Information Overload

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Haven't yet read Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, but it's the biography about Steve Jobs simply because it's the only authorized biography by him. 60 Minutes interviewed the biographer who had unprecedented access to Steve Jobs, his family, friends, colleagues, and competitors. Having read most other unofficial books about Steve Jobs, this one is clearly the one to read—fittingly, via iBooks on an iPad.

Condé Nast Magazines Now Free On iPad

The catch is that one has to be an existing print subscriber, but at least more magazine publishers are finally making this happen. Alas, Condé Nast has some bugs to work out, as their Wired app lost track of previously purchased issues. Readers also report that the Vanity Fair app isn't recognizing their account info, and is failing to give them free access to the latest issue that already arrived in their mailbox. It'd be nice if Condé Nast rolled up all of their mags under a single app, but the App Store does encourage promotion of individual titles.

Free Comic Book Day 2011!

It's Free Comic Book Day! This former print comic book collector is starting to have mixed feelings about a day designed primarily to bolster traffic to print comic book stores. Like all things analog, the writing is on the wall that digital is the way of the future. For example, it's effectively Free Comic Book Day every week on the iPad since there's minimal cost to publishers to provide free digital issues to attract new readers. Digital doesn't have the tactile feel of ink and paper, but the stories and art are still the same. Best of all, there's no more need for UV-proof plastic baggies and acid-free cardboard.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (Audiobook)

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is an interesting take on a living dead apocalypse so it's possible to forgive the uninspired voice acting of the audiobook. Abridged from Max Brooks' full length novel with the same name, the verbal version sounds contrived compared to listening to war vets and civilian survivors in real documentaries. One can only wonder with a bit of worry how the movie version of World War Z will fare given the enormous depth of the material. The film will definitely need some serious financing to bring to life the most interesting stories from the book.

Project Magazine For iPad

"Picked up" a 99¢ issue of Project Magazine for iPad to score 250 Virgin America points. (It wasn't obvious how to claim the Elevate points, but these instructions for the prior issue work.) Project is a pretty good value at less than a buck. The ability to scroll vertically through an article like a web page while flipping pages horizontally like a printed magazine results is a satisfying browsing experience. Here's hoping these new 99¢ iPad publications can sustain themselves...

Google eBooks For iPad

While Skynet is late to the eBook reader app party, it's nice to see them take advantage of the openness of Apple's mobile iOS platform by releasing Google eBooks for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. The app comes preloaded with Great Expectations, which seems a little bit pretentious (based on the title alone) given that there's nothing really special about it compared to iBooks, Kindle For iPad, NOOK For iPad, Borders eBooks For iPad, or any of the other eBook readers available for the iPad.

The Stuff of Legend

The Stuff of Legend is a richly drawn, dark toy story about an alternate reality quest to rescue a boy from the boogeyman. This Comics reader is eagerly awaiting the iPad version of the latest installment released last week…

P.S. It would also be nice to get new books of The Walking Dead, which is currently languishing at digital Issue #71.

Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World

Pat Buchanan provides an interesting perspective in Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World. Buchanan proposes that key British missteps led to two World Wars, which resulted in Britain ceding global supremacy to the United States. (Thanks!) His often repetitive observations of an overextended nation are a cautionary tale to those who subscribe to the National Security Strategy of George W. Bush's administration. Perhaps Pat will blog (between conspiracy theories) his thoughts about President Obama's new NSS document published yesterday...

Wired For iPad

The first issue of Wired magazine for the iPad is finally here! A quick comparison to the hard copy reveals higher fidelity images, and faster navigation thanks to the digital format. Core content is present in both versions albeit page order and layout differs. Ironically, the back-cover ad for the iPad is nowhere to be found. The iPad edition is sprinkled with movie clips, which help contribute to the app's half-gigabyte size. Hopefully, there will eventually be a way to archive old issues off of the iPad. Condé Nast also needs to increase the multimedia goodies in order to justify the 5x premium over the paper subscription.

Kindle For iPad

Ironically, had to use Kindle For iPad, as the iBooks Store didn't stock an ebook desired for this week's cross-country trip. While not as refined as Apple's iBooks app, Amazon's Kindle app is yet another reason why the iPad is awesome. Amazon's claim that their colorless Kindle hardware provides the "best reading experience available" is somewhat suspect. Amazon's own marketing materials illustrate how their Kindle iPad app takes advantage of the iPad's crisp, full-color display!