How can mobile devices help modern libraries? (infographic)

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Multi-modal ebooks are taking over digital publishing (report)

Aug 23, 2026

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Piotr Kowalczyk

Reading on a screen used to mean staring at flat black text. Now, AI models and interactive media are changing digital books completely. Are we ready for multi-modal reading, or was the old digital page actually enough?
Boox Picco teased: the 3.97-inch micro-reader to battle phone addiction

Aug 23, 2026

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Piotr Kowalczyk

While e-reader screens keep getting bigger, the upcoming Boox Picco goes the opposite direction. At under 4 inches, it offers a clever, distraction-free way to read on the go.
Xteink X3 pocket e-reader guide: specs, comparisons and honest pros and cons

Aug 23, 2026

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Piotr Kowalczyk

Curious about the low-tech e-ink trend? The Xteink X3 snaps onto your smartphone to offer simple, offline reading wherever you go. Read our complete guide covering key benefits and drawbacks, as well as comparisons to similar devices.
8 reasons you don’t need a case cover for your e-reader

Aug 16, 2026

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Piotr Kowalczyk

Before buying an e-reader case, consider the mindful alternative. Discover how going cover-free enhances tactile comfort, keeps your setup clutter-free, and brings you closer to the text itself.

Xteink X3: the ultimate magnetic snap-on pocket e-reader

Looking to attach a lightweight e-reader directly to your smartphone? The Xteink X3 magnetically snaps onto phone cases without blocking camera lenses. This 58g device replaces mindless scrolling with instant reading. ✨ More

★★★★ Our score: 4/5

⇢ Amazon

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Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

by CAL NEWPORT

I remember when I first encountered Facebook: It was the spring of 2004; I was a senior in college and began to notice an increasing number of my friends talk about a website called thefacebook.com. The first person to show me an actual Facebook profile was Julie, who was then my girlfriend, and now my wife.

“My memory of it was that it was a novelty,” she told me recently. “It had been sold to us as a virtual version of our printed freshman directory, something we could use to look up the boyfriends or girlfriends of people we knew.”

The key word in this memory is novelty. Facebook didn’t arrive in our world with a promise to radically transform the rhythms of our social and civic lives; it was just one diversion among many. In the spring of 2004, the people I knew who signed up for thefacebook.com were almost certainly spending significantly more time playing Snood (a Tetris-style puzzle game that was inexplicably popular) than they were tweaking their profiles or poking their virtual friends.

178 words read...

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Geek Updated is our sister sister blog, where we share distraction-free tips, lists, and news for thoughtful geeks.

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Recent posts

Why it is time to leave the Kindle ecosystem

Aug 24, 2026

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Piotr Kowalczyk

Between steep hardware price hikes, tighter DRM, and closed formats, Amazon's ebook platform is no longer a top choice. If you are weighing up whether to leave the Kindle ecosystem, stepping out into open reading is far simpler than you think.
The quiet Kindle price hike: Canada and the US hit hard while rivals hold back

Aug 24, 2026

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Piotr Kowalczyk

If you live in North America, buying a Kindle just got painful. Prices climbed by up to 36% in the US and up to 52% in Canada. Yet in Europe, prices have not changes at all, and competitors hold their ground. Is this massive price hike really justified?
OverDrive acquires Onleihe, reshaping digital libraries in Germany

Aug 18, 2026

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Piotr Kowalczyk

Public libraries in the German-speaking world are about to look very different. OverDrive has bought Divibib to replace the old Onleihe system with its own platform.
Public libraries are a quiet weapon against online misinformation (report)

Aug 17, 2026

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Ola Kowalczyk

New research from Stirling and Glasgow universities shows that public libraries are uniquely trusted to fight false facts online. The catch? Most librarians are left to do it with little more than goodwill.
Three new ways Spotify is trying to fix audiobook discovery

Aug 19, 2026

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Piotr Kowalczyk

Is Spotify actually a sensible place to listen to literature? With hundreds of thousands of audiobooks available, navigating them was always tricky. Now, natural conversations, smart prompts, and series trackers aim to reduce the friction.
What is multi-modal reading and why it’s so exciting?

Aug 12, 2026

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Ola Kowalczyk

Most ebooks are just static text pretending to be a physical page. Multi-modal reading shifts the focus to layered formats – combining audio narration, interactive visuals, and soundscapes.

Click & Grow biophilic smart indoor garden for your screen-free zone

Add a touch of quiet nature to your screen-free zone. Featuring an automatic self-watering tank and built-in LED grow light timer, this smart, patented indoor garden lets you grow fresh herbs and plants effortlessly. ✨ More

★★★★ Our score: 4/5

⇢ Amazon

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