Paperback 1.1 is out! It's on the App Store now, and the Android update is rolling out on Google Play soon.

Highlights:

• A new PDF engine. It's faster, uses every CPU core, and no longer needs pdfium.
• Open a document from a link, on every platform. F5 downloads it again.
• Support for decades of older files: Word for DOS, Word for Windows 1 and 2, Word for Mac, Windows Write, PowerPoint 95, and zipped FictionBook.
• Word documents get real lists, footnotes, endnotes, comments, and picture alt text.
• OCR on Linux.
• Recognized text now follows the page's layout and is remembered, so a scanned document opens with its text.
• iOS text mode is rebuilt for VoiceOver. Read All goes through the whole book, the rotors reach all of it, and lists and tables are real lists and tables.
• A voice, rate, and pitch for each book on iOS.
• Audio books can play at up to 4x, with volume controls.
• Huge text files open with a fraction of the memory, and the 4 GB limit is gone.
• macOS is a universal app, and pb, the command-line converter, now comes with it.
• A Hungarian translation and user guide, plus Slovak and Ukrainian on iOS.
• Many fixes for PDF, RTF, Word, PowerPoint, CHM, and DAISY files.

Thanks to everyone who translated, tested, and reported bugs.

Windows, macOS, and Linux: https://paperback.dev/downloads
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6775220909
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.paperback.android

Enjoy!

Finding myself bored, I'm rereading some of Sinyk's HP fanfics. Too bad one of his long fics remains unfinished. The first time I read it, I went through nearly 750K words and then discovered that it was unfinished. But there are good ones that are quite finished.

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4329413/Sinyk

JD Vance is already trying to slither away from Trump. After the GOP’s midterm wipeout, he’s blaming the Iran war and pretending he had nothing to do with it.

But let’s not forget who made JD: Peter “The Antichrist Guy” Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire behind the tech right’s alliance with MAGA.

As Vance eyes 2028, he may think he can outrun Trump’s baggage. He can’t outrun the shadow of his Thiel-backed rise.

#PeterThiel #JDVance #Midterms #MAGA #NerdReich

"We physically couldn’t be in the same room as each other"

This time last year, a fucking INCREDIBLE guest blog with a really gorgeous ending...

https://www.girlonthenet.com/blog/having-sex-decade-ago/

The LLMs are creating a new kind of mysticism. At Project Gutenberg, we're starting to get emails they have written trying to contact authors of some of the books we distribute. The authors have been dead for over a hundred years. I'm tempted to answer.

The outcome of the American election was manipulated by a clever hack called "voting," which is enabled by exploiting a critical vulnerability known as "people giving a shit."

Here’s a small sample of the letters from Democratic members of Congress I’ve covered since Trump took office. Most were ignored, but they laid the groundwork for what they need to do in January.

#USpol #USpolitics

When I post stuff I usually feel in two minds about whether it's good enough. In the case of this one, I definitely did, especially the audio.

Thank you @nymphostimtoy , I listened to it again, and I'm feeling quite proud of it now.

ICYMI: Lascivious and Needy

White hot desire, sliding up over my thighs. Spreading over my vulva, over my ass, my hips, my belly.

https://goingdownwithsundial.com/halloween-26/

#audioporn #audiohorror #horror #fantasy #nonconsensual

The data does not lie.

Black women turned out at 94% Democratic. Black men at 77%. Every non-white voting bloc leaned Democratic by double digits. White men voted Republican at 61%. White women at 59%.

If you want a progressive agenda in this country, it must be acknowledged and respected, that it runs through Black folx.

Black women specifically.

What we did see is that Americans will vote for BIPOC, queer people, women, non-Christians, and democratic socialists, even in historical conservative rural areas, even against incumbent up for reelection. So let’s keep fucking running. Keep pushing. “Electability” is bullshit. Better is possible. We do not have to settle.

Another loss for crypto and AI: Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has beaten Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Senate race. Crypto PACs spent $811,000 backing Rogers and an AI group added just over $1 million. El-Sayed has been an outspoken advocate for strong AI and data center regulation.

#USpol #USpolitics #midterms #Michigan

Cartoon by Nick Anderson.
#USpol

The conservative AI group Alliance for a Better Future, whose advisory council includes members of the Heritage Foundation, the anti-porn group NCOSE, the Institute for Family Studies, and the effective altruist-aligned Future of Life Institute, is officially 0 for 4 after its candidates lost in Maine, Iowa, Kansas, and Michigan.

#USpol #USpolitics #midterms

The results are in: Election Night 2026 was a stunning rebuke of anti-trans politics.

From the western congressional district of Montana to a blue Texas, Republicans spent $200 million in anti-trans ads.

They suffered one of the worst defeats in history.

Subscribe to support our journalism.

A Stunning Rebuke Of Anti-Tran...

YouTube’s multiple audio track feature opens up a new option for audio description.

This article from Pope Tech explains how creators can use a dedicated descriptive audio track on a single YouTube video, along with other approaches for making video content more accessible when a separate track isn’t the right fit.

Read the article: https://blog.pope.tech/2023/05/30/how-to-create-audio-descriptions-for-accessible-youtube-videos/

#accessibility #a11y #video #AudioDescription #creators

RE: https://mastodon.social/@douglascodes/117558335676299823

you mean negative two months ago!

Tuesday's election was a wholesale rejection of Silicon Valley's worldview and AI-powered kleptocracy. https://www.404media.co/there-is-one-fight-american-voters-reject-tech-oligarchy/

I wonder how concerned Susan Collins must be today. Thoughts and prayers! Thoughts and prayers!

NEWS! Trump pledges to work closely with Democrats on deciding which of their bills to veto first https://newsthump.com/2026/11/04/trump-pledges-to-work-closely-with-democrats-on-deciding-which-of-their-bills-to-veto-first/

Investigation: How Tech & AI Companies Corrupt Elections
https://youtu.be/lvGOv539YIE?is=O7qXPwQDmiPISugD