books

Apple may be getting ready to introduce a new iMac with a redesigned body with a thinner profile.

Photos of what is purported to be the new iMac's logic board and other internal components surfaced earlier this month on a forum thread to the Chinese site WeiPhone (Google translation). The poster claims that the image was captured by his or her brother-in-law, who allegedly works in the factory where production is occurring.

The new iMac design is said to include a profile that when viewed from end to end, you "almost cannot see the new iMac's thickness.&… Read more

I was a huge Talking Heads fan and saw the band many times at shows in New York. That was a long time ago. Byrne is still a vital creative force, recording new music, performing, and writing books. He's worked with various media including film, photography, opera, and non-fiction. He's still searching for new creative challenges, which is more than you can say about most aging rock musicians. Byrne's new book, "How Music Works" reads more like an autobiography than a how-to make it in the music business tome.

Byrne is hyper-aware of how technology … Read more

If you've been a regular buyer of Kindle e-books for the last couple of years, Amazon has what might turn out to be a little good news for you.

The company has posted an FAQ about a credit that may become due to certain e-book buyers as a result of antitrust settlements reached in April between the Justice Department and the publishers Hachette, Harper Collins, and Simon & Schuster. (Amazon was not a party to the lawsuit in question, which involved allegations of price fixing between these publishers, two others, and Apple.)

If the settlement deals are approved by … Read more

If you like reading, bundles, science fiction, fantasy, and/or supporting charity, today's your lucky day.

The folks at Humble Bundle, who regularly serve up indie games on the cheap, have created the Humble eBook Bundle, a collection of six sci-fi/fantasy e-books for whatever price you want to pay.

That means you can literally drop a penny to get half a dozen DRM-free novels. But you're not that cheap, right? Here's why you should give serious consideration to paying more:

Writers need to eat. I've often railed against e-book prices, but certainly a buck per … Read more

WD announced today that its My Book Thunderbolt Duo now offers up to 8TB of storage space, up from the drive's initial cap of 6TB of when first released in March.

The My Book Thunderbolt Duo, which we've already reviewed, is WD's first Thunderbolt storage device. So far it's been the most affordable Thunderbolt storage device on the market in terms of cost per gigabyte. The new 8TB-capacity drive follows that tradition with a price of just $850, and it now comes with a Thunderbolt cable included.… Read more

A 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display is on track for production, according to an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch.

DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim has been telling CNET for a while now that a 13.3-inch Retina version of the MacBook Pro (MBP) is slated for production in the fourth quarter. And today Shim reiterated that he sees no change in those production plans.

What's not clear is when Apple would release the new MacBook. Shim speculates that it would happen after the iPad Mini announcement -- which is expected to be released in the coming weeks -- though … Read more

In memory of Steve Jobs, laser-cutting outfit Uncover today announced the auction of three Steve Job tribute MacBook Pro laptops with the rear-illuminated Apple logo containing the silhouette of the late Apple co-founder. The design derives from Hong Kong artist Jonathan Mak, who created the symbolic image last year to honor the tech icon.

The bottom of the laptop also features an engraved Steve Jobs quote from 1995: … Read more

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg wants to impart her leadership knowledge to other women, and to do it she's penning a book called "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sandberg's book will be less about her high-up roles at Facebook and Google and more about encouraging readers to achieve leadership positions. She will share both her personal and professional experiences.

"I wrote 'Lean In' so women can make more informed choices and increase their chances of making it to the top of any field or pursue … Read more

Google and a trade group representing U.S. book publishers today announced they have settled a copyright dispute that has dragged on for seven years.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and Google said in a joint statement that as a result of the settlement, the Google Library Project will receive access to publishers' copyrighted books.

Both parties also said that U.S. publishers can "choose to make available or choose to remove their books and journals digitized by Google for its Library Project."

In the statement, AAP and Google said: "Apart from the settlement, U.S. … Read more