Cory Doctorow is self-publishing a book and documenting the process for Publishers Weekly. His latest column is about selling audiobook versions of his past works, and how both Apple and Audible have refused to budge on their anti-consumer policies when it comes to digital rights management (DRM) and end user license agreements (EULAs). Even though both companies get paid the same either way, and even though both Doctorow and his publisher, Random House, want to sell the content without these restrictions, Apple and Audible have said no. [More]
Apple And Audible Refuse To Sell Author's Audiobooks Without DRM Or Abusive Licensing Agreement
By December 11, 2009
Read Chris Anderson's Book 'Free' For Free
By July 21, 2009
Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired and author of The Long Tail, has published a new book that looks at something of interest to Consumerist: the trend of content and services to slide toward free, especially in the digital world. It’s pretty light reading and an interesting look at economics in the digital marketplace in particular—and for now, at least, it’s available in multiple formats for free.
By June 20, 2009
Here are 5 personal finance podcasts to subscribe to, download, and argue with during your commute or workout. [Automatic Finances] (Photo: uhuru1701)
By May 26, 2009
There’s a new free app for the iPhone called Audiobooks that connects you to 1800 public domain recordings, mostly of classic books. [TUAW]
Amazon Begins Selling Kindle Books With Text To Speech Disabled
By May 13, 2009
As promised, Amazon has begun to implement the text to speech (TTS) flag that lets authors and their publishers turn off the “read it to me” feature of books on the Kindle. MobileRead members note that Toni Morrison’s A Mercy and Stephen King’s The Stand both have TTS disabled, and it seems to be on an author-by-author basis instead of by publisher or imprint.
National Federation Of The Blind Mounts Protest Over Kindle 2 Restrictions
By April 6, 2009
When the Authors Guild successfully agitated for the right to selectively remove the text-to-speech feature from books read on Amazon’s Kindle 2, they alienated an entire group of potential consumers: people who have trouble reading normal printed works. Now a group called the Reading Rights Coalition is going to storm the Authors Guild’s NYC office tomorrow at noon to protest.
By January 23, 2009
Audible is offering a free download of “The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People.” You’ll have to sign up for a free account to qualify. [Digital Inspiration] (Thanks to Hunt!)
