U.S. Declares iPhone Jailbreaking Legal, Over Apple’s Objections
(wired.com): Federal regulators lifted a cloud of uncertainty when they announced it was lawful to hack or “jailbreak” an iPhone, declaring Monday there was “no basis for copyright law to assist Apple in protecting its restrictive business model.” Jailbreaking is hacking the phone’s OS to allow consumers to run any… Read More
The future of research and the research library
(blogs.talis.com): According to a recent report from Denmark’s Electronic Research Library there are three aspects of the functions of the research library that can be seen as providing potential scenarios. The library as a learning centre focusing on the provision of learning materials and support for learning processes. The library… Read More
Why is Spain So Slow to Launch E-books?
(publishingperspectives.com): The market for Spanish-language e-books has potential to be huge, as it encompasses both Spain and all of Mexico, Central and Latin America. And it was last June already when Spain’s “Big Three” publishers — Random House Mondadori, Santillana, and Paneta — announced plans to collaborate on a digital… Read More
Amazon Threatens Publishers as Apple Looms
(nytimes.com): Amazon.com has threatened to stop directly selling the books of some publishers online unless they agree to a detailed list of concessions regarding the sale of electronic books, according to two industry executives with direct knowledge of the discussions. Amazon.com has threatened to stop directly selling the books of… Read More
Ebook market exploding, says new iDPF survey
(teleread.org): The ebook market is growing faster as it grows larger. The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) on Friday reported U.S. wholesale ebook sales for January, 2010 were $31.9 million, up 261 percent from the same month a year earlier. The data is collected from only 12-15 U.S. trade publishers.… Read More
Andrew Wakefield and MMR: the ‘impact factor’
(guardian.co.uk): The Wakefield saga, brought to an unhappy conclusion by the General Medical Council's decision to strike the doctor at the heart of the MMR-"autism" controversy off the British medical register, highlights many troubled issues in medical research: the influence of funding sources and disclosure of conflicts of interest, the… Read More
Harvard’s paper cuts
(boston.com): The thin, tattered book, an 1899 dissertation on Homer, written in French, is tucked into one of the more than 40 shelves devoted to the epic poet in the stacks of Widener Library. Collecting obscure works like this one has helped Harvard amass the world’s largest university library. But… Read More
Science News for Kindle
(blogkindle.com): Science News is a biweekly publication and it is available for Kindle for $2.25 a month. The pictures are included and can even be enlarged to be viewed in full screen mode. Science News was first published since 1922 under the name The Science News Letter by the nonprofit… Read More
Is The iPad The Future, Or Just A Clever Mockup?
(istockanalyst.com): This isn't a PC or Macintosh or UNIX experience, this is something New. A lot of attention has also gone into making the user interface responsive. The iPad is a convergence device and can be used as an ebook reader as well as for the obvious cloud-computing tasks —… Read More
E-books: Royalties vs. respect
(cbc.ca): With competition between electronics makers taking off for the fledging e-reader market, which is expected to hit 14 million units in the United States alone this year, the book publishing industry is being rapidly redefined. New players such as Amazon and Apple aren't just competing with traditional retailers such… Read More
