The eBook Reader blog reports on a discovery in a MobileRead forum thread of a variable in some Amazon source code pointing to something called “Prime eBooks”. There is a variable in the code named PRIME_EBOOKS_COMPATIBLE, and a “prime_active_delete” command that asks readers if they’re sure they want to delete and return a library loan. Of course, we already knew Amazon was trying to sweet-talk publishers into letting it implement such a program, separate and distinct from the Overdrive Kindle library loan program it’s just launched, and it was said that Amazon would bundle it into its Amazon...

MediaBistro’s eBookNewser and GalleyCat have been putting together a directory of good Twitter accounts to follow for e-book news. Gratifyingly, our very own Paul Biba tops their list. Thanks for the mention, MediaBistro! Engadget reports that Amazon and ASUS are teaming up to pre-install the Kindle Reader software on some of the netbooks and laptops ASUS sells through Amazon. Engadget speculates that the pre-installation might extend to ASUS’s forthcoming Eee Pad tablet, but expects to hear more about that at an upcoming industry event. Also found on Engadget, Amazon’s Kindle 2.5 software is now rolling...

Nate the Great posts over on the Mobileread forum that the EPUB Maintenance Working Group is in the process of minor revisions of EPUB from v2.0 to v2.0.1, while identifying problems to tackle in the next major revision. Two weeks have been set aside for public comment, of which three days have passed so far. Nate has started a Mobileread forum topic for each of 13 different types of problems faced by the EPUB format, and hopes that Mobileread forumgoers might have some helpful ideas to discuss. The topics include: rich...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! A number of other sites are doing Thanksgiving lists (Ars Technica, Wired, another Wired, and Wired again on things not to be thankful for), and I thought I would assay one of my own. Of course, we all know that we have a lot more to be thankful for than just e-book-related things, but they are this site’s focus after all. There are a lot of people and companies that have made a difference in the e-book industry this year, and I thank the ones important to me below. These are the folks...

Photo Note: My auto-focus digital camera had a little trouble getting good shots of the screen; no matter what I do, the shots tend to turn out slightly off-focus. The shots may look blurry, but suffice it to say that’s a problem with my camera—in person, the reader is quite as crisp and clear as printed text. I’ve had more time to play around with the Astak, and the bloom is off the rose. Yes, the e-ink screen is truly amazing, and far clearer than the touch-sensitive Sony reader’s. However, it has certain other problems. In Praise of Astak Before I start...

MobileRead has a great Wiki with a huge matrix of e-ink ereaders and an incredible amount of detail You can find it here. They also have one for LCD devices here. A number of devices are missing, however. Since it's a Wiki why not go over and help complete the matrix....

What’ll be announced? Not known. (Via MobileRead.)...

Over at MobileRead Dr. Drib has a long review of the jetBook. It's the first full review I've seen of the unit and he does a great job. He got it for $159 at Bed Bath and Beyond. You can find the full review here, and the following is a little excerpt: The jetBook, for the uninitiated, does not use e-ink but rather a high-resolution monochrome TFT screen as its 5” display. In my opinion, this display is not quite as clear as e-ink technology, but nonetheless it is quite legible and very enjoyable to read on, one...

zelda_pinwheel over at MobileRead is reporting this. Here is the notice she received: Dear Fellow Reader, Attention Mac users! We’ve received many requests to make the eBook Store work with Apple® Macintosh® computers, and we wanted to share with you our progress on this front. An updated version of the eBook Library Software compatible with Mac OS X operating systems will be available by the end of Summer 2009 for download to your computer to enable you to purchase, organization and download content to your PRS505 and PRS700. Send us your email address, and we will notify you when the update is available. Thank...

David and I had a great time at the MobileRead meet up. Here are a couple of shots of various readers in Nate the Great’s impressive collection. MobileRead's policy is not to publish pictures of its members---to ensure their privacy---so I haven't included any other pictures here. Kaz won an autographed copy of David's book The Solomon Scandals and Nate won a CD from Steve Jordan with his latest SF book. It was great fun to put some faces to the names I've been reading all these years. Technorati Tags: Nate the Great,Steve Jordan Books,Lens...

Update, 9:30 p.m.: Around 14 gung-ho e-book-lovers showed up with toys ranging from a Ubuntu-enhanced Asus netbook to a Pre and a SmartQ 7 tablet. Paul Biba will have the full lowdown in a day or so. Thanks to Mike Cassidy, R.W. Wood and the other organizers! And, yes, as promised, Steve Jordan “physicalized” The Lens with a CD-ROM copy. – D.R. A book drawing will be part of MobileRead’s 6 p.m. dinner today, Saturday,  at Mango Mike’s--- less than a mile from me at 4580 Duke St., Alexandria, VA. I’ve...

Go over to Mobileread and take a look at this post. The video is in HD. I'm not getting excited yet, because we don't know what this screen will do to battery life. It's going to take a lot to beat the battery life of an e-ink screen, and unless they can do this I suspect they will be relegated to the niche market, at least as it pertains to ereaders: This is the new kind of LCD screen technology that turns all netbooks into Kindles. And all Kindles into netbooks. As you can see in the video, the...