Copyright: A Closer Look At The Issues With eBooks
(guardian.co.uk): A recurring question in discussions of digital copyright is how creators and their investors (that is, labels, movie studios, publishers, etc) will earn a living in the digital era. Copyright is in tremendous flux at the moment; governments all over the world are considering what their copyright systems should… Read More
Is the future of eBooks really disposable paper eReaders
(tech.blorge.com): University of Cincinnati professor of electrical engineering, Andrew Steckl has shown that a paper based display technology is possible. If Steckl can perfect it, expect low cost disposable eReaders to hit the shelves. Call this an ironic twist but eReaders have been touted as a way to do away… Read More
RSC welcomes learned societies’ increased role in education
(rsc.org): The restructuring of GCSEs and improved regulation should go some way to curbing the grade inflation that has been allowed to grow out of control. Exam results are like house prices. We all want to see them go up over time, but shoot up too far, too fast for… Read More
EReaders handy for more than reading
(content.usatoday.com): This holiday season should be especially merry for book lovers. By most accounts, eReaders such as Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, and the Sony Reader will be among the top-selling gifts. Recipients can carry hundreds of books without needing a follow-up visit to a chiropractor. But eReaders can… Read More
Disruption, Aggregation, and Third Parties
(scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org): The publishing industry is in a state of flux, keeping an eye on new means of creating, packaging, and delivering information, waiting either, depending on your viewpoint, for a clear path forward or for the other shoe to drop. But if we accept disruption as an inevitable consequence of… Read More
After Wikileaks, what will Amazon remove next?
(techradar.com): Last year, Amazon was caught remotely deleting copies of George Orwell's 1984 from Kindles - and this week it's deleting even more controversial content. The firm cheerfully deleted erotic stories from people's Kindle archives, and it cheerfully booted Wikileaks off its hosting service. So what's going on? In the… Read More
Can carrier billing save Android Market?
(econsultancy.com): Google's Android operating system may be a prominent fixture in the mobile world, but when looking at the app economy within it, Android is having a hard time competing with Apple and iOS. For some developers, Android Market has proven to be an impediment to success. Unlike Apple, which… Read More
Net Neutrality for Writers: It’s All About the Leverage
(locusmag.com): How do successful writers use copyright? As negotiating leverage. Copyright becomes a productive club-with-a-nail-through-it with which to threaten publishers who might consider publishing a well-known writer’s work without their permission. Likewise, copyright is a useful tool for publishers to use in threatening each other, should one publisher take it… Read More
When it comes to ebooks at universities the future isn’t that scary
(oncampus.macleans.ca): Some Canadian universities are encouraging students to switch from paper coursepacks to electronic versions. The move is allegedly in response to rising copyright fees, individual ebooks will be cheaper than their print versions. Read More
Tablets and e-readers can live in harmony, says Amazon
(independent.co.uk): Amazon is keen to shake the notions that the iPad is a Kindle killer and consumers should either opt for an e-reader OR a tablet, but not both. For the second time in so many weeks the company has made the statement that "people are buying both a Kindle… Read More
