Packt Removes Password Protection on ebooks

Packt Publishing (www.packtpub.com), who publishes two of my books and many, many others for beginning and advanced tech readers, has removed password protection from the ebooks it sells.

What does this mean for you the reader? You can now easily load Packt ebooks onto any reading device. If you already have purchased ebooks from Packt in the past, visit their website and login. You will be able to download fresh copies of your ebooks on your MyAccount page.

As an additional freebie, Building Websites with Plone by Cameron Cooper is currently available as a free downloadable ebook.

I'm an avid ebook user myself - I see this as a great win for readers and authors alike. Questions? Email me or visit Packtpub.com for details.

Listen to the Blogger Book Promo

I'm in the process of recording an audiobook version of Blogger: Beyond The Basics. You can listen to the free promo about the book now on this post. Once I've finished editing, you can listen to chapters for free at Podiobooks.com. There are a lot of great fiction and non-fiction books available there. My goal is to have a new episode up every week. As always, you can purchase an e-book or print copy of Blogger: Beyond The Basics from Packtpub.com.

Publish Post

Top 5 Tools for Bloggers

Writer and podcaster Mur Lafferty recently posted a vidcast about essential tools for writers. Bloggers write but are their needs the same? Below are my top 5 pics for tools bloggers need to get the job done. Let me know if you agree or have a different set of tools that top your list.

1. Computer or mobile phone with internet access - bloggers need access to a computer or smartphone to use for creating notes and posting text, video, or audio.
   
2. Stickies, notecards, or napkins to scribble down sudden ideas for those times you forget to bring along your phone/camera/web enabled device
3. Social Networking accounts - Technorati, Twitter, Squidoo, Facebook - whatever your social tools of choice are, you'll need them to make new friends, find inspiration, and share what you are up to
4. USB/thumb drive or other portable storage device (Mur suggests using an iPod as well as a USB drive) to save all your choice posts - you are going to compile them into an ebook or other format someday, right?
5. Statistics tools such as Feedburner and/or Google Analytics to measure the reach and performance of your blog
   

Are there other tools that are essential for bloggers? I'm assuming that the blogging platform and internet connection is a given - is there anything I overlooked?