Jul 15 2012
Based on the Wall Street Journal article, I thought I would explore the extent of companies’ spying on digital readers. Data mining and predictive analysis has become an important component of marketing. In The Power off Habit Charles Duhigg shares the story of how Target built a data model that predicted when a woman was(…)
Jul 9 2012
Dear Ms. Armstrong, Bitten was one of the first urban fantasy novels I read from the current subgenre that sprung up during the last decade. I loved Elena, Clay, and the world you introduced. When you expanded the Otherworld setting beyond the werewolves, I had mixed feelings. I have a weak spot for the pack.(…)
Jul 8 2012
In my new capacity as a freelance editor, I’ve discovered that I do three types of reading. One is just…reading like a reader. I prefer to do this in paper or on my phone. I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 phone, which replaced a second generation iPhone. I read on both phones, using Mantano for(…)
Jul 1 2012
Intro: In April, the DOJ filed suit against five of the big 6 publishers alleging an illegal price fixing conspiracy with Apple that increased prices of digital books. Three publishers have agreed to a settlement which has yet to be approved by the court. Penguin, Macmillan and Apple are proceeding forth with the suit against(…)
Jul 1 2012
This is a follow on to Jane’s post on automating the adding of books to Calibre in Mac OS, but this time for Windows users. There is a neat little program called Belvedere from Lifehacker which is kind of a knock off of the Hazel program Jane mentioned for Mac’s. Belvedere is an automated file manager that(…)
Jun 24 2012
I saw a post the other day about using Hazel + Calibre to automatically import your Kindle files into Calibre. While the user did this to automatically strip the DRM from the books, the tutorial is smart for any one who wants to create an ongoing catalog of their purchases. It was the first time(…)
Jun 17 2012
Retail price maintenance v. Agency pricing The retail price maintenance (“RPM”) instituted by five of the big 6 publishers is commonly known as Agency Pricing. It is a pricing model wherein the producer of a widget, like the publisher of a book, gets to control the price. For nearly 100 years, RPM was considered per(…)
Jun 12 2012
Introduction I wasn’t going to do anything other than mention that Barnes & Noble objected to the proposed settlement between the government and three publishers: Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster but the adulatory statements of those publishing insiders about the statement really irked me and therefore, I had to post. For instance, Mike Shatzkin,(…)
Jun 10 2012
My nephew plays for an elite high school basketball club. I know it is elite because it is one of a few high school teams in the state that is sponsored by Nike. Yes, sponsored. Kids in our state from the ages of about 14 and through 18 can play on teams that travel around(…)
Jun 3 2012
The Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight™ (hereinafter the Nook GL) is the first e-ink reader with a built-in light since the Sony 700. The Sony was a great idea, poorly executed. Since then those of us who read in bed or in other places with low light have had to make do with clip-on lights,(…)
May 20 2012
Introduction I’ve talked to several readers about the price fixing lawsuit and people have a lot of questions. I thought I could provide a few answers here to help clarify matters. If you have a question, drop a line in the comments. 1. What are the lawsuits and who do they involve? There are three(…)
May 6 2012
Last week, Laura Hazard Owen of Paid Content tabulated that about 500,000 digital copies of Harry Potter have been sold since their release on March 27, 2012. Harry Potter series have reportedly sold 450 million copies in print. Despite those record breaking print sales prior to the official digital release and that there were illegal digital(…)
Apr 29 2012
In the past two weeks, we’ve seen two publishers engage in some experimental changes in the way they sell digital books. Sourcebooks launched a DRM free subscription site and TOR/FORGE announced it would be selling DRM free digital books beginning this summer. Traditional publishers have been quietly moving toward digital first programs for a couple(…)
Apr 22 2012
Purpose of the Antitrust Law This article is to lay out, in simplest terms, antitrust law as it pertains to the publishing price fixing lawsuit. It is not designed to address the shortcomings of the law or the need for reform but the status of the law. Additionally, my knowledge of the antitrust law is(…)
Apr 15 2012
One thing that I’ve heard repeatedly from any publisher is that Amazon is a bad business partner. It doesn’t matter if the publisher is an agency pricing publisher or a low priced digital only publisher. Amazon treats everyone poorly. Amazon needs competition. Amazon has no motivation to keep prices low, innovate their retail site, improve(…)
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