Google applies self-publishing strategy to Stadia game cloud service

google stadia cloud game service press photo

Writers have enjoyed the possibilities of self-publishing ebooks for more than 10 years, and during that time indie writers and their works have become a mainstream phenomenon. Music makers and film creators have their own avenues to self-publish their works, but game developers have other types of challenges. Move to … Read >

Did you know that a better search engine than Google is available?

searx search engine instance home page

Writers tend to research a myriad of topics for their manuscripts, whereas travelers like to research options for planned trips. Today, the tool most people use for finding information is Google. It has become a standard, although we now know Google sells our search information and other data to marketers. … Read >

Ebook news digest: ebooks on Instagram, new EU laws troubling Google, circumstances that make readers

News on ebooks, writing and copyright

man holding an open book behind his back

French and German publishers unite to fight Google’s refusal to pay them copyright fees

Get ready for a long fight between major newspapers and Google (in Europe, at least). EU approved a new copyright directive earlier in 2019 that clarifies many issues that were … Read >

This translation tool not only produces the best results, but also protects privacy

deepl online translator screen shot
Writers, readers, travelers, and anyone who wants to understand a document or a piece of text written in foreign language can access an online tool that produces a rough translation for tens of languages. The go-to tool for many people is Google Translator, but there is a new service that … Read >

Google has created a robot that can carry books from homes back to the library

Book Bot robot in Mountain View, Silicon Valley, California
Google experimental lab has developed an autonomous robot that can pick up books from homes. The small robot moves along pavements in Mountain View (in Silicon Valley, California), and visits houses where books are waiting to be returned.

The robot makes its round in the neighborhood near the Mountain View … Read >

Ebook reading, travel, and other mobile apps may be leaking private data to Facebook

Writers, ebook lovers, travelers, and anyone who is using downloaded applications on their mobile phones or tablets are silently leaking their personal data to Facebook. A research organization has published a study that shows how apps, including popular travel applications like TripAdvisor, Kayak, Yelp and Skyscanner continuously transmitted users’ private … Read >

The best tools that can replace Google services for privacy-minded people

I don’t know about you, but I find it extremely annoying when I’m researching, say, New Zealand for an article or a book, and suddenly I’m bombarded with ads of hotels in the destination. Privacy is an important factor why many colleagues have given up Google products, whereas frequent travelersRead >

Someone has to write the scripts for all those video games

Many writers apply their skills and knowledge to various media, writing different types of texts, articles or manuscripts. Even today’s most successful author JK Rowling writes young adult and suspense fiction (and who knows what else, because she has already used a pseudonym). As computer games have become more like … Read >

Talk to Books artificial intelligence service finds good reads from Google Books

Google has many projects where the company develops artificial intelligence services for tasks that some day will help both businesses and daily life of ordinary people. One of Google’s research projects, Talk to Books, can help book readers and writers to find a good read they perhaps didn’t know … Read >