Just another nerd.
Last year I mentioned the three volume Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes set that rocked my world as a child.
The first volume in the series, the Batman encyclopedia, is going to be re-released in May retailing for about $20. The Superman and Wonder Woman editions are also being re-released over the summer.
And for that very special Batman fan in your life, Previews is offering a Neal Adams-signed Batman volume for only $149.99.
I just happened to be in the local comic book store the other day (which happens … oh … pretty much every day) and a couple of the Black Variant’s of SOTA’s Cthulhu figure had just arrived.
Weird to see the variant when the main figure (which is green) still hasn’t been released, but it looks nice in my living room,
The Associated Press reports that to no one’s surprise the final Harry Potter book will not be available in an e-book version.
According to the AP,
Rowling has cited two concerns over the years: concern about online piracy . . . and the desire for readers to experience the books on paper.
The paper claim is nonsense given the numerous audio versions of the books. And, frankly, Rowling’s obsession with how people read her book is a bit odd (you can imagine some composer saying there’s no way in hell people are going to listen to his music on some vinyl record when the only way to truly appreciate it is in a live performance).
As for piracy, not releasing an e-book version guarantees that it will be widely pirated. All not releasing an official e-book version means is that rather than buy a legitimate electronic edition the day the book comes out, fans will simply have to wait a day or two after the release to download a warez version of the book. It takes about five minutes to locate and download the various unauthorized electronic editions of the Potter books online.
So a large number of people are already defying Rowling’s paper passion — she’s just not benefiting from it.
Source:
Rowling: No E-Book for Harry Potter VII. Hillel Italie, Associated Press, February 5, 2007.
Disney is planning to release a Pirates of the Caribbean MMO to coincide with the third Pirates film later this year.
The game is getting some press because it will be free to download and play in an ad-supported model (think a windowed game with ads on the top or periphery of the window) or $9.95/month for the no-ad version.
MMORPG.Com has a preview of the game which doesn’t sound like it will be as child-oriented as Toon Town is, but probably not something that is going to rock the world of the World of Warcraft devotees either.
Frankly, as long as it doesn’t outright suck, the more pirate games the better.
Color me unimpressed with Blackboard’s latest move in its ongoing war to kill innovation in the courseware market by patenting obvious CMS features in the education market.
Blackboard is now promising that it won’t go after non-profits and universities who develop their own internal or open sourced courseware. But it is still pursuing actions against its competitors, which will detrimentally affect the courseware market by stifling innovation there.
Fortunately, several groups opposed to the awarding of the overly-broad patents to Blackboard have teamed up with the Software Freedom Law Center to challenge the patents. In November 2006, the UPSTO agreed to re-examine all 44 of the claims of the Blackboard patents in question.
Richard Fontana of the Software Freedom Law Center isn’t buying Blackboard’s latest gambit, noting that Blackboard has confused the issue by suggesting it might still sue open source projects that are bundled with proprietary code.
CNET News.Com’s Stephen Shankland quotes Fontana as saying,
Blackboard could have acted responsibly by making a clear and unqualified commitment not to assert its patents against open-source software. Instead, Blackboard has produced a convoluted document in which, for example, it reserves the right to assert the patent against open source software that is “bundled” with other software, an ill-defined concept that could potentially cover most circumstances in which open e-learning software is used.
Hopefully the USPTO will do the right thing and render this debate moot by invalidating the patents it awarded to Blackboard.
Source:
Education software firm OKs open-source patent use. Stephen Shankland, February 1, 2007.
GamePolitics.Com reports that anti-video game idiot Jack Thompson has a disciplinary hearing coming up in Florida on several counts including three related to his ongoing war against videogame violence.
Those ethics counts relate to Thompson’s role in an Alabama lawsuit against the makers of Grand Theft Auto. According to GamePolitics.Com,
In upholding a pair of complaints against Thompson by [Alabama] Judge James Moore, the Florida Bar alleges that the outspoken attorney violated numerous professional standards both before and after his Pro Hac Vice status was revoked in Alabama. Among the misconduct alleged by the Bar is Thompson’s assertion that a local Alabama attorney claimed he could fix cases before Judge Moore.
Apparently not only did Thompson privately allege that Moore was crooked, but he also sent e-mails to the judge to that effect, such as one Thompson allegedly sent to Moore in July 2006 that included this claim,
You’re the guy who wants to give (Grand Theft Auto publisher) Take-Two my scalp. You chose to believe people that you knew were thieves and liars, and now you are their useful SLAPP Bar complainant… These are your corporate criminal buddies, Judge Moore. These are the folks with whom you made your bed, the folks whom your good friend said he could fix the case.
It is bad enough that Thompson was able to make his empty threats and charges, but remember despite it being blatantly obvious how unhinged he was, Thompson was the go-to guy that media outlets such as CNN went to whenever they needed commentary or analysis on video game violence even though he clearly knew nothing about the very games he was commenting on.
Source:
Jack Thompson Faces Florida Supreme Court Disciplinary Hearing. GamePolitics.Com, February 3, 2007.