The Store widget just went into beta. This is a revised version designed to improve speed, and also to combine the publishers' and authors' versions. It has gained the ability to launch into a stand alone window, along with some dedicated buttons, so it should work for OpenDiary, Wordpress and Squidoo users.
We will continue supporting the alpha versions (particularly the custom builds) until we have migrated these across so don't worry, the old stores won't suddenly break. All future stores should be created using the new store engine.
The other change is the Reader. After initial tests and feedback that just went from prototype into alpha and is now available from the website.
Not bad for a Saturday.
Showing posts with label reader. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reader. Show all posts
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
A New Widget in Testing
Status: Prototype
Method: Iframe&Div/Graphic Link/Link/New Window (depends on user's browser)
Type: E-book Sample Reader
Link: Not yet (restricted access)
This is the major widget we have been working on. It reads the free sample of a user's book in, displays it and has a few extra facilities. This is eventually going to be the fallback for the full Java reader, but as that will take an estimated 4 weeks to complete the prototype PHP reader is on display here.
Using it requires a simple text link, or to give your users the popup option, two lines of code. As always, the only user customisation is the book number. It can also be embedded in a page using an iframe.
The sample it shows is the .epub sample available from Smashwords. If you don't offer an epub file it won't work for your book. This won't work for free books at present, as they have no samples. (It is technically capable of reading them, but we'd only turn it on for one on a case-br-case basis).
The search is a single word search and breaks keywords up by spaces. It doesn't take anything advanced, like + or -, and is case sensitive.
Server caching is in use, so while the first run may be slightly slow, the second should improve.
Affiliate links: permanently embedded with our affiliate link due to the sheer amount of bandwidth and processing power it consumes. Given what it does, it still runs rather fast.
Known Issues:
Plugins may show through the div pop-up if you use that approach. If you change the size of the sample, the server cache may make the system slow to pick it up.
Testing:
Why are we announcing a prototype? Because we are looking for testers.
It can be seen live at VHF's blog
If you spot a bug, or would like to volunteer to test it, please drop a note below or through the feedback form on the website.
Method: Iframe&Div/Graphic Link/Link/New Window (depends on user's browser)
Type: E-book Sample Reader
Link: Not yet (restricted access)
This is the major widget we have been working on. It reads the free sample of a user's book in, displays it and has a few extra facilities. This is eventually going to be the fallback for the full Java reader, but as that will take an estimated 4 weeks to complete the prototype PHP reader is on display here.
Using it requires a simple text link, or to give your users the popup option, two lines of code. As always, the only user customisation is the book number. It can also be embedded in a page using an iframe.
The sample it shows is the .epub sample available from Smashwords. If you don't offer an epub file it won't work for your book. This won't work for free books at present, as they have no samples. (It is technically capable of reading them, but we'd only turn it on for one on a case-br-case basis).
The search is a single word search and breaks keywords up by spaces. It doesn't take anything advanced, like + or -, and is case sensitive.
Server caching is in use, so while the first run may be slightly slow, the second should improve.
Affiliate links: permanently embedded with our affiliate link due to the sheer amount of bandwidth and processing power it consumes. Given what it does, it still runs rather fast.
Known Issues:
Plugins may show through the div pop-up if you use that approach. If you change the size of the sample, the server cache may make the system slow to pick it up.
Testing:
Why are we announcing a prototype? Because we are looking for testers.
It can be seen live at VHF's blog
If you spot a bug, or would like to volunteer to test it, please drop a note below or through the feedback form on the website.
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