Kindle Review

OSV Daily Take

OSV Daily Take Description:

From the staff of Our Sunday Visitor Catholic publishers, a blog that gives the Catholic take on the issues and news of today.

Kindle blogs are fully downloaded onto your Kindle so you can read them even when you’re not wirelessly connected. And unlike RSS readers which often only provide headlines, blogs on Kindle give you full text content and images, and are updated wirelessly throughout the day.
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Flash! Collated by British Library: Is copyright a help or hindrance?

The British Library is a venerable institution, but it is also cutting edge in looking at the digital world.

Today, they sent out an important document.  They are careful to say that they didn’t write it, but they did collate it and it does have their name on it.

It’s a collection of essays from researchers, looking at the issue of British copyright.

Bottom line: should it be changed? 

There are key issues here, some that we also have to consider in the US.

I do think we’ll see some revisions in US copyright, and in worldwide copyright.  One issue is that of “orphan works”.  Those are books (and other works) that are still under copyright, but have no one to speak for them.  We have many books in the US that are in a 95-year copyright term.  If could be that the author has died without descendants.  In that case, the book could not be made into an e-book (for example) until that term expired.  You have to negotiate those rights with the rightsholders, and in that case, there is no one with whom to negotiate.

Our system is quite complicated compared to other countries.  For some titles, you have to look at whether it was published with an appropriate copyright notice, whether it was renewed properly, and so on.  I think we may see that simplified at some point by forgiving display and renewal issues…but requiring publication to avoid orphan work status.

We should be looking at those issues here, in the US, as the digital world transforms publishing and intellectual property rights.

In England, they are seriously examining the issues…which may enable them to lead in this rapidly changing area.

Driving UK Research (pdf)

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Huffington Post

Huffington Post Description:

Created by progressive syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington and media executive Kenneth Lerer, this blog also features regular commentary from Harry Shearer and John Conyers who write about politics, journalism, business and entertainment. Celebrities are also frequent contributors, with a roster that includes Bill Maher.

Kindle blogs are fully downloaded onto your Kindle so you can read them even when you’re not wirelessly connected. And unlike RSS readers which often only provide headlines, blogs on Kindle contain full text content and images, and are updated wirelessly throughout the day.
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Diariocritico

Diariocritico Description:

Diariocritico de la Comunitat Valenciana es el periódico en línea más grande en Valencia, la tercera ciudad mas grande de España. Publicando la noticias de última hora sin interrupción desde 1998. Recibe las noticias de última hora, opinión, metro, política, negocios, deportes y entretenimiento relacionados con la Comunidad Valenciana.

La edición de Kindle de Diariocritico contiene artículos publicados en la edición impresa, pero no incluirá todas las imágenes y ni tablas. Texto a voz está diseñado para texto en idioma Inglés. Utilizar la función de texto a voz con otros idiomas puede resultar en pronunciación incorrecta. Para su conveniencia, las ediciones se envían automáticamente de forma inalámbrica a tu Kindle a partir de las 00:30 hora local de Valencia.

Diariocritico de la Comunitat Valenciana is the largest online newspaper in Valencia, Spain’s third largest city. It has published up to the minute news continuously since 1998. Get breaking news, opinion, metro, politics, business, sports and entertainment related to Valencian Community.

The Kindle Edition of Diariocritico contains articles found in the print edition, but will not include all images and tables. Text-to-Speech is intended for English-language text. Using text-to-speech with other languages may result in improper pronunciation. For your convenience, issues are automatically delivered wirelessly to your Kindle starting at 12:30 AM Valencia local time.

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In July 1969, Buzz Aldrin became the second man to walk on the moon. He recently took a trip with President Obama to Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL, where Obama revealed the details of his new strategy for NASA and the future of U.S. spaceflight. The two men have one common goal for the country’s space program: reaching Mars by the mid 2030s. Technology Review recently discussed this with Aldrin himself. The following is a sample:

TR: What should NASA focus on instead [of the moon]?

Buzz Aldrin: The objective should be a permanent presence on Mars by 2035. That’s 66 years after Neil Armstrong and I first landed on the moon, and our landing was 66 years after the Wright brothers’ first flight. Mars is clearly the best permanent-residence location other than Earth, and we can go there in case somebody or something blows up Earth. We will have a place that ensures the survival of human race. That means humans who go there commit to staying–one-way tickets will be technically easier and less expensive and get us there sooner.

Aldrin also addresses how getting to Mars by 2035 is possible. Read this article and more–start your 14-day free trial today or buy the current issue for .99.

Amazon Kindle’s Blog

The Prince – Original Version Translated To English – For Kindle

The Prince – Original Version Translated To English – For Kindle Description:

The original political book. All about power and how to get it and wield it.

The views expounded by Machiavelli in The Prince may seem extreme even for the time period in which they were written. However, his whole life was spent in Florence at a time of continuous political conflict. Accordingly, Machiavelli emphasizes the need for stability in a prince’s principality; at stake is its preservation.

The theories expressed in The Prince describe methods that an aspiring prince can use to acquire the throne, or an existing prince can use to maintain his reign. According to Machiavelli, the greatest moral good is a virtuous and stable state, and actions to protect the country are therefore justified even if they are cruel.Machiavelli strongly suggests, however, that the prince must not be hated. He states, “…a wise prince should establish himself on that which is his own control and not in that of others; he must endeavor to avoid hatred, as is noted.”

The opening discourse of The Prince defines effective methods of governing in several types of principalities (for example, newly acquired vs. hereditary). Machiavelli explains to the reader, the “Magnificent Lorenzo de’ Medici”, member of the Florentine Medici family, the best ways to acquire, maintain, and protect a state. The methods described therein have the general theme of acquiring necessary ends by any means.

The Prince examines the acquisition, perpetuation, and use of political power in the western world. Machiavelli wrote The Prince to prove his proficiency in the art of the state, offering advice on how a prince might gain and keep power.

Machiavelli justified rule by force rather than by law. Accordingly, The Prince seems to justify a number of actions done solely to perpetuate power. It is a classic study of power—its acquisition, expansion, and effective use.
When Lorenzo de’ Medici seized control of the Florentine Republic in 1512, he summarily fired the Secretary to the Second Chancery of the Signoria and set in motion a fundamental change in the way we think about politics. The person who held the aforementioned office with the tongue-twisting title was none other than Niccolò Machiavelli, who, suddenly finding himself out of a job after 14 years of patriotic service, followed the career trajectory of many modern politicians into punditry. Unable to become an on-air political analyst for a television network, he only wrote a book. But what a book The Prince is. Its essential contribution to modern political thought lies in Machiavelli’s assertion of the then revolutionary idea that theological and moral imperatives have no place in the political arena. “It must be understood,” Machiavelli avers, “that a prince … cannot observe all of those virtues for which men are reputed good, because it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state.” With just a little imagination, readers can discern parallels between a 16th-century principality and a 20th-century presidency. –Tim Hogan
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