Guess who missed their nap today.

Cordelia's walking too!

She's a quick one! But OH MAN is she cute :)

How to use Kindlegen to create ebooks for your Kindle

Apparently, this has been a pretty popular article so I decided to provide a quick overview if you just want the fast, dirty steps for using kindlegen. If you would like some more detail then read the further explanation below.

1. Get kindlegen here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000234621

2. Unzip the files to the folder where you keep your ebooks (it's really much easier that way)

3. Open your command line and point to the folder containing your ebooks and kindlegen.

4. Enter the command 'kindlegen.exe ebook.html' where ebook.html is the name of the ebook you want to convert. note: in order for kindlegen to make the conversion the file must be in html format.

5. Move the newly created .mobi file to your kindle's ebook directory

6. Enjoy a favorite book or new adventure that you've converted yourself :)

For some reason (not so difficult to imagine) there appears to be no simple explanation of how to use Kindlegen on the internet. This amazed me since I would think lots of people would want to convert and add their own ebooks to the Kindle. Kinlegen can be used to do just that. The catch is, it is only available in the command line. This may be intimidating for some but I guarantee it's not that difficult once you understand how it works. Here's what to do.

1. Get the latest version of kindlegen from Amazon's website (available here at the time of writing this article: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000234621 )

2. Unzip the files to a chosen location

3. At this point your options open up considerably. You can create a very basic book or a very complex book depending on how dirty you want to get with HTML and XML coding. Among the unzipped files you'll find a folder called 'Sample' that contains a complex book (the Kindle User's Guide) with all of the supporting files that would be needed to create it, you can review how this is all set up if you like. For now, I'm going to just go over the basic book option in order to keep this short. If you would like more in depth info on how to create a complex book (linking images and table of contents, etc.) go ahead and comment or email me directly.

4. Okay, in order to create a simple ebook for the kindle you'll need an HTML file of your ebook. If you go to Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org) you can download a TON of out of copyright books in HTML format. You can also use PDFs or txt files you've purchased but you'll need to convert them to html (you can use PDFtoHTML and txt2html respectively to do so). Okay, once you have the HTML file, do yourself a favour and put it into the same folder as Kindlegen.

5. Now, open up your command line. In Windows, go to Start > Run and enter cmd then press enter. In Linux, you should be able to find the terminal under Accessories or some other main menu option. Once open, navigate to the location of Kindlegen.
e.g. C:\Documents and Settings\myname\My Documents\ebooks\Kindlegen\

If you are not familiar with a command line then you are probably in Windows and can get there by entering
c:
cd..
cd Documents and Settings\myname\My Documents\ebooks\Kindlegen

6 Once your command line is pointing to the folder where you have kindlegen and the HTML file (we'll call it ebook.html in our example but you would put in the name of the HTML file you are converting) all you have to do is type

kindlegen.exe ebook.html

For some reason in Linux I had to enter the exact file path so it would be something like this:

/media/disk/Documents/ebooks/kindlegen/kindlegen /media/disk/Documents/ebooks/kindlegen/ebook.html

7. You'll notice that a new file is created in the directory called ebook.mobi. Connect your Kindle to your PC and drop the file into the same folder as your other ebooks.

8. Eject your Kindle, disconnect it and then start the Kindle. If you've done everything correctly you should see the ebook now available in your home screen.

Congrats, you can now take any HTML file you have available to you and create your own ebook for reading on the Kindle. Cheers!


Oh, as a final note - Again, you could get much more in depth in the process and use an OPF and NCX file but you should only need that if you are getting serious about publishing. You can open Kindlegen's help by simply typing kindlegen.exe or kindlegen without any filename following it. This will bring up all of the kindlegen options. Happy reading!

Two videos

I had to share these two. The first video is just a fun glimpse of every day life in the Franklin house - bup....GOOO - and the second is a video the kids and I made together one morning (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa's GeoTrax).

Kindle vs. iPad - Why I like my Kindle and don't need an iPad

With all the hype surrounding the release of the iPad this weekend I thought I'd throw a defense out there for the Kindle. People are erroneously (I hope) calling the iPad the Kindle killer. I disagree since I believe they are devices with different goals and audiences. And, as far as I'm concerned, there are some considerable advantages to the Kindle including e-ink, a literature focus, and free 3G.

The e-ink is wonderful! Truly wonderful. I can't believe I used to read books on my Palm. My eyes thank me every time I choose to read a book instead of work on my laptop now. The iPad will have an LED display which is softer (and longer lasting) than LCD but it still has the high contrast digital appearance. Great for watching videos and surfing the web, not ideal for reading novels. Which is the second main reason I like the idea of the Kindle over the iPad. It is meant to be a reading device.

I have heard and read several complaints about the Kindle's inability to present rich media content like Flash, Javascript, etc. Why? We keep looking for a device that does it all - and the iPad will - but that's not why you buy a Kindle. You buy it to read. And, while I'd love to be able to surf the web, watch my favorite videos and remote into my work computer on it, that is not why I pick up the Kindle. I pick up the Kindle because I want to read. If the Kindle was able to do everything the iPad does I doubt I'd get much reading done. Being the kind of person who likes to hack every last drop out of my 'toys' the Kindle limits me A LOT while still offering plenty of 'tinkering' options and all of those options are literature focused including converting my own ebooks, finding free (project guttenberg) ebooks, and changing the default screen saver images, etc.

Finally, you get free 3G on the Kindle. This sounds REALLY amazing and somewhat unbelievable which it is...to a point. The combination of the 3G with the e-ink reigns in the possibilities of wirelessly exploring the web all day while still keeping you connected to your preferred reading material. It makes it so you always have something to read as well as allowing you to explore new reading material. The 3G wireless on the Kindle makes me feel like I am essentially holding a bottomless portable library without distracting me from the purpose of the device.

So, am I an iPad hater and just painting the Kindle all kinds of rosy? Not hardly! I salivate with the rest over the upcoming installment of the iPod family. They are fantastic devices with tons of potential. So much so that I expect they'll replace a lot of user's laptops/netbooks. On top of all that, they are just so dang cool! And, the Kindle has plenty of limitations (most notably the inability to backlight your books). But, bottom line, stop this preposterous debate about the iPad killing the Kindle - they are two totally different products with totally different goals. I sure hope the Kindle doesn't go away since there are few things which make reading more important or more fun.

Great FREE Software (a.k.a. Great Open Source Alternatives)

These programs eventually find their way onto every computer I work on. They are FANTASTIC programs I confidently recommend.

The Gimp (Photoshop alternative) www.gimp.org. Don't let the name fool you - this program is powerful! Whenever a new feature comes out in Photoshop the feature is not far behind in Gimp (if not ahead of Adobe). It has everything you need for photo editing from color adjustment to special effects. It's layout is very similar to Photoshop. If you can't have Photoshop or don't want to pay for the annual upgrade then this program is an awesome second.

Pros: MUCH smaller and faster install, including a portable version that can run off a thumb drive. Easily extendable with addons. Constantly being upgraded and tweaked. Tons of online community support. No 3 tools in 1 button which drives me nuts in Photoshop.

Cons: Algorithms for fine tune adjustments are much better in Photoshop - especially with skin tone. No adjustment layer.

Making the switch: The hardest thing to get used to is the 3 window interface. All of the menu items you are looking for are at the top of the window with the image in it.

Open Office (Microsoft Office alternative) www.openoffice.org. I know Dad isn't crazy about open office, and yes, it has it's flaws but it is the best alternative to Microsoft Office with a couple perks that make me choose it OVER Microsoft office often, namely PDF export. In an idustry that is constantly changing and adding formats the ability to lock a document into PDF s essential and they got this right! I also like how all of the different programs in the suite work together. The Calc (Excel alternative) program has a lot of the big boy features like using external data sources and pivot tables. It's also super web friendly for people who flirt with composing / coding for the web.

Pros: PDF Export. Import/export tons of different file types. Solid office suite including a word processor, spreadsheets, database, and drawing program.

Cons: Still a little kludgey and buggy. The fact that it requires Java is my biggest frustration. If you don't use it on a regular basis it will be SLOW when you first run it after a while.

Making the switch: This switch should actually be pretty smooth. A lot of the functions and interfaces are very similar to MS Office. Base is a little tricky to navigate the first time but so is Access :P

note: IF you don't have the space (or Java) and you need office apps then AbiWord and Gnumeric fit the bill nicely for a word processor and spreadsheet programs (respectively). Really. They're great. PS this document is being written in AbiWord.

Inkscape (Illustrator alternative) - This program is AWESOME and they just keep making it better. If you know anything about scalable vector graphics or want to learn more about them then you should check out this program. Inkscape is meant to be an image drawing program whereas Photoshop and The Gimp are meant to be image editing programs. It also handles PDFs nicely which most other programs won't do.

Pros: Great PDF handling and a lot of great editing functions. Excellent tutorials bundled with the install (through the Help menu).

Cons: Written to be navigated by keyboard shortcuts which can irk the casual user.

Making the switch: This switch shouldn't be too bad if you are already familiar with Illustrator. As a matter of fact, I think the transition is a lot of fun. Exploring all of the features in Inkscape can take some time but it's worth it.

DVDFlick including FFMPEG and ImgBurn (Nero alternative) - I also have a warm place in my heart for DVDFlick. It will burn just about any file type (including youtube FLVs) to DVD and when you need a video DVD burned in a snap it does the trick. It uses FFMPEG which is an AWESOME open source media format converter whose drawback is it requires getting your hands dirty in the command line :). ImgBurn, which is a great .iso creator and burner is also bundled with DVDFlick.

Pros: Handles transcoding/burning a huge variety of file types. Simple, easy interface. Small install with great results.

Cons: VERY limited menu abilities.

Making the switch: This is a great program to install for burning fast DVDs. The new burning software bundled with Vista and 7 will probably trump this program as we move forward (sad, I love this program).

VLC Media Player (Windows Media Player supplement) - there are so many video formats out there right now, it sure is nice to have a player that will play just about anything you throw at it. Rob called this the swiss army knife of media players and it is exactly that. I kept it on our media pc for emergencies and one night we couldn't get anything to play a scratched DVD which is quite possibly the most frustrating thing to happen when you're looking forward to a good movie! I opened the disk in VLC and it played like a charm. We've run every DVD on it ever since.

Pros: The swiss army knife of media players -plays EVERYTHING right out of the box. If it can't then it'll sure give it a try. Some awesome uses for the advanced user.

Cons: Interface is not so great nor intuitive. I can't really see making this my primary media player but it sure is useful.

Making the switch: Don't switch completely. Keep WMP or iTunes in the drawer as your primary player. Use VLC when you need utility.

Firefox (Internet Explorer alternative) - there are tons of good browsers out there - Opera, Chrome, and IE7+ to name a few. Out of all of these Firefox remains my favorite and I'll tell you why: function. Chrome wins for form, Opera wins for speed, but I just use firefox more because it's more useful. The addons are more mature and directed at people who are serious about exploring the power of the web. Surfing the web without Adblock Plus is a nightmare for me now and the web dev toolbar has been incredible for dissecting complicated code. Plus, it is easily skinnable now :). 2 thumbs up for Firefox

Pros: Solid interface with TONS of addons. Maintains a great balance of power and ease.

Cons: It's getting slow. It's cool but it's getting a bit too big for it's britches - stay free, stay strong!

Making the switch: this transition is quite possibly the most fun. Mozilla has branded itself and its product well which makes you feel like you are freeing yourself and exploring a whole new web experience.

Notepad++ (Notepad alternative) - If you write any code at all then this is the program for you. It's teeny and automatically color codes your text based on the language you are writing in. It automatically launches your code into the compiler and/or browser.

Pros: Helpful auto-formatting and handy across many MANY different coding languages.

Cons: There's nothing really negative about this program. It does what it does and does it well.

Making the switch: If you're switching from notepad to this then there is nothing but bright horizons for you. Switch now!

PDF Creator (Print to file alternative) - Have you ever wanted to turn the document you're working on into a PDF. This program will do it! It actually installs as a printer on your computer and anything you can print you can make into a PDF.

Pros: It works with every program that prints. It does a great job of creating PDFs.

Cons: It tries to install a toolbar at the same time as the install which really bugs me. On occasion it doesn't turn out the same appearance that your document has. Having said that, it works pretty darn well most of the time.

A few extras I'd like to mention include:

Mediacoder - gives you control over almost every aspect of media conversion. It even has different install versions for different types of media.

Lightscreen is a VERY handy screenshot tool that rus in the background and lets you take shots of the entire screen, the active window, or an area you can define at the time of the screenshot.

uTorrent - if you know what a torrent is then this is THE only option I would EVER recommend ussing. The u stands for micro by the way.

VirtualBox - Excellent, and I mean EXCELLENT virtual machine. If you want to install multiple operating systems on your machine you should check this out.

Blender 3d - I might throw Google Sketchup in with this but I prefer Blender. It is a 3d modeling and animating suite. Incredibly powerful for what it is. It's a lot to bite off if you don't know what you're doing.

DVDShrink - rips DVDs but, more importantly it will encode and burn DVD files that are too big so that they fit onto a regular 4.3 GB DVD.

DVDDecrypter - my preference for ripping DVDs. It has several different ripping modes including an .iso mode. It also uses ImgBurn to burn .iso files.

AutoGK - uses FFMPEG to convert just about any file type to XVID or DIVX .avi files.

Jack is Talking

Here is his famous "uhn?" as well as his newest word.