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 ]
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Kobo will publish the first English-language digital edition of Vikram Seth’s 600,000 word novel "A Suitable Boy" in India. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News websites and online publishers saw advertising soar 18 per cent in Britain last year, fuelling hopes that digital growth has reached a long-awaited tipping point where it will offset print decline. Figures from the Association of Online Publi ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mike Darcey says relying on online ads as main revenue stream is risky in market containing rivals such as Google and FacebookNews UK chief executive Mike Darcey has called the Guardian and Daily Mail digital "minnows" – despite the publishers' boasting a combined monthly online readership of... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Egmont has bought two YA novels by Brighton-based author Lisa Heathfield. Fiction editorial... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher of the Guardian and Observer to announce 25% rise in revenues in year to end of March 2014The Guardian is expected to report an increase in digital revenues of more than a quarter to almost £70m in the last year, as the future of its national newspaper titles is secured for the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a reprise of a similar promotion at last year’s SXSW Interactive, Marvel is marking its appearance at the annual tech festival with an introductory offer of 99 cents for a month’s access to Marvel Unlimited, its e-comics subscription service. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Afghan tourism footage, real-time weather info, historical photos, interactive video, and more complement the best-seller And the Mountains Echoed.How often can you say that every page of a book inspired you? To mark the May paperback launch of Khaled Hosseini's best selling novel And the... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2014-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Military history publisher Osprey Publishing is to create a dedicated games division to develop... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In deal that unites two of the largest players in the digital college textbook field, Ingram’s VitalSource Technologies has acquired the assets of CourseSmart. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hot Key Books has bought UK and Ireland rights in We Are Liars, a YA novel from National Book... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amplify, a NewsCorp educational venture focused on using technology to transform K-12 education, showed off its much-anticipated English Language Arts digital curriculum during an online press conference last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Founder plans non-hierarchical newsroom and wants to build First Look Media on collaborationWith $250m in funding from eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and some high profile journalist hires, First Look Media has set itself the lofty task of reinventing journalism for the digital age, starting with... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a federal courtroom in Manhattan, attorneys for Apple in its ebook price-fixing case are offering up lessons in creative legal maneuvering. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Over the past year, an increasingly central plank of conservative and Tea Party rhetoric is that constitutional change is needed and that the 17th Amendment in particular, which gives state residents the power to elect senators directly, should be repealed. (Previously, senators were selected by... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fran Hauser and John Cantarella, two top digital executives at Time Inc., are leaving the company ahead of its spinoff, each said this week.Ms. Hauser has spent 10 years with the publisher, rising to digital president of Time Inc.'s Style and Entertainment Group, which included People,... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Learnist, an online social learning venture and application, is releasing a new iOS app for mobile devices and launching the Learnist Digital Bookstore, which will sell premium content from a selection of well-known experts and celebrities. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sourcebooks announced this morning that the Chicago-based publisher is adding the Peanuts gang to its Put Me in the Story digital platform, which allows parents to create personalized versions of children's books as an app or in print format. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This year's NewFronts could be confused for OldFronts.Along with the NewFronts' six founding partners -- DigitasLBi, AOL, Yahoo, Hulu, Microsoft and Google -- the official 2014 lineup will again increase the presence of traditional media companies, with Time Inc. and The New York Times joining... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Martha Lane Fox, co-founder of lastminute.com, will speak at the London Book Fair 2014’s... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Through a deal with PayPal, Deutsche Telekom is letting mobile users purchase digital goods and get billed on their regular mobile phone accounts.Deutsche Telekom has a presence in 14 markets throughout Europe, with some 144 million mobile customers, and is working with PayPal to offer the... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-02-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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