Pocket PC eBooks Watch - eBook and beyond  
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posted by Jerry permanent link

The way Barnes and Noble kill Fictionwise slowly and painfully shows: any DRM is an unfair practice for honest ebook buyers.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  8/24/2009

The Lost Symbol [Available: Sep 15, 2009]


The wait is almost over! After 6 years, the highly anticipated follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, one of the most thrilling bestsellers of all time, is finally available to pre-order. Infused with history, codes, and intrigue, the book's narrative takes place in a 12-hour period in which Robert Langdon careens through a masterful and exhilarating adventure.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  10/14/2008

My new reading list, please visit, it includes update on ebooks Watch

NEW Jerry's Reader List Watch

posted by Jerry permanent link

  5/02/2008

Marshall University Challenges RIAA
Marshall University, in Huntington, West Virginia, has become just the second US college or university to show the moxie to stand up for its students instead of instantly caving in to RIAA extortion."

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You Know Who Dept.
ISP Sued By Irish RIAA
"An ISP in Ireland has been sued by the Big Four record labels because its subscribers have engaged in P2P sharing of the record companies' song files. The record companies claim the ISP should be buying Audible Magic's CopySense, the software being peddled by the RIAA's expert witness, which supposedly would filter out copyright infringement. Of course, not everyone agrees."

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MScrew
MS locks ex-MSN Music users out of purchases
Microsoft late yesterday stirred controversy by telling former customers of its shuttered MSN Music service that it will shut down its license activation system for the service by the end of August.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  2/20/2008

DVD Jon!
Hacker breaks link between iTunes and the iPod
A notorious Norwegian hacker known as DVD Jon is preparing for another run-in with the music industry after he released software that lets iPod owners copy music and videos bought from iTunes and play it on other devices.
The program allows people to drag and drop songs from iTunes into a folder on their desktop, which in turn copies the files to other devices such as mobile phones and games consoles via the web.
In doing so, the software breaks the copy protection - known as 'digital rights management' or DRM - that is built into all music that is bought from iTunes. Music bought from iTunes can be played only on the iPod.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  1/28/2008

From Peanut Press - Palm Reader - eReader to Wise move
Fictionwise Acquires Peanut Press (eReader)
Fictionwise, an independent eBook retailer, announced this week that it has acquired the eReader.com eBook retail business unit of mobile content distributor Motricity.
"With this acquisition, Fictionwise breaks into the very top ranks of the eBook retail market. Synergies between our business units will open the door to some very interesting developments for our customers in the coming months," said Fictionwise co-founder Steve Pendergrast.

posted by Jerry permanent link

iPhone Unlock

Free Your iPhone Using a SIM Unlock Card
This new device from Brando claims to have the ability to unlock your iPhone on the SIM level by attaching to the card. It will work with any firmware, but keep in mind that activation is required. So, v1.1.2 is a go, but not v1.1.3 (just yet). Plus, it is a good deal at only $30.

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Balance of Power
Amazon MP3 Service Going Global; Epic iTunes Battle on the Horizon
Amazon's digital music catalogue is all set to go global, and although a launch date has not yet been settled, it shall hit sometime this year. Given Amazon MP3 offers DRM-free tracks, which are generally cheaper than iTunes limited, equivalent offerings, we cannot help but think an epic battle between the big As is all set to take off.

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Stupid Rules
Patent granted on smartphones, everyone sued
What would you do if the US patent office gave you the go-ahead on a far-reaching, non-specific application filed for a "mobile entertainment and communication device"? If your answer was that you would immediately draw up lawsuits against almost every major electronics manufacturer that even looked at a smartphone funny, you get a cookie. Yes folks, as impossible as it is to believe, the holders of the aforementioned patent have just sued Apple, Nokia, RIM, Sprint, AT&T, HP, Motorola, Helio, HTC, Sony Ericsson, UTStarcomm, and Samsung... amongst others. So eager was this company to sue, in fact, that legal papers were filed a day before the patent was granted, and subsequently had to re-submitted. The real sucker-punch here is that the patent simply combines a list of prior technologies jumbled into one product, a practice which has recently been ruled against by the Supreme Court. Still, we doubt it will stop the holders from trying to nab a few dollars in settlements, staying the work of real innovators, and generally making a mockery of our patent system. Bravo!

posted by Jerry permanent link

DRM That I Promote Dept.
Will Digital Watermarking Rise From DRM's Ashes?
Okay, so DRM is dead dead dead. Hurray, right? Well, Wired says it's simply being swapped out for digital watermarking, which will lay out breads crumbs for the labels to follow as songs make their way across P2P networks, and the bundle of evidence will allow them to place pressure on ISPs to engage in large-scale network filtering.
Right now, though, only two labels are watermarking tracks—Universal and Sony BMG. EMI and Warner aren't lacing their files yet, but it's a definite future possibility, and the watermarks could be used in conjunction with a filtering plan like AT&T's, which was recently confirmed by an AT&T exec.

posted by Jerry permanent link

Lastly
Last.FM on Windows Mobile
"If you are a last.fm user then this application which is currently in development could be of interest to you. Last.fm Mobile in it's Pocket PC version has scrobbling and radio functionality, and the smartphone version is limited to scrobbling from Windows Media Player - but it works perfectly. If you have a Windows Mobile device and a Last.fm profile, you can grab the software from the Last.fm Mobile Forum"

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Real eMags
Zinio for iPhone
Carrying your Zinio mag in your iPod Touch or iPhone, and sharing them with your friends.

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QuickTrash
Qtrax Free music downloads site in chaos as record giants pull out
Music fans around the world faced confusion today as it was announced they would be able to download unlimited, free songs without breaking the law.
A revamped online file-sharing service had vowed to offer a catalogue of 30million free songs that are compatible with iPods, but record labels have denied they had granted permission to share the songs.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  1/05/2008

Slashdot:
RIAA Now Filing Suits Against Consumers Who Rip CDs
With this past week's announcement by Warner to release its entire catalog to Amazon in MP3 format with no Digital Rights Management, you would think that the organization that represents them, The RIAA, would begin changing its tune. Instead, they are pressing on in their campaign against consumers by suing individuals who merely rip CDs they've purchased legally.

posted by Jerry permanent link

eBooks everything
Converting Google Book PDFs to Actual Books
PublicDomainReprints.org allows you to paste in a book URL from the Google Books program – at least those books in the public domain, which Google offers as full PDFs – to then order them via print-on-demand service Lulu.com. (To find just public domain books on Google Book Search, check the “Full view” option on the Advanced Book Search page.) Other than Google Bo

posted by Jerry permanent link

Steve Jobs' Prophecy Dept:
DRM Officially Dead: Last Major Label Sony BMG Plans to Finally Drop DRM
It's over. The last major label to hold out on selling DRM-free MP3s, Sony BMG, is "finalizing plans" to sell music not locked down with DRM. It'll be available sometime in the first quarter, apparently in time to get in on Amazon and Pepsi's 1 billion song giveaway, which now looks like it'll have tracks from every major label.

posted by Jerry permanent link

Top Story of 2007:

1. Death of Music DRM
2. iPhone
3. More mainstream book release in form of ebooks
4. Kindle
5. RIAA's Greeds continueto Claim Ripping CDs is Illegal

posted by Jerry permanent link

  11/19/2007

eBook Trends
Newsweek Cover Story: The Future of Reading
More than just an ebook like Sony’s Reader, Kindle is a service extension of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ digital bookstore for the planet dream. The $399 Kindle can store hundreds of books, change font sizes, search and it has a wireless broadband connection for downloading, managing preferences and recommendations from the Amazon engine and searching the Web.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  10/04/2007

Pirates at the Gates
Bill Gates: Music Thief
Q: What's the coolest thing about the upgraded Zune?
A: Look at this thing! (Holds up a Zune 8) Three or four years ago there was nothing like this. This is cool as heck. I'm finding music I haven't seen in 20 years. Hey, the Lovin' Spoonful? They're in this thing. I find one of their songs. I send it to friends I had an apartment with, it was actually 30 years ago. I can send it out to them and say, "Remember when we listened to this?" It's amazing.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  10/03/2007

The Age of Turbulence
eBook by Alan Greenspan
The Age of Turbulence is Alan Greenspan's incomparable reckoning with the nature of this new world--how we got here, what we're living through, and what lies over the horizon, for good and for ill-channeled through his own experiences working in the command room of the global economy for longer and with greater effect than any other single living figure. He begins his account on that September 11th morning, but then leaps back to his childhood, and follows the arc of his remarkable life's journey through to his more than 18-year tenure as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, from 1987 to 2006, during a time of transforming change. Alan Greenspan shares the story of his life first simply with an eye toward doing justice to the extraordinary amount of history he has experienced and shaped. But his other goal is to draw readers along the same learning curve he followed, so they accrue a grasp of his own understanding of the underlying dynamics that drive world events. In the second half of the book, having brought us to the present and armed us with the conceptual tools to follow him forward, Dr. Greenspan embarks on a magnificent tour de horizon of the global economy. He reveals the universals of economic growth, delves into the specific facts on the ground in each of the major countries and regions of the world, and explains what the trend-lines of globalization are from here. The distillation of a life's worth of wisdom and insight into an elegant expression of a coherent worldview, The Age of Turbulence will stand as Alan Greenspan's personal and intellectual legacy.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  10/01/2007

Radio Ahead
Radiohead says name your price
In a bold challenge to the music industry's traditional business model, the UK band Radiohead has told fans they can pre-order a digital download of its new album and pay whatever they want.
Technically that means people could opt to pay nothing - or next to nothing - for the album.
In Rainbows, the band's seventh studio album, is due out on October 10 and can only be ordered through the band's inrainbows.com website.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  9/17/2007

iLounge Review
Apple iPod touch (8GB/16GB) gets B-
...That said, we cannot in good conscience generally recommend the iPod touch to all of our readers. The essential elements of the “true video iPod” we and others have been waiting for are obvious—an iPhone-matching screen with iPod classic-matching capacity and battery life—but between its so-so screen, limited storage and below-nano battery life, iPod touch doesn’t equal or surpass the best portable products Apple has released this year. If you need similar storage space and don’t need a big video screen, get an iPod nano. If audio quality and capacity are important to you, buy an iPod classic. And if you’re a video fan, consider an iPhone if it’s available in your country, or save your money. Wait until Apple (or someone else) gets the “true video iPod” formula right. We sincerely hope that it will be sooner rather than later.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  9/10/2007

Free Your Music
How To Break iTunes DRM
If you’ve been looking for a way (that actually works) to liberate your iTunes music from its DRM prison, then this page is for you.
other links:
Mod Strips iTunes' DRM Protections
and
Remove the FairPlay DRM from Your iTunes Songs

posted by Jerry permanent link

  9/07/2007

To all iPhone customers:

I have received hundreds of emails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price of iPhone by $200 two months after it went on sale. After reading every one of these emails, I have some observations and conclusions.

First, I am sure that we are making the correct decision to lower the price of the 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399, and that now is the right time to do it. iPhone is a breakthrough product, and we have the chance to 'go for it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the competition, and now it will be affordable by even more customers. It benefits both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone 'tent'. We strongly believe the $399 price will help us do just that this holiday season.

Second, being in technology for 30+ years I can attest to the fact that the technology road is bumpy. There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever. This is life in the technology lane. If you always wait for the next price cut or to buy the new improved model, you'll never buy any technology product because there is always something better and less expensive on the horizon. The good news is that if you buy products from companies that support them well, like Apple tries to do, you will receive years of useful and satisfying service from them even as newer models are introduced.

Third, even though we are making the right decision to lower the price of iPhone, and even though the technology road is bumpy, we need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price. Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these.

Therefore, we have decided to offer every iPhone customer who purchased an iPhone from either Apple or AT&T, and who is not receiving a rebate or any other consideration, a $100 store credit towards the purchase of any product at an Apple Retail Store or the Apple Online Store. Details are still being worked out and will be posted on Apple's website next week. Stay tuned.

We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologize for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations of Apple.

Steve Jobs
Apple CEO

posted by Jerry permanent link

  9/05/2007

Apple announces major updates to iPod family, cuts iPhone price

posted by Jerry permanent link

  8/25/2007

iPhone HW Cracked
NJ Teen Unlocks IPhone From AT&T Network
A 17-year-old hacker has broken the lock that ties Apple's iPhone to AT&T's wireless network, freeing the most hyped cell phone ever for use on the networks of other carriers, including overseas ones.
The hack, which Hotz posted Thursday to his blog, is complicated and requires skill with both soldering and software. It takes him about two hours to perform. Since the details are public, it seems likely that a small industry may spring up to buy U.S. iPhones, unlock them and send them overseas.

posted by Jerry permanent link

  8/23/2007

Announcement from Fictionwise
A major problem occurred with the Mobipocket DRM server at about 6:30 PM Eastern Time, Wednesday, August 15. Engineers at Mobipocket.com have informed us that they hope to be back online sometime this week, August 23 or 24. We have switched, where possible, all Secure Mobipocket files purchased during the downtime to an alternative DRM provider, Content Reserve. We have also taken all titles that could not be switched offline in Mobipocket format until the problem is resolved.

posted by Jerry permanent link