digital rights

November 27, 2012
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Love, love, love work but it has me pinned under a landslide of maps, volumes and other deliverables. Yes, I used the word “deliverable” on this blog, which should tell you something about my current state of mind. Before you think I’m turning droid, other upcoming products include chana masala (pictured above), pedas and apple [...]

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In Protest Of SOPA And PIPA

January 17, 2012

This blog will go dark tomorrow to protest crimes perpetrated by people who know all about the internet aided by their toadies in government who know nothing of it. From SOPAStrike.com: On Jan 24th, Congress will vote to pass internet censorship in the Senate, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. We need [...]

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Sharing eBooks

September 26, 2011

Today’s xkcd: I’ve lost grey matter beating my head on the walls of this blog and elsewhere on the internet that the advent of eBooks does not signal or signify the death of paper books, nor should it. Anyone who wants paper books to go away is in the business of reading for the sake [...]

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My Eulogy For Michael Stern Hart

September 14, 2011

I promised I’d see him through to the end. He wasn’t there any more, but being a pallbearer was my way of keeping that promise. In case I tripped and fell while carrying the substantial coffin, I asked our friend Ben Stone to be on standby. Ben, “Surprisingly, they’re not that heavy. The important part [...]

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Michael Hart Remembered Online – UPDATED

September 8, 2011

This post serves as a roundup of good online articles on and tributes to Michael S. Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg and close friend, who passed away two days ago. If you come across any that are not here, please link to them in the comments. So much love ad respect out there for Michael; [...]

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Michael Stern Hart, 1947-2011

September 7, 2011

Founder of Project Gutenberg, Michael Hart, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Urbana, Illinois yesterday. The world has lost a true renaissance man, the one who first gave us the gift of electronic books (eBooks). I have lost my oldest friend and confidant in these United States. Read Michael’s obituary, wonderfully written by Greg [...]

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Free Access To Scientific Literature By Whom?

July 21, 2011

The Journal of the Medical Library Association published a study called “The impact of free access to the scientific literature: a review of recent research” You can read the whole paper at the link provided, thus saving us all from laughing at the irony of a paper on open access locked behind a paywall. The [...]

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This Week In Online Absurdity

July 21, 2011

Never mind that Swartz is a researcher, JSTOR makes it difficult for users to download articles to which they have rightful access and the government (your taxpayer money) pays for much of the research that ends up in journals not made available to you. Culture is anti-rivalrous as the great Nina Paley likes to point [...]

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