Piracy is the problem? Really? | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics

Piracy is the problem? Really? | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics: "“Only 9%,” you say. “Nine percent is a lot!”

Perhaps. But remember, the publishing industry is perfectly happy with the print business model…which often sees 40-50% of its product unsold, returned or destroyed. That’s after the publisher has already incurred the costs of printing, shipping and warehousing those unsold books, too."

NookColor Reportedly Hits 3 Million Mark - eBookNewser

NookColor Reportedly Hits 3 Million Mark - eBookNewser:

"It’s been just over 4 months since the NookColor was launched, which makes these figures only that much more impressive. But are the numbers accurate? Only B&N knows for sure. If they are, then this could be part of the reason why Amazon has not yet released a tablet. Amazon’s Android tablet would need to have killer specs and a drop dead price if it wanted to beat the nookColor."

Booksprung � EPUBReader turns Firefox into… an epub reader!

Booksprung � EPUBReader turns Firefox into… an epub reader!:

"My favorite feature is that you can add a Calibre2OPDS library URL in the Preferences pane (look under “Miscellaneous” and type the address of your catalog.xml file) and browse your entire online Calibre library from within the add-on if you like. It’s not strictly necessary if you’re already in Firefox — you could easily just pull up your online Calibre library in another browser window instead — but in my experience browsing is faster in EPUBReader because of the nested menu."

I'll be installing this soon. I used to use an older version of the ePub reader add-on but switched over to using the Calibre reader because the ePub renderer used by the add-on would screw up links badly. I also got tired of having different copied of books filed all over the place.
Since I want to interface my new Android 2.2 tablet (uPad ZT-180) to Calibre this looks like a useful add-on to be testing out the OPDS library feature.

The Big Idea: Jesse Bullington � Whatever

The Big Idea: Jesse Bullington � Whatever:

"JESSE BULLINGTON:

Although my book The Enterprise of Death deals with issues of race, the outsider/insider, gender, sexuality, abuse and, well, Big Ideas, it didn’t spring from anything as easily defined and instantly recognizable as the altering of a historical event or a unique plot hook. Rather, I had an idea of this character lurking somewhere in the back of my head for the better part of a decade, and writing this novel was all about coaxing her from the shadows out to where I could see her properly and tell her story."

Cheaper Than A Tablet: 'Rooting' Your E-Reader : NPR

Cheaper Than A Tablet: 'Rooting' Your E-Reader : NPR:

"The Amazon Kindle has 3G data connectivity so that readers can download e-books anywhere there is cell service. As many Kindle owners know, the device can connect to Google and Wikipedia to look up things mentioned in e-books, too. That connectivity is all the opportunity hackers need to turn an e-book reader into a tablet."

What are the odds of getting Google Phone or Skype to work on a rooted Kindle? That's the kind of cell-phone service I can get behind.

Television - News - Neil Gaiman teases 'Good Omens' TV series - Digital Spy

Television - News - Neil Gaiman teases 'Good Omens' TV series - Digital Spy:

"Pratchett previously confirmed that a television version was in development but revealed no further details.

In a recent interview, Gaiman told DS: 'Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame, is going to be adapting... Good Omens, which I think is great.'

The author added that he and Pratchett will not be 'very heavily involved' in the adaptation."

Tablet on the way - waiting for the Customs lottery

The tablet I ordered from brandsdragon.com is finallt in Canada and waiting for customs clearance and any additional charges. I have no idea what additional charges I will have to pay. Its one of the biggest problems with ordering overseas. I've ordered dozens of little items from the east w/o attracting the attention of Customs but this time I may get hit with a significant charge.

2011-03-23 00:05:00 GUANGZHOU Released from Customs
00:35:00 GUANGZHOU Despatch from Sorting Center
2011-03-26 03:04:00 CANADA VANCOUVER Arrival at Sorting Center
2011-03-26 03:04:00 CANADA VANCOUVER Handed over to Customs

'Canadian DMCA' Copyright Bill Dead Again - Slashdot

'Canadian DMCA' Copyright Bill Dead Again - Slashdot:

"We can be confident that some kind of DMCA-style copyright bill will be resurrected, but it will have to wait for the next government sequel.'"

Sharper Image Literati $50 Today, Other eReader Sales - Incrementally dropping prices

Sharper Image Literati $50 Today, Other eReader Sales | The eBook Reader Blog - eReader and Tablet Reviews and News:

"Although I wouldn’t particularly recommend it, the Sharper Image Literati is on sale today for $49.99 plus $5 shipping at Woot.com. At that price any ereader is hard to pass up, despite its shortcomings."

Nothing earth-shattering. Prices are slowly dropping but not so fast that I regret going with an Android tablet instead of a dedicated e-reader.

Memidex Launches New Online Meta-Dictionary - eBookNewser

Memidex Launches New Online Meta-Dictionary - eBookNewser:

"Memidex is releasing a free online dictionary and thesaurus today. It’s being called “the Internet’s first combined index of external definitions, audio, and etymology”, and it has over 12 million detailed references found from respected sources online."

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Being Adapted To Crime-Of-The-Week Mystery TV Series - CSI: Ankh Morpork,

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Being Adapted To Crime-Of-The-Week Mystery TV Series Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors:

"Terry commonly refers to the City Watch police force series as “the jewels in the Discworld Crown.” These richly developed and highly compelling characters will feature in a ‘crime of the week’ episodic storyline. As each weekly adventure unfolds, viewers will be taken on a ride through Pratchett’s genius imagination, with the author overseeing the creation of the series, where wild and exciting encounters with werewolves, dragons, dwarfs, trolls and golems and the classic heroes and villains, are an everyday occurrence…and where many of these characters even make outstanding crime fighters!"

a) I'm ambivalent about the "CSI: Discworld" title; though the press release does not actually specify the title of the new series. Of course the title should be "CSI: Ankh Morpork".
b) I'm also ambivalent about the series using all new stories and not adapting the classics Night Watch and Guards! Guards!. If Pratchett is actively involved in the "overseeing" then we may avoid a loose adaptation of Barney Miller with funny costumes.

Futurama Renewed for TWO More Seasons by Comedy Central

Futurama Renewed for TWO More Seasons by Comedy Central:

"Comedy Central has announced they have renewed Futurama for not one, but TWO more seasons.
...
The additional two seasons will have 13 episodes each."

Woohoo!

Viewsonic gTablet On Sale Right Now on Woot.com – Act Fast - eBookNewser

Viewsonic gTablet On Sale Right Now on Woot.com – Act Fast - eBookNewser:

"It’s running Android v2.2 on a 10.1″ (1024x600) capacitive touchscreen, and it has a Nvidia Tegra 2 CPU, 512MB RAM, 16GB Flash storage, a microSD card slot, Wifi, Bluetooth, and a 1.3MP camera on the front."

Its a bit better than the one I ordered from China (3 weeks ago) but according to the specs I think I still got a bargain. Way down the road I'll want a tablet with 2 cameras, built-in bluetooth, and a bunch of other features, but not a 10" and not for $279.

Sigil Update Brings New Features to the Epub Editor - eBookNewser

Sigil Update Brings New Features to the Epub Editor - eBookNewser:

"A new version of the open source Epub editor Sigil was released earlier this week. You can now use Sigil to edit not just the text and formatting of an epub eBook, but the spine files as well.It also has a number of bug fixes and tweaks."

Sigil is the best ePub authoring program out there right now and it just got even better. While Calibre is starting to throw in the kitchen sink Sigil still has a way to go. I've used quite a few WYSIWYG editors, including Kompozer and Dreamweaver, and Sigil has the sanest, most practical editor. It is still shy on features but it gets the job done.

E-book sharing: Amazon and book publishers' stupid attempts to curtail lending sites. - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine

E-book sharing: Amazon and book publishers' stupid attempts to curtail lending sites. - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine:

"Lendle's Jeff Croft says he's collected a great deal of anecdotal evidence—email and Twitter testimonials—that lending drives sales. People tell him that they borrow a book by an author they've never heard of, for example, and then buy all of her titles. That sort of statement rings true to me."

My local public library informed many of my purchasing decisions for both fiction and non-fiction. I don't see how publishers could possibly be blind to the relationship between the public library and sales of all kinds of books.

NEWS | Christopher Paolini's last Inheritance book announced (Eragon Fans Rejoice!) ~ Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review

NEWS | Christopher Paolini's last Inheritance book announced (Eragon Fans Rejoice!) ~ Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review:

"Say what you will about this series, but it has been quite entertaining even if formulaic at times. Both Eragon and Eldest kept the level at a high while I, personally, found Brisigner to be a bit too much of a filler/bridge book."

Looking forward to the release. It may have been formulaic but only so far as it made the book more of a light young adult entry into the genre (and reading novels) than a ground breaking fantasy experiment. Maybe we'll see some more movies. Brisinger was not particularly satisfying so I hope the new book wraps things up.

MISHMASH | Lev Grossman & Cherie Priest Sequel News, & Tregillis Free Fiction ~ Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review

MISHMASH | Lev Grossman & Cherie Priest Sequel News, & Tregillis Free Fiction ~ Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review:

"Lev Grossman's hotly anticipated sequel to The Magicians titled The Magician King has a semi official publication date of August 9th.

Ian Tregillis has posted two free short stories to his site. The first is called "Chronicle of Sorrows" is placed in the world of the Milkweed Triptych and specifically connected to the event so of "What Doctor Gottlieb Saw" that was released last summer. The other is a standalone called "Come Dancefight, My Beloved Enemy."

Cherie Priest's third full length Clockwork Century novel Ganymede will be out September 27th."

Too much good news in one blog post. The sequel to The Magicians is a must-read this summer.

Top 10 E-Readers for March 2011 | Good E-Reader Blog - Electronic Reader and Tablet PC News

Top 10 E-Readers for March 2011 | Good E-Reader Blog - Electronic Reader and Tablet PC News

Why Penguin and Diane Duane just lost a sale | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics

Why Penguin and Diane Duane just lost a sale | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics:

"I might have paid $9.60 for an e-book, would more likely have paid $7.99, and I would almost certainly have paid $5-6 for it, but I’m not going to pay $11.99 for one—especially with the print book, the physical artifact that costs more money to print, store, and ship, costing less. That’s ridiculous."

Android 2.2 is now the dominant version of Google's OS with 61.3 percent of all active devices -- Engadget

Android 2.2 is now the dominant version of Google's OS with 61.3 percent of all active devices -- Engadget:

"when taken together with Android 2.1, that group swells to account for more than 90 percent of active Google devices."

2.3 and 3.0 account for about 2% of all devices out there. This means that Android 2.2 should be a stable. dominant, platform for at least a year and remain a practical choice for at least a year after that.

Upad ZT-180 Google Android 2.2 7 inch ZT-180 Dual core 1GHZ Tablet PC - I bought one!

Upad ZT-180 Google Android 2.2 7 inch ZT-180 Dual core 1GHZ Tablet PC
I ordered this March 3rd, but because of a Paypal snafu it has not been shipped yet, though payment has finally been registered and the shipment is being processed.

Its a bit of a risk getting a generic Android tablet from overseas, and apparently the Japan situation could affect shipment. For $105 (with a 6% discount on top of that) I'll be getting a 1GHz hires tablet with Android 2.2 so hopefully I won't have to fiddle around with new user-community-created firmware.

I'll update the blog as new information comes in. Needless to say I will not be looking at tablets a whole lot in the next few weeks. I already have buyer's remorse and I haven't even got my hands on it yet.

Here are the detailed specs:

CPU: ZT-180 Dual core 1GHZ
OS: Android 2.2
RAM: 256MB
Storage: 2GB
Support TF card extend 32GB max
Display: 7 inch TFT resisitive touch screen 1024*600
Webcam: 1.3 mega pixel camera
3G: external 3G function
GPS: No
Bluetooth: external bluetooth function
Networking: wifi 802.11b/g
Battery: 3000mAh
Work time: 4-5 hours
Sperkers: Yes
MIC: Yes
Input: 100-240V 50-60mA 0.12A
Output: 9V 2A
Audio format: Mp3, WAV, AAC...
Video format: MKV(H.264 HP), AVI, RM/RMVB, FLV, WMV9, MP4...
Picture format: JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG...
Office software: Word, Excel, PPT
G-sensor: Yes
Interface: HDMI*1, Headphone jack*1, Mini USB*1, USB*1, DC jack*1, TF card slot*1
Material of back cover: Plastic
Other application: Alarm Clock, Browser, Calculator, Calendar, Calibrate, Camera, Clock, Contacts, Dev Tools, Email, ES Task Manager, Facebook, Gallery, Gmail, Google Search, maps, Market, Messager, Music, Navigation, OfficeSuite, OI File Manager, Phone, Places, Settings, Sound Recorder, Spare Parts, Talk, Twittwe, YouTube
Weight: 0.395kgPackage weight: 1.1kg
Size: 20*12.7*1.4cm
Package size: 29*5.5*16.3cm

Augen’s The Book is on sale TODAY Only – $65 | The Digital Reader

Augen’s The Book is on sale TODAY Only – $65 | The Digital Reader

Ebooks: durability is a feature, not a bug | Technology | guardian.co.uk

Ebooks: durability is a feature, not a bug | Technology | guardian.co.uk:

"Ebooks have loads of demerits, especially as they are marketed to libraries. They are sold at full price, while print editions generally go at a hefty discount to reflect libraries' volume purchasing. They can only be read with certain, proprietary readers, something analogous to insisting that the libraries require patrons to read their books by the light of one preferred manufacturer's lightbulb. They can't be sold on as a library discard once the library no longer needs them for the collection.

But they have virtues, too. For example, they don't wear out. To pretend that this belongs on the 'con' side rather than the 'pro' side of the ebook chart is indefensible. You might as well argue that a surcharge should be assessed against paperbacks to offset the 'losses' experienced by publishers when libraries buy them instead of the hardcover, or that charity shops should be obliged to apply fake rust to stainless steel cutlery to make up for the fact that it lasts longer than the non-stainless kind."

Major report debunks alleged link between piracy and terrorism

Major report debunks alleged link between piracy and terrorism

Such claims have been made many times over the last decade, but a major new report, funded by Canada and by the Ford Foundation and buttressed by fieldwork around the globe, suggests that neither assertion is true. Indeed, far from being supremely lucrative, commercial piracy is under pressure from the same force pressing on legal distribution: free Internet file-sharing.

Information is Beautiful on the books everyone must read | Books | guardian.co.uk

Information is Beautiful on the books everyone must read | Books | guardian.co.uk:

"Do Top 100 Books polls and charts agree on a set of classics? I scraped
the results of over 15 notable book polls, readers surveys and top 100's. Both popular and high-brow."

Diane Duane on e-book self-publishing and quality | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics

Diane Duane on e-book self-publishing and quality | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics:

"And then of course there’s the issue of where to get electronic texts to correct for books that were originally, you know, typed on paper. …What, scan them? In my thousands of hours of spare time? I don’t think so. Why do that when various well-intentioned people have over time scanned my earliest books, sometimes even run them through several people to proof them, and then made them available via P2P? So I borrowed those texts back, thank you very much, and used them for my basic documents. (And in all cases, they still needed to be corrected. Sometimes the people doing the original scanning were none too sure of what a word meant, or how to spell it. I fortunately don’t have this problem.)"

Free books for proofers!

Update on Ian Tregillis' Milkweed Triptych Delays - self-publish next time!

NEWS | Update on Ian Tregillis' Milkweed Triptych Delays ~ Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review:

".... In less than two weeks, she had already read the published version of Bitter Seeds, as well as the 20-month-old manuscript for Coldest War, and was a few chapters into Necessary Evil. And she even plans to go back and reread Coldest War again before consolidating her notes on the book! I've been told to expect an editorial letter by the end of this month. Best of all, we had a broad-strokes discussion of her analysis, only to discover that we're very much on the same wavelength."

So the trilogy is written but buried by incompetent and/or lazy publisher/editor--and now its finally getting back on track for 2012, maybe. Another reason why self-publishing will start to gather steam.
Bitter Seeds is a fantastic book and there is no reason not to believe that the remaining two books in the trilogy are not just as good. Tregillis could have capitalized on the success of the first book and gone on to have great sales figures, an RPG, MMO and other profitable spin-offs in the time he has been waiting for the publishers to get off their asses.

Today is pi day

Today is pi day:

"And in celebration, this is my new favorite fact about pi: we have calculated pi out to over 6.4 billion digits but only 39 of them are needed to calculate the circumference of a circle as big as the universe 'with a precision comparable to the radius of a hydrogen atom'"

Your fun fact for the day.

Ongoing publisher inattention to e-book quality is highly annoying | its deliberate

Ongoing publisher inattention to e-book quality is highly annoying | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics:

"Why on earth are publishers not sending their e-books back through those editing structures on the way out? If they don’t have enough people, they could hire more. Even running an e-book past one person would be an improvement, because it’s hard to believe that this kind of error could go uncaught if scanned by living eyes."

I, for one, believe that it is intentional in that the higher-ups in the publishing industry do not like the way the ground is disappearing out from under their feet. The budget and workforce applied to ebook publishing is deliberately shortchanged and it is painfully apparent in the quality of ebooks out there.

A tsunami story with a happy ending? Read Terry Pratchett's The Nation

If you've not yet had your fill of tsunamis get the YA novel Nation by Terry Pratchett.
Its not really a story about tsunamis. Pratchett tells a tale of a British girl shipwrecked by a tsunami in the South Seas. A boy native to another island is also transplanted, via the same tsunami that destr

oyed his tribe (the Nation), to the same island the girl is stranded on. The girl, boy, and natives on this island adapt to the influx of refugees and raiders and rebuild their civilization.
Lots of the typical Pratchett humour and adventure in this non-Discworld novel where our teen protagonists "grow up" learn about leadership and responsibility and the nature of humanity. Pratchett's deft exploration of the nature of culture and religion is wrapped in an entertaining and witty story.

The Little Habits | zen habits

The Little Habits | zen habits:

"The little habits can be life-changing.

Everyone’s world-changing little habits will be different, but I’ll share a few of mine, and then some tips for forming them."

Common sense. Good sense. Might get around to trying some of it some day.

One more reason to root the NOOKcolor: Bluetooth - freedom

One more reason to root the NOOKcolor: Bluetooth:

"they have enabled a new function on the device – Bluetooth support. With the use of the latest version of Cyanogen Mod, a custom ROM, they have managed to get Bluetooth enabled on the tablet. While Bluetooth does work, at the moment it only has a functional range or 13″"

All tablets should have bluetooth. Its cheap and takes up little space. Of course it doesn't take a genius to figure out why its typically not included: unrestricted point-to-point communications is not controlled by the manufacturer or the phone company/service provider.

A tablet from Amazon may hurt iPad 2 the most - and benefit all customers

A tablet from Amazon may hurt iPad 2 the most | Good E-Reader Blog - Electronic Reader and Tablet PC News:

"How does Amazon fit into the picture? Epps believes Amazon excels in the first two points namely price and distribution – areas where the competition is found lacking. Amazon also boasts of huge content to its credit and can make good use of it by selling a tablet at a highly affordable cost and recover much of the cost by selling content. As for distribution, Amazon itself is an online retail giant with a huge dedicated following who prefer Amazon as their destination of choice for buying electronic goods. Another motivation for Amazon to launch a suitable device of its own is the recent in-app purchasing policy that Apple is following and which has introduced some strict regulations on e-book sellers and content providers."

I hope Amazon is listening. I don't like Apple or Amazon all that much, though if I had to pick I'd choose Amazon when the revolution comes and we have to take sides. I Amazon came out with a semi-locked Android wi-fi tablet for $99 (adding features like 3G, memory, etc for pricier versions) and tied it in to the Amazon Book and Music markets then we could see some decent competition and better prices and customer experience for everyone.

The Wertzone: A DISCWORLD City Watch TV series in the works

The Wertzone: A DISCWORLD City Watch TV series in the works:

"Terry Pratchett has signed a deal with Prime Focus Productions to bring the 'City Watch' subset of his Discworld novels to television. The deal will allow for an ongoing TV series featuring new adventures and episodes based on the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, commanded by Sam Vimes and made up of a mixed group of humans, trolls, werewolves, vampires, zombies, golems and dwarfs. Exactly how this will work - whether they'll start with an adaptation of Guards! Guards! or a new introduction - is unclear at present."

This can be real good or horrible, a good cast and "mature" writing and this can be a fantastic series with lots of legs (no pun intended). I think it will all depend on how greasy they make Nobby Nobbs.

In more good news, work is progressing on the SKY adaptation of Pratchett's Unseen Academicals. And the next Discworld book (Snuff) is coming in October.

Ahhh. I was looking for a reason to live.

Twitter tells third-party devs to stop making Twitter client apps

Twitter tells third-party devs to stop making Twitter client apps:

"In a statement issued today by Twitter on its official developer mailing list, the company informed third-party developers that they should no longer attempt to build conventional Twitter client applications. In a move to increase the 'consistency' of the user experience, Twitter wants more control over how its service is presented to users in all contexts."

I don't think I'd bother with Twitter if TweetDeck didn't make it palatable.

Best SFF Novels of the Decade Readers Poll Comes to a Close | tor.com | Science fiction and fantasy | Blog posts

Best SFF Novels of the Decade Readers Poll Comes to a Close | tor.com | Science fiction and fantasy | Blog posts:

"Today marks the end of our Best SFF Novels of the Decade Reader’s Poll and we want to thank everyone who participated, from commenter to co-worker, from Rothfuss to reader. It was a massive amount of work pulling it all together while redesigning our website and keeping every other plate spinning, but the amount of enjoyment it produced was more than worth it.

We were particularly warmed by those who let us know that they’ve discovered so much more in SFF to read because of this poll and we had a lot of fun watching everyone play with the statistics.

We’ve combined all the data charts into one handy document here. [Google Docs downloadable pdf. 1.3 MB]"

Goodreads buys Discovereads - eBookNewser

Goodreads buys Discovereads - eBookNewser:

"Yesterday the online book community Goodreads bought the book discovery site Discovereads for an undisclosed sum."

Combine this kind of social networking and book recommendation technology with self-publishing and we have a winner.

Fantasy Bestsellers FTW! - Patrick Rothfuss and Stephen Erikson on Times Bestsellers List

Fantasy Bestsellers FTW! | tor.com | Science fiction and fantasy | Blog posts:

"It’s a great week for the fantasy genre! We raise a tankard of mead in toast to Patrick Rothfuss and Steven Erikson for their appearance on the March 20th New York Times Bestseller’s List! The Crippled God has debuted at #12 and The Wise Man’s Fear took the very top spot at #1!"

#1 and #2 on my reading list right now. Everything else can gather dust.

Homebrew laser pistol that shoots neat holes in stuff - Boing Boing

Homebrew laser pistol that shoots neat holes in stuff - Boing Boing:

"Here's a working, homebrewed 1MW laser pistol that can fire through a steel razor-blade and possibly other objects as well. If you want to make one of your own, the creator will help you find the parts and get it all together."

Laser tag is going to get very interesting.

Self-publishing authors find success at the 99 cent price point | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics

Self-publishing authors find success at the 99 cent price point | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics:

"Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s self-publishing system gives authors a much bigger chunk of the retail price (70%) at $2.99 and up than at 99 cents (35%). But Joe Konrath reports that he went from selling 40 copies of an e-book per day at $2.99 to selling 620 copies of it per day at 99 cents. That works out to a change from $83.72/day of royalties at the higher price to $214.83/day—over 2 1/2 times as much—at the lower price."

Authors are finding success self-publishing with just a little marketing knowledge. I don't see how the Agency model can be sustained when more and more talented authors are going it alone.

Copyright reform close but no cigar

Copyright reform close but no cigar:

"'The way it is set out in the Act, the rights are given then essentially taken away,' she said referring to the exceptions. 'So you have all these rights but you can't exercise them' because the digital lock provisions override any exception.

Ultimately, most lawyers suggest that the fair dealing definitions and exceptions should be broadened and consumers should have the right to break digital locks for personal use."

The amazing del Toro movie that just got spiked - Film Salon - Salon.com

The amazing del Toro movie that just got spiked - Film Salon - Salon.com:

"The New Yorker's news desk ran a melancholy addendum to its Feb. 7 feature about director Guillermo del Toro and his attempts to make a $150 million live-action film of H.P. Lovecraft's 'At the Mountains of Madness.' Apparently Universal refused to greenlight the project due to del Toro's insistence that it be released with an 'R' rating rather than a 'PG-13.'"

This is why we can't have nice things.

2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award Finalists – Grasping for the Wind

2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award Finalists – Grasping for the Wind:

"Zoo City by Lauren Beukes (Angry Robot) [which you can get as a $1.60 ebook till Monday from the publisher]
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald (Gollancz)
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (Walker Books)
Generosity by Richard Powers (Atlantic Books)
Declare by Tim Powers (Corvus)
Lightborn by Tricia Sullivan (Orbit)"

Whoever Builds A Good Tool To Help Us Find New Books To Read Will Get Rich | paidContent

Whoever Builds A Good Tool To Help Us Find New Books To Read Will Get Rich | paidContent:

"The race to build this better discovery tool for readers is not only on—it is crowded. For the companies leaning hard on engineering, like Discoverreads and WhatShouldIReadNext, book data from the user (usually beginning with books they’ve already read/liked)) is crunched against preference patterns created by other users and run though a proprietary algorithm. Others services create a social experience around reading itself (BookGlutton with online annotation, Copia with discussion while reading or afterwards), and view discovery as a secondary benefit of participation. More general recommendation services like LivingSocial and GetGlue are hybrids—treating your new favorite book, video game or beer as a set of fertile data but only good for growing recommendations when planted alongside those of your friends and extended social network."

The book is dead -long live the ebook

The book is dead -long live the ebook:

"'Self-publishing saved my career and my sanity,' says Burns, who 'got tired of all the power resting in the hands of editors and agents who clearly had no affinity for work that carves a different path . . . now, new technologies like print-on-demand and blogging have placed more power and responsibility in authors' hands.'

When asked about the future of books, Burns says, 'I think in the next decade or two, the physical book will become more of a curio, like vinyl albums' and that people will mainly read on 'screens of various kinds.'"

Brad Colbow - Independent Web Designer, Illustrator - The Brads - Complete list of Apple Touch Gestures

Brad Colbow - Independent Web Designer, Illustrator - The Brads - Complete list of Apple Touch Gestures
Hilarious web comic: "PINCH AND PUSH - Instantly Report Adult Content To Site"

Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews: 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist

Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews: 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award shortlist:

"“Zoo City” by Lauren Beukes (Angry Robot)
“The Dervish House” by Ian McDonald (Gollancz)
“Monsters of Men” by Patrick Ness (Walker Books)
“Generosity” by Richard Powers (Atlantic Books)
“Declare” by Tim Powers (Corvus)
“Lightborn” by Tricia Sullivan (Orbit)"

10 Library Books Most Frequently Read More Than Once (PHOTOS)

10 Library Books Most Frequently Read More Than Once (PHOTOS):

"We asked HuffPost Readers to tell us which books they reread the most. But we also wondered which library books people most frequently reread"

Lord of the Rings, a bunch of classics, and Harry Potter. No surprises here. Will Harry Potter still be on the list in 10 years?

NASA scientist finds evidence of alien life - Yahoo! News

NASA scientist finds evidence of alien life - Yahoo! News
The first thing we gotta do is isolate some DNA and start cloning. Earth needs tentacle monsters.

Calibre starts drm-free ebook site | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics

Calibre starts drm-free ebook site | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics:

"calibre introduces Open Books, a site for easy browsing of DRM-free e-books (e-books without DRM) that are not in the public domain. calibre has a cornucopia of features including library management, e-book conversion, syncing with devices, news download, e-book viewing etc, but to make the most of these features with your e-books you need to ensure your e-books do not carry DRM.

Open Books is a compilation non DRM e-books from various sources linked to enable readers to browse and download them."

drm-free.calibre.com looks pretty interesting. If it's coupled with the Calibre interface and powerful keyword search tools this site could take off quickly. It depends on user participation to help populate the site so it may take some time (if at all) before it builds up a library of links large enough to make it regualr reliable resource.

Calibre 0.7.48 released | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics

Calibre 0.7.48 released | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics
It just keeps getting better and better.

Unshelved by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes - Roald Dahl's Matilda vs vBooks

Unshelved by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes
What would Matilda do if her father made her read interactive vBooks? Check out the comic at Unshelved.

Best of the Decade Data: Votes by Year & the Top 50 vs. Awards & Genre | Tor.com | Science fiction and fantasy | Blog posts

Best of the Decade Data: Votes by Year & the Top 50 vs. Awards & Genre | Tor.com | Science fiction and fantasy | Blog posts:

"For some, book releases tend not to be tied to a specific year. You remember the last time you read a good book more than you remember it’s actual year of publication"

Download the PDF. It's worth it.

Fantasy Book Critic: “The Enterprise of Death” by Jesse Bullington (Reviewed by Robert Thompson and Liviu Suciu)

Fantasy Book Critic: “The Enterprise of Death” by Jesse Bullington (Reviewed by Robert Thompson and Liviu Suciu):

"Like The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart, The Enterprise of Death is a hard-to-classify fusion of folklore, historical fiction, fantasy, horror and black comedy in the vein of the Brothers Grimm, Clive Barker, Chuck Palahniuk, Warren Ellis and a bit of Joe Abercrombie. In this case, the historical-influenced setting is centered around the Spanish Inquisition, the Italian Wars and the Protestant Reformation during the late 15th/early 16th centuries."

All the Details on Apple's iPad 2: Specs, Pricing, Release Date - wheres teh competition?

All the Details on Apple's iPad 2: Specs, Pricing, Release Date:

"The iPad 2 with WiFi will be available on March 11 in the U.S. for a $499 for the 16 GB model, $599 for the 32 GB model, and $699 for the 64 GB model. 3G will cost more: $629, $729, and $829 respectively."

Goddamit, wheres the competition out there? Incrementally better than the original with some flashy additions (no pun intended). The bargain Android tablet I'm looking to buy at Zellers has no camera, the microphone doesn't work with all Android apps, and it truns into a brick if you try to fine-tune the OS/app-suite.
I'm depressed.

Open Mesh Project seeks to use mesh networking to promote freedom - matter of time before corporate backlash

Open Mesh Project seeks to use mesh networking to promote freedom | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics:

"Of course, this is just the beginning. As the technology improves—and getting it into widespread use will drive improvement—we could be on the way to the sort of everything-is-networked future depicted in Vernor Vinge’s Rainbows End. Won’t that be an interesting world to live in? Hopefully once such widespread information to access becomes available, it will be harder for tyrants to keep their people down. (Of course, they’ll probably still find ways anyway, but we can dream, right?)"

While Rainbows End is a fantastic book, I think the future of the open mesh network will look more like the Charles Stross and Cory Doctorow short story Unwirer, published in the book Wireless by Stross. If corporations cannot profit from an open mesh network they will make it illegal.

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: THE CRIPPLED GOD is a hit!

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: THE CRIPPLED GOD is a hit!:

"Well, I guess that word has finally gotten around, for Steven Erikson's The Crippled God (Canada, USA, Europe) is number 4 on the Sunday Times bestseller list!"

Joe Abercrombie's The Heroes, and now Erikson's Crippled God. Looks like Folding Knife and Prince of Thieves go on the backburner for a few weeks.

We are Adding DRM for the Future of Ebooks, and Other HarperCollins Fairytales | Bookbee Ebooks

We are Adding DRM for the Future of Ebooks, and Other HarperCollins Fairytales | Bookbee Ebooks:

"Where do I start with this? Apart from the fact that at my local library the new bestsellers are usually “FastBack” books – you only get a week with them (26 x 1 week = 6 months), saying that you “hope” to make instantaneous digital distribution cheaper than the physical trucking of books around the US shows how out of touch you are (or how stupid you think others are)."

Elonex expand their line up with new e-reader, tablet | The Digital Reader

Elonex expand their line up with new e-reader, tablet | The Digital Reader

The eBook User Bill of Rights | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics

The eBook User Bill of Rights | TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics:

"Every eBook user should have the following rights:the right to use eBooks under guidelines that favor access over proprietary limitationsthe right to access eBooks on any technological platform, including the hardware and software the user chooses, the right to annotate, quote passages, print, and share eBook content within the spirit of fair use and copyright, the right of the first-sale doctrine extended to digital content, allowing the eBook owner the right to retain, archive, share, and re-sell purchased eBooks. I believe in the free market of information and ideas."

Wishful thinking.