calibre

Yesterday i was looking to convert epub files (electronic publication) to work on my kindle, which uses the mobi extension (mobi book), and had to do some research to accomplish this.

The main reason was that i had a few ebooks on my PC that i wanted to read and thought it would;
a) take about an hour
b) require at least 3 or 4 different types of  ‘trial and error’ with different software
c) end up asking on a forum for guidance

However, this was not the case. I was very surprised with the first piece of software I came across, which surpassed my expectations and rapidly placed that epub file on my kindle quicker than it takes to make a cup of coffee.

Calibre as its known, is probably one of the best free pieces of software i have used in some time, is available on windows, unix and mac platforms, and the best part is that its open source.

Not only does it convert epub to mobi, but also supports a wide variety of other formats including PDF, HTML, RTF, and TXT ; it can also convert one format to another.

You can also download additional meta data which includes images, ratings, and author data from amazon.

The whole conversion process is easy to complete, and if you have a gmail/hotmail account, you can let the application send the document to your kindle too.  (Your email address should have access to send to your kindle before hand).

Its one of the best ebook management systems to-date, and includes the following;

• Library Management
• E-book conversion
• Syncing to e-book reader devices
• Downloading news from the web and converting it into e-book form
• Comprehensive e-book viewer
• Content server for online access to your book collection

You can download calibre here.

hydrasoul

After almost 5.5+ years, hydrasoul.com is back online, and it’s about time.  A lot has happened since the demise of the site back in 2006, which was mainly due to lack of time to focus on the site, and the forum was to much of a pain in the rear to moderate.

The site was originally created for a hobby, and allowed fellow gamers to sign up and join like minded people for a laugh and some casual gaming, via steam.  However, the forum was be chore to moderate and hence the site closed…to be reopened in the future.  That day was today, and hence i decided to upload some files and start the website with a new layout, images, and a new project.

I plan on updating the site from now on, and it will be somewhat of a personal portal for me to communicate my opinions.

so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride