Best Of Linux : Readerware
 Thursday, May 17th 2001 EDT

I am thrilled to tell the world that I, Dave of DaveCentral, am a full-fledged book worm! I just adore reading!

Recently, I've even started collecting books. What's really cool is that I've found a way to combine my love of books and computers.

I was excited to discover Readerware, a fantastic program created for book lovers just like me! I have a huge collection of books ranging from recent science fiction books to rare collectibles. This program made it easy for me to create a database of books that I possess, as well as a list of books that I have loaned to others and another list of book that I want to collect.

Readerware allows you to use the ISBN bar codes on the back of your books. This makes it much easier to search for specific items on Web sites. Once you have a catalogue of desired books, you can simply choose the sites you want to search and click the "Run" button. The program takes it from there, importing the information to your database. You can search for a book in multiple ways. Your results are shown in a table format, making scanning the list for that special item easy on your eyes. Once you've found a book, just activate the link for that item.

What makes this program really rock is that it's all customizable, including the search, the way that the results are displayed, and darn near everything else. You can even create categories and a rating system that work for you! You don't have to worry about difficulties with obtuse languages or commands. This is a user-friendly Linux tool that requires little maintenance.

An integrated shopping cart, a built in browser, and the ability to store your database in your Palm pilot, are only a few of the features that really give this program an extra kick! You can even save the information in HTML format, making it easy to add it to your Web site. If you find yourself in a jam, you won't need a Linux guru. All you'll have to do is access the built in online help. Simplicity, organization, and the joy of books all brought together by my favorite digital world! How cool is that?!?!