10 Best Options Epub Reader

Reading vs. eReading — this has been a matter of immense discussion for a while, mostly since eReading devices and other solutions were able to get into roots of daily life. While some stick on the notion that the feel of holding books in hands is something irreplaceable, some prefer going on with the techy variant of reading experience, which offers comfort-ability along with other advantages. Nevertheless, it has to be noted that dedicated devices are not required, when you want to explore eReading but you can start your eReading journey from your Computers, Smartphones or Tablet PCs etc if you have right applications with you.

In this post, however, we have come up with a list that covers top epub readers for Windows-powered devices — not only computers but Smartphones and Tablet PCs that run on Windows Phone. First, we shall have a look into top Windows PC apps that can let you read epub books through your Windows PC.

1. NOOK

NOOK is a completely free eReading application for many platforms, including Windows 8! So, if you have a Windows 8.1-based computer with you, you can download NOOK eBook reader from Windows Store, and the app comes from Barnes & Noble, one of the popular book retailers in world. Apart from the feature to import epub & PDF files, NOOK has an integrated store of books, magazines, newspapers, comics etc that you can purchase (or just read, if it is free) using Microsoft account. Notable features of NOOK include highlighting and coloring to catalyze book reading along with an extremely impressive User Interface.

• Supported Platform: Windows 8.1
• Price: Free

Download NOOK

2. Icecream eBook Reader

Icecream eBook Reader is an intuitive eBook reading solution from Icecream Apps and it can serve well as a place for storing your epub-based eBook files and reading them in an impressive manner, with all comfort-ability required. It’s worth noting that the tool weighs only 14.2 MB but has superb features such as support for various platforms such as fb2, mobi, pdf, cbr and cbz apart from epub. Full screen mode, bookmarks feature & night mode etc are some other features.

• Supported Platforms: Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8
• Price: Free

Download Icecream eBook Reader

3. Cover

Despite the fact that Cover is a dedicated tool for reading comic books, it does work as a sufficient eBook reader that offers support for both epub and mobi files. In addition, if you find it to be your taste to read comic books, you’ll find this tool something just awesome, because the tailor-made app has a lot of additional features. In addition, it has to be noted that Cover works just perfectly if when you are using a touch-enabled Windows device.

Apart from popular eBook platforms such as PDF, EPUB, CBZ, RAR, CB7 etc, Cover supports image-based books as well.

• Supported Platforms: Windows 8.1
• Price: Free (With In-app Purchases)

Download Cover

4. Sumatra

Sumatra, which is also known as Sumatra PDF, is a minimal eBook reader that supports various eBook formats such as PDF, epub, mobi, XPS, CBZ, CBR etc. As we said, simplicity of User Interface is what makes Sumatra different from many eBook readers available in World Wide Web, and you will be able to have a reading experience using the app! The tool is available both as a standalone app and a portable app that you can use in any Windows PC without doing the installation.

• Supported Platforms: Windows XP, Vista, 7 and Windows 8 (Portable Version also available)
• Price: Free

Download Sumatra PDF

5. Calibre

If you are not looking for a mere eBook reader but need a one-stop solution for eBook reading, library management & a lot of other needs that you come across while indulging in the art of reading, Calibre is the best choice you have!  Apart from a minimal eBook reading experience, you will be able to manage your books, edit eBooks and lots more. It has to be noted that Calibre is so simple to use that any beginner can approach the tool confidently.

• Supported Platform: Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8
• Price: Free

Download Calibre

6. FBReader

You might have heard this name rather as an Android or Windows Phone, but FBReader, a free eBook reader, offers a dedicated version for Windows-powered PCs as well. Resembling some of the tools mentioned above, FBReader is having an ultra-simple user interface with less buttons, but it gives priority to reading experience. So, if you want to read, without any distractions, FBReader is a great choice that we would suggest. Plus, it supports a wide range of eBook, including epub, fb2, mobi, rtf and html.

• Supported Platforms: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8
• Price: Free

Download FBReader

7. Cool Reader

Cool Reader is an open-source solution to read eBooks from your Windows-powered PC without paying anything. So, you can download the favorite eBook you want and start reading. Despite being open source, Cool Reader has a lot of features including bookmark system, support for a wide range of formats such as fb2, txt, rft, tcr, doc, html, epub and mobi etc. Altogether, Cool Reader is something great if you are looking for an easy-to-use eBook reader.

• Supported Platforms: Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7
• Price: Free (Open Source)

Download Cool Reader

8. EpubReader

Unlike the tools mentioned above, EpubReader is a premium eBook reader for devices running on Windows 8. With a number of impressive features, the tool can help you read epub-based eBooks right from your Windows 8 device. The app has a number of features, including local library management, in-book customization for the sake of a great reading experience etc. Altogether, if you are ready to pay, EpubReader will be an awesome solution for you, and it’s going to work even superb if the Windows 8 device has touch screen support.

• Supported Platforms: Windows 8.1
• Price: $2.49

Download EpubReader

9. Bookviser

Bookviser is an awesome application for Windows 8 devices to read eBooks in a simple way. Bookviser does support a wide range of eBook formats such as EPUB, TXT and FB2, making it a compatible solution for almost every kind of eBooks you come across in web. In addition to the minimalistic reading experience, Bookviser offers access to a huge number of free books, for instance, you can download free eBooks from Project Guttenberg and read them. Plus, as you do in other readers, you can import files from file system as well.

• Supported Platform: Windows 8.1
• Price: Free

Download Bookviser

10. Freda

If you are looking for an easy-to-use eBook reader that can handle various eBook formats, such as EPUB, FB2, HTML, Freda for Windows 8 will be something great, indeed. Freda does not have much features but it offers an extremely customizable yet intuitive space to read your favorite books, which are available in a popular eBook file formats.

• Supported Platform: Windows 8.1
• Price: Free

Download Freda

Source:http://beebom.com/

Free Podcast For Developers

There are many podcasts available for developers, here I will share some podcasts that are FREE, interesting, regularly updated and have maintained quality over the years. Being a .NET Developer, although this list is inclined towards .NET podcasts, however there are also some good podcasts for Software Developers in general.

A podcast is a multimedia digital file made available on the Internet for downloading to a portable media player like iPod, Zune, computer, etc.

Feel free to bookmark this link and retweet and share this link with fellow developers. Here are some podcasts to tune into and keep our geekiness alive!

.NET Rocks – This is the ultimate Internet Audio Talk Show for .NET Developers. Hosted by veteran programmers Cark Franklin and Richard Campbell, this talk show is a great resource for .NET Programmers. The content, audio, usefulness and the hosts, all make it worth your time.

Hanselminutes – I love Scott Hanselman’s podcasts. In his own words, Hanselminutes is a weekly audio talk show hosted by Scott Hanselman and hosted by Carl Franklin. Scott discusses utilities and tools, gives practical how-to advice, and discusses ASP.NET or Windows issues and workarounds. Athough not always .NET, this talk show shares some very useful insights in a clear, understandable way.

Deep Fried Bytes - Deep Fried Bytes is an audio talk show with a Southern flavor hosted by technologists and developers Keith Elder and Chris Woodruff. The show discusses a wide range of topics including application development, operating systems and technology in general. Nice show on differing technologies with interesting .NET topics!

dnrTV - dnrTV is a natural adjunct to .NET Rocks!, allowing more technical topics to be explored in detail. As always, Carl keeps the atmosphere light and conversational, which makes for a nice way to spend your lunch hour!

Herding Code - Herding Code is a podcast with K. Scott Allen, Kevin Dente, Scott Koon, Jon Galloway and has some interesting topics for .NET programmers.

SpagettiCode - Spaghetti Code host Jeff Brand discusses events in the world of .NET development and beyond. This podcast cover a wide range of news in the world of .NET development

The Thirsty Developer - A podcast with Microsoft Developer Evangelist, Dave Bost and Clark Sell

Software Engineering Radio - Software Engineering Radio is a podcast targeted at the professional software developer and covers all topics software engineering.

RailCasts - RailsCasts is produced by Ryan Bates and features tips and tricks with Ruby on Rails. The screencasts are short and focus on one technique so you can quickly move on to applying it to your own project. The topics target the intermediate Rails developer, but beginners and experts will get something out of it as well.

5By5 - 5by5 is an Internet broadcasting network for geeks, designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and technophiles, recording live with hosts like Dan Benjamin, John Gruber, Merlin Mann, Jeffrey Zeldman, and friends.

The Stack Exchange Podcast – Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky give you an unparalleled look inside the building and running of one of the web's hottest startups: Stack Exchange. Instead of the typical podcast format, Jeff & Joel are joined by a different guest each week as they discuss the strategy and direction of Stack Exchange, the decisions they've made about the community and where things are going next.

Connected Show is another podcast, which although now not updated regularly, you can always find something useful to hear in the archives.

Feel free to share podcasts you have been listening to.

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Tools Open Source for UML

"UML is not dessert topping and floor wax." - Grady Booch on the versatility of UML.

UML as you know, includes a set of graphic notation techniques that helps you specify, visualize, and document models of software systems, including their structure and design, in a way that meets all of these requirements. There are many popular professional diagramming tools like Visio available in the market. Depending on your need, sometimes you don’t really need commercial tools to generate UML diagrams. This article contains some Good Open Source UML tools that might do the job for you for free.

StarUML - StarUML is an open source project to develop fast, flexible, extensible, featureful, and freely-available UML/MDA platform running on Win32 platform. The goal of the StarUML project is to build a software modeling tool and also platform that is a compelling replacement of commercial UML tools

Check it’s features here

ArgoUML - ArgoUML is the leading open source UML modeling tool and includes support for all standard UML 1.4 diagrams. It runs on any Java platform and is available in ten languages.

Check its features here.

Violet UML Editor - Draws nice-looking diagrams. Completely free. Cross-platform.Violet is intended for developers, students, teachers, and authors who need to produce simple UML diagrams quickly.

Check its features here.

Astah Community 6.1 (Previously JUDE)- Based on the concept of "Usable from the moment of installation", the modeling features of astah community have been designed to be simple and user friendly.

Check its features here

BOUML - BOUML is a free UML 2 tool box allowing you to specify and generate code in C++, Java, Idl,Php and Python. BOUML runs under Unix/Linux/Solaris, MacOS X(Power PC and Intel) and Windows.

Check its features here.

UMLet 10.4 - UMLet is an open-source UML tool with a simple user interface: draw UML diagrams fast, export diagrams to eps, pdf, jpg, svg, and clipboard, share diagrams using Eclipse, and create new, custom UML elements. UMLet runs stand-alone or as Eclipse plug-in on Windows, OS X and Linux.

Check its features here

UMLGraph - UMLGraph allows the declarative specification and drawing of UML class and sequence diagrams. The current features are part of an ongoing effort aiming to provide support for all types UML diagrams.

Check its features here

Dia - Dia is a GTK+ based diagram creation program for GNU/Linux, Unix and Windows released under the GPL license. Dia is roughly inspired by the commercial Windows program 'Visio', though more geared towards informal diagrams for casual use. It can be used to draw many different kinds of diagrams.

Check its features here.

MetaUML - MetaUML is a GNU GPL MetaPost library for typesetting UML diagrams, using a human-friendly textual notation.

UML Modeling Tools for IDE’s

Here are some community edition modeling tools available for popular IDE’s.

Visual Paradigm SDE for Visual Studio - Smart Development Environment Community Edition for Visual Studio (SDE-VS CE) fully supports the latest version of UML. Open source projects' developers can use SDE-VS CE to design system with UML. SDE-VS CE is free non-commercial use only. SDE-VS is embedded in Visual Studio

Check its features here.

T4 Editor plus UML modeling Tools for Visual Studio (2008/2010) - Quickly write your own Code Generator via T4 Text-Templates (.tt-Files) with Intelli-Sense & Syntax-Highlighting. tangible T4 Editor also comes with UML-Style modelingtools and can generate from diagrams, database schemas, xml, word, excel sources, or any other data source. Microsoft T4 looks and smells like ASP.NET - it is simple!

Check its features here

NetBeans IDE UML - The UML plugin for the NetBeans IDE is available for version 6.7 and earlier releases.

Check its features here

Eclipse UML2 Tools - UML2 Tools is a set of GMF-based editors for viewing and editing UML models; it is focused on (eventual) automatic generation of editors for all UML diagram types

Check its features here

Some Online UML Diagram Generators

Here are some free web based diagram generators

WebSequenceDiagram - Just enter the description here, and click "draw"

yUML - Create and share simple UML diagrams in your blogs, wikis, forums, bug-trackers and emails

zOOml - zOOml.com is the Web 2.0 site for rapid object-oriented modeling. It's easy to create a model withzOOml.com's Modeler web application, a drawing tool for illustrating classes, associations and other concepts in OMG's UML modeling language.

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