Have you ever bought an app or game from a digital storefront, only for it to suddenly disappear and become inaccessible without warning? It’s both confusing and frustrating, which is why some governments are stepping in and hoping to make things clearer for consumers. Gavin Newsom, governor of California, recently signed a new law (AB 2426) that involves the purchasing of digital goods and services. Under the new law, online storefronts that sell digital copies of video games, music, movies, TV shows, and ebooks must be explicit as to whether customers actually own what they’re purchasing. Some digital services are already adapting to the new regulations, which aren’t set to be enforced until next year. Steam is one such company, having already implemented a change in the Steam storefront that explicitly notifies customers that they’re purchasing “a license for the product on Steam” and don’t actually own the game outright. What does that mean for you? Well, a license is just permission for you to access content that’s provided by the service (i.e., the game). If the content is made unavailable for whatever reason, you aren’t entitled to access in perpetuity. (As opposed to buying a digital download, in which case you’re buying permission to download and keep said files.) According to Engadget, this new wording in Steam is used in all countries and territories, not just the United States. Further reading: Why digital games can vanish in a heartbeat Continue reading at 'PC World'
[ PC World | 2024-10-11 19:19:30 UTC ]
The European Commission is today (6th May) set to reveal plans for the “digital single market”, to remove barriers to online services across Europe. The plans would mean that customers across the European Union could all access the same digital services and products, including ebooks and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook's tentacles are reaching deeper into the publishing ecosystem. One of its newest tools, interest targeting, lets publishers target their content on Facebook to fans of niche communities like sports or TV shows. The tool is showing results for publishers like The New York Times, which is... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Specs Age 28 Claim to fame Stars as Ezra Fitz on ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars; five-time Teen Choice Awards winner Base Los Angeles Twitter @IANMHARDING What's the first information you consume in the morning? I wake up, I'll meditate, and then I'll read something. I try to wake up 45... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2015-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Opening up a video division has become new-media companies' way of announcing their arrival. In the past couple of years, BuzzFeed and Vox Media have seriously stepped up their video games, launching in-house production studios with names like BuzzFeed Motion Pictures and Vox Entertainment.Now... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2015-03-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The MoMA Curator of Architecture and Design reveals favorite books and video games and thoughts on skeuomorphism and the future of design.Yesterday, Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at New York City's Museum of Modern Art, let the masses pick her brain in a Reddit AMA .... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2015-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BitTorrent today announced a partnership with Rapid Eye Studios to launch BitTorrent Originals. Together, the pair will create original video content and distribute it exclusively on BitTorrent Bundle, the company’s publishing platform. The post BitTorrent Will Soon Produce Its Own TV Shows... Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A story about three animals in a hot air balloon has won The Big Idea Competition, which launched earlier this year to find multi-platform story ideas. The competition was announced in June by Chicken House publisher and m.d. Barry Cunningham and agent Neil Blair. The pair wanted to find... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The subscription service is adding 30,000 recorded books to the half-million ebooks it already offers.Thirteen months ago, San Francisco startup Scribd launched a service which aims to do for books what Netflix does for movies and TV shows. It offers a large-but-not-utterly-comprehensive... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sales bumps after books are adapted as movies or TV shows are nothing new, but 'Gone Girl' author Flynn and 'Outlander' writer Gabaldon are seeing their older books reappear and hold steady on bestseller lists as well. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter, The Gruffalo, and Horrid Henry are the top book brands for children, according to a report commissioned by the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA). The report—released at the Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) exhibition, held in London last week—found that books were... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher promises it will arm you with enough vocabulary and grammar to have a complete conversation in DothrakiLanguages created for TV shows can have a powerful fascination for fans: just look at Star Treks Klingon language for proof of that. Game of Thrones Dothraki language also fits into... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Whether or not Starbucks' actual coffee gets you buzzing, the retailer's marketing efforts always seem like a pretty good wake-up call to the competition. The Seattle-based brand has shown rare ability with Facebook ads, Tumblr promos and mobile marketing. Now add Instagram videos to the mix. ... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2014-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Growing up as a computer nerd, I remember thinking that I would learn how to program, so I could develop my own video games. I think this is a dream that many nerds share. I remember that my dad bought me a huge book on programming and after about 5 pages, I gave up and began reading comic books... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2014-07-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The traditional kickoff night for Comic-Con attracted the usual mob of fans looking to get their first glimpse of a show floor full of comics, games, TV shows and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Specs Who Chris Colfer Age 24 Accomplishments Star of Fox’s Glee; screenwriter; author of The Land of Stories book series (his latest, A Grimm Warning, was just released) Base Los Angeles What’s the first information you consume in the morning? I immediately turn to my cellphone and look to... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Everything from novels to movies, video games, and even government reports have been given the graphic novel treatment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook is to release a new feature on its mobile app that will listen to and identify your music and TV shows before publishing them in a status update. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2014-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Analysts say the $20 bump, from $79 to $99, could add up to $1 billion to the company's revenue.Amazon Prime is a great deal. You get free two-day shipping on most of your packages, unlimited access to Amazon's growing trove of streaming movies and TV shows, and the ability to rent ebooks from... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Any job a man can do, so can a woman. Sure, there are physical differences between the sexes, but that does not have to impede success. One industry that has primarily been a men's club is IT. Historically, being a computer nerd has been a guy thing. However, over the years, women have been... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2014-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How women are portrayed in photography has been a hot-button issue in publishing during the last several months. One could argue the spirited dialogue goes back a year to Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches" effort, which went viral. At any rate, whether you find BuzzFeed Video's "Photoshopping Real... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2014-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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