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Found on the Yahoogroups ebook mailing list...there are other articles that suggest ebooks might not be quite as dead as is thought.

I thought the real precedent for this was forcing websites to remove DeCSS links.

Correct link to the PW article about Gemstar purchasing Nuvomedia:

Later, when Gemstar (TV Guide?) inexplicably bought Nuvomedia / Rocket eBook my only thought was "are they crazy?"

About three years ago I got to check out the Nuvomedia and their "Rocket eBook" (as it was known then) at the BookExpo America. Sure the screen had above-average resolution, but the device itself was about the weight (and size/shape) of a brick.

Also, about the same time I was getting into AvantGo on my Visor (which I still use btw) so I asked the eBook rep what the Rocket eBook had that my Palm didn't. She couldn't give me a solid answer, besides "the screen is bigger" and "you can download books to it over the phone" (whoop-dee-doo). Then she would change the subject by playing goofy "South Park" sounds on the eBook's speaker (books need speakers). I saw her use the "SouthPark" technique, so there wasn't much there.

Interesting sidenote - it turned out the NYC ooffices of Nuvomedia / Rocket eBook were just two doors down from my (then) employer - so I was able to con them into loaning me one of the ebooks for a week (we were "thinking" about putting our web site's content on the eBook - but had no such plans because it turned out Nuvomedia was making its money by charging an arm and a leg to convert content to eBook format). Long story short - the device sat on my cubicle shelf for a week.

Later that year they released the eBook for sale nationwide - complete with a promient point-of-sale display at Barnes and Noble stores...but several months later sales were so low that they didn't even release the figures to the public.

Later, when Gemstar (TV Guide?) inexplicably bought Nuvomedia / Rocket eBook my only thought was "are they crazy." Obviously, some TV Guide bigwig decided that they need to get "in" on the digital media revolution, and the eBook was their ticket.

I still don't see a market for the eBook reader...not when we've got AvantGo and Plucker to fill up our Palms' memory. And now most Palm devices can play goofy South Park sounds too!

About three years ago I got to check out the Nuvomedia and their "Rocket eBook" (as it was known then) at the BookExpo America. Sure the screen had above-average resolution, but the device itself was about the weight (and size/shape) of a brick.

Also, about the same time I was getting into AvantGo on my Visor (which I still use btw) so I asked the eBook rep what the Rocket eBook had that my Palm didn't. She couldn't give me a solid answer, besides "the screen is bigger" and "you can download books to it over the phone" (whoop-dee-doo). Then she would change the subject by playing goofy "South Park" sounds on the eBook's speaker (books need speakers). I saw her use the "SouthPark" technique, so there wasn't much there.

Interesting sidenote - it turned out the NYC ooffices of Nuvomedia / Rocket eBook were just two doors down from my (then) employer - so I was able to con them into loaning me one of the ebooks for a week (we were "thinking" about putting our web site's content on the eBook - but had no such plans because it turned out Nuvomedia was making its money by charging an arm and a leg to convert content to eBook format). Long story short - the device sat on my cubicle shelf for a week.

Later that year they released the eBook for sale nationwide - complete with a promient point-of-sale display at Barnes and Noble stores...but several months later sales were so low that they didn't even release the figures to the public.

Later, when Gemstar (TV Guide?) inexplicably bought Nuvomedia / Rocket eBook my only thought was "are they crazy." Obviously, some TV Guide bigwig decided that they need to get "in" on the digital media revolution, and the eBook was their ticket.

I still don't see a market for the eBook reader...not when we've got AvantGo and Plucker to fill up our Palms' memory. And now most Palm devices can play goofy South Park sounds too!

I really don't understand why the AG has the right to sue on a consumer's behalf. Why can't those businesses effected by the huge amounts of spam sue the companies directly for eating up all their bandwidth? I'm not sure we need another law here to deal with spam. If the AG sues on someone's behalf, where does the money go?

I take the personal position that there doesn't need to be any new laws for dealing with the Internet, all the old laws still apply. Government is far more evil and powerful than all the spammers combined, and if we let them regulate this one aspect of the Internet (spam), they're going to see that as permission to run around and regulate everything else too (.kid anyone?).

I might sound paranoid, but I really think this timid, politically-correct legislation is a springboard for a more heavily regulated Internet.

they can and they do. Those that actually care, anyway. Unfortunately there's a lot of librarians in my profession who are quite happy to comply with the FBI.

So how's that affecting Dover's business (Dover produces no new titles, apart from original translations of non-copyrighted work)? They're booming.

Heck, with those sort of results, Dover ought to be providing financial support for PG (or at least releasing edited/translated titles into the public domain). Though I guess I'll settle for that nice brief they filed in Eldred's behalf.

Slight disclaimer here, Dover was bought by a big printing company that's really helped them with distribution (just came back from the beach and all the little bookstores there were well-stocked with Dover thrifts), but every other publisher on the planet has seen sales fall, while Dover's sales, since the acquisition, have grown tremendously.