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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Looking back on this week's Digital Book World conference, we distill the event into three key ideas: price innovation, discoverability and authenticity. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The first thing I do each Monday morning when I get to work at the White Plains Public Library is review a purchase alert report. By seeing what items have received the largest numbers of holds—or reserves—from my customers, I gain insight into what books and DVDs are trending in my community. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-01-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Canongate has bought a new book by TV presenter Karl Pilkington, with the title, The Moaning of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harlequin UK is launching a new digital-only imprint called Carina UK, which will encompass all... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Forrester Research and DBW presented the findings of their Executive Publishing Survey on ebooks, devices and digital publishing predictions for 2013. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Liverpool University Press is to acquire University of Exeter Press' medieval studies,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hardbound books, apparently, are soooo 20th century -- at least for the upcoming BiblioTech library in San Antonio, Texas' south side. When the shiny, new public library opens its doors to bookworms this fall, visitors will notice something important missing: actual books. Instead, the facility... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fresh from apparently wrangling online content fees from Google last month, Belgian newspaper websites will, in 2013, launch an industry-wide platform to take back their readers. Major Flemish- and French-language newspaper publishers, magazine publ ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-01-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette UK saw 250,000 ebook sales between Christmas Day and Boxing Day, The Bookseller can... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nearly a quarter of Americans have read ebooks in the past year, with the number of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury, with its new Just Great Reads promotion, is running what it is calling the "first ever" global marketing campaign targeted expressly at readers who favor devices. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nielsen is linking up with consumer insight company Kantar Worldpanel in an association that will... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Piatkus has acquired two debut UK authors, with their works to be published on their digital-... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's publishers' digital Christmas strategies are already being unwrapped, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's been quite a year for Newsweek. As the magazine plans for its transition to a digital-only future, you can count the remaining print editions of the storied publication on one hand. It's without question that this fall has been a tough one for the 80 year old magazine, capped by the... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2012-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld has acquired a "powerful wartime novel", Wake by Anna Hope, with plans to... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The online comics marketplace has exploded over the past year. Here, from innovative indies to blockbuster franchise extensions, some of the best from the emerging world of digital comics. 2012 was the year digital-direct comics went mainstream. Entirely bypassing the tried-and-true supply... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sure, it's probably not going to convince you to pick up a new device if you weren't already in the market for one, but that's not really the point, right? Barnes & Noble's kicking off the season of giving with its "Buy a Nook, We'll Give a Book" promotion, which finds the company donating a... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Agency Curtis Brown has launched a digital self-publishing programme through Kindle Direct... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Daily will publish its final issue this month after News Corporation bigwigs decided to pull the plug on the original iPad-only newspaper, proving it’s not easy to sell subscriptions to enhanced print-style media to a digital audience. ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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