TidBITS#952/03-Nov-08
=====================
Issue link: <http://db.tidbits.com/issue/952>
The big news this week is that TidBITS publisher Adam Engst survived
the New York City Marathon on Sunday, ensuring that there will be
future issues. Turning to the stuff we really cover, AT&T is now
offering free Wi-Fi to iPhone users, Apple has opened iPhone
developer forums, and LogMeIn is testing a tool that lets you
control remote computers via an iPhone or iPod touch. Returning to
the world of the Mac, Adam relates at how it's possible to put 6 GB
of RAM in a MacBook or MacBook Pro, and Doug McLean reports on the
unveiling of Netflix's Mac-compatible Watch Instantly player. Also
this week, Glenn Fleishman examines the ground-breaking legal
settlement that will keep Google Book Search going. In the TidBITS
Watchlist, we cover the releases of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac
12.1.4 Update, iKey 2.3.1, TextExpander 2.5, SpamSieve 2.7.2, and
Fission 1.6.
Articles
AT&T Offers Free Wi-Fi for iPhone, for Real This Time
Adam Beats His New York City Marathon Goal
Apple Launches iPhone Developer Forums
6 GB of RAM in a MacBook or MacBook Pro
LogMeIn Tests Remote Screen Sharing via iPhone, iPod touch
Netflix Starts Deploying Mac-Compatible Media Player
Take Control News: Create Better AirPort Wireless Networks
Authors and Publishers Settle with Google Book Search
TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 03-Nov-08
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/03-Nov-08
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AT&T Offers Free Wi-Fi for iPhone, for Real This Time
-----------------------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9836>
AT&T is now providing free wireless Internet access to its
iPhone-owning customers at the company's hotspot locations, which
include thousands of Starbucks cafes, McDonald's restaurants,
hotels, airports, and more. News of this service appeared briefly
earlier in the year on AT&T's Web site and was then taken down (see
"iPhone Roundup: AT&T Wi-Fi, Out of Stock, International Carriers,"
2008-05-10). iPhone owners are also being notified by text message,
so it's not likely an inadvertent posting error this time.
<http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/internet/wifi.jsp>
<http://www.starbucks.com/retail/find/default.aspx>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9609>
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/2008-10/attwifi.png>
AT&T's Wi-Fi service typically costs $20 per month, but access is
free for many business, DSL, and fiber customers. In participating
Starbucks stores, connecting to the in-store Wi-Fi network makes a
special Starbucks category appear in the iPhone's iTunes Store app
for purchasing music (which requires a Wi-Fi connection).
To use the service from an iPhone, go to the Settings app, select
"attwifi" from the list of available networks, and enter your
10-digit mobile number. After agreeing to the Acceptable Use Policy,
AT&T will send a free text message containing a secure link that's
valid for 24 hours at that location.
<http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/internet/accessing-wifi.jsp>
Adam Beats His New York City Marathon Goal
------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9842>
It's good to have goals, like breaking 3 hours in the marathon, but
it's even better to crush them underfoot, as I did Sunday while
racing to a 2 hour and 48 minute finish in the New York City
Marathon, good for about 317th place out of 37,899 finishers. It was
perhaps the hardest thing I've ever done - not so much the actual
running, but the 4 months of hard training, capped by weeks of
meticulous preparations. I was relatively sure I could break 3
hours, but I had no idea I could run so fast for so long. (Tristan
apparently did, though, since his contribution to Tonya's email from
the night before the race was "Have a great marathon and get as
close as you can to 2 hours and 50 minutes. Or less.")
My sincere apologies to those of you who were either disappointed or
worried when you couldn't follow my progress on the New York City
Marathon Web site, but there was a snafu regarding my timing chip at
registration (see "Adam Running the New York City Marathon,"
2008-10-27). So I don't have an official time or place yet, but I
alerted the marathon organizers and hope they can resolve the
problem soon.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9829>
Wonderful as this experience was, I don't think I'll be racing
another marathon any time soon. I simply don't have the time in my
life for the necessary level of training, and I'm not certain my
body can handle the strain over a long period of time. I'd rather be
running comfortably at age 70 than have a few more marathons under
my belt. And of course, it might be disappointing if my next
marathon was a lot slower.
Big thanks to Tonya and Tristan for their support during the months
of training, to my many friends in the Ithaca running community for
their much-appreciated advice and camaraderie, and to everyone who
sent an email or tweet of encouragement. Our neighbor and TidBITS
reader Kathie Hodge even left an envelope in our mailbox with a good
luck card and a four-leafed clover, and long-time TidBITS friend
Chris Pepper and his wife Amy and daughter Julia cheered me on at
the 7 mile mark (I'm the guy in the red shorts in Chris's photo). As
much as I had to retreat inside myself to maintain my pace after
mile 20, all the public support up to that point was instrumental.
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrispepper/2995030013/>
The combination of elation and pain after the race took me by
surprise, and although I'm used to talking with fellow runners after
races, I was also pleasantly surprised at just how New Yorkers in
general opened up and became downright chatty as soon as they saw my
race number on the walk, subway ride, and ferry trip back to my aunt
and uncle's house on Staten Island. It's nice to see such an event
make the big city feel more like a small town.
Now it's time to focus on healing the damage I did to my body -
pretty much every muscle below my rib cage hurts when I move. I'll
be downing lots of water and nutritious food, stretching to the
extent I can, and massaging out all the trigger points that are
causing much of the pain. I hope to be back on the roads and trails
soon for some easy runs.
To leave you with something of general utility, I'll note that one
side benefit of all this training is that I've developed a
significantly deeper understanding of muscular anatomy and have
found that trigger point therapy (a form of massage you can do to
yourself) is tremendously useful at addressing all sorts of pain.
Trigger point therapy is certainly no panacea, and is itself
uncomfortable, but I've had great success with it addressing plantar
fasciitis pain in my right foot, knee pain due to IT band syndrome,
and even back pain due to working at the Mac for too many hours in a
row. If you want to learn more, I highly recommend "The Trigger
Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief,
Second Edition," by Clair Davies and Amber Davies, thanks to its
real-world advice and easily followed directions. Also useful is
"Trigger Point Therapy for Myofascial Pain: The Practice of Informed
Touch," by Donna Finando and Steven Finando, which has better
diagnostic pictures but far more technical text aimed at massage
therapists.
<http://www.amazon.com/dp/1572243759/?tag=tidbitselectro00>
<http://www.amazon.com/dp/1594770549/?tag=tidbitselectro00>
Apple Launches iPhone Developer Forums
--------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9835>
Apple has opened up the Apple Developer Forums for talking about
iPhone software development. The free forums, currently in beta
testing, are available to anyone signed up for iPhone development
via its three programs: standard, enterprise, and university.
Standard developers pay a $99 fee, which includes the right to
submit software for release through the App Store, while businesses
pay $299 for the right to develop software that's distributed within
a company. Those signed up just to access the iPhone Software
Development Kit (SDK), which requires no payment, are not allowed
access.
<http://developer.apple.com/devforums/>
Apple was widely criticized by programmers for keeping a
non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in place following the release of the
iPhone 2.0 software. This NDA prevented any public discussion of
development issues, restricted the distribution among companies of
software code, and put a damper even on private interactions, many
developers said.
The NDA was dropped informally a few weeks ago (see "Apple Allows
Developers to Talk about iPhone Software," 2008-10-01) and the legal
agreement was updated last week. The removal of the NDA covers only
software and features that have been publicly announced and
discussed, such as the current release of the iPhone operating
system.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9793>
6 GB of RAM in a MacBook or MacBook Pro
---------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9839>
After a few weeks of Internet conversation and testing, it turns out
that recent MacBook and MacBook Pro models - both the
just-introduced aluminum-and-glass models and the two previous minor
updates - can address not just 4 GB of RAM, as Apple's technical
specifications pages state, but 6 GB of RAM.
<http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=573906>
(To identify if your MacBook or MacBook Pro is new enough, run
System Profiler and in the Hardware Overview screen, check the Model
Identifier line. After the model name are two numbers, separated by
a comma, as in "3,1". If the first number is 3, 4, or 5, the Mac
should be able to handle 6 GB of RAM.)
The laptops both have a pair of DIMM slots. The current MacBook and
MacBook Pro models require a new form of high-speed memory called
DDR3, running at 1066 MHz. The previous models use DDR2 RAM running
at 667 MHz. Standard configurations have either 2 GB or 4 GB of RAM,
achieved by installing a pair of either 1 GB or 2 GB DIMMs.
So what if you replaced one 2 GB DIMM with a 4 GB DIMM? The answer
seems to be that the MacBook and MacBook Pro both operate reliably
with 6 GB of RAM, as long as it's the same type and speed of RAM.
However, reports indicate that the next logical step - installing a
pair of 4 GB DIMMs for a total of 8 GB of RAM - does not work
properly. As yet, it's unclear if the problem could be resolved in
software (such as by Snow Leopard, the next major update to Mac OS
X), or if there are hardware issues.
There are some downsides to jumping to 6 GB. First, you must install
mismatched DIMM sizes (one 2 GB DIMM and one 4 GB DIMM). When
working with a pair of identical DIMMs, the Mac can take advantage
of its dual-channel architecture to increase the speed with which
data can move from RAM to the CPU. However, for most usage patterns,
a dual-channel architecture provides only a slight speed
improvement, and losing that is probably outweighed by the benefit
of reduced virtual memory disk swapping.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_channel>
At the moment, there is another problem: price. Ramjet just
announced the first 4 GB DDR3-1066 DIMM for the recently released
MacBook and MacBook Pro models, and it's not cheap, at $599. In
comparison, a 2 GB DDR3-1066 DIMM costs only $75 from Ramjet. For
the previous generations of the laptops, a 4 GB DDR2-667 DIMM is a
lot cheaper, at $159.99 from Newegg. Personally, I'd wait for the
price to come down on the 4 GB DDR3-1066 DIMM.
<http://www.ramjet.com/ItemDescription.asp?Item=MBALX4G>
<http://www.ramjet.com/ItemDescription.asp?Item=MBPX4G>
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231202>
And lastly, I must stress that this is an unsupported configuration,
and I have not tried it personally. If you have problems and call
Apple for help, they will be entirely justified in giggling at you.
Don't say you weren't warned!
LogMeIn Tests Remote Screen Sharing via iPhone, iPod touch
----------------------------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9834>
I'm constantly beset by the need to reach a computer that's not
within reach: a server located 15 miles to the south, a laptop at
home, or a "headless" system (no monitor attached). LogMeIn is one
of the tools I rely on to complement Timbuktu Pro and Back to My
Mac's screen sharing. LogMeIn's Mac OS X version, a free
screen-sharing utility, lets me manipulate my computers remotely,
even those inside my ostensibly locked-away home network.
The company has now announced a limited beta test of LogMeIn
Ignition, an extension of their system, which relies on client
software and centrally coordinating servers that they run, to the
iPod touch and iPhone.
<https://secure.logmein.com/welcome/IgnitionPreview/>
The App Store currently offers some remote-access packages, although
these rely on VNC. VNC is built into Tiger and Leopard, but it
requires directly reachable IP addresses, whether you use port
mapping or have a public IP address on the computer you want to
connect to. LogMeIn can traverse NAT and other obstacles to
end-to-end connectivity.
Netflix Starts Deploying Mac-Compatible Media Player
----------------------------------------------------
by Doug McLean <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9832>
[Updated 03-Nov-08 to account for the opening of Netflix's public
beta. -Adam]
A few weeks ago I reported on Netflix's blog announcement that the
company hoped to make its Watch Instantly feature accessible to Mac
users by the end of 2008 (see "Netflix Mac Support News and More,"
2008-10-08). Netflix has now backed up their claim by unveiling
their new media player - based on Microsoft's Silverlight
technology. While it may seem surprising that the long-awaited
solution to this Mac-access problem comes by way of Microsoft, you
probably won't be surprised to learn that the root of the problem
lies in digital rights management (DRM) technology requirements from
the studios. According to Netflix:
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9803>
<http://netflix.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=288>
<http://silverlight.net/>
"Apple does not license their DRM solution to third parties, which has made
this more difficult, but we are working with the studios and content owners to
gain approval for other solutions. As soon as a studio-approved DRM for the Mac
is available to us, whether from Apple or another source, we will move quickly
to provide a movie viewer that enables you to watch movies from Netflix
instantly on your Mac."
The new Netflix player will use Microsoft's PlayReady DRM - new in
Silverlight 2.0 - to prevent users from doing anything but watching
the content. Netflix's current player relies on a Windows-only DRM
system.
For those hearing about Microsoft Silverlight for the first time,
it's a technology akin to Adobe Flash in that it's embodied in a Web
browser plug-in and can display animations, audio and video, and
interactive applications. Silverlight was first put to the test this
past summer in streaming the Beijing Olympics for NBC. The player
streamed thousands of hours of live coverage with generally
successful results.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverlight>
<http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/>
Unfortunately, as Mac users attempting to watch Olympic video
discovered, the new Netflix player works only on Intel-based Macs,
leaving older PowerPC-based Macs in the lurch. Netflix claims that
Intel-based Macs account for about three quarters of the company's
current Mac-based subscribers. So while a fix for the majority of
Mac users is certainly better than nothing, it's a shame for that
remaining 25 percent to be denied access. It's hard to imagine that
Microsoft will extend Silverlight back to PowerPC-based Macs in the
future.
Although Netflix initially limited access to the beta of the new
player to new subscribers, the company has since opened the beta
program to anyone who wants to sign up. Have at it, but remember,
since it's a beta, you shouldn't expect perfect performance out of
the gate.
<http://www.netflix.com/WiMessage?msg=58>
Take Control News: Create Better AirPort Wireless Networks
----------------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9838>
We are pleased to announce the release of the significantly
rewritten "Take Control of Your 802.11n AirPort Network," the latest
in our line of Glenn Fleishman's Take Control titles about AirPort
wireless networking. With his usual good-natured enthusiasm, Glenn
has created a fully updated ebook about AirPort networking, covering
not only the practical details and real-world steps that you need to
set up a fast, reliable, and secure wireless network, but also lots
of details of interest for everyone from the beginner (basic
terminology and concepts) to the experienced user (tricky IP
addressing scenarios, IPv6, and software base stations). The
242-page ebook (perhaps our most comprehensive yet!) is available
for $15, although those of you who already have one of Glenn's
AirPort books should have already received email about free or
discounted upgrades. Topics covered include:
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/airport-n.html?14@@!pt=TB952>
* Real-world advice - with diagrams - about setting up the 802.11n
models of the AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and Time Capsule
* Advice on whether the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band is best for your network
* Tricks for including older 802.11b and 802.11g Wi-Fi gear without
damaging performance
* Step-by-step instructions on connecting from Macintosh and Windows
clients
* Details about handling complex Internet addressing configurations
* The ins and outs of sharing USB disks, including a Time Capsule
* Help with connecting shared printers to Leopard, Tiger, and Windows
* A discussion of networking with and configuring an Apple TV
* How to set up a multi-base-station network to extend the area of
wireless coverage
* The scoop on the up-and-coming IPv6 standard for handling IP
addresses
Although the ebook focuses on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, it also covers
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, Windows XP, and Windows Vista.
Authors and Publishers Settle with Google Book Search
-----------------------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9837>
Google wants to index all knowledge, and it thought that scanning a
few tens of millions of books might be a good addition to the
compendium of billions of Web pages, PDFs, and Word documents they
already offer. The only trouble? Most of the books they wanted to
scan are still under copyright protection. This caused the
Association of American Publishers (AAP), the Authors Guild, and
other organizations to gnash their teeth - and file lawsuits.
Last week, Google and a host of these complainants agreed to a
settlement that a court must still approve. Google will contribute
piles of cash - $125 million - to settle outstanding issues and fund
a new copyright clearinghouse that will enable authors and
publishers to receive funds for online viewing of works.
<http://books.google.com/booksrightsholders/>
The settlement also clears the way for far greater access to
_orphaned works_: books (and other material) that remain protected
by copyright, but which are out of print or out of production, and
largely unavailable even through lending libraries.
Unlike the outcome of many lawsuits about copyright and access, this
settlement could be a big win for authors, publishers, readers, and
libraries. Could such a thing be possible?
(Full disclosure: I am a member of the Authors Guild. Although I did
not support the particular form of the Authors Guild lawsuit,
neither did I cancel my membership as a result of the legal action.)
[Editors' disclosure: With our Take Control hats on, we've worked
with Google Book Search for years, and it pains me to say that the
experience has been nothing but frustrating, with literally months
of delay between uploading a fully searchable PDF - no need to scan
anything - and having it posted. Plus, although Google's support
people responded quickly to our queries, they were universally
useless at addressing any complaints, such as posting delays or the
existence of guaranteed broken links to Amazon.com for our titles,
given the fact that Amazon doesn't resell our ebooks. I certainly
hope that the settlement will mean increased exposure for Google
Book Search and our content, and additional sales. -Adam]
**The Backstory** -- After a couple years of prep work, Google
announced in 2004 its Google Print program, later renamed Google
Book Search, as well as its Library Project, the controversial part.
<http://books.google.com/googlebooks/newsviews/history.html>
Google started partnering with major publishers first, followed by
smaller houses - a total of 20,000 so far - to make their books
available in some form online.
Google's bigger objective was to partner with major academic
libraries around the world, scan books using high-speed techniques
it had invented, and use optical character recognition (OCR)
technology to turn the scans into searchable text.
Google Book Search made it possible for anyone to search the
contents of any scanned book and, depending on the copyright status
of the book and other factors, view or even download some or all
pages. (Microsoft started two similar programs which avoided many
copyright issues, but the company shut those projects down in May
2008.)
<http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6564275.html>
This behavior rankled many because Google claimed the right to scan
copyright-protected books because the company wasn't per se
distributing the books, even though it had full digital copies.
Google maintained - in a rough approximation - that because it was
working under contract with libraries that owned physical copies of
the books, that making archival digital copies was perfectly
legitimate, as was turning the copyrighted works into text and
images that weren't revealed in whole on the Web.
The various parties aligned against Google disagreed, and filed suit
in 2005.
**The Variety of Works under Discussion** -- Part of what publishers
and the Authors Guild found problematic, and part of how the
settlement on which parties agreed was designed, centers around
separating works into three categories: public domain, in
copyright/out of print, and in copyright/in print.
* Public domain works are no longer covered by copyright, and may be
used in essentially any form and any fashion. Many publishers,
notably Dover, reprint public-domain works in various forms and
compendiums. Copyright holders can also release all rights on works
they control, placing a creation in the public domain. Google Book
Search makes the full text available, including for download.
<http://store.doverpublications.com/by-subject-literature-dover-thrift-editions.html>
* Books that are in copyright, but out of print, are often called
_orphan works_. This category covers books that are no longer
stocked or available from the commercial book trade, but which
remain under copyright. The copyright may be owned by a living
person or his or her estate, by a trust, by a publisher, or by a
company. Orphaned works make writers cry, because their hard-wrung
prose - fiction or non-fiction or reference - is unavailable, even
if the market desires it, because the economics of print publishing
have until recently put their children in the gutter. Google Book
Search makes the full text searchable, with snippets of context
presented.
* Active books are in copyright and in print. Books that are actively
sold by publishers through booksellers or directly, even if they're
30, 40, or 70 years old, fit in this category. Publishers often
refer to their frontlist, books that are relatively new and actively
promoted, and their backlist, titles still in stock and available,
and which may even sell well, but which aren't promoted. The same
searching and results are allowed as with out of print titles. (By
the way, Amazon's special-order books program, launched at the same
time as the bookseller's overall store in 1995, was the first simple
way to obtain in-print books that weren't routinely stocked by
either bookstores or book distributors. Prior to Amazon, special
order books required time and effort on the part of a bookseller,
and were often regarded as a giant pain to fulfill.)
These three categories raise the question: what's covered under
copyright, anyway? I'm glad you asked.
**Copyright's Increasing Longevity** -- Copyright law in the United
States has been tweaked quite a bit since the right was granted in
the Constitution, and because of this, there's quite a bit of
complexity involved. The U.S. Copyright Office has a brief
explanation, as well as a more extended discussion of terms.
<http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.html#duration>
<http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15a.html#works>
If I can try to boil the discussion down for published works
copyrighted in the United States:
* Everything copyrighted - registered with the Copyright Office -
before 1922 is in the public domain.
* Nearly everything registered as under copyright starting in 1922 was
under copyright initially for a term of 28 years, which could be
renewed on the 28th anniversary through the Copyright Office for
another 28 years.
* Works registered starting 01-Jan-50 are grandfathered through a
variety of rules to extend their copyright with no renewal being
required. There are a lot of niceties involved, but this is the
general rule.
* Any work copyrighted from 01-Jan-78 on is under copyright protection
the moment it's created for the author's life plus 70 years, or for
95 years from publication for works owned by a company - so-called
"work for hire," in which a work was created by a statutorily
defined employee of a firm or institutions, or for which copyright
has been transferred by the individual or people involved to a
company. No registration is required, but it ensures both a proof of
ownership along with the maximum statutory damages (treble!) for
successful proof of violation. (Before the Sonny Bono Copyright Term
Extension Act of 1998, the duration was 50 years following death or
75 years for works for hire. This was also pejoratively known as the
Mickey Mouse Protection Act, because Mickey's appearance in
Steamboat Willie would have entered the public domain in 2000.)
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Bono_Copyright_Term_Extension_Act>
A lot more explanation, which I'll avoid here, is necessary for
rules surrounding other countries' copyright regulations prior to
general international agreement in the 1970s about copyright terms,
and rules in the United States for anonymous, pseudonymous, and
unpublished works.
If you read this carefully, you'll notice a gap. If a work was
registered starting in 1922 and before 1950, it would wind up in the
public domain if a renewal notice were not filed. It's unclear how
many hundreds of thousands or millions of works may have fallen into
that gap.
But you can see that there's a giant divide. Before 1922,
essentially everything. After 1922, nothing that anyone paid
attention to.
**Fair Use** -- Copyright law contains a giant set of exemptions that
are supposed to balance the U.S. Constitution's language against the
public good. Article 1, Section 8, states that Congress shall have
power "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by
securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive
Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."
Many arguments have been made about what limited times means -
Stanford law professor Larry Lessig argued the Sonny Bono Act all
the way to the Supreme Court - but the idea that copyright is
intended not solely for the benefit of "authors and inventors" but
for society as a whole should be undisputed. (If you've followed the
actions of the movie and recording industries, and legislative
efforts to support their actions, you might believe that copyright
is all about ownership, not public good.)
<http://www.lessig.org/blog/eldredcc/>
<http://wiki.lessig.org/index.php/Against_perpetual_copyright>
In that spirit, Congress defined exceptions to copyright, including
fair use, which have further been refined by practice and the
courts. There's a quadripartite test when a claimed fair use is
examined: the commercial nature or lack thereof; the kind of work
involved; the quantity of work used in relation to the original; the
effect on the market of the original work. The test doesn't require
every element to be met, but each part to be evaluated against the
whole. (You can read about this in more depth at the Copyright
Office.)
<http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html>
Google has argued that its efforts at scanning copyrighted books and
making them available for search with only snippets of results meet
the smell test: Google was making no specific commercial return on
its book search (in fact, investing tens of millions into its
library-scanning efforts with libraries), that the works were
intended for public distribution, that snippets were infinitesimal
parts of books, and that the search giant was stimulating demand for
the books it provided results against. Google provided links to
purchase the books, and could thus track sales, too.
The Authors Guild, among others, stated that simply the act of
creating electronic editions that were stored and distributed,
required permission from copyright holders, much less displaying the
results. With a little programming work, an interested party could
extract passages or entire books, too.
Without being a lawyer specializing in this area, I believe it was
and remains impossible to determine whether Google or its one-time
opponents would have prevailed. They clearly would have created a
new sub-area of law, either affirming, denying, or making far more
complicated the notion of whether creating and owning copies of
copyrighted works were de facto violations of the law.
But these one-time opponents are now at least somewhat supportive of
Google's efforts. What changed? Quite a lot, and in ways that all
parties, and we readers, stand to benefit.
**Out-of-Print Books and Book Rights Registry** -- The settlement
opens the way to allowing vastly improved availability of
in-copyright books by separating out-of-print and in-print books
into their respective categories, and collecting fees for all
snippet displays, page reading, and page printing.
Publishers, authors, and other copyright holders will be able to
opt-out of having out-of-print books included; by default, all
out-of-print books will be available, but parties can opt out. For
in-print books, those who own the rights will opt in. This allows
all of Google's existing partners to continue what they're doing,
and publishers to experiment by adding specific titles or simply
adding their entire catalogs.
If I read the settlement right, publishers who do not opt in to
allow in-print titles to be included by Google will simply have
their works removed if available or not added in the future. (A
complete set of links to resources can be found at the Authors Guild
site.)
<http://authorsguild.org/advocacy/articles/settlement-resources.html>
Where this agreement goes far beyond Google's current program,
making it a win for Google, is that Google will now be able to
provide not just snippet results, but entire pages or books (for
viewing and printing).
Google would collect the fees and pass them on to the Book Rights
Registry, which will be run by a board of authors and publishers,
and be founded with $34.5 million of a $125 million settlement that
Google has agreed to pay - without admitting that any of Google's
claims are invalid.
Authors and publishers win by suddenly having a mechanism to
disseminate electronic editions while collecting for per-snippet,
per-page viewing, and per-page printing. Google has agreed to a
63-37 split in favor of the copyright holder.
The public wins because the settlement calls for a free subscription
license for "designated" computers at all U.S. public and academic
libraries - a miserly 1 per public library building or either 1 per
4,000 or 1 per 10,000 students, depending on the institution type.
Google has also agreed to pay all printing royalty fees for 5 years
or up to $3 million, whichever comes first, for these qualifying
locations.
Other institutions can pay for overarching printing and reading
licenses, and public libraries can upgrade to fuller licenses, too.
Without knowing what these more extensive subscriptions cost, it's
hard to know whether public libraries will be able to afford them.
Wade Roush of Xconomy, from whose writing I learned about the limits
on free library access, is down on the whole deal, partly due to the
scale of free access and partly due to the default pricing that
Google will set on out-of-print, in-copyright books.
<http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2008/10/31/in-google-book-search-settlement-readers-lose/>
Anyone who researches a topic should benefit from the availability
of out-of-print works, as they comprise many millions of titles that
are rarely available in wide circulation. Ten libraries around the
world might have a particular book you need, but that doesn't mean
you can gain access to it.
Google has also agreed to pay legal fees, and at least $45 million
to copyright holders whose works were scanned before a certain date
connected to the lawsuit.
Now, of course, not all publishers or copyright holders are
represented by the parties involved, and some may choose to sue
separately in the future. The court might also require the parties
to appear in court, although courts prefer settlements.
The only fly in the ointment is that copyright holders of
out-of-print but in-copyright works are being de facto opted in to
having their works available by virtue of this settlement, even if
they're not party to it. That should fly, because most of these
creators or owners can get no value out of their works at present,
and few people complain about receiving additional compensation.
Further, the creation of a clearinghouse gives a kind of imprimatur,
allowing a party that represents authors and publishers to make sure
out-of-print works see life again.
There was the notable case in the music world of James Carter, a
former convict whose voice was recorded on a chain gang in 1959 by
pioneering folk music collector Alan Lomax. In 2002, the song he
sang, "Po' Lazarus," was used in the opening of the movie "O
Brother, Where Art Thou?" The soundtrack sold 4 million copies.
Carter, who left prison in 1967 and had led a quiet life since, was
tracked down after months of research by the Lomax archives, and
presented with a $20,000 check; he received $100,000 by his death in
2003.
<http://articles.latimes.com/2003/dec/08/local/me-carter8>
**Avoiding Collision with the Future** -- I'm a writer. I make my
living by sitting down and typing, as I am now. The notion of Google
appropriating my words without my permission or acknowledgment
always bothered me, even though I also accepted that there was a
fine chance that the company was operating within the legal
constraints of copyright law.
I similarly was troubled by the Authors Guild partnering with what
is often its natural enemy, the AAP, in trying to prevent Google
from related activities, some of which seemed to benefit me and
authors, and others of which did not. (For instance, the AAP at
times has suggested that public libraries should pay fees to
publishers when they lend works. While this is the case in EU
nations, authors generally don't believe that publishers would pass
along these fees to authors; that's separate from the seemingly
un-American idea that public libraries pay royalties!)
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directive_92/100/EEC>
This reconciliation doesn't solve all issues, but it makes it much
more likely that independent authors and publishers survive and even
thrive by providing a broader marketplace, while also providing
greater availability of human knowledge. While the ease of access to
publicly promulgated information, like Web pages, has increased,
trends seemed to suggest that books would go down the path that
movies are still taking and music is slowly escaping from: being
available only in highly restricted ways that interfere with
technological progress.
With this new agreement in place, it's possible that you could
publish a book, distribute it entirely through Google Book Search,
and earn some money - maybe even a lot of money if the book goes
viral - and bypass publishers entirely. That was the promise of the
Internet music, blog, and podcast revolutions, too. While it hasn't
come true for everyone, it's certain that many more voices are being
heard by many more people around the world. And that's a good thing.
TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 03-Nov-08
---------------------------------------------------------
by Doug McLean <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9833>
* Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.4 Update fixes a problem in
Entourage introduced in the recent 12.1.3 update where Exchange
accounts could not send or receive meeting invitations and
responses. Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.3 is required for the
update to work. It's available as a standalone download or by
choosing Check for Updates from the Help menu in any Office 2008
application. (Free update, 16 MB)
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx?pid=Mactopia_Office2008&fid=910BDFBE-8575-4F3A-AF07-8E61FD153650#viewer>
* iKey 2.3.1r2 from Script Software is the first major update to the
popular keyboard macro tool in a long time, after a new programmer
took over the code. Version 2.3 fixes a number of user interface
problems that cropped up when running in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard,
along with a Leopard-specific problem related to shortcuts that type
text. The subsequent 2.3.1 and 2.3.1r2 updates fix new issues that
caused problems in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. ($30 new, free update, 5.2
MB)
<http://www.scriptsoftware.com/ikey/>
* TextExpander 2.5 from SmileOnMyMac updates the typing shortcut
utility with several new features and some minor bug fixes. Added
features include customizable date and time math snippets - enabling
users to add or subtract years, months, days, hours, minutes, and
seconds from the current date and time. A new Internet productivity
snippet group includes AppleScript scripts that automatically
shorten URLs by utilizing online services such as TinyURL. And
finally, a Symbol snippet group adds the capability to enter
commonly used symbols such as copyright, trademark, euro, Command,
Option, and Control. Bug fixes are unspecified other than one that,
according to SmileOnMyMac's Web site, enables, "%- and %+ to abandon
or keep delimiter on a per-snippet basis." ($29.95 new, free update,
5.6 MB)
<http://www.smileonmymac.com/TextExpander/>
<http://tinyurl.com/>
* SpamSieve 2.7.2 from C-Command Software is the latest update to the
powerful Bayesian spam filtering software. Changes include improved
filter accuracy, enhanced performance, refined error reporting, a
training program bug fix that prevents the possibility of
interruption, and a break into two separate plug-ins for Apple Mail
- one for Mac OS X 10.4 and one for Mac OS X 10.5 and later - that
auto-install based on your version of Mac OS X. ($30 new, free
update, 5.6 MB)
<http://c-command.com/spamsieve/>
* Fission 1.6 from Rogue Amoeba updates the audio editor with several
new features and bug fixes. The most significant addition is the
MakeiPhoneRingtone feature that enables users to save any file, in
any format, as an iPhone ringtone. According to Rogue Amoeba's Web
site, other changes include "...the ability to Insert Silence into a
file, a command to set the exact location of the playhead, software
updates via Sparkle, and almost two dozen additional improvements
and bug fixes." To find the full list of changes in version 1.6,
from within the program go to Help > Fission Manual > Version
History. ($32 new, free update, 3.2 MB)
<http://www.rogueamoeba.com/fission/>
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/03-Nov-08
------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9841>
**syslogd CPU Hog** -- A reader notices syslogd is burning up his CPU
cycles, and others notice the same thing happening with other system
processes. Is Safari somehow the cause? (6 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2271>
**Python shells with Windows?** After a MacBook fails, a spare Dell
takes its place. But the reader can't figure out how to write Python
programs under Windows. 7 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2273>
**Adeona -- Lojack-Like Application** -- Trying a recommended
application for tracking a laptop thief ends in frustration due to
the lack of meaningful documentation. 1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2274>
**Take Control of Your 802.11n AirPort Extreme Network** -- Adam
clears some confusion regarding the title of the latest version of
Glenn Fleishman's AirPort ebook. 2 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2275>
**Authors and Publishers Settle with Google Book Search** -- Readers
discuss the implications of Google's settlement, both in terms of
practical upsides for authors and also serving the greater good. 2
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2277>
$$
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