Benchmarks are the best way to gauge a notebook’s prowess with applications such as office suites, photo and video editors, video players, games, and the like. Aesthetics are another important consideration, because you'll likely be staring at the thing for the next several years. By those measures, Samsung’s $1060 Ativ Book 7 Ultrabook (model NP740U3E-K01UB) is a fine machine. But a notebook must also feel good in your hands—unless you rely on dictation software, you have no other way to use it. And on that score, I found this laptop a major disappointment. ROBERT CARDINSamsung Ativ Book 7 is pretty enough to look at, but actually using it can be problematic for touch-typists. The Ativ Book 7 has a gorgeous brushed-aluminum finish. But if you wear a watch with a metal wristband, take it off before you lay hands on this computer’s keyboard. The noise produced as one metal scrapes the other is enough to curdle a glass of milk into cottage cheese. Reliance on integrated graphics doomed the Ativ Book 7's gaming performance. After my ears recovered from the horror, I once again laid my hands on the home row of the Chiclet-style keyboard. Such shallow-travel keyboards are common among Ultrabooks—they’re practically a necessity to achieve the required thinness—and I’ve touch-typed on more than my fair share of them. But the keys on the Ativ Book 7 travel such a short distance and deliver so little tactile feedback that I found myself constantly making typos. To read this... Continue reading at 'PC World'
[ PC World | 2013-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Retailers say the summer’s mixed weather is giving book sales a lift, with Nielsen BookScan... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Department of Justice defends its deal with three big publishers it accused of price-fixing. And it previews its coming court fight with Apple. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-07-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Every summer, everyone and their uncle wants to tell you what to read at the beach. So as the summer hits mid-stride, at Jacket Copy, we've got another idea: the anti-beach reading list. Every summer, everyone and their uncle wants to tell you what to read at the beach. If they all had their... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nominations for books to be given out for free at next year's World Book Night will begin on... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waitrose is now an "increasing force in fiction‚" having extended its book range... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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These cases let you make your Kindle Fire or iPad look like a vintage copy of Moby Dick or The Great Gatsby. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Now that the legal dust has settled and Google's publishing woes in 'ol Gaul have been swept under the rug, it's back to business as usual. Starting today, the land of Jerry Lewis lovers will have access to books on Google Play, making it the fifth European country to participate in Mountain... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BookStats, an annual survey that tracks the American publishing industry, finds that, contrary to doomsday predictions, bookstores and paper-and-ink books are still in demand. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Angry Robot’s ebook initiative, which sees independent bookshop customers receive a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US publishers' sales of ebooks more than doubled in 2011, meaning that the digital book is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The ebook format became the most popular one for adult fiction in 2011, surpassing hardcover books and paperbacks, according to an annual survey. Net revenue from ebook sales over all more than doubled from 2010. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2012-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales of ebooks doubled in 2011. But books are still an analog business, by a wide margin. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barnes & Noble catches up to Amazon and Google with a Web-based ebook service. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2012-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Neil Gaiman will write five children's books for HarperCollins, including a sequel to his 2009 children's book 'Odd and the Frost Giants.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The sexual exploits of Anastasia and Christian are taking their place alongside the old-fashioned, understated romance of Elizabeth and Darcy. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2012-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is poised to announce an independent cross-trade... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-winning writer Neil Gaiman has signed a new 5-book deal with HarperCollins, it was announced Wednesday. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Guardian Books is to publish a title by the newspaper's columnist The Secret Footballer.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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First there was US-based Amazon's Kindle eReader, then Canada-based Kobo turned the eBook race into a two-horse affair with its range of eReaders. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2012-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author G.P. Taylor says 'children's literature has gone too far' and advocates a ratings system like that for movies or video games. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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