iDevices & Kindle: Want all your ebooks in one place?

Updated 12.14.2011 @ 3:03pm: This also works for converting most iBooks (ePub) to Kindle ... =D 

There are lots of different apps available for reading, but this blog post is not going to discuss them, rather it is a how-to for getting all of one's books regardless of format in one place, Kindle.

One may ask why not iBooks, well, I don't like the iBooks interface, that's why. Ok, I'll give: It's the lack of theme customization. Yet, some may be thinking about Stanza which is a very sweet program, but it's not working in iOS 5 plus I buy most of my leisure books from Amazon so.....Kindle, it is.

The program that makes all this possible just happens to be Stanza Desktop (which seems to be not available at the moment). Stanza desktop not only does it allows one to read books on their desktops, but - and this is its magic - also allows one to open and convert most ebook formats to most ebook formats. In other words, it can open most ebook formats and convert that format to any of the others. Wicked slick!!

Here's a snapshot of the export menu:

Notice the second format - Amazon Kindle?!

Here's the process:

Step 0: Open desired ebook in Stanza Desktop.

Step 1: File | Export file as... Choose Amazon Kindle.

Step 2: Save exported file in Dropbox, SugarSync or box.net.

Step 3: Launch the program (Dropbox, SugarSync or box.net) on your iDevice.

Step 4: Download exported file.

Step 5: In top right hand corner tap the "open in" icon.

Step 6: Select Kindle.

Technical notes: Once the converted file is in Kindle one cannot change its name, description or any additional details. So before one exports the file from Stanza Desktop, one can make all those changes here:

Which pops up this dialog box:

Now, if only Kindle allowed for categories or collections...other than author, title or recent....

iPad Discovery: Presentation Magic Geekery

Since getting my iPad 2 in July, I have spent every moment possible playing and downloading this app or that app attempting to figure out if the iPad can, in fact, replace the teacher laptop. Well, I think it can for the majority of teachers. 

The last major hurdle is presentations which is rather complex, so here's some background information first: 

In 2008 I discovered the then called Air Mouse app (Mobile Mouse, today) from RPA for my iPhone. This allows one to control their computer as they move around the room, basically a cheap yet feature rich presentation mouse. Fantastic, so instead of being locked to my computer, I can be next to the rascals just in case. Moreover, just recently RPA added Presentation Mode for the iPhone. Presentation Mode doesn't work on the iPad, well, not as of today, but I'm sure it's in the works. The glitch with Presentation Mode on the iPhone is the slides and speaker notes are very small due to screen size limitations.

Then in January 2010 my projector bulb started its slow agonizing death with no available money for a new bulb, so my mission was to find an alternative or make do without. HUH?! Well, as serendipity would have it, LogMeIn's released Join.me just as this crisis hit. (If you have not tried this, I highly recommend you give it a whirl; it is the #1 teacher tool. Join.me is very simple; it privately shares whatever is on your computer screen via the Internet. Go check it out.) [Side Note: I have a lab of 20 computers and the district has 1:1 netbooks.]

Now, with Join.me and Mobile Mouse in my toolbox, I didn't need my projector, nor have I used it since. Plus, the process of an impromptu presentation for a two minute demonstration is now possible; it actually, takes less than 30 seconds to setup. No time for those rascals to get momentum, and it's a game... I read the numbers wicked fast. Who's going to get there first?

There is one major drawback by not using the projector - impromptu whiteboard teachable moments. When I used the projector, I would project directly onto my 8 foot whiteboard which I could then write on to further explain the concept as needed. (Then using my iPhone camera take a snapshot of the whiteboard and later add it to the presentation with speaker notes). Using Join.me, I cannot do this. (Well, at the time I didn't think it possible....read on.)

Another glitch, over the summer I started moving everything to Google Apps, DropBox, SugarSync and box.net; I am really tried of making backups. The glitch? Mobile Mouse's Presentation Mode does not work with Google Presentation. So back to using it to simply control the computer which keeps me free to mingle with the rascals.

The HURTLE: But there's got to be a way, where I can have it all, right?

I want to be able to move around my room while seeing and controlling the presentation in my hand AND write on the presentation as if it was projected on the whiteboard regardless of the presentation software I used to original create it.

YES, Waston, there is.

Step 0: Make presentation.
Step 1: Save/export presentation as a PDF.
Step 2: Upload PDF into cloud (Dropbox, SugarSync, box.net, etc.).
Step 3: On your iPad download PDF.
Step 4: Open PDF in AirSketch (AirSketch broadcasts a whiteboard AND reads PDFs).
Step 5: Launch browser on laptop.
Step 6: Direct laptop's browser to IP address from AirSketch.
Step 7: Launch Join.me on laptop.
Step 8: Give Join.me numbers to students.

Now, I can have my presentation in my hand. I can control it, write on it, and with those edits/additions, save the presentation as a new PDF and email it to whomever.

Technical Side Notes: No AppleTVs or HDTVs for those who were thinking of AirPlay. Back to my technique: The trick is to have the laptop physically plugged (Ethernet) into the network. I have tried broadcasting just from my iPad 2, but it bogs down. It is better to piggy back it off the laptop. Now, to wait patiently until AirSketch adds a recording feature.