eReaders and eBooks

Here is an idea for all of the companies trying to get this right.

You need a great reader at a great price. This $400 reader I just heard about from Amazon is not the great price by a long shot. $50 sounds ball park off the top of my head. $100 might be pushing it at today's dollar value for my part of the world.


eBooks should be way less than regular books people.

Have every regular book come with an eBook in a sleeve in the back or have a code printed in it that allows for a free download of the book.

Why this last bit? Best of both worlds for people who like physical books. You get the physical book with all of its advantages, plus you get the eBook with all of the searching, bookmarking, cross referencing possibilities.

Stop thinking about how to milk the people. We are not your cows and goats. Give the people a product that will make things better for them and settle for an honest, decent profit while doing so.

drew

Check my NaNoWriMo Novel in progress:
http://dangernovel.blogspot.com/
Danger - A Safe Bahamian Novel

NaNoWriMo around the corner...

Well,

I just got my ML email for this year's NaNoWriMo this morning. If I am going to make a good run at things this year, I feel like I will need to go into November with more of a plot and character plans than I have done so far.

Hey people from the Bahamas... why not take a shot at writing a novel of your won this November? Join the fun... join the pain...

all the best,

drew

Simple Idea For Patent Reform

Simple Idea For Patent Reform... Would it help?

So am am reading an article on slashdot this morning:

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/08/0012231

about amazon's 1-click patent getting a continuation.

Change the law such that from now on, all patent applications must specify whether they are for defensive purposes only or not.

Patents for defensive purposes only:

Cannot be used to bring an action against anyone, they can only be used against someone who has brought an action against you. (Still wondering if this should be limited to a patent action against you.)

Last twice as long as regular patents.

Regular patents not for defensive purposes only:

Are examined much more carefully.

Have a fast track defense option on the part of the party sued.

Must be much more careful to get everything right, especially covering prior art as any defects when first filing will result in a denial of a regular patent and leave a defensive purposes only patent as the only option.

I welcome discussion on details from anyone who thinks this might be a decent idea to help (not fix) the current messy situation.

all the best,

drew

Script Frenzy musings.

Well, Script Frenzy is getting underway soon.

http://www.scriptfrenzy.org

I have been trying to get friends to sign up and seeing some small success.

I have been mulling over a project to get some copyleft scripts written and one produced by a name producer with funding to go along with it.

More later. Brainstorms welcome.

all the best,

drew

Some thoughts on a "Copyright Offensive"

I had originally posted this in my /. journal. Didn't realise they would disable comments after a while. Let's hope that doesn't happen here.

The idea for a Copyright Offensive is this:

We need a set of proposals that we can push. They need to be such that they can make the situation better. They need to be such that we can reach a compromise on them that will still make things better.

Here are some thoughts for your consideration:

1. All 'non marked' works get an automatic copyleft, not an automatic copyright.

2. Copyleft works can be registered for free, copyright works incur a registration fee.

3. There is a yearly copyright tax imposed on copyright works, copyleft works are exempt.

4. The copyright tax is based on a percentage of the copyright holder declared value of the work.

5. The copyright holder will be encouraged to declare an honest value by having to sell the copyright to to work at the declared value or 5 percent above that value to any and all comers. At the value if the purchaser will put the work under a copyleft, 5 percent above if the purchaser will keep the work copyright.

6. Copyright status lasts for 10 years, then the works convert to copyleft for another ten then they go into the public domain.

7. Originally copyleft works remain copyleft for the life of the author (and perhaps plus whatever.)

8. Works building on public domain works are not eligible for copyright status, only copyleft. (Does this make any practical sense??)

Fall back position for public domain going copyleft. Any work drawing from the public domain for copyright MUST clearly indicate what is public domain and what is *new* and point to the public domain work on a gratis web site or make it available on one if at all possible and to the extent possible. (as in you obviously can't do this completely in the case of a sculpture.)

all the best,

drew

Copyleft? Not!

Well, I keep running into things claiming to be copyleft which on closer inspection don't seem to be copyleft at all.

Here is one from today:

http://www.schnews.org.uk/schmovies/index-formats.html

It says it is copyleft but then says that you can't use or screen for profit. Copyleft licenses do not prevent for profit uses.

I would appreciate info on your similar findings.

I wonder why copyleft gets misunderstood so...

all the best,

drew