Reflecting on Project...

One of my concerns as of now is that I cannot seem to find a completely relevant source from JSTOR for my project, let alone two. I did find one that I am reading through which might possibly have some sort of connection in terms of the Digital Rights Management (DRM) of ebook reading software, however, so far it does not seem to mention specifics. In other words, I am not positive if I will be able to connect it to the Kindle specifically or not. I did find another source (not from JSTOR) that I bookmarked today discussing the terms of DRM on the Amazon Kindle, however, I am confusing myself as to whether or not the Kindle has always or does now allow readers to basically share their purchased (or licensed) books with their friends through multiple Kindles.

A second concern I have is locating sources sufficiently expressing the ideas of the future of physical books, authors, publishers, libraries, etc. I assume that this project is mainly based on facts, and therefore I am not sure whether or not I can really focus on the future of these groups. I feel as though I may need to try narrowing my focus further.

Trailer yet again.....

I didn't realize that music plays when you visit my page. I'm pretty sure that it is somehow coming from YouTube when I uploaded my trailer. I had tried putting a link to YouTube instead, but that didn't work. So if you want to view my trailer, please just wait a minute and the music will stop! Sorry for the inconvenience!!

Annotated Bibliographies

Brantley, Peter. "Introduction: Homes for Good (Orphan) Books." Library Trends. Vol. 57.1 Summer 2008: 1-7. Web. Accessed on 22 Feb. 2010.

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1. This article discusses the fact that books have become yet another small portion of the overwhelming content available on the Internet during the twenty-first century. It touches on the worries publishers, authors and scholars. In addition, it brings into account the issue of books that are out of print or that the copyright is in question.

2. I believe this article is very useful in that it actually seems to be bringing forth the idea of including libraries in this growing digital world.

3. I feel as though I could use this source as a way to put a positive note on the idea of this growing digital world. Although it still does not necessarily shed light on to the idea of the future of the physical book, it does point out a way to help those "orphan" books as it refers to.

Buchanan, Matt. "Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader Locked Up: Why Your Books Are No Longer Yours." GIZMODO. 21 March 2008. Web. Accessed on 08 Feb. 2010.
http://gizmodo.com/369235/amazon-kindle-and-sony-reader-locked-up-why-your-books-are-no-longer-yours.

1. This article discusses the fact that the "first sale" doctrine that applies to physical books, CDs, and DVDs does not apply to the e-books that people "buy" on the Kindle. Basically, it states that you cannot really allow someone to borrow your "books" on the Kindle. If you wanted to sell your "book" you would have to sell the actual media where you have stored the "original" download.

2. This article is useful in that it brings further insight into what one might be getting into when buying a Kindle. It also displays the original, legal summary of the doctrine and additional facts.

3. I plan to use this source as a means of begining my "investigation" of the future for books. In other words, how might people react to not being able to borrow his/her friends' books who own Kindles and not the hard copies? Will they decide to buy a Kindle of their own, or simply buy the hard copy themselves. Their decisions could potentially display a pattern as to where both the Kindle and the physical books are headed.

Doctorow, Cory. "Authors have lost the plot in Kindle battle." guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Limited. 31 March 2009. Web. Accessed on 02 Feb. 2010.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/mar/31/cory-doctorow-kindle.

1. Cory Doctorow discusses the Authors Guild's claim concerning copywright infringement. They claimed that "only the rightsholder could authorise an 'audiobook adaptation' of a book." The article deals with the Kindle's text-to-speech synthesiser.

2. This is a useful source, because it takes into account the legal aspect of the Kindle.

3. I believe I will be able to use this source to incorporate a different type of perspective, exploring the legal issues that authors and publishers must deal with when allowing their books to be published and bought on the Kindle. In addition, Doctorow discusses what he thinks the Authors Guild should do, rather than claiming copywright infringement. With this section of the article, I can also explore the possible shortcomings of the Kindle pertaining to the people who purchase the device.

Epstein, Jason. "The End of the Gutenberg Era." Library Trends. Vol. 57.1 Summer 2008: 8- 16. Web. Accessed on 22 Feb. 2010.

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1. This article begins by discussing the negative impacts that the growing technologies of digitization and the Internet could inevitably have on the book publishing industry. However, Epstein also states that "digitization and the Internet have made the Gutenberg system obsolete but not the printed book (9)."

2. This article is useful, because it mentions different examples, such as the Library of America (a nonprofit enterprise to publish in permanent editions the works of American writers), of how some people are in fact trying to help the future of books.

3. I will be able to use this source to discuss how certain developments have been and are being made to help the future of books, authors, publishers, etc.

Epstein, Jason and Dane Neller. On Demand Books. 2004. Web. Accessed on 24 Feb. 2010.

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1. The focus of this website is on the Espresso Book Machine (EBM). This machine, being called "the ATM of books," can be used in order to print books that are actually out of print. It provides information on how the machine works, the locations in which an EBM can be found, and the history of On Demand Books itself.

2. This site is useful because, without having to search for a machine to view in person, it provides a great deal of information in understanding how the machine works and the benefits of it, both of which are also provided in a brochure linked to the website.

3. I believe I could use the information provided by this source as a type of counter argument to where my project was originally headed. This way I will be able to provide two sides, instead of simply any biased opinion I might have had. With this information, I could discuss how this invention could in fact help libraries, bookstores and even self-publishing authors.

Epstein, Jason. "The Rattle of Pebbles." The New York Review of Books. Vol. 47.7 27 April 2000. Web. Accessed on 24 Feb. 2010.

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Fister, Barbara. "Trade Publishing: A Report from the Front." The Johns Hopkins University Press. 2001. Web. Accessed on 24 Feb. 2010.

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Wyatt, Edward. "Electronic Device Stirs Unease at Book Fair." TimesPeople. The New York Times Company. 02 June 2008. Web. Accessed on 08 Feb. 2010.
www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/books/02bea.html.

1. This article talks about the sales of the Kindle and the decline in traffic at the BookExpo America compared to previous years. It discusses the fact that publishing executives have worries concerning the development of this technology and at the same time mentions that the device has also gained fans in the publishing industry.

2. This article is useful, because it touches on authors and publishers' views on the matter.

3. Therefore, I may be able to take into account yet another perspective.

This source will also allow me to further look into the idea of the fate of the physical book.

Kindle Trailer

Finally worked!! (I hope!)

The Multimedia Author

In the most general sense, a multimedia author seems to be a person who simply either writes an original work or creates an original version of a compilation of various works while using some type of medium other than paper and pencil. For example, a multimedia author could be someone who creates a video on YouTube, writes a blog on this very website, or even videos twenty-five people singing the vocal track from a CD of a famous singer and displays those videos on plasma displays.

Although I am not sure I would agree on labeling someone who writes a text message or creates a status on Twitter a multimedia author, I do respect Candice Breitz's version of multimedia authorship, whether she chose to be labled that or not. I think it is a very interesting idea to actually look into the lives that various artists have touched simply by having those people sing songs of the artists they love.

The claim on authorship, or basically receiving a copywright for one's work so that it or any part of it cannot be copied, seems to be growing more and more essential as technology and the idea of the multimedia author grows. With every knew medium that is created and improved upon, more and more people are able to simply take pieces of others' works and mold it into what they want it to be. Therefore, I believe Lessig is right in saying that "no artist works in a vacuum." And that "every artist reflects - consciously or not - on what has come before."

It is completely understandable for an author and/or artist to want their works to be copywrighted. However, I am not sure if it is always necessarily a bad thing if someone wishes to take a piece of that author's and/or artist's work and use it in their own creative way. Who knows, they could end up using that piece of work in a way in which that author/artist never thought of before. For example, in poetry, it is sometimes very useful to see your own creative line or entire stanza displayed in a completely different manner.

Draft Preview/Trailer

This is definitely a very rough draft of my trailer. I was having a hard time getting text to import into my video. Also, I could not find a sound clip long enough to play throughout the trailer. I might end up having to simply repeat the clip a second time, however, I was not able to do that for the draft. It is very, very simple right now, but I hope to add more to make it much better. However, I just realized that the video apparently did not even load at all.