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Books written by Ray Sullivan

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Has Microsoft Got Apple Rattled?

The release of the new Surface tablets, especially the Surface Pro, seems to have started a bit of a measured round of verbal tennis between Apple and Microsoft.  The fact that the rhetoric is restrained indicates that they are playing a serious game here.

Apple are talking up the iPad Air and are touting an Office-like clone that will run on the iPad.  That has to be a way forward and takes the iPad out of the serious toy world into real productivity arena.  Like Microsoft or loathe them, they've forced this agenda.  I've been saying for the last two years that the lack of productive uses for tablet computers has been the elephant in the boardroom.  Sure there's a lot of serious applications for the likes of the iPad and its Android cousins, but until Microsoft launched the Surface earlier this year complete with the ability to run Microsoft Office and to connect to a secure network (for the Pro version anyway), the elephant roamed unchallenged.

But the tablets that Microsoft have launched, along with similar hybrid devices based on Windows 8 by other manufacturers, have changed the game.  Although the RT version of the Surface seems to have stalled, it still represents an amazing amount of productivity for very little cost - around the price of a lesser spec iPad, but weighing only about an ounce more.  You get the touchy-feely iPad-like environment with the tablet, but also the ability to write novels, update spreadsheets, produce PowerPoint presentations with the magnetic clip-on keyboard.  Add SkyDrive with its free 7GB storage and the WiFi connectivity then you have something that is more than the sum of its parts.  The weakness is the apps; Windows 8 is playing catch up with iOS and Android, Windows 8 RT is going nowhere fast.  Because RT has only the Microsoft store available to access apps and won't run legacy Windows 7 or earlier programs it is struggling to convince.

However the Pro, at admittedly nearly twice the price of the RT, can do all of the above and more.  It is heavier, though, and thicker.  I've been using one this last week to see how it compares with traditional laptops when out of the office.  The jury's out at present, but for those situations where a mix of legacy software and business applications are required, the Pro may be the solution.  Connection to a secure intranet seems seamless and the machine is fast in use.

So can Apple catch up with the iPad Air?  Well, one area the Surface Pro is struggling is in the weight department - it is relatively heavy in use.  Apple have a track record of addressing weight issues.  The Pro does have a minimalist approach that Steve Jobs would probably approve of - power button, volume button and one USB port but when used with the new dock it seems to expand nicely.  Apple have yet to get over the USB port concept, which may hold them back.  The unknown quantity is the Office-like software being suggested.  There are a few Office clones around, with Open Office being the best well known.  It works reasonably well and produces MS Office compatible files, but I always feel I'm wrestling with it (I use it on a netbook).  Apple have an uphill battle to create an Office replacement that works on the iPad and makes users feel it is worth the effort. And good luck with printing - after two years we're still struggling to print from an iPad at home, but I find my Surface RT prints wirelessly without any apparent effort, although I suspect that was part of the 8.1 upgrade as I did struggle before.

So Microsoft have challenged Apple and their responses this week suggest that they have struck home.  Apple are getting serious about making the iPad serious.  It should also make Microsoft sit up too - Apple are a very capable company with a track recode of delivering - if Microsoft want to keep their lead in this serious tablet arena then they have more work to do.  Hopefully by the third iteration of the Surface Pro it will have the weight and thickness of the first generation RT.

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Sunday 27 October 2013

Is Oyster a New World in Reading eBooks?

Many of us subscribe to the likes of Netflix or Lovefilm, which for a monthly fee allows us access to as many films or TV shows as we could possibly ever want to watch.  The only realistic limitations with both of those services is that neither has a complete range of films and TV shows, although there is considerable overlap between them, the efficiency of the post for those using the Lovefilm postal service and the amount of time available to us to sit in front of the TV.

A new company in the US is bringing this approach to eBooks.  Oyster is currently offering subscribers unlimited access to over 100,000 eBooks for a monthly fee of $9.99.  The amount of books that are available is about to swell dramatically thanks to a deal Oyster has forged with Smashwords, where all the books in the premium catalogue are being made available as well unless authors elect to opt out.

The scheme appears to be US only at the moment - partly an assumption from looking at their website - and as far as I can tell is directed at Apple devices only.  It would be reasonable to assume they are working on an Android version of their software to leverage the full potential of what is the largest eBook market in the world.  If and when they will expand internationally is difficult to second guess - there's a minefield of legal issues around copyright and while setting up international stores is easier than ever, it's still a big step.

Will it work?  Well if you are spending more than $10 a month on eBooks, every month, and if Oyster is stocking the books you like to read then it is certainly worth considering, unless you have to buy an iPad to make it work.  The first 'if' probably is one most can answer readily, the second will need a look at the books on offer.  The inclusion of the Smashwords' catalogue will swell the range considerably, I just hope Oyster have considered the impact of the erotica genre in that list.  They probably don't want to be put in the same position as WH Smith when a national newspaper revealed recently that there was some serious erotica in their eBookstore that they hadn't realised.  Hopefully they either have decided to include all books, regardless of genre, or they are going to filter books, just like Apple do - the latter is more time consuming and therefore costly, but is safer.

It's the author remuneration model that makes me wonder if they'll survive, though.  Oddly not because it's bad but because it seems so generous.  And I'll put a hand up here and state that I'm making an assumption that the Smashwords deal is the same that other book distributors have hammered out - possibly Mark Coker is a better negotiator than the big publishers!

You see, if you are a Smashwords' distributed author and an Oyster customer reads 10% or more of your book from the beginning then Oyster will pay 60% of the book's list price.  OK, a lot of Smashwords books are priced competitively - currently I'm offering my comedic novels for $0.99 and my Sci-Fi thrillers for $1.99 each - but a good reader with time on his or her hands will mean that Oyster could be paying more in royalties than they are pulling in in revenue.

Of course the standard model is that most of us don't watch twenty films a month and probably most don't read ten books a month either.  We might download a lot of books onto our Kindles and iPad but then leave them sitting there waiting for that opportunity to curl up and read them.  That's how Amazon and Apple have done so well with their bookstores because they have sold a lot of books that haven't been opened, let alone read.  I know, because my Kindle account has a lot of books I'm waiting to get around to and I doubt I'm unique in that sense.

For authors, if the Oyster model works, it's another great opportunity to put your books in front of people to be read and perhaps make a little money.  For readers, it's worth looking at your spending patterns on iTunes for books.  If you are spending more than $10 every month on average, regardless of whether you actually read them all, then the Oyster catalogue should be worth a look.  The Apple catalogue is bulked out with Smashwords' distributed books so you may find that the books you enjoy are from indie authors like myself, and that the model will work for yourself.

Ultimately do your homework.  The world may be your Oyster, but only if you choose it to be.

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Books
        Visit Project: Evil Website here                                        Visit DLF Website here

        Follow me on Twitter  - @RayASullivan

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Thursday 24 October 2013

Windows 8.1 for RT is available

Following the sudden removal of Windows 8.1 from the RT store the other day, Microsoft have quietly slipped it back on.  I might have been looking the other way but I didn't see  any announcement by Microsoft that the software was back available on the store, I just tripped over it when taking a wander through the other night.

To be fair, it is in-your-face if you open up the store.  You're not going to miss it, that's for sure.  I reckon the software was taken off the store for probably no more than 48 hours, but seeing as Microsoft slipped the software off as quietly as it returned it, there has to be a touch of guesswork.  Whatever the timeframe, it seems that the problems that Microsoft were sorting weren't as extensive as they sounded.  I don't know if those who rushed in when the software was first launched have solved their blue screen of death problem, but if that's you and you're reading this on another PC I would suggest contacting Microsoft and downloading the new improved files.

Anyway, in a moment of rashness I pushed the download button and was initially impressed in the visual indications on progress, then a little irritated because they were actually demonstrating lack of progress.  Of course, like most if not all Surface RT owners, I'm a little spoiled because RT comes pre-installed on the Surface.  I have no idea about how long it takes Microsoft to load RT onto each Surface they prepare for sale, and care very little to boot.  Until I'm watching a very slow update progress bar creep along the screen. 

It's not just visual but numerical, too.  The progress screen kept me advised on how much percentage progress had been achieved, to save me measuring the horizontal bar.  Eventually, after about an hour, the download was complete and was advised that it was preparing files for installation.  More percentage advisement followed by one or two more screens mentioning that it was 'just one more thing'.

Somewhere along the way Microsoft text you a code to validate your license, using the mobile number you registered when you first logged onto your Surface, or possibly when you first obtained a Microsoft account.  It may be worth checking that detail before you start your upload if you registered with Microsoft some time ago and you're in the habit of changing your mobile number.  I think you can alter it on the fly, but as I cling to my mobile number for dear life that wasn't a problem.

Eventually - allow at least 90 minutes - the upgrade was complete.  A bit of admin and Windows 8.1 is installed and running.  I'm just getting used to some of the features, such as the search anywhere function that doesn't ask you to select apps or Bing or your computer - it searches the lot.  I'm trying to find Bing at the moment because there are times when you know it's an internet search you need and Bing preserves your most recent search.  The new ways of splitting the screen is proving useful as I like to see  multiple applications running concurrently, although of course on the Surface you're going to struggle for real estate.  I was going to load Outlook on, but the general mail application has been updated and I'm playing with that first before I engage Outlook - it may sit comfortably side by side with the mail app but that's unproven right now.

The only issue I've experienced so far is running Blogger - it keeps telling me I should be using Chrome.  Now I ran Blogger successfully under Windows 8 and I can't find Chrome in the Windows store.  It does hang a bit, but if you're reading this I guess it isn't the end of the world

Ultimately the upgrade went seamlessly, if a little long winded.  Time will tell if it is a real benefit over basic Windows 8, but at least it didn't end up with the blue screen of death!

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Books
        Visit Project: Evil Website here                                        Visit DLF Website here

        Follow me on Twitter  - @RayASullivan

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Monday 21 October 2013

Is Microsoft Killing RT?

It's no secret that RT, the ARM based version of Windows 8, isn't winning the battle.  The problems identified a day or so ago with upgrading existing RT Windows 8 to 8.1 certainly hasn't helped.

By the way, some reports, probably including my last post, may imply that the whole Windows 8.1 upgrade has been pulled by Microsoft.  It hasn't and if you are running version 8.0 on a laptop or desktop, or on a Surface Pro, then it seems there is no reason why you shouldn't upgrade and plenty of reasons why you should.

But the RT version is a different beast and is a compromise.  It's designed to run on a mobile phone processor so there is inevitably some areas that it is going to underperform.  To be clear, if you like the form factor of the Surface, virtually the same size as an iPad, literally one once heavier, with the touchy, feely interface that the iPad has championed but you don't want the RT, then buy the Pro.  But be aware that although you're going to get a faster machine that will run legacy Windows 7 programs you are going to have to fork out a lot more cash.  And if you want to do something productive, such as using Word or Excel (and let's face it, if you don't hanker after that level of functionality, why aren't you looking at an iPad or Nexus?) then on the Pro you'll have to pay for the license.

But with the RT you get iPad-like functionality, Office 365 to run and edit your Office documents and, should Microsoft get the update to 8.1 sorted out, Outlook as well for much the same price as an iPad.  It should be a no-brainer unless you're computing requirements are limited to Facebook and surfing, in which case perhaps 'no-brainer' may be literally true.  If you want to write using a real word processor, calculate using formulas, produce PowerPoint slides that can be used on any PC in the world then perhaps RT isn't looking too shabby.

However it still doesn't seem to spin a lot of wheels, even now it's being discounted ahead of the Surface 2 launch.  The reason is the lack of apps.  Full fat Windows 8 is doing OK, but the developers are fighting shy of expending effort on the RT version.  And there's the problem; until the apps reach a critical mass, sales of the RT based machines will be slow.  While they are slow, development of new apps will lag.  A vicious circle.  Microsoft have been flashing the cash lately, and have even offered serious cash to developers to jump on-board.  Perhaps they need to do more.

One way would be to set up an app development team that worked with the major app producers; give them a financial incentive to develop RT based apps or offer talent to do the development specifically for the RT on their behalf, still providing cash incentives.  Make the offer time limited; sign up before a certain date or take a risk that the well will be dry.

Whatever Microsoft do, hopefully they won't give up on RT.  Unless they can produce a full featured version like the Pro at RT prices the world will be a poorer place and we'll just have to stand by and watch Google and Apple slug it out.  Microsoft have offered  the possibility of a third way, an alternative route that makes tablet computing grow up and act like adults.  Without this level of competition there's no reason for the other two to make their devices suitable the grown up world.

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Books
        Visit Project: Evil Website here                                        Visit DLF Website here

        Follow me on Twitter  - @RayASullivan

        Join me on Facebook -  use raysullivan.novels@yahoo.com to find me

Sunday 20 October 2013

One Step Forward

Regular readers will know that I purchased a Microsoft Surface RT earlier this year when I was let down by the self destruction of my Google Nexus 7.  For those who haven't read all of my posts, here's an abridged bitch about how I ended up spending £400 on the Microsoft machine.

I was given the Nexus for my birthday last year, just after it was launched and to be honest it was a good machine.  It went everywhere with me - which is reasonable as it is a portable tablet.  I do have a generic case for it, but often it was carried around naked in my jeans pockets - did I mention it was pocket sized as well as portable?  Anyway, after a not too taxing bimble around the Lake District earlier this year I pulled my Nexus out of a side pocket to while away a few moments while crossing a lake on a steamer when I realised that somewhere along the way the screen had spontaneously self destructed, cracked from arsehole to breakfast time.

A quick search on the internet using my wife's iPhone revealed that this was a fairly common experience.  Anyway, to cut a long story short, Asus (manufacturer) will only consider looking at such damage if the owner parts with £50 and will only refund that if it decides (without arbitration) that the fault is a manufacturing one.  If they throw the bones down and decide it is user induced, they keep the money and offer to repair at an exorbitant cost.  Somewhere between the cost of a new Nexus and the ticket price on a Virgin Galactic flight.

So I decided to walk away from Google branded equipment and bought a Surface RT instead, hoping to find that replacement screens and digitisers come down in price in the near future.  I'm still waiting, and the near future is now a distant memory. As an aside, while in Boston, MA the other week I came across a stall in a mall offering to repair a variety of broken screens on iPhones, iPads, Galaxies, other machines.  Average price seemed to be about $60 all in.  I spoke with the young man at the stall to ask if they repaired the Nexus - I didn't have it with me, why would I take a broken tablet on vacation?  Anyhow, said young man pulled a pained expression when I asked if the Nexus could be repaired - he answered yes and started to fiddle with some spares he'd been collecting together, not really making eye contact.  How much? I asked.  About $200, he replied.  And he agreed that you could buy a brand new 16GB Nexus 7 for much the same amount, he just couldn't do anything about the price.  So if you're in the market for a pocket sized portable tablet then by all means consider the Nexus, just don't expect it to be portable or suitable for putting in your pocket.

Anyway, I bought the RT and it's been very good in general - it does have a habit of installing updates and rebooting without warning - we're talking Microsoft here remember - and I have had a few occasions when it didn't want to wake up at all, eventually rebooting.  Either it's a teenager, I'm interrupting an unannounced update or I've an intermittent fault on my machine.  On the upside, I've typed around 50,000 words on the snap-on keyboard and it's still working like brand new.  Outside of authors I suspect most users won't use the keyboard as aggressively.

But Windows 8 is far from perfect, so Microsoft have been working feverishly on a new version, Windows 8.1. Highlights are a Start button (I can't get too worked up about that - it lets you toggle between the old desktop and the new tiled interface, so what?).  It does allow unlimited web pages to be viewed by your machine - I expect there is a limit, but the current limit is way too small and the random culling of web pages is a little irritating, although the pinning facility means they are relatively easy to restore.  You can view up to four web pages side by side with the new OS, which is likely to be a little challenging on an RT screen, but useful on an extended screen.  Two pages maximum on the RT is considered the maximum that is practical.  It also allows a 50:50 split on screen - Windows 8 allows a 1/3:2/3 split, which has it's place but is often not a great choice.

Perhaps the biggest update is the inclusion of Outlook to complement the existing Office 365 that gets bundled in for free. 

So, what's the catch?  Well it seems that Microsoft pulled the upgrade off its store within 24 hours of launch.  There are a few sites out there that obtained the code to download but the way I look at this is if Microsoft are worried enough to pull the OS so soon after launch, why would I want to risk messing my machine about.  Plus some of the instructions to upgrade take me back to my maths degree - if you've got to resort to coding just to upgrade a piece of software then something is seriously wrong.

The upgrade sounds like it could be worthwhile, but I'm going to hold fire until I hear that Microsoft have re-launched the OS and then I'll let it stabilise, maybe 48 hours this time.

And the Nexus?  Well,  I'm convinced I'll get it up and running, it just may find itself in a different housing with a different function.  I'll canvas those inventive persons at B L O'Feld Megalomaniac Industries, I'm sure they will have a few evil suggestions that will make Google sit up.

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Books
        Visit Project: Evil Website here                                        Visit DLF Website here

        Follow me on Twitter  - @RayASullivan

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Thursday 17 October 2013

Blame the Triple Breasted Whore

Last weekend I went to see the live theatre production of the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy Radio Show, an ambitious performance that attempts to draw inspiration from all five books of Douglas Adams' famous trilogy.  To be fair, most of the production covered the original subject matter from the original radio series, but by carefully excising some significant parts of that story the cast were able to shoehorn some less familiar parts of the H2G2 story.  I may have missed it, but one omission appeared to be the triple breasted whore of Erotica.

It seems I'm not the only person to have missed references to erotica.  A British national newspaper pointed out, or exposed in the parlance of the industry, that WH Smith, a stalwart bookseller of the British high street and the internet was selling erotica on its website.  It answered a question I asked myself in passing some time ago but never bothered to research.

You see, Smashwords, the eBook aggregator that supplies self published books to Apple, Sony, Kobo (and by inference WH Smith as they have tapped into Kobo's catalogue) and Barnes& Noble, to name a few, has forged a home for erotica books alongside many other genres.  Now I don't write or read erotica, but I don't judge those who choose to either.  It's just not my bag.  My guess is that if Smashwords hadn't become the distributer of eBooks that it has then it would have faded into insignificance as a niche seller of erotica books by now.  What Kobo may or may not have realised and WH Smith clearly didn't was that once the authors of the erotica market had achieved the formatting standards required by Smashwords their books were eligible to be shipped to all of the above eBook sellers unless they excluded them themselves.  Apple realised this about a year ago and started to vet the content of the eBooks they took from Smashwords.  This was a very public happening that Kobo and WH Smith should have been aware of but clearly didn't think it worthy of following, possibly because it requires effort and therefore costs money.

Now WH Smith have been outed by the newspaper they have taken their eBook store down completely, Kobo have removed a lot of eBooks, possibly everything they have received via Smashwords.  I haven't carried out a lot of research (spotting a pattern here?), but I can confirm that my books, which do not contain erotica, have disappeared from Kobo.  My guess is that once W H Smith have identified all of the self published books, regardless of content, then they'll restore their eBookstore.  Which means that they'll resume selling 50 shades (originally a self published book) and of course the Hitch Hikers Guide, along with its harmless references to the triple breasted whore.  They will stop lots of erotica being available, and that's fine, but many other good books are going to be blocked from the public.

Smashwords owner, Mark Coker, is understandably outraged by the reaction.  I'm actually surprised it has taken this long to come to a head.  The self published phenomenon has trundled along unregulated for quite a while.  It has challenged the established publishing industry and caused it to take stock.  That is healthy, the old way of working wasn't moving literature forward as well as it could and the prices were, and to some degree remain, too expensive.  But one price has been the lack of control over self published books.  Apple have taken some control over this matter; it's time the other eBook sellers do so too. 

Taking all the books off sale should be, at most, a short term solution.  While  I agree that under the current paradigm, like the one it left behind, good, well written books may or may not be successful but in general badly written books of any genre should fail.  The issues around the subject matter of some books being objectionable to people need to be addressed - the young and the vulnerable especially should be protected from inadvertent exposure and WH Smith is right to want to remove them from their catalogue, but it's really important that a sense of perspective is maintained.   Smashwords is looking at a voluntary metadata process where authors declare if their book is unlikely to be suitable for Apple or Kobo.  I think this is pie in the sky - some authors may play ball, but some, perhaps many, might ignore it.  Also, I suspect that Sony and B&N may go down this route sometime soon.

What I suspect Smashwords needs to do is what Apple have been doing - adding a vetting process to all books before they accept them in their premium catalogue.  I'm sure most of this could be automated with perhaps a process for the public to alert them to books that have slipped through.  Then they can earmark any books that contain offensive (to some) subject matter - we're talking about incest, rape and other unpleasant subjects here.  They can then alert any resellers who want to limit their exposure to corporate risk who want to avoid these books.  They could also dispense of the prude filter they put on their website and just keep such books corralled in a subsection that potential readers have to overtly access.  That way, trust in the self published book industry would be restored and newspapers would be free to move on to something else to disrupt.

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                                                          Visit my Book Website here
Books
        Visit Project: Evil Website here                                        Visit DLF Website here

        Follow me on Twitter  - @RayASullivan

        Join me on Facebook -  use raysullivan.novels@yahoo.com to find me