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 ]
Facing closures and budget shortfalls, libraries look for new ways to support graphic novels amid the ongoing pandemic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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As states push to reopen, many libraries are having to figure out their own way forward. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Even with their physical locations shuttered, libraries have been an invaluable resource to everyone stuck at home and desperate for new reading material. According to Time Out New York, the NYPL has seen a 864% increase in digital library card sign-ups since March. Still, the loss of the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-04 15:02:50 UTC ]
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When libraries around the US began closing their doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Internet Archive (IA) responded by creating a “National Emergency Library,” a collection of 1.4 million books from its free e-book repository Open Library. Pu... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-06-01 19:33:58 UTC ]
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We may not be able to escape to bookish destinations right now, but we can be transported by these books about libraries and bookstores. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-28 10:39:03 UTC ]
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Even before the pandemic, Finnish libraries were usually more versatile than most libraries around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed hundreds of millions of people’s lives in countless ways since it went global in February of this year. Working from home quickly became a norm, online... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-05-27 07:20:21 UTC ]
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Spotify has announced that it is lifting the content cap that previously limited the number of songs, albums and podcasts that could be added to a library. Until today is was only high-profile Spotify Rockstars who were able to store more than 10,000 items in their Spotify libraries, but now... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2020-05-26 14:59:04 UTC ]
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Find out how some libraries are shifting summer reading programs into digital spaces, maintaining their communities, and learning from the process. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-26 10:33:13 UTC ]
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Italy, the first Western country to be ravaged by coronavirus, has further eased its two-month-long lockdown, allowing everything from museums and libraries to sit-down dining and hairdressers to reopen leaving businesses to grapple with radical... Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2020-05-25 08:00:00 UTC ]
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BookExpo Online's first full day of programming begins with a panel featureing five library leaders who will take stock of how libraries are handling the coronavirus pandemic thus far and how the public library might change in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-22 04:00:00 UTC ]
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New research from application security specialist Veracode finds seven in 10 applications have a security flaw in an open source library on initial scan, highlighting how use of open source can introduce flaws, increase risk, and add to security debt. The study analyzed the component open source... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2020-05-19 09:57:36 UTC ]
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Shelter in place orders throughout the country haven’t just brought the economy to a grinding halt, but frozen civic infrastructure as well. Sure, water still flows from our taps, police and firefighters are still on the job, but your local library l... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-05-11 15:00:59 UTC ]
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From hip hop to Yiddish works to sourdough starter, explore some of the most niche libraries and collections found on the globe and online. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-11 10:32:24 UTC ]
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These were the most popular books in libraries to kick off 2020. What have you read? Missed? Want to pick up from your library or bookstore next? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-08 10:32:36 UTC ]
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If the combined libraries of Steam, Xbox Game Pass, Stadia (now with wireless controller support on PC) and all the rest just aren’t enough for you, Dan Cooper has a recommendation: spreadsheets. His latest obsession is a browser-based version of the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-05-06 11:33:37 UTC ]
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As coronavirus-related economic aid is released in Italy, publishers, libraries, and booksellers are asking for a cultural-spending incentive for families. The post Coronavirus: Italian Publishers Join Libraries and Booksellers in Appeal appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-29 13:42:24 UTC ]
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Many lives are radically different right now. But birthdays, anniversaries, and public holidays come and go as before. The pink supermoon would have appeared whether we’d watched it from our windows or outdoors among a crowd of strangers. This week, Earth Day, Shakespeare’s birthday, and World... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-04-24 14:34:13 UTC ]
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William H. Ukers, not much over thirty, started working on his book in 1905, traveling and gathering material for a year. After he returned home to New York, he scoured nearby libraries and museums. Wherever he couldn’t go himself, he sent auxiliaries, appointing research assistants to mine... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-24 08:48:46 UTC ]
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Arts Council England (ACE) has announced a £151,000 investment into library services to buy e-books and digital audio products. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-22 23:20:53 UTC ]
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Learn about the Library Bill of Rights, with explanations and examples of how library users might apply them in their own use of their libraries and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-04-20 10:32:09 UTC ]
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