A few weeks ago, I signed up on WOWIO, a site that legally offers copyrighted eBooks for free (currently to U.S. residents only). The library includes works from a variety of categories, including classic literature, comics and graphic novels, magazines and journals, scientific and reference materials, etc and is constantly growing.
The eBooks are simply PDF files that can be opened and read using Adobe Reader on all supported platforms. WOWIO’s stance on DRM is also great:
Since anyone can defeat the most “sophisticated” DRM with the print screen button, we believe that technology-based DRM is essentially a fraud. Our approach takes the market incentive out of misbehaving, rewards people for doing the right thing, and tries to stay out of the way of honest users. To help keep everyone honest, however, readers must authenticate their identity and agree to a licensing agreement when they set up their account. Then, each ebook is serialized with the reader’s authenticated name and a unique serial number, as well as other less visible markers. WOWIO will immediately terminate the account of anyone caught illegally distributing ebooks, and will prosecute serious offenders.
In order to help spread the word about the service, the company is offering free iPod shuffles to users who refer 10 friends to the site. I got some folks to sign up, and received a shiny new orange shuffle in the mail the other day. So check out the site and tell your friends about it. :)
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I would love to get a orange iPod Shuffle!
Sounds like a sweet deal. Hopefully it will expand to Europe too.
You’ll enjoy the shuffle, I rarely leave the house without mine now, it’s just so small and convenient, great when running or cycling, just clip it on and go.
Orange is an awesome colour too ;)
Nice site.
Yeah, orange was my top choice. They let you pick which color you want. :)
It’s a pretty nice device overall. I’ll probably use it when I just go out, and when I start commuting to work in NYC. My Zen Micro, on the other hand, is better suited for longer road trips and flights etc.
Had to install iTunes though, and I’m not too happy with the performance; it really should be much more responsive on a dual-core machine with 2GB of RAM. But I guess it’s okay just to load up the shuffle and close it. :)
You could always give Shuffle-DB a go: http://shuffle-db.sourceforge.net/
I used it with my original shuffle whenever I was on a Windows/Linux box, and even some occasions on OS X. It’s said to work with the newer shuffles too.
Thanks, Dave. I’ll take a look. :)
This is exactly what I expected to find out after reading the title WOWIO - free eBooks (and an iPod shuffle)…. Thanks for informative article
WantFreeThings.com is a marketing website which organizes free samples and promotional giveaways on the web. Customers then sign up for trial offers, and through our rewards program, can earn points that can be redeemed for prizes and totally free stuff.
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