Apple Clarifies iBooks Author EULA, Excludes Claim on Content, article.
Perhaps as a reaction to widespread criticism and even anger, Apple has changed the terms which come with their new free software iBooks Author. Previously it appeared that you could only take money for content created with it if you sell through Apple's iBooks store and accept their 30% commision. But the new wording says that this restriction only applies to works in Apple's iBooks format, which is a whole 'nuther picture.
Unfortunately it seems that at the moment the only other formats IA will export are pure text and PDF. Hardly a wealth of options when considering the wealth of multimedia content you can stuff in such a book in iBooks format. Let's hope Apple lets it grow and let it output to more formats, like ePub 3.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Security Update 2012-001 Kills Rosetta Apps
Security Update 2012-001 Kills Rosetta Apps, article.
This issue relates to Macs running Snow Leopard, the next-newest Mac Operating System. Lion is the newest, and in that one "Rosetta" doesn't run at all. Rosetta is software which allows old software to run on present Macs with Intel chips. (The omission of Rosetta is why for the first time ever, I have not quickly updated to the newest OS.)
This issue relates to Macs running Snow Leopard, the next-newest Mac Operating System. Lion is the newest, and in that one "Rosetta" doesn't run at all. Rosetta is software which allows old software to run on present Macs with Intel chips. (The omission of Rosetta is why for the first time ever, I have not quickly updated to the newest OS.)
Monday, January 30, 2012
Digital Lysenkoism
Digital Lysenkoism, article.
Lysenko believed, incorrectly, that you could create heritable characteristics by changing a parent organism—that is, if you cut off one of a frog’s legs, a certain number of its offspring would be born with three legs.
Lysenkoism was a disaster. When it was applied to food cultivation it led to ghastly famines that killed millions. So, when Soviet scientists met their Western counterparts, everyone knew that Lysenkoism was an awful absurdity. But the Soviet scientists had to pretend it wasn’t.
[...] And I’ve recruited enthusiastic contributors from all of the big six publishers for the Humble E-Book Bundle—that is, all except one, which has an all-DRM-all-the-time policy and won’t consider publishing anything without DRM in any of its divisions.
Because of its insistence on DRM, this one publisher is going to miss out—along with its authors—on hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales, and some great exposure. Needless to say, every author I’ve approached from that publisher is now trying to figure out how to get out of their contracts for future books.
Not being able to change you mind in the face of new information is a trait of phychosis, mild or bad.
Lysenko believed, incorrectly, that you could create heritable characteristics by changing a parent organism—that is, if you cut off one of a frog’s legs, a certain number of its offspring would be born with three legs.
Lysenkoism was a disaster. When it was applied to food cultivation it led to ghastly famines that killed millions. So, when Soviet scientists met their Western counterparts, everyone knew that Lysenkoism was an awful absurdity. But the Soviet scientists had to pretend it wasn’t.
[...] And I’ve recruited enthusiastic contributors from all of the big six publishers for the Humble E-Book Bundle—that is, all except one, which has an all-DRM-all-the-time policy and won’t consider publishing anything without DRM in any of its divisions.
Because of its insistence on DRM, this one publisher is going to miss out—along with its authors—on hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales, and some great exposure. Needless to say, every author I’ve approached from that publisher is now trying to figure out how to get out of their contracts for future books.
Not being able to change you mind in the face of new information is a trait of phychosis, mild or bad.
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