Kindle 2 update

Amazon has provided a new firmware update that enables the Kindle 2 to read PDF natively. I have updated my K2i and it works pretty well. However, two-column papers are still hard to read because of the small screen size. Also, it seems that we cannot highlight text and/or add user comments (which is a convenient feature that I am using more and more).

Converting PDF books for the Kindle 2 in Snow Leopard

The Kindle 2 (K2i) looks like the perfect companion tool for the academic researcher. However, Amazon has decided the K2i should not be able to read PDF natively, which is kind of annoying. Each PDF file must be converted to one of the e-book formats supported by the Kindle, i.e., AZW, PRC, MOBI, TXT. Unfortunately, we do not have a good, native, 'PDF2Kindle' software for Mac OS X (converting PDF files to e-book formats is not an infallible science). Instead, the best option is to use the Mobipocket eBook creator with a Windows emulator. These are the steps you can follow to get a working system in a Macbook Pro with Snow Leopard. Also, make sure that you have installed the X11 tools from the Snow Leopard install disk. These tools are required for the normal Crossover operation.

1) Install Crossover 8.0 Professional for Mac. You can buy this software at the codeweavers web site: http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/

2) Download the windows installer (creator.msi) for the Mobipocket Creator 4.2 for Windows 2000/XP at http://www.mobipocket.com/en/downloadSoft/DownloadCreator.asp.

3) Open Crossover and create a new Windows2000 'bottle'. CrossOver allows you to maintain multiple bottles in one CrossOver installation. A 'bootle' is like having several different Windows machines operating together on your computer.

4) Select 'manage bottles' in the Crossover menu. In the newly created bottle, install the Microsoft Explorer 6 from the list of supported software packages. Follow the indications of Crossover and the software will be automatically downloaded and installed.

5) Now, we install the mobipocket creator (in the same bottle) by choosing "installing unsupported software" in Crossover. When the installer is running, select install "mobipocket publisher" (the other choice, mobipocket reader, cannot convert PDF files).

And that's all. Now, you can enjoy reasonably complex PDFs with figures in your Kindle 2. On the other hand, the above recipe does not work very well with PDF files displaying equations and other mathematical symbols (...). If do you have any means of getting scientific PDF papers on the Kindle with the Mac, please let me know!

Punto y Raya Festival 2009

This year I has been invited to participate in the "Punto y Raya" festival, which has earned the title of "most abstract in the word". This is an interesting initiative between art and science to be held at the Art Centre Santa Monica in Barcelona during November, 25-29th. Here is the abstract for my talk:

"Complex Networks: The Architecture of Life"

Scientific Studies of complex systems show that all networks - from epidemics to the electric power grid, from the cell to the internet - share similar properties, regardless of their origins. That is, what is relevant to understand their global organization is not the specific details of 'nodes and links' but how these elements are interconnected and assembled to form the complex network. Here, visualization is an indispensable tool that provides deep insights into the structure and the evolutionary and creative forces shaping complexity.

Check the festival website and the video trailer in Facebook. Update: Watch my talk (in English with Spanish subtitles) here.