Friday News: Apple fights sale of Radio Shack data, news sharing and social media, 3-D printers in libraries, and boxing’s contributions to English

JanetPublishing News3D Printing / Apple / Bankruptcy / boxing / copyright / data / etymology / journalism / Libraries / patent / privacy / social media3 Comments

Apple asks court to block the sale of some RadioShack data – Part of the process for Radio Shack’s bankruptcy is the sale of the company’s assets, which include customer data. Remember when Barnes and Noble acquired all of the Borders customer lists? Well, Apple is now attempting to prevent the bankruptcy court from allowing the sale of customer information acquired during the sale of iPhones. It’s an interesting issue, because companies aren’t so much trying to protect consumers as they are trying to ensure that an economically valuable, and therefore exploitable, asset from being sold to a third party.

In its own objection to the resale of this information, Apple is saying that RadioShack’s database contains information gathered about Apple customers who bought iPhones and iPads through the retailer. Apple lawyers wrote that RadioShack had agreed to protect Apple customers’ data before being allowed to sell iPhones through its chain stores. “The Reseller Agreement between Apple and RadioShack protects information collected by RadioShack regarding purchasers of Apple products (the “Apple Customer Information”) and prohibits the proposed sale of such information,” Apple wrote.–Ars Technica

News audiences spread the word, but few get involved in local journalism – With all the talk of social media democratizing the news, and the rise of bloggers who undertake journalistic research into any number of problems and issues, Pew’s research confirms previous research that in the US, at least, more people share existing news stories than actually produce or initiate those items. Where public participation is very strong, however, is in circulating local news stories, which helps promote local journalists and news outlets.

The finding that sharing is more common than newsgathering is not an entirely unexpected or new development. A 2011 national survey on local news behaviors found that 25% of adults share links to existing local news stories or videos, while just 5% contribute original articles, opinion pieces, photos or videos about their local community online. It’s always been far easier to share than to produce original reporting. The question is whether advancements in mobile technology and live video streaming apps like Periscope and Meerkat could make newsgathering and distribution easier for public participants. And, of course, bystanders have to be in a position to have information to contribute to the news. –Pew Research Center

3-D Printers: Understanding Copyright, Fair Use, and More – So the main focus of this article is on advising school librarians to support 3-D printers in their libraries as an essential educational tool, while at the same time being cognizant of IP issues. More specifically, 3-D printers implicate patents as well as copyright, which may be new to many librarians. Still, what I found most interesting about the piece are the examples of what students are making with these printers – some really creative and cool projects are taking shape thanks to this emerging technology.

3-D printers in school libraries are also being used to broaden students’ cultural horizons and teach practical problem-solving skills. In Iowa, fifth graders at the Van Meter Elementary School used their library’s 3-D printer to create their own Olympic symbols as part of a research project on the Olympic Games; and in Illinois, students at Glen Grove Elementary School used 3D printing technology in their library to design and build models of devices that could solve problems facing residents of an imaginary city—issues related to excessive noise, water pollution, and more.–School Library Journal

15 Common Phrases that Come from Boxing – Some of these will be no surprise, but a few of them were definitely new to me. My favorite:

5. GROGGY

The word we know as meaning sleepy or out of it originally meant “intoxicated,” and came from grog, an old-timey alcoholic beverage. Groggy meaning “dazed” is from the boxing ring, meaning weakened in a fight, hence staggering, shaky, and unsteady. –Mental Floss

Janet

isn't sure if she's an average Romance reader, or even an average reader, but a reader she is, enjoying everything from literary fiction to philosophy to history to poetry. Historical Romance was her first love within the genre, but she's fickle and easily seduced by the promise of a good read. She approaches every book with the same hope: that she will be filled from the inside out with something awesome that she didnʼt know, didnʼt think about, or didnʼt feel until that moment. And she's always looking for the next mind-blowing read, so feel free to share any suggestions!

→ Janet