Gather ’round, children, and let me tell you a story about the old bugaboo we used to call DRM. Digital Rights Management was the beast under every gamer’s bed in the mid-2000s, an invisible bit of software baked into game discs that dictated and tracked player behavior under the guise of preventing piracy. DRM software, like SecuROM, limited the times a game could be downloaded and forced players to regularly connect to the internet for authentication checks, at a time when less than half of American adults had reliable broadband connections. DRM features soured the releases of BioShock, Mass Effect and Spore, and by 2010, anti-piracy software had rendered Assassin’s Creed 2 and Splinter-Cell: Conviction unplayable. When Microsoft attempted to release the Xbox One with always-on DRM features in 2013, intense vitriol from fans forced the company to reverse its plans at the 11th hour. There were lawsuits. DRM was a curse word. Meanwhile, Valve was building out Steam. When it landed in 2003, the digital PC storefront was designed to streamline the patch process for games like Counter-Strike and make it easier for Valve to implement anti-piracy and anti-cheat measures. Steam was made to be a DRM machine. In 2004, with the release of Half-Life 2, Valve made Steam a requirement for every player, and even those who’d purchased new, physical copies of the game had to boot up the launcher first. There was some low-level grumbling, but PC players were used to being lab rats, and... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-03-04 16:30:21 UTC ]
"What do libraries do?" You may be surprised by these seven basic services your public library offers for free, including job search help. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-03-01 11:30:00 UTC ]
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The Library Campaign has warned that hundreds of libraries may close not only for the pandemic, but permanently. With councils under financial strain and Walsall’s council leader even asking, “Do we need [them]?”, the future of libraries needs protecting. Libraries are an indispensable service... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-01 00:31:07 UTC ]
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Can you think of a single feel-good news story from the past five years that isn’t, at its core, an indictment of the society in which we live? Here at Lit Hub, one of our most-read stories last year was “Big-hearted strangers turn Little Free Libraries into Little Free Pantries.” While I don’t... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-23 16:10:35 UTC ]
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If you're planning some bookish trips for the future, don't miss adding these gorgeous libraries to visit post-pandemic to the list. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-02-22 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Long considered a tool to encourage patrons to return materials on time, in the past few years hundreds of public libraries have decided late fees do more harm than good by keeping away low-income and disadvantaged readers. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2021-02-21 09:00:00 UTC ]
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The American Library in Paris sits in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Its collection of 100,000 books is spread over three stories. Members from 60 countries can work at long tables or whisper at the coffee machine. As the programs manager, I oversaw the ALP’s weekly Evening with an Author... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-19 09:48:59 UTC ]
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It’s been almost a year since the industry made the switch from being predominantly office based to working from home and essentially living at work. Frankfurt meetings went from being in a packed rights centre or brightly coloured stall to being completely online via Zoom. London Book Fair... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-19 05:25:42 UTC ]
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Cast aside your assumptions about academic libraries. You'd be surprised what absolute gems of nerdery you can find in a college library. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-02-08 11:30:00 UTC ]
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A great idea! Marshall University students in Bret Masters’s building technology class are currently building bookshelves to install Little Free Libraries in Yeager and Huntington Tri-State Airports. The idea for the project was originated by Kelli Johnson, associate librarian at Marshall, when... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-02 18:12:16 UTC ]
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Tony Bruce, senior publisher at Routledge, talks to us about the plans for Routledge Classics' 20th anniversary. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-01 07:56:34 UTC ]
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Get to know the work and services of libraries for the visually impaired and print disabled people around the world. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-01-29 11:32:00 UTC ]
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Among the group's priorities will be to advocate for “less restrictive" e-book licenses and new digital licenses that would allow libraries to "own" digital works with the same associated rights as print materials. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-27 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Short of becoming a time machine for well-meaning Gen X slackers, I cannot imagine a grander afterlife for the humble phone booth than to be reincarnated as a cosy wee library. One day you’re a rusted urinal, all-but invisible to the cellphone-clasping masses trundling past, and the next you’ve... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-25 17:54:55 UTC ]
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A school librarian talks about how he teaches students to think critically about fake news on the internet. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-01-25 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Throughout our history, we've see that when we come together in civil, honest conversations based on facts and science, history and truth, we find commonality. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Flipped eye publishing is marking its 20th anniversary this year with a digital bookshop tour, a nationwide hunt for a young editor and a 2021 list including work from Warsan Shire and José Eduardo Agualusa. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-19 07:31:59 UTC ]
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It’s been a bad year for libraries and those who love them. Despite some interesting tech innovations (we could have been cleaning our books with UV rays this whole time!), many temporarily reopened libraries are closing again due to surging COVID numbers and COVID exposures, and many other... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-11 18:26:49 UTC ]
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Explore libraries that have unusual collections, exist in strange places, or use novel modes of transportation to deliver books to readers. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-01-11 11:30:00 UTC ]
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If you, like me, could really use some nice library-oriented news right about now, you’re in luck. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the impossibility of going to physical libraries for much of the year, readers borrowed record numbers of ebooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines from public... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-07 15:34:02 UTC ]
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In a free 50-page report released this week, three veteran publishing and digital media consultants offer a postmortem on 2020 and a glimpse at what the future holds for publishers, booksellers, libraries and readers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-01-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
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