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 ]
Among the week's headlines: LibLearnX 2024 is in the books; Oklahoma appoints a conservative media provocateur to a key post; and new bills emerge to defend libraries and the freedom to read. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-26 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The results are in for three surveys of more than 3,000 parents asking about their perceptions of libraries, librarians, and book bans. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-18 16:40:10 UTC ]
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PW spoke with Tony Lutkus, president of Diamond Book Distributors, about the evolution of the graphic novel category over the last two decades, a few of the titles he's excited about dropping in the coming season, and how bringing more graphic titles into bookstores and libraries can subtly... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Engadget readers like yourself are probably more tech savvy than the average person. That means you may get roped into helping older family members with email woes, new phone setups, or deciphering if a message is legit or a phishing scam. In my family, I’ve become my mother’s unofficial IT... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-01-15 14:00:13 UTC ]
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Though they’re sometimes characterized as attention-addled homebodies, younger people see a real value in libraries − one that goes beyond books. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2024-01-12 13:28:57 UTC ]
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Public libraries need to prepare for what's happening at school libraries to happen to them. That, plus this week's book censorship news. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-12 11:40:00 UTC ]
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Among this week's headlines: EveryLibrary updates its “legislation to watch” tracker for 2024; Indiana lawmakers take aim at how libraries are funded in the state; and the Los Angeles Public Library gets into publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Another year, another record: OverDrive reps reported this week that 152 libraries around the world reached million-checkout milestone last year, including 23 first-timers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Connect with book lovers all over the world by following 17 of the best bookstores and libraries on TikTok. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-09 11:36:00 UTC ]
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The data supports the work of libraries and library workers far more than it doesn't. That, plus this week's book censorship news. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-05 11:40:00 UTC ]
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Handheld gaming systems are having a moment. While gaming on the go has been a thing since the Game Boy, the success of the Nintendo Switch and a string of ever-improving processors have brought an eruption of devices that let you play all sorts of games anywhere you want. Because new models... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-12-22 15:00:18 UTC ]
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Bless me, Gaben, for I have sinned. In a moment of weakness I turned off the adult content filters in my Steam search, and now my game library has been tainted by the shame of tender, undulating flesh rendered in Unreal Engine. But fear not, fellow naughty gamers: Steam will soon let you... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2023-12-21 15:29:02 UTC ]
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95% of parents believe every school should have a library, but 60% also believe those libraries should have restrictions. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-12-20 13:21:21 UTC ]
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As a precocious teen looking to improve my college application, I sat in on a business studies class. I figured taking two extra A-Levels at night school alongside those I took during the day would make me irresistible to admissions tutors. The class I watched examined if it was worth a large... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-12-18 15:30:52 UTC ]
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Governments and outside organizations can do a lot to preserve collections when disaster is looming. Even so, a part of human identity is erased with each library bombed. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-12-12 11:00:34 UTC ]
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Baker & Taylor’s Aman Kochar has embraced the wholesaler’s role as a conduit between libraries and publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Earlier this year, Google announced it would shut down its standalone podcast app in 2024. Since then, the company has started moving podcasts into YouTube and its companion app YouTube Music. As a way to ease the transition, Google will be rolling out a migration tool for its current podcast... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-12-07 19:40:39 UTC ]
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Despite rhetoric from the far right, most parents feel their kids are safe in libraries and that librarians are trustworthy. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-12-01 11:40:00 UTC ]
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Among the week's headlines: Iowa becomes the next book banning legal battleground; a survey finds that parents still overwhelmingly trust libraries and library workers; and ALA announces Meg Medina as honorary chair of National Library Week 2024. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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An overwhelming majority of parents and guardians believe librarians are trustworthy and that libraries are safe spaces for children. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-11-28 15:08:22 UTC ]
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