How To: Convert PDFs to ePUB Files for Tablets/Mobiles

If you are an avid reader and have a vast collection of PDF e-books, you can read them using a PDF reader on your tablet. However, if you want to enjoy them on the iBook app on your iPad, the Amazon Kindle or the Android Kindle, or the Aldiko Book Reader app you’ll need your e-book to be in the ePub format. What Is ePUB? Just like PDF or Portable Document Format, which is a uniform standard for un-editable documents, ePUB or electronic publication is a free and open e-book standard that has been created by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) for e-book readers and similar devices.  The files with the .EPUB extension support vector images, resizable font size and word wrapping options, making them usable on devices of various screen sizes. The format supports embedded metadata, Digital Rights Management (DRM), and is compressed in size and extremely customizable due to XML support and styling functionalities like CSS and XPath. Moreover, all the files are stored inside a ZIP archive for convenience.  The Tools The first thing you need are the PDF e-books. You can download free e-books from many sources, like www.free-ebooks.net, but this site requires a VIP membership for the ePub format. Save the PDF files of your choice that you want to read in your target device to move to the next step. We will be using the Calibre e-book management tool to convert the PDF files. To download the tool, visit http://calibre-ebook.com/download and pick the OS version of your choice. We will be using the Windows version for this workshop. Save and execute the .MSI file to set up the program. Setting It Up  Once Calibre has been installed on your machine, start the application. If the setup wizard isn’t displayed, go to the Preferences option and start the wizard. First, set the folder where you would like the ePub books to be saved. Click ‘Next’ to set a target device; Leave it at ‘Generic’ if you don’t want the file to be device-specific. Click ‘Next’ and finish the wizard settings. The wizard helps you set a device that helps you create optimized ePub files specifically suiting your device’s settings and form factor Add Metadata and Convert Click the ‘Add Books’ button and add all the books that you want to convert. Click the ‘Convert’ button. You will be directed to an edit page, where you can edit every aspect of the final e-book. If you want more details of the book such as authors, ISBN and covers, click the ‘Edit metadata’ button before converting. Click ‘Download metadata and covers options’ to update the file details. Once that is done, proceed to converting the file. Making The e-Book Tablet-Worthy The ‘Look and Feel’ settings help you customize the final package based on the target device’s form factor. Next is the Heuristic processing setting. The setting will look for common errors and fix them to suit the device that handles the final output. This setting will help you unwrap text lines, look for unformatted chapter breaks, add scene breaks, remove unwanted hyphenation marks and delete blank lines and other such formatting issues in the e-book. In case you have not set the target device during the setup wizard, you can use the page set up settings to select it. This is a better way to select target devices because you can customize settings as and when you convert the e-book. Here, you can also change page margins based on the size of your device screen. The Structure Detection settings help you set up the XML XPath file, which is similar to a CSS for an HTML page. If you have little knowledge about XPath, it is better to leave the settings untouched. Along with editing the metadata, you can also generate a cover to identify the e-book in the target device Tying Up the Loose Ends The Table of Contents is an amazing feature, as it enables you to create a contents page if it is missing from the original file. Moreover, if you are unsure if the e-book has a contents page, you can create it by enabling the ‘Do not add detected chapters to the Table of Contents’ and ‘Force use of auto-generated Table of Contents’ options. If the book is intended for children and you find some objectionable words or phrases, you can search and replace such terms before you create the ePub book. If you want the PDF to be free of images go to the PDF option and check the ‘No Images’ option. Next, go to the ‘ePUB Output’ option, and set the options as per your requirements. If the final file is larger than a particular limit, it will be automatically split into smaller parts. Although you have selected the target device, you can further customize the readability of your e-book as you convert to ePub Happy Reading Finally, go to the ‘Debug’ option and set a target folder location to monitor the conversion. Click ‘OK’ to convert the file. Depending on the size of your file, the conversation time will vary. Once it is done, you can go ahead and transfer the e-book to your device and enjoy reading your favorite books on the go.

1.3 Million User Details Leaked as Washington Post Suffers Hack

In an official announcement on their website, it Is learned that the Online Jobs section on Washington Post's website was hacked last week between June 27 and June 28. Although the section was shut down with immediate effect, it has been found that the unidentified miscreant had accessed nearly 1.3 million email addresses, in addition to the user IDs.

Hacked.. 

However having said that, Washington Post clarified that the personal data, and passwords remained untouched. In a detailed report posted on their website, Washington Post revealed that it had informed all its users about the data breach via email, and also assured that the website had implemented extra security measures to avoid a hack in the future.

Washington Post is one of the most widely read, and subsequently the largest newspaper in Washington D.C. That perhaps, explains that huge size of their user base, on their online portal. This hack comes in the wake of security breaches affecting governmental, financial social sites, and hence is a worrying trend.

Hackers for Good Build Applications for Humanity

Google have recently announced that thousands of hackers gathered in more than 19 different global locations from Berlin to Nairobi, and Sydney to Sao Paulo. The Hackers for Good (as they are known) have participated in Google’s Random Acts of Kindness #3 by working with NGOs and government advisors to finish their applications for humanity.

Group Photo of the participants (Image Credit: Google)

This Google event has taken place in partnership with Microsoft, Yahoo!, Hewlett-Packard, NASA and the World Bank to form the Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) program that was started in 2009. The RHoK was started to build and support a community creating open source technology for crisis response and at RHoK #3, they expanded the mandate to include climate change. With RHoK #3 they announced that they are broadening the scope in the future to tackle any development challenges.

Google says that of the more than 75 solutions submitted for judging at this year’s global events and many are already on their way to making a difference around the world. They go on to say that the UN in association with the Columbian government is considering adopting the shelter management system developed at RHoK Bogota to aid the 3 million victims of winter flooding in South America. Of the nine hacks submitted for judging at RHoK Sao Paulo, two are already in use and two others may be further developed and incorporated into the restructuring of the National Weather Service. The document submitted by Google says that the winning application at RHoK Philadelphia, which was developed in response to a problem proposed by the World Bank Water group, is set for further development at the WaterHackathon, RHoK's first community-sponsored event, later this year.

The RHoK community

Three winners were selected at the RHoK Silicon Valley event at Google’s Mountain View campus. The first one was for SMS Person Finder which enables anyone with a phone to interact with Person Finder, a software application that Google built to help people connect with their loved ones following a disaster. The second one was the Hey Cycle which helps in making it easier for people to reuse and recycle items by setting up email alerts when free items that they’re looking for are entered on freecycle.org. And, the third one was for FoodMovr which helps in connecting people with excess food to others who need it through a simple live application.

Google says that they were proud to be one of the founding partners and ongoing sponsors of Random Hacks of Kindness and look forward to seeing these applications make a difference. To know more about Random Hacks of Kindness, log on to RHoK.org.

Amazon Launches Unlimited Cloud Music Storage Today

Popular cloud based storage service provider, Amazon has today announced the launch of an unlimited music storage option, in addition to a Cloud Player for iPad. Amazon believes that making music storage unlimited would enhance its existing Cloud Player and Cloud Drive services.

Unlimited Music..

Beginning from today, CNET reports that for a while at least, on making a purchase of $20 annual Cloud Drive storage plan will get unlimited storage space on their MP3 and AAC (M4A) music files. Existing users would remember that although Amazon did boast of these same features, before too, but at that time they began with 5GB of storage, which could then be upgraded to 20GB. And, currently, the unlimited storage option can be availed only for music, whereas users can still download other content with limited storage place.

Additionally, Amazon has rendered the purchase of MP3 free in the Cloud Drive. Interestingly, as mentioned earlier, Amazon has also launched Cloud Player on the web, especially for iPad users.

PayPal UK Twitter Account Hacked

Twitter accounts seem to be the latest victim of hackers with the PayPal UK Twitter account being seized. A day after it was reported that the Twitter account of Fox News Politics was hacked, cyber criminals have now defaced the Twitter account of eBay’s PayPal UK account. According to a report, hackers had seized the account and began tweeting messages to its 17,000 followers.

PayPalUK Twitter account now seized!

Hackers posted tweets that go on the lines of 'PayPal can freeze your funds for no reason, do not use PayPal!' Other tweets include "exposing the nightmare of doing business 'the PayPal way," and the profile information was changed to 'The official twitter account for the fail team at PayPal UK.' The report suggests that the account was hacked to promote a website called paypalsucks.com. The site questions PayPal’s payment processing business practices, as well as provides alternatives to the site.

The account has been suspended and a PayPal UK Anuj Nayar, Director of Communications said that PayPal UK's Twitter feed was targeted by hackers and that PayPal would like to reassure all their customers that PayPal’s UK customer systems and data have not been breached or hacked in any way. There is no link between customer systems and their Twitter account.

NATO Hacked Again! This Time by Team Inj3ct0r

It was reported a while ago that a website that was related to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), e-Bookshop, had suffered a data breach. This time around a hacker group called Team Inj3ct0r claimed responsible for targeting a NATO server with a private zero day exploit. They have posted a leak backup of 2646 files obtained from the server on file hosting website Media Fire.

Team Injector hacks NATO server!

According to the report by The Hacker News, their reasons for hacking is the development and financing of nuclear weapons. They claim to have hacked the server Apache Tomcat Version 5.5.9 using a 1337 day pivotal exploit which is a zero day exploit. A zero day exploit is basically a computer threat that tries to exploit computer application vulnerabilities that are unknown to others or the software developer. They go on to claim that they are also able to deface the NATO website but will not do so. They claim they will just take the backup of the server and distribute it on the Internet.

Things are not looking so good for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, since this is the second time they have been hacked ever since their public speaking out in their New Strategic Concept conference in Lisbon. The organization said that Anonymous should be included in the same list as Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

For more information on the Anonymous and other hackers, click the link here.

China’s Baidu ties up with Microsoft’s Bing

Shanghai: Baidu, which has three-quarters of China’s search market, signed a deal with Microsoft’s Bing to offer English-language search to Baidu users, as it eyes an overseas expansion and Microsoft aims to increase its presence in the world’s largest Internet market.
Baidu dominates China’s search-engine market after Google Inc pulled out last year following a high-profile fallout with Beijing over censorship.
The partnership will allow English-language input into Baidu’s search box to automatically activate Bing, whose search results will be delivered to Baidu’s web pages, Baidu said in an emailed statement on Monday.

Baidu ties up with Microsoft's bing. Reuters.

Analysts said the tie-up would help Bing to gain greater access to China’s more than 450 million Internet users and further dent Google’s business in the country.
“The cooperation between Baidu and Microsoft will further strengthen Baidu’s dominance in China’s search-engine market, and will also make Google’s business in China more difficult,” said Dong Xu, an analyst with Analysys International.
Baidu had 76 percent of the Chinese search market in the first quarter of 2011, according to Analysys International data.
Bing, which censors its contents in China to be able to operate in the country, has a negligible share of the market, while Google has nearly 20 percent counting visits to its offshore sites.
The new tie-up, due to be launched this year, builds on existing cooperation between Baidu and Bing on mobile platforms and page results, said Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo.
Kuo said Bing was not submitting to any further censorship or restrictions on its English search as a result of the deal “than they already do”.
Microsoft was not available for comment.
With web penetration hovering around 30 percent and lack of sophisticated users outside the big cities in China, the potential for growth in the sector is huge, analysts say.
Some analysts were however skeptical of just how much demand there would be for English search on Baidu.
“It’s a good thing, but I see very minimal impact for Baidu. I don’t see a lot English keywords going through Baidu. It goes through Google,” said Wallace Cheung, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Credit Suisse.
It is not Baidu’s first time to enter the search market overseas. It has a Japanese search service that is loss-making.
Baidu has also been diversifying from its core search business to compete in the fast-growing segments of mobile and social networking.
Baidu has hinted it is developing a mobile device operating system and recently invested $306 million to take a majority stake in travel website Qunar, as it focuses more on e-commerce. The company also has a stake in online video firm Qiyi.com.
Shares in Baidu have risen more than 48 percent so far this year, even after falling in June, as concerns over fraud at some Chinese companies listed overseas hit market sentiment towards Chinese companies listed in New York more broadly

Microsoft Merges GFW Marketplace and Xbox.com

In a move that was probably anticipated months ago, Microsoft has decided to move its Games of Windows service to Xbox.com. This merger’s main aim is to make sure gamers get “all their gaming needs in one place”. For those who don’t know, Microsoft’s Games for Windows marketplace is similar to Valve’s Steam where gamers can digitally purchase entire games online.

Coming soon to Xbox.com

Eurogamer managed to get in touch with a Microsoft spokesperson about this merger and here’s what they had to say, “All of the same content from GamesForWindows.com will be available on Xbox.com so members of communities across Xbox 360 and Games for Windows can purchase and get details on their favorite games, all in one place. All account information will remain the same and community members can still take advantage of their Xbox Live profile in their Windows games and stay connected to friends who are playing on the PC.”

Both these services are expected to come together by the 11th of this month.

Anonymous Establish Snitch Sites

Online activist group Anonymous have been a lot in the news lately, most recently for their teaming up with hacker group LulzSec and posting sensitive data about various governments and other high profile targets. Now, a subgroup of Anonymous has started two ‘leak’ websites which contain sensitive data from governments and corporations. These groups are localleaks.tk and hackerleaks.tk.

Hackers helping hackers!

According to a report, the Local Leaks website contains information pertaining to corruption and wrongdoings such as police brutality, work place harassment, etc. at a local level. Users can submit information anonymously and the site states that their first priority is to provide a safe, secure and anonymous way for local government or corporate employees to disclose sensitive information.

The Hacker Leaks website is a place where hackers can disclose sensitive data they obtain. The site states "Hackers helping hackers to leak material of interest. You download it; we’ll disclose it for you.” The site received its first submission which was a list of personal information of Orlando, Florida officials. Anonymous have targeted several Orlando sites in protest of the arrests of members of the group Food not Bombs.

Commander X, Editor-in-Chief of the sites claims that they don’t obtain the material and that they merely publish it. Thereby further stating the fact that these websites do not violate any law.

For more information on Anonymous and other hacker groups,


Hackathon
After the Sony PlayStation Network was hacked, hacker group LulzSec and Anonymous have literally wrecked havoc on the Internet. What may be the hacking coalition of the year, Anonymous and LulzSec together announced the forming of AntiSec. These two 'organizations' have forged what some companies would term an 'unholy-alliance' .

Along with Anonymous and LulzSec many other groups are also attacking and disrupting Internet sites. These hacker groups are mainly targeting the sites for fun using Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. They claim that this form of attack are their most abundant but most mild.

Mercedes-Benz India Launch Mobile Optimized Website

Stylish automotive manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its first mobile optimized website in India. The German automotive manufacturer is the first one to do so. Starting from today, smartphone, Android, and other web enabled mobile device users will be able to access the new, optimized website.

Optimized, for ease..

The website, as mentioned before, has been customized specifically for viewing on the mobile device. Designed to function like a virtual car showroom, the website will bring forth a summary of the brand’s corporate website. The optimized website features details on product highlights, technical data, picture galleries, pricing, and other local service details.

According to Mercedes-Benz India, users with the optimized website can:

• Enter the virtual showroom, or get in touch with the dealers, or ask for brochures and test-drives right from their mobile device.
• Update themselves with all the news and updates, the brand’s TV commercials, wallpapers, among other services.
• The optimized site can be accessed from the main website, too since the latter automatically redirects the user to the former.

To view the website, and get a whiff of the features, you can visit - http://m.mercedes-benz.co.in

BBC News App for Android, Now Available Worldwide

In case you’re wondering why the BBC has taken this long to come out with an app for the Android Market, the fact is that they had come out with one last month. However, that was exclusive only to the United Kingdom. Thankfully, they’re spreading the love to other countries, as well.

News on your Android handset

BBC has always been renowned for delivering the latest, accurate news as it happens. An app for Android is a good idea in keeping with the times and like most Android-based news apps, the BBC app is free and can be downloaded from the Android Market.

The screenshots show that the app looks quite decent in terms of the interface’s look and feel. Users have access to live BBC World Service Radio and can watch a video of a news story that they’ve checked. Users can personalize the homescreen by adding or removing sections of their choice and they can also choose to automatically update content in the background.

Anonymous Hacks Government Website to Protest Against Corruption (india)

The world’s most popular online activist group Anonymous, best known for their hack on the PlayStation Network; have come out in support of a move against corruption in India by breaching an IT website of the Indian government - National Informatics Centre (NIC, INDIA).

These guys mean business. Image Source

According to the Hacker News, Anonymous posted an image on the website with their logo along with a statement to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that this time they speak to the government of India through the NIC homepage and sub-domains. The post also goes on to say that there was no use trying to secure the websites or the need to get in forensics to help resolve the situation. The last line seems like a direct taunt at the government with the image saying that they do not like to talk too much and that it was their world, so expect them.

The realease that was sent out

According to their Twitter posts, the group hacked the website in retaliation to the attacks on Baba Ramdev and to awaken the government. They have also started a movement on Twitter named OperationIndia and have also started a group on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/OperationIndia. Anonymous have even issued a press release stating their cause and their intentions to fight against the removal of corruption in India in all its forms. They also stress on their support to Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev and other individuals who support the Jan Lokpal Bill. One of their requests included the request for severe punishment to be doled out to corrupt officials.

Tweeting for unity. Image Source

Anonymous warned the government through their press release that until the above demands were met they wouldn’t stop the attacks on the websites. They ended the press release by saying that Anonymous and the people of India are speaking now.

However, irrespective of all the publicity the situation is bound to get, the NIC website seems to be back online and normal as of now.

A Series of Sony Websites Hacked

Sony recently announced that the restoration of the PlayStation Network would be complete by the end of this week; however, the multinational corporation has been victimized yet again with a number of their websites including Sony Pictures, Sony Music Belgium, and Sony Music Netherlands being hacked. Hacker group Lulzsec has claimed responsibility for stealing information of around 100,000 users’ personal information that includes passwords, email addresses, home addresses, dates of birth, as well as Sony optional information that is related to their Sony accounts. Lulzsec has set sail for Sony to fail! The group has been promising attacks on Sony since a week claiming “the beginning of the end for Sony.” According to Lulzsec’s post on Pastebin, in addition to the stolen user data, the group is also in possession of admin details of Sony Pictures (including passwords) along with 75,000 'music codes' and 3.5 million 'music coupons.’ Lulzsec said that they did not have the resources to copy all the information but are posting samples to prove the information gathered is genuine. More information could have been gathered but it would take several more weeks to be acquired. The hacker group said that gaining access to the network wasn’t a difficult task and all it required was a single SQL injection. What was worse was that every bit of data they took wasn't encrypted. Sony stored over 1,000,000 passwords of its customers in plaintext, which means it's just a matter of taking it. Criticizing Sony’s security measures the hacker group said that this was disgraceful and insecure and Sony was asking for it. Lulzsec posted on their Twitter page that they would accept contributions in the form of BitCoin virtual currency that will be used to help it do more hacking. This comes as major blow to the company that has announced the restoration of its PSN services