The Amazon Kindle store, The Barnes and Noble Nook store and Google Books are all large and well-established, and can be used on a computer, tablet, or smart phone as well as an e-reader device. They are likely to have the latest available eBooks, and carry little to no risk of viruses or identity theft. If you are using a computer, you can either download the free eBook reader software made available by the book seller, or look for books in general purpose formats. PDFs can be viewed in Adobe Acrobat Reader, while .LIT, ePub, and .Mobi files can be read in Microsoft Reader. Independent eBook sellers may offer collections focused on specific topics, or works by new and unknown authors. Before downloading any files from a site you do not recognize, search for reviews of the site online to determine whether it is safe.   Smashwords offers self-published and independent works, with a focus on fiction.  Safari offers access to O'Reilly Publishing's extensive library of programming and computer books.  APress Alpha and Manning Early Access provide access to books on technological topics as the book is being written. Book subscription services offer access to a library of online books for a periodic subscription fee. Many of these services offer a free trial month.   Scribd offers unlimited access to paying subscribers. Entitle offers access to your choice of two books each month, for a monthly fee.  Oyster is a book subscription service oriented at mobile devices, with a heavy selection of indie and new authors. Commercial sites like CourseSmart.com, Chegg.com or Textbooks.com are often the most likely to have recent or required textbooks, but may require paid registration. Portions of the textbook may be available for free, or the entire eBook version may come free with the physical textbook. If you are looking for a specific book, search online for the author's personal website or the publisher's promotional website for that book. An eBook is sometimes offered through these sites, or the author may provide free supplemental material or previews.

Summary: Purchase an eBook from a mainstream bookseller. Browse self-published works and niche databases. Join a book subscription service. Visit textbook sites to find eBook versions of textbooks. Visit the publisher or author's website to download your eBook.


Don’t take care of car insurance for someone else. When you pay it automatically, they don’t see the costs associated with speeding. Instead, make them responsible for the insurance price increase as well as any tickets they get. They will feel the full effects of any bad driving they do. A speed monitoring system fits in a car’s diagnostic port. It then relays GPS coordinates and speeding details back to a website. You can set boundaries for how far someone can travel, when they break certain speeds, and when the device is unplugged. These systems can be bought in electronic stores or online and maintained monthly for a small fee.  Examples of these systems include MOTOsafety, Mastrack, and MobiCoPilot. Make sure you have the person’s permission before tracking them. The simplest idea you can try to prevent speeding in your area is to raise awareness. Plant a sign in front of your house that notes the speed limit and that “90% of people obey it.” Have your neighbors help, and have them pledge to reduce their own speeding.  This will reduce speeding for a short period of time as people read the signs. Eventually, this effect wears off as the signs become part of the background. Many times residents of the area are the ones likely to ignore signs and pledges. Seeing a police cruiser is enough to slow people down. Think about when there’s a large number of speeders in your area or when it’s least safe for them, such as when children are walking home from school. You may need to pester the government a bit before they send a car.  A police presence costs the government money and the effects are temporary. As soon as the police leaves, people will start speeding again. The government may also install speed detection signs. These signs display your speed as you pass them. They may shame some people into slowing down, but many others will ignore these. Speed bumps are the most obvious road barrier. People must slow down to avoid damaging their car. However, better results come from narrowing the road, such as by making the sidewalks larger, adding stop signs, or adding chicanes (artificial narrowing).  Speed bumps can help, but they can also damage cars and feel annoying to you and your neighbors. If you are permitted to park on the street, you can use your car as a barrier. Otherwise, you should not attempt to block the road on your own. The city may also be able to install yellow hazard signs with a message like, “Deaf children at play.” People who see this may take more caution as they travel along the street. A continuous surveillance camera will allow you to monitor traffic near your home. Record yourself driving at and above the speed limit so you have a frame of reference for what’s too fast. Then, capture clips of speeders.  Once you have the clips, you can send them to people or their employers. For example, you may see that your mailman is speeding and send the clip to their boss at the post office. You can also use these clips to prove to your city government that speeding is a problem.
Summary: Make everyone in your home responsible for car insurance. Install speed monitoring. Raise speeding awareness with signs and pledges. Ask the city for a police presence. Petition your city for road barriers. Install video surveillance outside your home.