For Mr. Slater...

For those of you considering taking up Eric Slater's suggestion to carry on to Law School, you might want to check this out first... a HILARIOUS story about a guy who hated being a lawyer so much that he sold his law degree on Craigslist. No lie...

And in more Publishing related news... a clerk at a court house in Tombstone, AZ found some original court documents from the famous shot out at the OK Corral. How cool is that? They are in really poor shape, but the historians working with the papers are going scan them and publish them online... talk about open access.

Rolling Stone Magazine's New Online Business Model

I think it seems like a pretty good deal to subscribers. I'm curious to see reactions from other magazine publishers and readers....

You can check it out here:
Rolling Stone's archive going online - for a price

Pulping

Costly error!

1984?

Remember that copyleft organization Prof. Slater mentioned in class the other day, the Electronic Frontier Foundation? Also, remember the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in government we discussed in class? Well, the Coordinator asked for input from copyright holders and industries that represents these interests for input on how best to enforce IP in these times.

I'll keep this brief: the MPAA and RIAA (among others) put their two cents in. Here's their original comments. Highlights-
1. They point out that software exists to detect "infringing" files on personal computers.
2. They advocate that network administrators keep track (via multiple tracking methods) of who is responsible for infringement and where the infringement is happening.
3. They want to change customs forms for travelers to "educate the public" about the threat of piracy and pirated products.
4. They want the U.S. Govt. to keep a list of countries where piracy websites are and "target" these countries' individual copyright policies to better police content.
5. They want all this to be done on the federal government's dime: namely through the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security.

Here's the EFF's take on the issue. What do you guys think?

E-Publishing Failure

I read a great article on The Casual Optimist that describes both successes and failures of experimental publishing... based on the failure of HarperStudio - a sister publishing house of HarperCollins. This is the gist of the post, but it is quite interesting, and worth a read.

"My point is not that we should not stop experimenting with new author contracts, transparency, formats, trade terms, or marketing — we need to try new things and be allowed to fail. But this should not come at the expense of consistently good, interesting (and inexpensive) books."

Video on the Future Of Publishing (by Dorling Kindersley)

We've talked in class before about the challenges designers are faced with when creating publications for e-readers and hand held devices. Here is an article from printmag.com questioning the impact the iPad will have on the publishing industry and the impact it will have on the publishing design industry. Enjoy!

Jobs Saves?

Man, Google can't catch a break...

Hmmm... With all the trouble surrounding Google, from Books to Buzz to China to YouTube, perhaps it's time to find another search engine.

Here we have yet another impending lawsuit... this time, photography. All in the realm of copyright infringement. Check it out.

More News on iPad's impending arrival...

It appears people are wary of purchasing yet another piece of Apple equipment... it seems a little excessive to some... at least in this article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/technology/personaltech/02gadget.html?th&emc=th