Oof, when did streaming movies, games, and music get so expensive?

Cable used to be the only game in town for wide entertainment. Sure, if you wanted to subscribe to a game like EverQuest or World of Warcraft, you could (and well, guess the rest of us were never seeing you again). But for variety, cable is what you had—and it wasn’t cheap. So when streaming services came along, they seemed like an answer to everyone’s budget prayers. These days there’s a digital subscription available for most interests, including gaming. And individually, they’re affordable. Or at least, they were. Xbox Game Pass just went up in cost. (Even if you use the conversion hack to get it cheaper.) So did PlayStation Plus. GeForce Now so far is exempt, but PC gamers haven’t been able to sit assured about much these days. Meanwhile, on the TV and movies side of things, Netflix is rumored to be raising prices yet again. Disney+ and Discovery+ have already announced hikes. And in an extremely annoying variation of shrinkflation, Amazon Prime Video and multiple services are adding adverts to their basic streaming plans (or have already done so). As for music, Spotify also got more expensive, sending notice to subscribers with little fanfare. Streaming was great when you were paying less than $25 per month for all the content you could want. But now subscribing to even three services ad-free runs almost $50 per month. Let’s say you want regular access to Game Pass, Netflix, and Disney Plus—that’s already $40 to start with, if you’re only a PC... Continue reading at 'PC World'

[ PC World | 2023-10-04 14:10:27 UTC ]

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Harrison Ford talking about libraries is your Valentine.

As we all know, there is only one Valentine and it is every book. Luckily, Harrison Ford talking about how great libraries are is an acceptable human Valentine proxy for all books. Why—besides the fact that you can’t spell”Harrison Ford, you irascible Jedi” without “Library”—is Ford making PSAs... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-14 14:17:02 UTC ]
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Friday Fund Day: Drop Some Dollars and Help Some Classrooms

Do some good and help these classrooms build inclusive libraries by donating or spreading the word about their projects. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-02-14 11:41:33 UTC ]
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How Libraries Saved Cheryl Strayed

As a girl, the author of “Wild” and “Tiny Beautiful Things” spent hours studying Scholastic book club catalogs. But “my family was too poor to pay for the books,” she says. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-02-13 10:00:03 UTC ]
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Facebook's Ads Libraries isn't enough to keep NZ election clean

OPINION: Does seeing ad spend and number of advertisements really tell us that much? Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2020-02-07 16:00:00 UTC ]
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Jane Austen, Gritty Educational Reformer of the Working Class

From about 1890 to 1940, a half century of ultra-cheap editions of Jane Austen’s novels aimed explicitly at educating the working poor. Because these ill-printed and shabby versions of her stories never made it into the scholarly libraries that safeguard “important” editions, the hardscrabble... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-04 09:49:29 UTC ]
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On One of the Greatest Children’s Ghost Books Ever Published

First published in 1977,  Usborne’s The World of the Unknown: Ghosts was among the most treasured books (and anecdotally, the most stolen) in school libraries of the late 70s and 80s. Many of my friends—a disproportionate number of whom are writers and artists—remember poring over the pages of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-29 09:48:13 UTC ]
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Libraries and Authoritarianism 1940, 2020

ON HALLOWEEN 2016, former Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren tweeted, “Colleges should stop building vanity projects like huge libraries and billing students–full libraries are on our smartphones!” At the time, this statement sounded like garden-variety know-nothingism, ideological in the sense... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-01-28 13:30:27 UTC ]
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Amazon is selling Kindles at Black Friday prices

If you didn't manage to snag a Kindle on Black Friday, you have another chance to buy one at a steep discount. Amazon is currently offering $45 off the newest Kindle Paperwhite ($85) and $30 off the latest Kindle ($60). These are historic lows, and w... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2020-01-13 16:27:00 UTC ]
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Ten libraries facing closure in Hampshire

Ten libraries could be closed across Hampshire with others having their opening hours reduced after the local authority announced plans to slash £1.76m from the service’s budget. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-10 01:00:51 UTC ]
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These are 2019’s most-borrowed digital books.

Rakuten OverDrive, a platform for digital books (used by more than 43,000 libraries and schools worldwide), has released a list of its most-borrowed ebooks and audiobooks in 2019. There are no real surprises on the list, besides maybe the fact that so many people want to listen to a woman tell... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-08 19:19:19 UTC ]
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How Libraries Help People In Cold Weather

When libraries help people in cold weather, they become a critical service for teens, the elderly, and unsheltered people. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-01-07 11:35:59 UTC ]
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Darlington Council to spend £2.9m on library spared from closure

Darlington Borough Council will pay £2.9m to keep one of its libraries open after abandoning plans to close it. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-05 21:59:32 UTC ]
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Electronic Arts is banning some Linux gamers from Battlefield V

Some Linux gamers who are using Wine to play Battlefield V are finding themselves permanently banned from the game. Player using the DXVK package are falling foul of Electronic Arts' anti-cheat system, seemingly because the DXVK Direct3D DLLs -- used to render 3D scenes in Wine -- are detected,... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2020-01-04 10:03:20 UTC ]
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Essex libraries campaigners hit out at 'commercialisation' of service

Plans for Essex libraries by the county council have sent “alarm bells ringing” about increased commercialisation of the service, a campaign group has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-24 02:02:07 UTC ]
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£3m investment will improve 'clunky' system, says head of Essex libraries

The head of Essex's libraries has branded the county's current library IT system "clunky and out of date", as she hails the opportunity to invest in the service. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-23 00:45:10 UTC ]
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What Can Heal the Publisher-Library Divide? Data

The best way to end the e-book standoff between publishers and libraries is to use data. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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How Libraries Are Adapting To Their Senior Populations: Critical Linking, December 18, 2019

A daily roundup of the most interesting and awesome bookish links from around the web! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-12-18 11:30:11 UTC ]
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CILIP says libraries need £250m in demand to Johnson government

Library association CILIP says the library service needs up to £250m investment and has called for action from Boris Johnson’s government to secure its own future. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-18 08:39:06 UTC ]
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How Libraries Are Dealing With Bedbugs

Bedbugs in public libraries are becoming routine. Luckily, there are a few things that librarians can do to stop them...starting with preparation. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-12-17 11:32:47 UTC ]
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Libraries Connected to launch income-generation funding scheme

Libraries Connected is using a £150,000 Arts Council England grant for a training and mentoring programme helping services develop funding strategies. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-17 04:51:52 UTC ]
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