The Stupidest Thing Apple Ever Did

On Wednesday, a federal judge issued a damning finding that Apple conspired with five major book publishers to fix the price of ebooks. The ruling is a chronicle of these firms’ incredible stupidity. In 2009 and 2010, the judge says, Apple and the publishers conspired more or less in the open, telegraphing their moves to the press, memorializing their discussions over email, hinting at their anti-competitive agreements in public statements, and strategizing in swanky restaurants. For a short while, they succeeded in their goal of raising book prices: Overnight, the average price of ebooks rose by nearly 20 percent, with some best-sellers shooting up by close to 50 percent. Books that used to sell for $9.99 were now $12.99 or $14.99, prices that Apple and the publishers believed would threaten Amazon.com, the undisputed king of ebooks. Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2013-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]

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Judge Denies Apple’s Bid to Extend E-book Damages Inquiry

After a flurry of year-end filings, Judge Denise Cote late last week rejected Apple’s bid to extend its deposition of plaintiff expert witness Roger Noll, whose report had pegged Apple’s total ebook damages at just over $307 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple to give away songs, ebooks, apps during '12 Days of Gifts'

Apple will be giving away digital gifts every day for 12 days after Christmas to users of an app released Tuesday.     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Doesn't Want to Pay the Feds' E-Book Lawyer $70,000 a Week

Apple lost its antitrust ebook trial this summer. Now it has to pay a court-appointed attorney more than $1,100 an hour to keep tabs on itself. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Data Proves We Pay For Things On Mobile, But We're Still Nervous Of Security

Credit card security firm Jumio has looked into how we're all using our smartphones and tablets to shop.Jumio, a young firm backed by Facebook billionaire Eduardo Saverin, has just published research on how consumers are using their mobile devices to pay for things. Among the data are two key... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Where the Wild Things Are' celebrates its 50th anniversary

Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's classic 'Where the Wild Things Are' still tops polls as a favorite picture book and was adapted into a film in 2009. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Where the Wild Things Are' celebrates its 50th anniversary (+video)

Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's classic 'Where the Wild Things Are' still tops polls as a favorite picture book and was adapted into a film in 2009. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-11-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Will states and consumers sue Apple over ebook prices?

This summer a judge ruled that Apple arranged a conspiracy with major publishers to raise ebook prices. Now Apple faces a class action lawsuit from plaintiff states and a consumer class. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Just How Important Is Jony Ive To Apple?

The iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad. These wonder devices were not given to us from the mind of one man, but two. Now with Steve Jobs gone, Apple's most valuable asset is Jony Ive. Just how valuable? The company would have a hard time recovering if he left, says the man who wrote the book... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eyeing Indie Presses for The Next Great Thing

Last fall, Timothy O’Connell, an editor at Vintage, noticed a starred PW review of The Natural Order of Things by Kevin P. Keating. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The More Social Media and Cable Change the News, the More Things Stay the Same

The media-industrial complex loves nothing so much as an anniversary -- especially a grim anniversary. Considering that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is an event that not only radically transformed our nation but the media itself, it's no surprise that the 50th anniversary of... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2013-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK’s YUDU Sees Future in Apple’s iBooks Platform. Do You?

British multi-platform publisher YUDU is favoring publishing in the robust iBooks platform over stand-alone apps, which entail greater expense and risk. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More Book Than Nook: Can Barnes & Noble Makes Its E–Reader Feel Like The Real (Paper) Thing?

To compete against the Kindle, Barnes & Noble is going back to its roots, leveraging decades of bookseller expertise to make its Nook e–reader feel more like a paper book. Released Wednesday, the new Nook Simple Touch GlowLight features a brighter, sharper display; lighter body; improved... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple's OS X Mavericks Surges Toward 6% Adoption: Report

Just 24 hours after Apple released Mavericks, its latest edition of Mac OS X, the company's operating system is skyrocketing in downloads, according to a new report by Chitika Insights. More On Apple Design Crazy, Fast Company's eBook Collecting The Oral History Of Apple Design All Of The Ways... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple unveils iPad Air tablet

Apple has released “the lightest full size tablet” onto the market in time for... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magazines Are Dead, or Why There's No Such Thing as a (Mere) Magazine Company Anymore

In the Oct. 21 issue of Advertising Age, you'll find the closely watched annual Magazine A-List, which honors 10 glossies that are doing really, really well. I'm part of the editorial team that, each summer and fall, works on the list (which involves a lot of in-depth research and... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2013-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Atlantic: Can We Stop Talking About the Scientology Thing?

The Atlantic wants you to stop talking about the Scientology native ad imbroglio. Like, really, get over it. "It's been 10 months now and it's still being brought up," Scott Havens, president of the Atlantic, said at the Digiday Publishing Summit in Miami this week. The post The Atlantic: Can We... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2013-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Gets Its E-Book Antitrust Monitor

A federal judge taps former federal prosecutor Michael Bromwich to keep an eye on Apple's antitrust compliance. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Court appoints antitrust monitor in Apple ebook case

A federal judge has appointed a former U.S. prosecutor as the monitor who ensures that Apple Inc. complies with a ruling from the ebook antitrust case the company lost this year.     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PEN's Joan Didion event lacked just one thing: Joan Didion

PEN Center USA's 23rd annual literary awards festival went off without a hitch on Monday night -- except for the fact that its lifetime achievement award winner, Joan Didion, was not in attendance.PEN Center USA's 23rd annual literary awards festival went off without a hitch at the Beverly Hills... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 10 Biggest Things That Happened at New York Comic Con

In case you slept through this weekend and missed it, here are the 10 biggest comic book stories from 2013's New York Comic Con.     Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2013-10-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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