After a long period during which I have just been microblogging on Twitter (@TiandiLinksNews), something happened that I concluded merited a new full tiandi.info blog post:
(If you need login information for the parts of tiandi.info that require it, request it by email, and include information on who referred you and/or what group/cong. you are in.)
The iPad and iPhone information pages have been renamed and revised:
The main changes are:
The download pages for the Budapest courses have been refreshed, and passwords are no longer required to access the course files.
The affected pages are:
The 3-Line Material on the iPad information page has been updated with references to the new iPads that were announced today by Apple, including the iPad mini.
The 2012 version of the Long Island Chinese Language Course textbook file has been posted to the Mandarin Course from Long Island page. Also, instructions have been added regarding how to download the PDF and MP3 files onto an iPad using GoodReader for iPad.
Official pinyin book files have become available for download on jw.org. Previously, the only pinyin publications available for download there were the pinyin Watchtowers. Now, PDF files for the pinyin versions of the Sing to Jehovah, Bible Teach, and Bearing Witness books are available as well.
More information and commentary on this historic development can be found in a new post at tiandi.info.
To obtain the login information for tiandi.info, request e-mail notification of news regarding available resources, or if you have any questions or comments, you may e-mail me at waynerj@shaw.ca, providing information such as what group or congregation you’re with, who referred you to this site, etc.
The new 3-Line Material on the iPad information page is now available. It lists reasons why it is advantageous in general to use the 3-line, etc. files in their native electronic format, rather than always just printing them out on paper. It also discusses why the iPad in particular is a very good device to view and use 3-line material on, and it contains many specific tips on how to use 3-line, etc. files on the iPad.
The 3-Line Material on the iPhone and the iPod touch page has been significantly updated. It now lists reasons why it is advantageous in general to use the 3-line, etc. files in their native electronic format, rather than always just printing them out on paper. It also discusses why it is desirable to be able to view and use 3-line material on the iPhone and the iPod touch specifically, and it contains many specific tips on how to use 3-line, etc. files on these devices.
Instructions have been added to various download pages re how to download the PDF files on an iPhone or an iPod touch using GoodReader for iPhone, and how to download the files on an iPad using GoodReader for iPad. These instructions will be added to more of the download pages as time allows.
The 3-Line Material on the iPhone and the iPod touch page has been updated. It now has a new section entitled Downloading Files.
The LINKS section on the right sidebar of this site has been renamed as the THEO. CHINESE LINKS section. Also, the new OTHER LINKS section has been added below it.
The OTHER LINKS section will be for links that are not free resources made available by our fellow workers in the Chinese field, but that may also be of interest to those learning Chinese for the Chinese field.
There is now also an Other Links section on the Links page at tiandi.info.
To obtain the login information for tiandi.info, request e-mail notification of news regarding available resources, or if you have any questions or comments, you may e-mail me at waynerj@shaw.ca, providing information such as what group or congregation you’re with, who referred you to this site, etc.
The PDF Annotation (Notes & Highlighting) page has been updated. The list of related pages has been reformatted to match my current design for that section, and the following sentence has been added to the caption for the GoodReader for iPad screenshot with a note annotation containing Chinese characters and pinyin:
To quickly and easily type pinyin with proper diacritical tone marks on an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, you may use the app Pinyin Typist. [Full disclosure: I am the creator of Pinyin Typist.]
...is the title of a new post at tiandi.info. Here’s the text from the news feed:
Well, in the Chinese field, we should go to where the Chinese people are, right?
To obtain the login information for tiandi.info, request e-mail notification of news regarding available resources, or if you have any questions or comments, you may e-mail me at waynerj@shaw.ca, providing information such as what group or congregation you’re with, who referred you to this site, etc.
The PDF Annotation (Notes & Highlighting) page has been updated with screenshots of the current version of GoodReader for iPad, with its revised annotation controls. (The screenshots show annotations applied to a Watchtower PDF downloaded from jw.org.) Also, captions have been added to the GoodReader for iPad screenshots, and the following paragraph has been added to the page text:
Annotations made to a PDF file in GoodReader on an iPhone, iPod touch, or an iPad are autosaved.
The PDF Annotation (Notes & Highlighting) page has been updated to include information about Adobe Reader X, the new version of Adobe Reader that brings a significant new feature re annotation compared to previous versions.
Also, some screenshots have been added of GoodReader for iPad, showing annotations applied to a Watchtower PDF downloaded from jw.org.
Much of the rest of the text has been revised as well.
GoodReader, an early favourite iOS (iPhone/iPod touch/iPad) PDF viewing application of many, now supports PDF annotations in its 3.0 and above versions. The PDF Annotation (Notes & Highlighting) page has been updated accordingly.
The PDF Annotation (Commenting) page has been renamed as the PDF Annotation (Notes & Highlighting) page, to better communicate that highlighting, which is a major part of what many do in the course of their personal study, is included in PDF annotation.
Also, much of the page has been rewritten, and much information has been added. For example, a couple of new paragraphs summarize how because of the popularity of mobile devices like the iPad and because of features like annotation, link navigation, searchability, and downloadability, PDFs and other possible future digital publication files could have a big effect on us, both as individuals and as a worldwide organization. Also, information has been added concerning how to annotate PDF files that have not had commenting enabled on them. Such files include non-LN-A 3-line PDF files and the official pinyin PDF files from jw.org. Some new tools mentioned, in addition to those already mentioned, include PDF-XChange Viewer and Foxit Reader, as well as the upcoming new version of GoodReader for iPad. So, it would probably be well worth your while to take a few minutes to check out the new PDF Annotation (Notes & Highlighting) page.
Related links:
Mobile devices running Apple’s iOS operating system have been selling very well lately. After the iPad became available, over 3 million of them were sold in under three months, so that device is going mainstream unusually quickly. Also, over 3 million units of the iPhone 4 were sold in the first 3 weeks following its recent introduction, making it Apple’s fastest selling product ever.
So, it comes as no surprise that the number of apps available in the App Store for iOS devices such as these continues to grow steadily, and among the new apps that have recently become available are several that support PDF annotation. Because of this, the PDF Annotation (Commenting) page has been updated to list several of these that I was able to find out about, up from the one app supporting PDF annotation that was previously listed. I expect this trend to continue, and I especially look forward to the time when GoodReader (available for iPhone/iPod touch and for iPad) will be enhanced with this feature.
Related links: