The answer, as discussed in the Follow the Reader blog, is far from absolutely clear. My impression is that this is a book-by-book issue. A popular book appealing to 20-somethings might be far more Twitterable than a scholarly wok directed at an older audience. (Via DearAuthor.)...

Here’s some old news from an MR forum that we might not have run before. It’s about a DRM-related practice that would bring joy to an unreformed Ebenezer Scrooge no matter what the season. In yet another attack on fair use, Amazon is quietly limiting the number of clips you can make from a book for your e-notes. Just what does this mean for the professors and students who trustingly buy DXes? Bb RealTech complains: Contrary to what Amazon or the Publishers must assume, I'm not going to use the ‘Save as...

Slash the power needs of the screen and you’ve also reduced those of your e-reader or laptop as a whole. Mary Lou Jepsen of PixelQi, the display company, has been saying similar things. And now here’s another wrinkle, which low-powered screens might help bring closer. What if these lower power requirements also helped make it possible to eliminate AC adapters for laptops and e-readers? Imagine---no power supply to lug around, or get lost. Here are some encouraging words  from the Mainichi Daily News: Fujitsu Laboratories [designer of the current e-readers shown...

Amazon has been looking for engineers familiar with mobile-related software, including Windows Mobile. Will a Kindle app will soon appear for for this OS and others, including Android? No surprise if so, given Jeff Bezos’s recent statements and the existing K-app for the iPhone. But a BusinessWeek piece---with mention of ads for engineers and all that---strengthens the case. If nothing else, consider the antitrust angle I’ve brought up again and again. BusinessWeek, in fact, quotes analyst Jeffrey Lindsay of Sanford Bernstein as saying: “"They can't keep the Kindle a closed...

The German info is from Alex at MobileRead. Blame the complexities of dealing with European wireless providers. Separately MobileRead carries a post reporting another problem, publishers refusing to do business with Amazon. Rue Morgue Press is even “boycotting the World Mystery Convention because they're allowing Amazon to make a Kindle presentation.”...

Does Richard Posner, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, really believe that perhaps you shouldn’t be able to link to a newspaper article without the paper’s permission? Same for paraphrasing? Is Posner, once talked up as a possible Supreme Court nominee,  just pandering to the newspaper business? Is he looking ahead to the time when the Supreme Court may have another seat to fill. From Judge Posner’s blog post: Expanding copyright law to bar online access to copyrighted materials without the copyright holder's consent, or to bar linking to or...

While spreading word of today’s MobileRead/TeleRead dinner in Alexandria, VA, near Washington, D.C., we don’t want to neglect other posts: Golen vs. Holder: Removal of public domain status on some nonU.S. works is unconstitutional, by Robert Nagle. FTC’s forthcoming blogger crackdown: The ethics of product reviews in blogs, by Robert. App-onomics: How to succeed as a self publisher, by Al Katkowsky (photo). Amazon’s plans---analysis by BusinessWeeek, a post by Paul Biba. ...

Update, 9:30 p.m.: Around 14 gung-ho e-book-lovers showed up with toys ranging from a Ubuntu-enhanced Asus netbook to a Pre and a SmartQ 7 tablet. Paul Biba will have the full lowdown in a day or so. Thanks to Mike Cassidy, R.W. Wood and the other organizers! And, yes, as promised, Steve Jordan “physicalized” The Lens with a CD-ROM copy. – D.R. A book drawing will be part of MobileRead’s 6 p.m. dinner today, Saturday,  at Mango Mike’s--- less than a mile from me at 4580 Duke St., Alexandria, VA. I’ve...

(Filed in the I-didn’t-find-out-about-this-major-ruling-until-2-months-later department) In April 2009 Nate Anderson reports on the finding: Part of Berne requires countries to honor copyright on foreign works, so long as those works remain protected in their country of origin. Before URAA was passed, foreign works still received copyright protection in the US, but only on US terms. This meant that works began to leave copyright and enter the public domain in the US even though some were still granted copyright protection in their home countries. After signing URAA, these works reverted into copyright in the US. ...

Gwen Dawson refers me to a Deborah Yao story about how the FTC plans to issue guidelines about blogs that review consumer products and services: Many bloggers have accepted perks such as free laptops, trips to Europe, $500 gift cards or even thousands of dollars for a 200-word post. Bloggers vary in how they disclose such freebies, if they do so at all. The practice has grown to the degree that the Federal Trade Commission is paying attention. New guidelines, expected to be approved late this summer with possible modifications, would clarify...

Editor's Note: In May we published an article about Al Katkowsky and how he successfully promoted his self-published work, turned it into an Iphone app and ended up giving a presentation at one of the New York Apple Stores. Well, I asked Al to write us an article about how he achieved this success and he agreed! The article follows. Thanks, Al! Paul Book Event at The Apple Store? Seriously, what's going on here? I tell everyone that my book, Question Of The Day, is an activity in book form. So when the idea was...

Business Week has an article about Amazon's possible plans for the future. Thanks to Tassia for the link. Here's an excerpt: In the past several months the online retailer has been expanding its team of mobile engineers. It's also acquiring companies whose products and knowhow could help Amazon turn out new software for cell phones. The goals may be to sell new programs that can run on Amazon's Kindle e-book reader, make Amazon's digital titles available for more devices, and ring up revenue from sales of mobile applications, say several software executives and analysts. ... The e-tailer is also hiring. Amazon lists...