eBooks - your study buddy

Ok so one of the disadvantages of being a distance education student is not having local access to the University library. Before I go on I have to mention that you CAN borrow books from a Uni library and they post them out to you. You also have full access to their online database of journals and electronic resources and I highly recommend you take advantage of these tools available to you (see your University's Library website for more details). That being said I still find myself wanting to browse or read through more books without having to go via the library - or maybe you want to have books to keep for your own reference or for future studies. That is where eBooks come in.

eBooks are electronic books - they are an alternative to hardcopy books. They are gradually becoming more popular than hardcopy books with electronic book sales exceeding hardcopy sales in February this year. Now you don't NEED an eBook reader to access the millions of eBooks available (while they are useful and I will mention them later). All you need to get an eBook today is a computer, with internet access and some software which is available free. I will only be mentioning apps I have used before but there are lots out there don't be afraid to look around - most are free to download and install and the only cost involved comes when you purchase a book.

Why use eBooks?

There are many reasons you may want to use eBooks here are my reasons:

• Quick Access - You can download and read a book generally within a minute


• Cost - eBooks are generally a fraction of the cost of their hardcopy counterparts


• Easy Access - I don't have access to a bookstore or a large library in my town


• Searchable - easily search the entire book within seconds for key words


• Easy Notations - you can easily bookmark and highlight pages and passages

Some of the cons of eBooks - I don't have many perhaps because I am such a fan :)

• No resale value - unlike hardcopy textbooks you can't resell eBooks


• Brightness - unless you have a dedicated eBook reader long stints of reading from a screen can be hard on your eyes


• Technology - requires minimum a computer with an internet connection (although most students have these nowadays)

eBooks are an excellent resource and quick to access. As mentioned above all you need is a computer with an internet connection to get started. Here are the applications I have used to download and access eBooks:

• - by Amazon


• - backed by a number of large retailers


• - by eReader.com

There are more applications out there these are the ones I have used before. I find the best one to be Kindle as it has the largest selection of books to download and is used by other writers to publish their works. Generally it has been one of the cheapest ones too - it is all in US dollars but the AU dollar is going strong at the moment so it works out even better value. The three companies above also are available on multiple platforms; PC, smartphones, tablets and eBook readers.

The ability to search and bookmark eBooks is a fantastic feature for students making it easy to mark key passages and make notes allowing you quick and easy access. Further more if you do happen to have ereader apps installed on other devices then you will be able to sync them all together - meaning you can read a book on your smartphone or eBook reader away from the computer and mark anything you find useful then go back to your computer and your book can sync to the furthest page you have read and all your notes will be there.

I have eBook reader apps installed on my PC, iPhone and iPad plus I have a dedicated eBook reader (Kindle). Each have their advantages:

• PC - easy to read, search and highlight passages.


• iPhone (smartphone) - portable, able to read anywhere.


• iPad - large screen but still portable and easy to search and hignlight.


• Kindle - easy to read screen (no backlight - like reading paper) can hold hundreds of books.

If you are interested in reading more about the Kindle you can read my reviews on my other blog. It is definitely worthwhile looking into eBooks if you haven't already. You can download the apps for free and there are a lot of free books available at the big eBook retailers (Amazon, Kobo and eReader) to test out.

If you use another eBook reader device or App and want to recommend it please feel free to comment and let others know.

 

Prepare for study for FREE

If you are completely new to study or are returning to study after a long absence and you're not sure where to start I have some information that will make your life easier! A Tertiary Enabling Program is great for getting you prepared for your future endeavours into Academia. What is even better is that you can do a Tertiary Enabling Program for FREE. Yes that's right it is free. So now you can see if you are ready for university without spending hundreds of dollars on a course you aren't sure of.

Charles Darwin University provide a Tertiary Enabling Program free of charge that can be completed either full-time or part-time to suit your needs. It also can be completed in as little as one semester and provides the minimum entry requirements to most courses offered by CDU. To make the offer even better, you can complete you studies from anywhere in Australia externally, no need to be in the Northern Territory to take advantage. The majority of CDU's higher education courses are also available externally so you can continue your studies with CDU if you choose to (however there is no obligation to do so).

So if you never completed year 12 (or haven't studied in a while), over 18, and are an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or Humanitarian Visa holder then you could start preparing for your future career now!

To find out more information please click here to be taken to CDU's information and sign up page.

 

Open Source Resource

You can actually get something for nothing in the online technology world. Welcome to Open Source software! Basically Open Source allows a user to use download and use the application at no cost. Developers produce applications and make them freely available to the community (with some guidelines in place, see The Open Source Definition for more details). What this means for you is that you don't have to pay big dollars for software! Below I will mention some of my favourite Open Source software initiatives but there are thousands of open source applications out there (see SourceForge.net for ideas and downloads) and I encourage you to search and see what is available!

Operating System:

You do not have to deal with Microsoft if you really don't want to - or Apple for that matter.
Linux is one of the most widely known Open Source Operating Systems available to users. In saying that there are many many different versions and spinoffs of Linux as the Development code is made freely available for other developers to use and edit and redistribute freely. Popular versions include Debian and Ubuntu. If you are new to Linux I would recommend checking out Ubuntu it is easy for new users to set up and use and you don't have to have any programming knowledge to get it going.

Productivity:

Again no need to deal with Microsoft or hand over hard earned cash just to get software to write your assignments!
Check out Open Office for a great, free to use productivity suite. Open Office is the leading Open Source office suite software. It provides functionality for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. It is easy to use and is now compatible with other major Office suites meaning you don't have to worry if the person you are sending your work to can open the file!

7-Zip is an Open Source file compression program. It allows you to compress large files or combine multiple files to make them easy to store or send via email.

Looking for a program to create PDF files try PDF Creator (which I have mentioned before). Another PDF alternative is Cute PDF.

If you are looking for an alternative to Adobe for viewing PDF files try Foxit Reader.

Need some software for image manipulation? (better known as photo editing!) There is no need to hand over hundreds of dollars for PhotoShop or Corel Draw. GIMP is a powerful Open Source image manipulation program that has plenty of tools for image alteration. There are plenty of online help forums and how to procedures to help you learn how to use GIMP.

So there are some of my favourites - I hope you find that list useful to start you off in the Open Source world! There are plenty of other applications available so look around, more projects are being developed all the time so it is always wise to keep and eye out. If you use any other Open Source software you would like to share with everyone post a comment!  :)

 

Long time no Post

I will start by apologising for it being over a month since my last post - this is because I have been busy working on my other blog The Professional Student to get it ready for my uni assignment. It has now been submitted so I can spend a little time on here before working on my next assignment.

I will re-post some of the articles I wrote for The Professional Student here so people can read them but I also have some new reviews I am working on and will try to get them up in the next few weeks so stay tuned...