Reading digital books just got easier even if you don't own an ereader, tablet, or smartphone. Today Amazon and Kno, a popular source for digital textbooks, launched web-based reading modes.
The Kindle Cloud Reader uses HTML5 technology to enable on- and offline reading through Safari and Chrome web browsers. Library and reading history are made mobile, as personal Kindle account information autosyncs when signed into a new device. For example, you can read A Wrinkle in Time on Chrome at your desk and then sign into the same page with an iPad when commuting home. Amazon expects Kindle Cloud Reader to be available on Firefox, Internet Explorer, and the BlackBerry PlayBook in coming months.
Recognizing students spend a good chunk of their digital time on Facebook, Kno introduced textbook access through Facebook as well as all web browsers. Naturally, the Facebook app includes social elements like direct posting of textbook questions to the newsfeed. The excuse for not completing an assignment because of pets chewing up a book is a little harder to pull off now.
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Books might soon go the way of the record — something collectors with a taste for the cover art and scratchy sound keep buying after everyone else switches to the digital version that doesn't require any space in your home. Records still have an appeal, but they're no longer how most people listen to music. Amazon is doing its part to make this happen to paper books, too, by 
