The Great E-Reader Shakedown
(thenextweb.com): It turns out that if you fight the big boys you often get burned. The giants of the e-reading space are competing at such a high level that the market’s smaller competitors are leaving in droves. Not that these companies don’t manufacture other products, they are just shutting down… Read More
Why Metadata Matters for the Future of E-Books
(wired.com): The world of digital publishing can be a lot more complicated than deciding whether to buy a Kindle, Nook, or iPad. If you want to know just how complex things are getting, just ask a publisher, author, or agent about Andrew Wylie. Along with Amazon announcing its new Kindle,… Read More
E-book pricing probe intensifies
(channel.hexus.net): The agreements between publishers and retailers such as Amazon and Apple will be scrutinized as Connecticut's attorney general warns deals have resulted in less competition and pricier titles for consumers. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut attorney general showed off a preliminary review of the pricing agreements between five of the US's… Read More
Tablets not set in stone as vendors apply some post iPad adjustments
(telecomtv.com): The tablet market stuttered the moment the iPad hit the streets as erstwhile competitors took time out to ‘rethink and refine’ (and copy the best features). But now it looks like it’s back with Motorola and Verizon leading the charge. The news this week that Motorola and Verizon are… Read More
Will Google Save the News?
(thedailybeast.com): There are a lot of ideas circulating for saving the news business—such as adopting a nonprofit model that would turn newspapers into public-service institutions like public radio or universities, or soliciting an antitrust waiver that would allow news-based companies to act in concert and charge consumers online—but getting Google… Read More
Digitisation: The storage revolution
(arnnet.com.au): The world is becoming more digitised. From health records to legal notes and consumer devices such as e-readers, all kinds of verticals are facing an influx of new data, and each of those verticals has different requirements for the access and use of that data. Look at the medical… Read More
Digital Copyright Exemptions Benefit Educators, Filmmakers and Smartphone Owners
(newsbreaks.infotoday.com): In what is being described as a "win" for college and university students and faculty, smartphone users, and visually impaired ebook readers, the Librarian of Congress recently approved several new exemptions to the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The first of these exemptions would allow… Read More
Do copyrights and DRM inhibit the spread of knowledge?
(myce.com): While copyrighting creative works is nothing new, the inception of modern technology has caused a slew of debates and challenges regarding the enforcement and effects of copyrights laws. Increased interest has sparked a number of recent research projects examining copyright laws in different societies throughout history, and the resulting… Read More
University to bypass expensive database
(cbc.ca)The University of Prince Edward Island has not renewed its subscription to a database long considered to be crucial to scientific research and is planning to work with other schools to create a new, free database of scientific research. The Web of Science, published by the Institute for Scientific Information,… Read More
Digital Imitation Is A Form Of Flattery For Old-Guard Publishers
(paidcontent.org): Though many professional analogue publishers are lazily shoveling their one-dimensional print editions on to e-readers, increasing numbers of them are also designing custom tablet editions that are truly suited to the device’s unique form factor. Traditional-media operators can take heart and feel flattered at digital-native developers’ stumbling attempts at… Read More
