[Athen] Kindle 2 Already Receiving Publisher Heat

[Robert Beach]

You go!  If people weren't so worried about grabbing every little penny, they wouldn't be so quick to yell before they know the details.  I'm surprised they haven't tried to shutdown the used book stores around the country.  BTW, who says we don't have the right to read a book outloud?  That's rediculous.  I realize we don't necessarily have the right to read a book outloud to an audience, but does that include reading outloud to ourselves or even to our children or a family member?  Do we even have the right to show a passage from the book to a friend or must the friend go purchase a copy for himself/herself to legally read the passage we found to be interesting?

I think if this technology were limited to the disability community, there would be less fuss.  However, thinking that the general public will be benefitting from the technology without paying for it really buggs some folks.  Well, bug away! <grin>



Robert Lee Beach
Assistive Technology Specialist
Kansas City Kansas Community College
7250 State Avenue
Kansas City, KS  66112
Phone:  (913) 288-7671
Fax: (913) 288-7678
E-mail:  rbeach at kckcc.edu


>>> "Kelmer, Susan M." <SKelmer at stlcc.edu> 2/12/2009 10:29 AM >>>

Check out my rant on the ATHEN blog this morning
(http://athenpro.blogspot.com/).  The Author's Guild is already crying
foul about the Kindle 2's text-to-speech function and how it is
derivative work and therefore a copyright infringement.  And the device
hasn't even been released for sale yet!

 

I'd love for every author, publisher, editor, etc. who brings up
copyright infringement issues like this to have to experience life as
our students do for a week.  They might not be so quick to be worried
about text-to-speech functionality stealing their copyrights if they
did.

 

Susan Kelmer

Adaptive Technology Specialist/

Lab Coordinator, Campus Labs and Classrooms

St. Louis Community College - Meramec

314-984-7951