R.I.P. Chinua Achebe, Writer

Nigerian author Chinua Achebe dies

All things fall apart …

That Madness Called Love

Don’t Hate Her Because She’s Successful

…but how on earth could I choose whom I fell in love with? The heart wants what it wants, even when what it wants is on Prozac.

The Last Psychiatrist is on a royal tear with this post. But I highlighted that because, damn, The Electric Ant.

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Archos Posts Wider Loss

ARCHOS 2012 financial results and perspectives for 2013: themed tablets, smartphones and home automation

Profit wise, 2012 financial results show difficulties on the income figure, with a reported Net consolidated income of -38,7 M€, compared to year 2011 where ARCHOS was profitable and made 5.7 M€.

A loss of 38.7 million Euros. Ouch.

And this:

… sales in Asia are increasing by more than 40% and declined in the US by about the same percentage.

It’s their own damn fault for American sales tanking. They produced some real crap in 2012 (see after the break).

However, the new Archos 80 Titanium, Archos 80 Platinum, and perhaps even the Archos 97 Platinum should do well.

The Sad Slow Ending Of The Nook

Barnes & Noble Announces NOOK HD+ Special Limited Time Offer

NOOK Media LLC, a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble, Inc., the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced that customers who purchase a NOOK HD+ between March 24, 2013, and March 31, 2013, will receive a free NOOK Simple Touch E Ink reader, a $79 value.

Boldfaced emphasis added by me.

Apparently Barnes & Noble got wind of the fact the US$169 Archos 80 Titanium tablet’s arrival in the U.S. is imminent (within the next 10-14 days). So they’re trying to blow out their backlogged and unsold inventory.

This is not the strategy they should be looking for.

This is: Unlock the damn tablet!

Free eBook: Edison’s Conquest of Mars

Just that title! How could anyone not want this?

Edison’s Conquest of Mars

Edison’s Conquest of Mars is an 1898 science fiction novel by American astronomer and writer Garrett P. Serviss. It was written as a sequel to Fighters from Mars, an unauthorized and heavily altered version of H. G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds. It has a place in the history of science fiction for its early employment of themes and motifs that later became staples of the genre.

The book was endorsed by Thomas Edison, the hero of the book, though not by Wells. Set after the devastating Martian attack in the previous story, the novel depicts Edison leading a group of scientists to develop ships and weapons, including a disintegration ray, for Earth’s defense.

Free at Project Gutenberg.

Additional:

ZPi Blog: Edison’s Conquest of Mars

Interesting Onda Development

Onda v812 vs. Ipad 3 – Is One Better Than the Other

That’s a worthless post. The Onda 5MP camera isn’t as good as the iPad 3. The PPI of the Onda screen isn’t given. And it never mentions that the Onda lacks Bluetooth and GPS. Plus, it leaves out the Onda having a Home button, microSD card slot, and miniHDMI port.

But what’s interesting to me is to see the Onda V812 getting increasing press coverage outside of China. Something is happening here.

Previously here:

Onda V818 Mini Tablet Announced
Video Review Of The Onda V812 Tablet
Archos 80 Platinum = Onda V812

You Know What’s Stale? iOS Whiners.

ReadWriteHateApple is at it again.

Is The iPhone Outdated? [Poll]

Earlier this week, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins called the iPhone outdated. Did he have a point?

Speaking to The Australian Financial Review, Heins said, “The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about is now five years old.”

I sit here using Windows XP. It was released in 2001.

I also use a Palm LifeDrive. PalmOS 5 was released in 2002.

I don’t sit here griping that either one is “stale.”

They are tools that get the job done.

I’ve used Windows 7. I have no pangs of envy towards it. The bizarre way it does some things actually horrifies me and makes me appreciate XP even more.

ReadWriteHateApple — and all the rest of the chorus — chanting about how iOS looks “dated” need to remove their heads from their iOS-hating asses.

Amazon + Liquavista

Samsung Said to Be in Talks to Sell Liquavista to Amazon

Liquavista, founded in 2006, specializes in a type of display technology known as electrowetting, mostly used in electronic readers, a shrinking market that’s dominated by Amazon’s Kindle devices. Samsung has followed a shift in consumer preference to smartphones and tablets, which mainly use liquid-crystal displays, or LCDs.

This has been a rumor that’s now an upgraded rumor.

Liquavista would give Amazon a screen no one else has.

How about a color Kindle running rootable Android for $169? Game over for Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Sony.

Amazon would sell jillions of them as sunlight-friendly Android tablets. They wouldn’t much care if people bought them to root as tablets and never bought a Kindle book — because the people buying them are Amazon customers anyway and will always buy something. Such a device would also wipe out the low end tablet makers (Coby, Aluratek, etc.).

And let’s not forget the rumors of an Amazon phone.

Cyprus Looks Like Toast

Exclusive: Euro zone call notes reveal extent of alarm over Cyprus

Quoting the Chairman of the Eurogroup Working Group:

The economy is going to tank in Cyprus no matter what.

Surprisingly, the ATMs have been restocked for a few days and people were allowed to withdraw up to six hundred Euros a day. At forty Euros at a time. The last word is that they’ve dropped the daily limit to two hundred and forty Euros.

How soon before the ATMs stop working again?

Previously here:

Cyprus: No Cash Until March 26th
Are You Paying Attention Yet?
The Financial Monkeywrench Of Cyprus
Cyprus Launches Financial Andromeda Strain
The Day The ATMs Stopped Working