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 ]
Take a virtual tour of some of the world's most haunted libraries, and learn the history behind the hauntings of these bookish spaces. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-11-02 11:30:00 UTC ]
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With the election days away, this is the perfect time to remember that public libraries exist in a political as well as a civic space. In this episode, hosts David Lankes and Nicole Cooke talk to John Chrastka, head of EveryLibrary, the country’s only political action committee for libraries,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Brooklyn’s Greenpoint library and environmental education center, by Marble Fairbanks and Scape, points to a climate-literate future. Here’s how. I have spent a lot of time in libraries in my day. But not one like this.Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-10-23 12:15:29 UTC ]
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Six years after moving to D.C. and deciding it's not for me, there’s still something holding me back from leaving: the libraries. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-10-19 10:30:00 UTC ]
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David McKee’s now-revered picture book Tusk Tusk was once banned in a number of libraries in the UK, the illustrator said after celebrating winning this year’s BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-18 16:44:34 UTC ]
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Each week 'The Skillset Podcast' will illuminate the complex issues facing libraries and other key institutions in these unprecedented times. Episode One, available now, features hosts David Lankes and Nicole Cooke in discussion with Tamara King, Head of Community Engagement at the Richland... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Getting an MLIS to work in libraries while working a full time job can be challenging, and this librarian shares her experience. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-10-12 10:30:00 UTC ]
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The anxiety that libraries can sometimes give me is of a cosmic nature, for something ineffable affects my sense of self when I realize that the majority of human interaction, expression, and creativity shall forever be unavailable to me. The post A Fraternity of Dreamers appeared first on The... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2020-10-09 10:00:48 UTC ]
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In the wake of the pandemic, can publishers and libraries finally hash out their differences? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-10-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This librarian has seen some truly creative ideas for how libraries hype books virtually, and she's here to share the wealth. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-10-05 10:30:00 UTC ]
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Libraries Week kicks off today (5th October), featuring behind the scenes looks at authors' bookshelves, a nationwide live reading of The Midnight Library by author Matt Haig (Canongate) and the launch of a Bonnier book club. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-05 05:45:33 UTC ]
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Syncing with Google Drive is one of the easiest ways to safeguard your data. And you can even specify how much of your internet connection’s bandwidth to use. As our digital libraries get larger and larger, we’re fortunate to be living in a time when cloud-based storage keeps getting cheaper and... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-10-01 00:00:11 UTC ]
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A new monthly book club and greater outreach to public and school libraries are among the World Book Day plans for 2021, the charity’s c.e.o. has revealed at this year’s Bookseller Children’s Conference. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-28 19:52:05 UTC ]
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With a shift to online resources well underway, “the most trusted civic institutions” are in a good position to deal with the changing future. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-09-24 09:00:14 UTC ]
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One reader on finding solace and sanctuary in college libraries as a transfer student. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-09-17 10:39:00 UTC ]
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A reader on saying goodbye not only to the books she can't bring on the next phase of her journey, but to her roomie, her sister. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-09-15 10:35:00 UTC ]
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A new partnership with Poisoned Pen Press brings the prolific and popular author’s horror novels to bookstores and libraries everywhere. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Where did you come from? It’s a question many people never consider, but some are curious and the best answer to that, aside from lots of time in archives, historical societies, libraries and cemeteries, is a DNA test. You have multiple options, but the leader is Ancestry.com and it is always... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2020-09-13 08:36:25 UTC ]
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Eight moms on how they're building personal libraries for their children and building their interest in reading. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-09-11 10:37:00 UTC ]
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Pigs They are born in a flood of magma. They claw their way to the center of the earth. They don’t know what a blouse is, and they don’t care. There are seventeen constellations named for their kin. They coordinate all the Monday briefings. When they read the wrong books, they return them to... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-08-31 11:00:00 UTC ]
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