AMD Nano PC | #CES2014

    With all this CES 2014 technology, the vibe is going strong, and now with AMD showing off palm sized PC prototypes. I think that AMD and Intel are pushing for ever so thin and small PCs with full pc power.
    This reference design, according to Engagdet, packs enough to run Windows 8.1 seamlessly and even get in a quick game of FIFA 14 at 1080p. This contains their Mullins chip, a 256gb solid state drive (SSD), camera, Bluetooth, Wifi, and a DockPort connector. This design also features HDMI and USB ports. Sounds good to me!
    Engadget says, "Here's hoping that a company or two picks up on the design and starts making absurdly thin machines of their own."

The Editor's Choice Awards 2013

Well in this Christmas season I'd like to spread some holiday cheer by presenting the first annual Book N Tech Editor's Choice Awards! In this post I'll show you the covers, title, and short blurb of the books I've chosen in their respective categories and the book of the year! For this year I really can't say I could choose an overall winner because that would be comparing apples to oranges in my opinion. All the books I received in the queue were great though! Sorry that you have to scroll so much! Also due to varying cover sizes there were some formatting problems.

Science Fiction

The book was a great read and my favorite in the science fiction category because of the main character Ack Ack Macaque. He's a real charmer for all the science fiction fans with his hard demeanor. Good job Mr. Powell on making an excellent science fiction novel all can enjoy. 

Check the review out: http://bookntech.blogspot.com/2013/10/hive-monkey.html

Buy the book! http://amzn.to/1cwcIyN

Action

A fun faced paced adventure action book that takes a comedic look at action, love, and all the other aspects of life. Some of my favorite parts are the various nerd movie references and Mr. Wood's writing style. 

Check the review out: http://bookntech.blogspot.com/2013/08/like-mind-review.html

Buy the book: http://amzn.to/19KNAlG

Non-Fiction 

Ah the infamous non-fiction "Jesus book!" Well lay your possible anti Christian thoughts aside this book provided kindly by BookCrash for free was amazing. Not biased toward Christianity at all or mean spirited it just tells a great story in 30 days for you to reflect on your faith and an amazing book trilogy.

Check the review out: http://bookntech.blogspot.com/2013/11/finding-god-in-hunger-games.html
Buy the book: http://amzn.to/19nKlCK

Steampunk

Probably one of my favorite steampunk adventures I have ever taken thanks to the amazing writing style the author Mrs. Hudson provided with the double life living psychiatrist Max Mason and his lovely assistant Amber. Some might argue the lack of backstory for the post apocalyptic (in so many words it looks like one) setting makes it feel rush I rather enjoy it. Can't wait for the next in the series to further the story!
Check the review out: http://bookntech.blogspot.com/2013/08/dr-homebrew.html
Buy the book: http://amzn.to/1c5ibqd

Dystopian

Iron Mountain (Arc)
Sadly still not out yet but this book was simply phenomenal. A great sequel the previously reviewed Flotilla by author Daniel Haight noted for his "dark humor and crackling narrative." The book really continued a great story for that I am eternally grateful! When the book cover and link to Amazon are available I will add them.
Check the review out: http://bookntech.blogspot.com/2013/12/iron-mountain-review.html
Go to the website: http://flotillaonline.com/

Thriller

Wow. A beautiful cover. Great story. Excellent ending. All of these aspects form to make Discretion a killer Christian (however you want to slice it) thriller that's worth your dollar. The writing style is consistent throughout the story providing a great adult story. Still would argue with the author that the extra added adult content is unnecessary but still a great story.
Check the review: http://bookntech.blogspot.com/2013/09/discretion.html
Go buy the book: http://amzn.to/19cHIxQ

Western

Remember the classic Mark Twain novel that you read in grade school and did your book report on? Well Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer come back in a surprisingly good novel that doesn't bear the marks of typical fan fiction novels.
Check the review: http://bookntech.blogspot.com/2013/10/redemption.html
Go buy the book: http://amzn.to/19eFS2H

Art

Looking for an amazingly done comic series that is perfect and fun for the whole family? Well artist Nick Seluk has done an amazing job by making Lars the Awkward Yeti and his various webcomic drawings some even featured in media campaigns like Taco Bell. The artwork shows for itself how amazing it is.
Check the review: http://bookntech.blogspot.com/2013/10/lars-awkward-yeti-book-review.html
See the interview: http://bookntech.blogspot.com/2013/10/interview-with-creator-of-awkward-yeti.html
Buy it! http://amzn.to/1dBohBo

Detective Thriller

Are you a big fan of the classic cop/detective thriller? Than read Broken Allegiance by Mark Young a former cop himself. The book is written from the point where you can tell they have been in involved in the business making it feel more genuine. Plus the author handled the book review request properly and very professionally. The review is coming shortly.
Check the review: pending
Buy the book! http://amzn.to/1hCQNWb

Short Story

MG Mason's novelette was an excellent detective cyborg story set in the future somewhere in Europe where Climate Change was real and times were hard. The book was a bit preachy on certain topics but it was easy to overlook and a really great read! No offense to the author but the original artwork (pictured) looks a lot better than the new cover but still the story was a great read. Hopefully there will be a followup.
Check the review: http://bookntech.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-weight-of-reason-review.html
Buy the book!: http://amzn.to/1cwoR78


And... that's a wrap! Congratulations to all the winners and I hope everyone has a great Christmas!
Book N Tech Book Reviewers
Ezekiel Carsella (senior)
Kevin Anthony (senior)
Mani Lea DeShong (new)
Emily Koons (new)

The Son's of Cain

                                     

Overview

I never knew that there was a healthy number of thrillers all based on a group of guys with a lot of power doing a whole lot of bad over a long period of time. This particular story has a reporter gone hero bankrolled by an influential friend who is a "non acting member" of The Sons of Cain trying to take down the influential men for attacking him while working on a story. 

Review

Very solid plot concept that reads like butter. The character development was fine and actually very believable and worked to perfection. The ending wasn't premature and the book really forces you to read it because it is so well written. Also thankfully the language is kept clean and the book would be suitable for 13 and up. Only thing is I felt too many people got killed but that's my personal opinion. 

Rating

4/5 A solid thriller with a classic unlikely hero done right. Plus it had a perfect ending with believable characters doing amazing things with Biblical proportions. 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYIA4OW/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=1535523722&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0983526214&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1P8KF2YFW4CAD1K4CEXR

Against Her Will

Overview
      A dramatic book set in London about a gorgeous young lady who encounters one of the worst things ever: rape. She is raped and has a weird time trying to get over it (kinda hard to relate to as a man and even jumping over gender barriers still doesn't make any logical sense). The book is well.... special. hehehehe

Review
     Got the book with little fanfare and after reading some reviews on Amazon... I had to prepare myself for a bad book. Actually wasn't too bad. Just I felt the place it really fell was character development. The character development was all over the place. The MC was so bi-polar I'm surprised they didn't give her medicine for it. The rest of the characters were fine I just felt her recovery was really dragged out beyond reality.

Rating
    3.7/5 Books good just the character development needs re-working. Otherwise I felt the book had an ending I didn't really expect it was close though.

Splinter

Overview
      A surprsingly good space opera incorporating crazy religions (the Millennial Gnostics) and billions of innocent people caught up in the crossfire! Splinter is that crazy science fiction space opera you've wanted to read but couldn't find it in your local bookstore... until now.

Review
     Great. Just great. Crazy religions and the whole nine yards fully appealed to me. I mean it started off very well, then kinda dipped into a lull, then gave me a rush of excitement. The book was good for the plot story it offered. Either I wasn't the biggest fan of the plot story or it wasn't executed well enough is all up to you the reader, but the way Sherri Moorer wrote it was beautiful. Plain and simple. Didn't hurt it had a nice cover.

Rating
     4/5 Overall a nice read (bit long but worth it in the end) if you like space opera's/futurist science fiction with apocalyptic endings and crazy religions tied in. Doesn't hurt she's a Carolina girl!
http://www.sherrithewriter.com/2/post/2013/10/life-as-inspiration.html

American Alligator

Overview
     Fan of Swamp People? Really like or are intrigued by essential living dinos known as alligators? Then this a wonderful book for you. Filled with bunches of facts, observations, and things your probably don't know about an elusive but highly popularized species of reptile written in a way not to bore you like the book you read for your Doctorate thesis. Written by a retired biologist who spent 30 years in the outdoors seeing this fascinating subject of fame up close and personal.

Review
     As a fan of the uber popular Swamp People reality TV show on History channel and a cryptozoologist enthusiast this struck several chords inside of me. I highly enjoyed the way he told the story of the alligator in a way where it didn't feel like reading the boring section of the newspaper or a really boring bibliography. It felt to me like a feature article (i.e Rick Bragg) something with some flair but highly informational. Book was great if you don't get offended easily (i.e strong Creationist, Cryptozoologist, or take offense to any even if light to non criticism of Swamp People) even if you do it still makes its points.

Rating
     5/5 Loved the book and the vast amount of information involved. It really expanded what little I knew about the history of alligators. I really love zoology/paleontology plus Swamp People really expanded my love for the highly armored Apex predator so this just fed into something I already enjoyed. High Recommendation. If I had an award on the site I'd give it one. Or several.

Redemption

Overview
      I'm dead serious: someone somewhere needs to send me a crappy book so I don't look like a free 5 star giver. I don't know if I am too easy on books, am not critical enough, or I just somehow get excellent books all the time. Well Redemption (as seen on the beautiful cover) is the added tales of excellent classic characters Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. Now older, better writers, and more mature they go from the Confederate army to different paths ultimately to meet up in Redemption, Colorado for 1 goal. Book sound amazing? Well probably because it is.

Review
     From the cover to the story the book was amazing. It flowed well, it read easily, and I loved the angle it came from. The book came alive, but felt more than a typical Western novel. It had a really good story to it and felt like a true Mark Twain story. It just felt so authentic I forgot Mark Twain has been dead a LONG time.

Rating
    5/5 Really loved the book and couldn't fine one thing wrong with it! I'm sorry people that I haven't been on some epic rant about why a book is bad because well authors are churning out great content.

This is the Future: Adroit pet feeder

Overview
      Feeding our pets is something we probably forget a LOT. Obviously our pets are very important but with a busy schedule it's easy to forget. So Adroit wants to make sure you never forget with the Adroit pet feeder that works with your smartphone. It is a contestant in the Electrolux contest for their "design lab." Idea looks great and could help save dogs and cats lives and yours too!

The Design
 

  Since it's obviously a contestant in a design contest the design is very important. I gotta admit I'm used to square and aesthetically white designs but this one beats the atypical modern design with something more round. I really like the design because it's compact and not boring.

The Future

    The future is bright with the innovation we've been seeing. From small fire extinguishers to this if we can focus on small things that can save lives from animals to humans then we can tackle some of the worlds bigger problems. 

http://electroluxdesignlab.com/en/submission/adroit/

Jared's Island Review

Overview
     A book about a young foster child Jared who is tired of the mainland life and decides to take a boat and head out into the gulf where he finds the eccentric Sam the owner of a private island built by the US government. The book is highly original, inventive, and tells a story that is easy to relate to.

Review
   Wow. I really don't know how I stumbled upon this golden find but I did and I fully enjoyed the storytelling. The book was well written, the story was highly original, and also highly believable/relatable. The book has a lot going for it only thing I wasn't excited about was the formatting (probably a Kindle issue) and the website wasn't the best either. Still Mr. Thayer did a wonderful job portraying Jared.

Rating
    5/5 Another one of my glowing reviews but Jared's Island deserves every star it gets. The book was entertaining, original, and well written. I recommend it to all ages which is something I enjoy.
http://www.amazon.com/Jareds-Island-ebook/dp/B00998TD5W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1379363711&sr=1-1&keywords=jared%27s+island

Discretion

Overview
      A thriller involving a man wanting his girl back and his future destiny and demons controlling him is very entertaining. Meet Colin a man who lost his girlfriend Natalie and was led back to her by a Christel who he thinks is a ghost or other supernatural being. It took me about 3 days to read the book and is intended for an adult audience.

Review
       This was my 3rd paperback book and 1st ARC I received. What originally attracted the book to me was the cover. I usually don't touch on covers but this one was a particular favorite. The use of a stock royalty free photo and the right font makes a stunning first impression. The book itself was good... if your 18+. The excessive use of language and certain scenes didn't touch on any fancy of mine. Still the writing felt much like a Ted Dekker thriller which satisfied me well.

Rating
     3.8/5 If your 18+, looking for some supernatural action, and a story of love, redemeption, with twists and turns then I highly recommend this book. If your under 18 and not a fan of cursing this book wouldn't be your favorite. I say to the author excellent job and keep up the good writing!

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7171239.David_Balzarini

Dash: the DIY robot you've been dreaming of

                         
Future of robotics?

      Animal inspired, unique building process, and hacker friendly the Dash robot is available if you donate $40 to the Dash crowdsourcing campaign. One of the "perks" and probably what really made me think was the spring type of locomotion. Usually robots require a lot of servos, sensors, and other things making robots a sect within a sect of people. To make robots you have to be an "extremist nerd/geek." Now the fun, easy to make, and relatively fast Dash alpha robot is here with a simple origami style.
      The key part that the Dash team is stressing is the "animal inspired" part. Through a promo (not the one shown above) they showed some animals like lizards, cheetahs, and a large insect all using a spring like locomotion to keep on moving. I thought the idea was neat because instead of making something that would most likely be unsuccessful, slow at best, and highly unimaginative they built upon tried and true principles with little nearly cute animal like robotic "mice." The good thing compared to as spider like ATV these can actually sprint or dash like they are called.
      This is completely awesome. I've put links to all their social media sites, websites, and the place to go fund this beast of a machine.

http://dashrobotics.com/
http://www.dragoninnovation.com/projects/16-dash-the-diy-robot
https://twitter.com/DashRobotics
https://www.facebook.com/DashRobotics

The Infinite Within book review

Overview
        Space the final frontier has been the setting for a lot of books, movies, and TV shows. Everyone wonders if we are alone, if there is life on Mars, and how to get there. The Infinite Within manages to tackle 2 out of 3 in a thrilling book that really takes space, wormholes, black holes, and everything else in space to a new dimension! I really enjoyed the political side to the novel as well as the quantum physics part.

Review
      Wow. First off I'll start by saying the book was amazing. In the beginning I was a little iffy about the whole deal then the book got better, and better, and obviously better. I was surprised at the level of detail in the storytelling. I gotta admit Drakich got what it takes to make it in a cutthroat market. I really enjoyed the story very much. I mean you can't beat a story like this unless you add aliens.

Rating
     4/5 Well Michael Drakich you did good. Really good with the story. Only qualms I had were a few grammar issues (so grammar nazi's beware) and the rest of the book was near flawless. Great read one of my top 20's!
Book on Amazon
Goodreads Profile

Dr. Homebrew

Overview
       First I have to say well played. The first thing that popped up in my head when I read the last words in the novella was well played. The book had a snarky tone throughout making good use of the third person voice it employed. Dr. Homebrew (a fantastic and original idea in my humble opinion) is set in a dystopian/steampunk environment where Lake Ltd. has a monopoly on the brewery business ruling a small British town with a proverbial iron fist. Dr. Homebrew is standing up to the law providing the people with excellent beer compared to the crap Lake Ltd. makes. It incorporates Steampunk, Mystery, and science fiction quite nicely to make for a great read.

Review
     Well a book like this doesn't appear in my e-mail everyday. The author (well actually Amber from the story e-mailed me the book) sent me a digital copy, but I decided to jump at the Kindle free promo because I prefer books in that format. Even though it wasn't on the top of my queue I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was 93 pages of secrecy, deception, business, smiles, and brewing! The characters were well put together and felt real someone you could actually imagine in real life which I enjoyed. Highly recommendable and an excellent wrap up at the end.

Rating
    5/5 Easily deserves a high rating because it was a great book. That's probably why it was the #1 free Steampunk book two days in a row and now at around #70 paid steampunk. Book looks very promising in a category that is one of my personal favorites.
Site: http://www.doctorhomebrew.com/
Book: http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Homebrew-ebook/dp/B00EGXYMAG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377317630&sr=8-1&keywords=Dr.+Homebrew

Custer at the Alamo Review

Overview
       The battle of Little Big Horn and the Alamo are seperated by 40 years of tense war torn years. General Custer with his men are somehow transported back in time 40 years to the time of the Alamo. Not knowing if it was fate or just chance they decide to help out to fight the death loving Santa Anna with historical figures like Davy Crocket and Jim Bowie.

Review
      Well the book wasn't short thank God. It was long and very entertaining. The figures from what I am told comes from years of research. As a military enthusiast I was surprised at the accuracy of the military maneuvers, situations, weapons, and the characters themselves. The battles were exciting for any historical fiction fan and the book was entertaining at times. The Indian aspect was my favorite especially Spotted Eagle who always wanted coup (scalp). I'd easily recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read.

Rating
   5/5 It's hard to find a book this good almost like something from Back to the Future. The book was highly entertaining and provided few grammatical flaws.

This is the future: Boompack

*This is the Future is a new series of posts showcasing products or concept art of products that could be the future of tech, culture, or art.

The Boompack by Massimo Battaglia

The Boompack

     I frequent Yanko Design a site you may see a lot of the concept art coming from. The first TISF article is about the Boompack: Brand new Ghetto Blaster. The backpack is supposed to be a retro throwback to the boomboxes carried by people in the Hip Hop community. Instead of a bulky rectangle with a cassette providing the beats the Boompack has speakers integrated in the backpack with a beautiful design. A smartphone provides the beats with the added benefit of a PICO projector. The entire package manages a science fiction look with ease coming in various colors with the same shape. Obviously no street performer has ever had all this awesomeness made into one spiffy looking package. It can stand by itself displaying a cool background for the performer who can broadcast his beats on the street-corner or for a DJ who wanted to do a special event. 

The Future

       Well I have to admit I have never seen anything like this before. A backpack you can stuff with a laptop, tablet, books, and anything else you have plus having the ability to broadcast the music you love loudly is amazing. The only drawback would be potential weight. The backpack weights 7.5 kg or 16.5lbs which is a lot. Carrying that on your back plus a laptop, tablet, a few books, and anything else you have could make it 20 to 23 pounds which if you were carrying it for say 30 minutes would hurt. Still if there was a way to make it lighter to about 14lbs (still all weights would be in theory) this would be my next. If it existed.

Source: http://www.givingshape.it/index.php?/portfolio/boompack/

Source: http://www.yankodesign.com/2013/01/15/ghetto-blaster-backpack/

Network Speed Test



Overview
    
 I've been told a picture is worth a thousand words. Well out of the two screen shots I took (both look about the same) of Microsoft Research's Windows 8 Network Speed test it really is a tell all. App looks good, has some good information, and does what it implies.

Functionality

Wow this is probably my shortest app review ever! App loads up fast because its a light app. It launches into a screen little chrome all content perfect MDL usage. Simple as shown you click start and it tests your internet connection which it advises not to do over a metered connection. Results were accurate I felt the ping was off but that's me and speedtest.net little bout. Anyway It showcases previous tests some were done while I was doing a lot thus the low scores. No sharing which made me sad but then it didn't advertise it.

Design

Not much too say. Clean simple UI design much to my liking. Considering it was a home grown app I expected something that had something like this. Not a fan of the scrolling bar at the bottom, but that is a minor niggle.

5/5 Very few apps get this rating and this deserves it because it delivers what it says it does no more no less. Good app I recommend. No slideshow because wasn't much of a point it would be redundant.

(official) Twitter for Windows 8 app review

Overview

A lot of times official apps for WP8 or Windows 8 really really stink. The original Twitter app for Windows Phone was terrible. They updated it with a similar look (suited for portrait mode of course) and a more cleaner minimalistic style. The Windows 8 version is much better than I originally would have expected so much so I decided against installing MetroTwit or Rowi.

Functionality

Well I do use Twitter a lot and the fact it updates its live tile with my latest interactions is really great. All I have to do is glance at the tile which saves time in my busy schedule. Another boon of the app is the 1/3 snap functions. It basically works like the WP8 app when you do a 1/3 snap (don't have Windows 8.1 so I can't do a 50/50 snap) it can do everything it does in regular mode a bit smaller though. That like Messenger makes it easier to multitask then having multiple windows open. It loads everything quickly with nice animations. Unlike other Twitter clients it shows all Twitter functions in a nice minimalistic view. The search is really useful and everything loads quick. You can share tweets from the app which I wasn't expecting a complete plus. I have literally NO complaints so far.

Design

As an ardent follower of MDL which says put content first the app design is clean and minimalistic. The design is a bit spare with some empty space not too much. The app design I really have no qualms over which is vastly superior to the website or clients like Tweetdeck.

4/5 An excellent app with an excellent design. I do deduct some points for not displaying Twitter page art which I have always liked. A background or even a gallery of tattoos for the home feed would be nice. If you do use Twitter a lot I recommend this app.

The Allure of Self Publishing from a techie's perspective

Self Publishing

       Self publishing has been a big craze producing both good and bad books and creating some big time author's like J. R. Tolkien and +Mark Twain. But obviously it is not a get rich quick scheme. I have been doing a lot of homework on the topic and there are a lot of articles, books, and communities that can help you on your authorship. Self publishing has been a revolution and now is a journey. There are many paths with pitfalls and hedge robbers on the way. There are companies to beware of ie (Vanity or Subsidy presses like: Xlibris, Outskirts Press, and Tate Publishing) who may vocally say they are not but their track record shows it. The writing process is a lot like Pilgrims's Progress. There will be people to help you, hurt you, but depending on how well you fight your end can be glorious. So I am going to detail my experiences in this brutally vicious game called publishing. 

          I am 13 which makes self publishing easier than if I was 12 and harder because I am a "minor." I finished my book Operation Hammer November 29th just in time for NaNoWrimo! It barely eeked over 50,000 words which made me very happy because I got all types of free stuff like 5 free books from Createspace and some free memberships to different websites. After NaNoWrimo was over the help I was getting from it suddenly died because all of the active members left because NaNoWrimo. So I wandered from forum to forum giving advice taking advice and creating a base for my fledgling book. I made a website, I made a Facebook page, I made a Twitter page, Google +Animal Conflict Series, and a Goodreads page for the book. I published my book on Smashwords for $1.99. After my big social blitz I regularly checked on them and tried my best to get as many likes, followers, and +1's as possible. As a techie I knew it was important to branch out to everyone in every possible way so I did. I got an editor and formatter +Ashley Clarke to help make the book go by smoother and look  better. I did a cover for my print book with the massive help of +C. Sheehan. On January 20th 2013 I entered the ABNA (Amazon Breakout Novel Award) and published my book on Createspace and Kindle. Now I felt I was ready to take on the world. Oh how I was so wrong...
       
           Now it is the 3rd of February with 9 sales on Smashwords, 1 kindle sale, no print sales, and a whole lot of despair. I still fail to get into the premium Smashwords catalogue which means I am missing out on sales in iBooks, B&N, Kobo, Feedbook, Diesel, and Sony's stores. But hey my story is not a reflection of the entire market. I am not a very happy camper but with a big marketing rush and some money coming in I am going to publish on Lightning Press to get it into Ingram distributing to expand my  market reach and be able to do book signings etc. Now on for the perspective...

Perspective

     The indie author community has become vast with 1,000 of authors and a lot of them being 13 - 18 growing in every state making it almost like a movement. Tools like Createspace and Smashwords are easy to use even if you are not a Power User. Nowadays you can publish to almost every platform in about an hour e-book wise. That compared to what it used to be is very impressive. Still it has a long way to go in terms of paperback publishing. Independent bookstores are not the best to deal with and big bookstores require you to sign up with a service like Lightning Press and pay money to get your book in all the big places. So depending on how you play your cards you can come out either good or bad. Just my Humble Opinion