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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The literary genre is white-hot in Hollywood, with filmmakers bidding on unpublished books and paying as much as $1 million for the rights to relatively modest sellers.The back-to-back blockbuster successes of "Harry Potter," "Twilight" and now "The Hunger Games" have turned the hunt for fresh... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comic-book nerds are about to have it all. Beginning this month, all new Marvel releases are available digitally the same day they hit shelves. But the real feat is this: Comic-book stores will be on board with the change, too. That's because Marvel has spent years developing its strategy,... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Next month, Marvel Comics will release a new application to add content enhanced with augmented reality to some of its comic books. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two thirds of UK online publishers are planning to increase the number of digital roles "on the back of product growth expectations", the Association of Online Publishers reported today, compared to 55 per cent which saw growth in 2011. Acco ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Like the Austin Independent Business Alliance, begun by Steve Bercu, co-owner of BookPeople, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, many early shop-local initiatives were started to keep Borders out. In Austin, Borders’s attempt to move across the street from Bercu’s store also led... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The chief executive of Johnston Press (JP) has signalled that the local newspaper publisher will adopt a digital-first strategy. Speaking at the Guardian Changing Media Summit, Ashley Highfield, who took over as CEO in November, said "we will fl ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Imagine bundling your publication's content with that of your competitor's. That was one interesting theory explored at the MPA Digital: Swipe conference on tablets, e-readers and smartphones. Panelists speaking on the digital newsstand debated several best practices that publishers should be... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NEW YORK - Today’s MPA Digital: Swipe event brought the consumer magazine industry together to focus on what’s next in tablet editions. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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NEW YORK – Today’s MPA Digital: Swipe Conference closed with the National Magazine Awards for Digital Media 2012, presented by the American Society of Magazine Editors [ASME]. People managing editor and ASME president Larry Hackett and Lucy Danziger, editor-in-chief of SELF and ASME secretary,... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Encyclopaedia Britannica, the 244-year-old company, recently announced it would stop printing encyclopedias. Of course this triggered a flurry of talk about the end of printed books, magazines, and newspapers and a once-great company humbled by shifts in technology. But to fall into that... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2012-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French publisher eToiles Editions, with an app that "breaks away from the page by page way... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Vintage has acquired the licence to publish Ian Fleming's James Bond titles across all... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins has launched an ebook imprint, called Mischief, which will focus on erotica and... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Justin Moodie is leaving DK to start up his own digital consultancy, moving from his role as... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Not content with simply doling out free digital comics to fans who favor the tangible page, Marvel is now giving readers a new reason to reach for their tablets: augmented reality. Android and iOS devices will be able to look beyond the page using Marvel AR, an Aurasma-powered app slated to... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cosmopolitan topped 115,000 digital subscribers last month, making it the first Hearst title to break 100,000 and perhaps marking renewed reason for hope among magazine publishers. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2012-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst Magazines UK has appointed News International's Lee Wilkinson to the newly created role of product director for its digital division. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2012-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's a case of having one's cake and eating it, too. Or, in this instance, digitizing the works of others and reselling them online for a 40 percent cut. According to Le Temps, a controversial new law recently passed by the French government will see out-of-print books from the 20th century... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2012-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Publishers Association has said it is looking forward to working with internet service... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the early days of the digital revolution, most independent publishers were moving slower than the larger houses in getting on the ebook bandwagon. That period has clearly passed. With only a couple of exceptions, the publishers that made it onto this year’s edition of PW’s fast-growing small... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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