27/09/14

[Maik]

http://civilprotection.gr

[Maik]

Salaries across the Greek economy fell by 1.4 percent in the second quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2013, Hellenic Statistical Authority figures showed on Friday, recording a sharp slowdown from previous quarters.

Greece saw its salaries decline for a 16th consecutive quarter in Q2 2014, while Greece and Cyprus are the only countries among the European Union’s 28 member states to have posted a drop in the last five quarters.

Since its peak in the last quarter of 2009, the salary index dropped by 25 percent in total.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_26/09/2014_543254

[Maik]

Although the government has promised to start a pilot guaranteed minimum income programme this month, the envisaged payment of €200 a month for a single person on no income would still leave him or her below the poverty line of €432 a month for one person.

Greece is the only EU country not to have implemented a guaranteed minimum income and is among the most sluggish in adopting programmes to address social inequality and aid citizens living in extreme poverty and social exclusion, a new report from the Parliamentary Budget Office has found.

This is despite the fact that six in ten citizens are living in or at risk of poverty, the PBO report, which was published on Thursday, said.

http://www.enetenglish.gr/?i=news.en.society&id=2061

[Maik]

Amazon is launching its Kindle Unlimited ebooks subscription service in the UK, following its US debut in July.

The service, which costs £7.99 a month, offers unlimited access to a catalogue of more than 650,000 ebooks, as well as more than 2,000 audiobooks from Amazon’s Audible subsidiary.

The ebook equivalent of Spotify for music or Netflix for TV shows and films, Kindle Unlimited is being marketed with an emphasis on bestsellers: J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series; Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy; 2013 Man Booker prize winner The Luminaries and more.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/24/amazon-kindle-unlimited-ebooks-uk

[TonyKath]

Amazon is launching its Kindle Unlimited ebooks subscription service in the UK, following its US debut in July.

The service, which costs £7.99 a month, offers unlimited access to a catalogue of more than 650,000 ebooks, as well as more than 2,000 audiobooks from Amazon’s Audible subsidiary.

The ebook equivalent of Spotify for music or Netflix for TV shows and films, Kindle Unlimited is being marketed with an emphasis on bestsellers: J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series; Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy; 2013 Man Booker prize winner The Luminaries and more.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/24/amazon-kindle-unlimited-ebooks-uk

There's a hidden snag in the T&C's: once you stop paying your £7.99 Amazon reserve the right to delete everything you have "bought" from your Kindle/other reading device!  So if you read a lot it might be worthwhile as long a you don't want to keep books "indefinitely".  Of course you don't actually "own" any Kindle books you just buy "permanent" access to them.  The "unlimited" offer is only for UK and Ireland, unfortunately.  When I first saw the offer I thought there weren't a great deal of books available and what there was was a bit ordinary but looking at the links now they seem rather better, but it's all a question of taste. 

I'm not sure how much I spend on e-books a month although I read a fair bit.  I try not to buy books costing more than £3 a pop.  So for instance I recently got Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch for £2.00 and I hunt for the offers at under £1.50, usually 99p.  I also use ReaderIQ to track prices of books I'm interested to email me when a price drops. 

My advice is, as with getting a Kindle in the first place, look at what the available books are in some detail to decide whether it would be worth it for you to sign up.  If you go for it you can then indulge in a "download-fest" and click away at averything.  On the other hand if you have special interests which may not be included in the deal you may end up paying more. 

Tony