COPYCENSE

“Survey respondents are generally satisfied with libraries and librarians, but most do not plan to increase their use of libraries. Many of them, particularly teenagers, use the library less since they began using the Internet. Verbatim comments reveal strong attachments to libraries as places, but many of these positive associations are nostalgic in nature and focused on books. As one respondent from the United States commented “…as a child I loved to go downstairs to the children’s section and read books there and take them out. I loved the smell of old books.” This attachment to the traditional nature and purpose of libraries is an asset all libraries share. It is not clear that this attachment extends, or will extend, to electronic resources or that it will have a significant impact on an information consumer’s choice of information sources in the future.

“Respondents do indeed have strong attachments to the idea of the ‘Library’ but clearly expressed dissatisfaction with the service experience of the libraries they use. Poor signage, inhospitable surroundings, unfriendly staff, lack of parking, dirt, cold, hard-to-use systems and inconvenient hours were mentioned many, many times by respondents. The overall message is clear: improve the physical experience of using libraries.”

Online Computer Library Center. Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources (2005). (.pdf, 4.4 MB) No date.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“The continual, almost obsessive reporting about falling attendance at movie theaters this year so shaped the story about Hollywood that even by August the New York Times could report, ‘Hollywood’s box office slum has hardened into a reality.’ But is it Hollywood’s reality?

“Yes, movie attendance in the U.S. was down in 2005, but that is not unusual. … But don’t cry for Hollywood: In 2005, more people than even watched its products — though not in movie houses.

“The fixation on the movie box-office obscures the reality that Hollywood’s real business is not about making movies any more; it is about creating licenseable properties — including TV programs, cartoons, videos, and games — that can be sold in a multitude of markets.”

Edward Jay Epstein. “Hollywood, the Remake.” The Wall Street Journal. Dec. 29, 2005. Page A10.

See also:

Edward Jay Epstein. Hollywood’s New Year. Slate. Dec. 26, 2005.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

When President Bush leaves office after eight years, the White House is expected to turn over more than 100 million emails to the National Archives, the government body entrusted with preserving America’s official recorded history.

That’s a big jump from the 32 million from President Clinton’s White House, but then email only came into widespread use halfway through his tenure.

The rapid adoption of electronic communications technology in the last decade has created a major crisis for the Archives. For one thing, the amount of data to be preserved has exploded in recent years, thanks to the proliferation of high-tech tools such as personal computers and wireless email devices such as BlackBerries. At the same time, technology is becoming obsolete so fast that electronic documents created today may not be legible on tomorrow’s devices, the equivalent of trying to play an eight-track tape on an iPod.

Anne Marie Squeo. Oh, Has Uncle Sam Got Mail. The Wall Street Journal. Dec. 29, 2005.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“The war for control of the next-generation DVD is approaching a critical juncture: next week in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show, companies championing the two competing high-definition DVD standards – Blu-ray and HD-DVD – will unveil their lineups of new players and movie titles.

“There are growing signs, though, that the battle for supremacy in this multibillion-dollar market may yield a hollow victory. As electronics makers, technology companies and Hollywood studios haggle over the fine points of their formats, consumers are quickly finding alternatives to buying and renting packaged DVD’s, high definition or otherwise.”

Ken Belson. Fiddling With Format While DVD’s Burn. The New York Times. Dec. 26, 2005.

See also:

Engadget. Blu-ray vs HD DVD: State of the Division. Sept. 19, 2005.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“The New York attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, is investigating whether the four record companies that dominate the industry have violated antitrust laws in the pricing of songs that are sold by Internet music services, according to people involved in the inquiry.

“Mr. Spitzer’s office recently began serving subpoenas on the major record companies – the Universal Music Group, a unit of Vivendi Universal; Sony BMG Music Entertainment, a joint venture of Sony and Bertelsmann; the EMI Group; and the Warner Music Group, according to people involved.”

Jeff Leeds. Pricing of Downloaded Songs Prompts Antitrust Subpoenas. The New York Times. Dec. 24, 2005.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.

“U.S. prosecutors have charged three men with copyright infringement for selling modified Xbox consoles that enabled the original video game machine from Microsoft Corp. to play pirated games.

“The criminal complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday named ACME Game Store co-owners Jason Jones, 34, and Jonathan Bryant, 44, as well as Pei ‘Patrick’ Cai, 32.

“The complaint alleges that Jones and Bryant sold Xbox systems that Cai modified with chips and hard drives that allowed users to copy rented or borrowed games onto the console for future play.”

Reuters. Men Face Criminal Charge for Xbox Tampering. WashingtonPost.com. Dec. 20, 2005.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.