audiobooks are more popular than ever, especially digital downloads, which saw sales jump 29 percent in 2012.

We know that a book on tape or CD can be an antidote for the boredom of a long car trip. In a survey by the Audio Publishers Association, consumers also said listening to audiobooks is relaxing and a good way to multi-task. An audio performance can also make some books more interesting, especially when the book has a talented narrator. Meryl Streep, for example, reads Colm Toibin's novel The Testament of Mary. Nicole Kidman, Dustin Hoffman and Kate Winslet have also recorded audiobooks.

Audiobooks tend to be more expensive than printed versions or ebooks, perhaps because publishers sometimes hire Oscar winners as narrators. At Amazon, the audio CD of Laura Hillebrand's Unbroken costs almost $27. That’s about $12 more than the paperback version and almost four times as much as the Kindle ebook. Audiobooks that are downloaded can be slightly cheaper and are more versatile. With a digital book on your smartphone or music player, you can listen while you're working out, cleaning the house, or walking the dog.

Two of the largest audiobook services offer access to the latest novels and non-fiction titles on a subscription basis. Audible, an Amazon subsidiary, has a library of more than 150,000 books and spoken-word products. Members who pay a monthly fee of $14.95 can download one new book every month. Audiobooks.com offers the same deal: $14.95 for one book per month. Both services provide free Apple and Android apps that play book files on smartphones or tablets.

For readers who aren't ready to commit to a book a month or $179 a year, there are other less expensive sources. Librivox and The Gutenberg Project [http://www.gutenberg.org/] both have large collections of free MP3 audio versions of public domain books by Poe, Twain, Austen or Shakespeare and others. Librivox uses volunteers who read different chapters, so the quality of the narration can vary. Gutenberg's audio library includes books recorded by humans and books read by computer-generated voices.

For more modern fare with better production values, see if your local library has an affiliation with OverDrive, a company that has more than a million ebooks and audiobooks that can be borrowed through public libraries. Enter your ZIP code here to find a library in your area. With a library member number, you can browse and download books from the Web or use OverDrive's free apps for Apple, Android or Windows devices.

OverDrive’s collection includes many newer titles, including The Hunger Games, Life of Pi and mysteries by Patricia Cornwell and Janet Evanovich. But you won't find all the titles at all libraries. Each library has a limit on how many titles and copies it can offer, so you may have to get on a waiting list for a popular book. Most titles can be borrowed for two weeks before they have to be released or extended. If that's not enough time to finish a book, the OverDrive app lets you vary the reading speed, up to double time, without altering the pitch.

By: Ric Manning On 4/15/2014

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Book review: My New iPad

All I wanted was a simple task: drag and drop some digital photos from my Windows PC to my iPad. I had done it with videos and iTunes, but I got stalled trying to do the same with still pictures. I decided to consult the iPad manual but then I remembered - Apple didn't give me one.

Instead, I got the bad news from a handy independent guide: My New iPad, the 3rd edition of Wallace Wang's user guide published by No Starch Press ($13.61 at amazon.com). The book has a quick and cogent explanation of how to use iTunes to sync photos from designated directories on your desktop computer. There's no explanation of the drag-and-drop process because it can't be done; Apple doesn't allow it.

The book covers the things that iPads can do with just enough detail to get you feeling comfortable. The chapters are packed with color screen shots and each segments starts by showing you the icons for the apps or functions that you'll be using. Along with the basics, Wang explains more esoteric features like the four-finger gesture and how to customize Spotlight, a search option that I didn't know existed.

Wang doesn't go beyond the iPad basics. You won't learn how to link the Contacts app to Google's contacts or how to use add-on devices like Apple camera connection plug. But My new iPad is a solid resource for new arrivals or anyone who wants to learn more about their device.

Get more details about the book or download a free chapter in PDF format at the No Starch Press website.

By: Ric Manning On 6/26/2012

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Book helps teens build games for mobiles

I still remember how proud and excited I was after I saw a simple program I had written run on my Apple ][ computer. I discovered that programming is not black magic and that it can be fun and rewarding.

Author Clayton Crooks captures that spirit in his book iPhone Game Development for Teens. It a project-based guide for beginners who want to create the next hit mobile game or just learn skills that could prove useful in the future.

The popularity of gaming on the iPhone and other mobile platforms has opened a new avenue for individual programmers. While most console games written for the Xbox or PS3 are created by buildings full of coders while many mobile games are written by a single person. And the iTunes App store provides an easy way to market and promote the game.

Crooks’ book covers topics such as graphics and sound effects. And while it’s aimed at the iOS platform, the tools and concepts apply to other platforms as well. The book can be ordered online at Amazon.

By: Ric Manning On 3/26/2012

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