The New York Times broke the news yesterday that Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and Sage Publications are suing Georgia State for copyright infringement via distribution of digital coursepacks. Georgia State alleges that their use falls within “fair use,” […]
There are many signs that email is threatened as the primary mode of communication between individuals. From record levels of spam (96.4% of all email is spam, some claim) to its incompatibility with cell phones, email is threatened with being […]
Image via Wikipedia In the April 11th issue of Science, an article detailing the development of “racetrack memory” in computing devices [paid content] introduces the intriguing possibility that a new paradigm of physical memory could create tiny devices capable of […]
In the book, “The Design of Future Things,” Donald Norman observes that automation is a dangerous goal because pursuing it usually passes the point of diminishing returns. In contrast, augmentation of human effort (e.g., bicycling as augmented walking, writing/drawing/painting/composing as […]
Image via Wikipedia On March 31, the Section 108 Study Group released their report and recommendations, three years in the making. The Study Group was convened to make recommendations to the U.S. Copyright Office. Mostly, the recommendations revolve around a […]
I have to confess to a sick joy. I find the blog MagazineDeathPool.com full of dark humor and interesting news, even if it is a bit twisted. It’s also very funny and informative. Written by Grim, an anonymous magazine editor […]
I don’t know if this is an insight others will find impressive, but when I heard it, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Maybe it’s because I wrote software documentation for a short time, and know from both […]
In recent months, a lot of new citation approaches have landed in my email box. Alternatives and tangents seem to have arisen amidst angst about the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and their traditional impact factor. (Note to ironists: displeasure […]
In a blend of savvy commercial sense and forward-thinking strategy, HarperCollins is launching a book division that won’t pay advances to authors, won’t pay “bricks” stores a premium for upfront retail space, and won’t accept returns. Instead, it will focus […]
Online beats print in so many ways: it’s searchable, has greater storage capacity, and supports multiple media (i.e., audio, video, animation), just to name three. Here’s more whimsical evidence that print is inferior. In this case, online makes a print […]
How quickly they grow up! It seems like only yesterday that GenBank was a two-volume listing of alleles cavorting at our feet. Now, it’s a strapping (300 pickup trucks’ worth) bruiser of genetic information. Congratulations to GenBank on reaching the […]
An experiment in having a book peer-reviewed online has concluded, and the results are detailed in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The book entitled “Expressive Processing: Digital Fictions, Computer Games, and Software Studies,” examines the importance of using software design […]
A good article in the Economist outlines some of the important social roles the Internet is playing in China, even though it is tightly controlled (Wikipedia banned, Google filtered, for instance). China will soon boast more Internet users than any […]
The mainstream media may be registering the revolution, but is it too late? A recent New York Times story reveals in all its glory how younger readers parse news through social media. One focus group participant is quoted saying, “If […]
A new book publishing venture called Fractal Press seeks to anthologize blogs and publish the resulting books using print-on-demand technologies. An interview with co-founder Navanit Arakeri can be found on Joe Wikert’s Publishing 2020 blog. Arakeri will start with personal […]