Tag: Department of Justice

DOJ Rules Against Apple in Anti-Trust Suit, Improved Google Maps App & iOS 7 Upgrade Changes

Linda Reimer

DOJ Rules Against Apple in Anti-Trust Suit: The U.S. Department of Justice has ruled against Apple in the DOJ v. Apple anti-trust suit that alleged that Apple colluded with several major U.S. publishers in 2010 to force the number 1 seller of e-books in the U.S., Amazon, to accept what is called an Agency Model of pricing e-books. The term Agency Model basically means that publishers set the price of all their e-books instead of the e-book sellers and thus all e-book sellers that wish to sell e-books by publishers using the Agency Model must charge consumers whatever price the publishers set for their e-books to be allowed to sell them.

The DOJ has stated during the case that the Agency Model was adopted by Apple and five of the largest publishers in the U.S.* (all of the so-called Big Six publishers sans Random House) in response to Amazon undercutting other e-book sellers and in fact frequently selling e-books for a loss in order to sell more of its exceptionally popular Kindle e-readers. And indeed just after the Agency Model was implemented prices of most new e-books listed on Amazon went up a couple of dollars each, generally from $9.99 to $12.99, seeming just about overnight and just at the same time Apple was unveiling its first generation iPad which of course allowed iPad purchasers to buy e-books through Apple’s iBooks Store via the Agency Model pricing.

Apple spokesmen still insist they did nothing wrong in negotiation with publishers and agreeing to use the Agency Model to sell e-books via the iBooks Store and have said they will appeal the verdict which probably will translate into the case going before the Supreme Court.

So I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of this case!

Here’s a link to a Reuters article on the subject, titled Judge rules Apple conspired to raise prices on e-books, which offers more information on the subject:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/10/us-apple-ebooks-idUSBRE9690GE20130710

And another article on the same subject from the New York Times titled “Judge Rules Against Apple in E-Books Trial”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/technology/judge-rules-against-apple-in-e-books-trial.html?ref=technology&_r=0

Improved Google Maps App: New York Times Tech guru David Pogue offers an article today on the new and improved Google Maps app for Android and iOS (Apple) devices. The new apps offer a speedier performance and better information on places – in fact Pogue glowingly notes of the improved apps that “Half the time, you don’t even need navigation instructions; you just use Google Maps as the world’s smartest Yellow Pages, to find a nearby restaurant, movie theater, drugstore or whatever;” and I think Pogue’s recommendation just about sums it up! If you’ve got an app device Google Maps is an indispensable tool!

Here’s a link to the Pogue column on the New York Times site:

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/an-improved-google-maps-app-for-apple-and-android-devices/?ref=technology

iOS 7 Upgrade Changes: Every so often I say something about versions of iOS or Android and someone says to me – “What does that mean?”—and basically what the terms iOS and Android refer to is the stuff that makes the smartphones or tablets produced by Apple and a variety of Android tablet and smartphone makers, including Google, run. So an iOS upgrade means that Apple has, or as in this case is going to, improve the running system (aka mobile operating system) of its iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch models. And Apple usually unveils some neat extra bells and whistles functions – some extra icing on the cake if you will – with their upgrades so this fall when Apple upgrades its mobile iOS software to iOS 7 you should find some new features and a new look for your mobile Apple devices. The new Apple iOS is supposed to appear to have a flat type of more modern look than previous iOS versions and today word came that Apple is also changing the default text font for their mobile devices to Helvetica Neue from Helvetica Light so that too will make iPhones and iPads displays look just a bit different this fall!

Here’s a link to a CNET article on the subject titled “iOS 7 swaps skinny font for thicker one in typographic U-turn;”

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/software/ios-7-swaps-skinny-font-for-thicker-one-in-typographic-u-turn-50011685/

And a second link to a Mashable video on the subject that offers a broader scope of information titled “Apple Releases iOS 7 Beta 3 and Other News You Need to Know:”

http://mashable.com/2013/07/09/apple-ios7-brief/

 

Have a great day!

Linda R.

*All the publishers settled the DOJ charges out of court before the anti-trust trial began.

References

Chen, Brian., & Bosman, Julie. (2013, July 10). Judge Rules Against Apple in E-Books Trial. New York Times. Online. Accessed July 10, 2013.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/technology/judge-rules-against-apple-in-e-books-trial.html?ref=technology&_r=0

Pogue, David. (2013, July 10). A Better Google Maps App for Apple and Android Devices. New York Times. Online. Accessed July 10, 2013.

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/an-improved-google-maps-app-for-apple-and-android-devices/?ref=technology

Raymond, Nate., & Stempel, Jonathan. (2013, July 10). Judge rules Apple conspired to raise prices on e-books. Reuters. Online. Accessed July 10, 2013. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/10/us-apple-ebooks-idUSBRE9690GE20130710

Schroeder, Stan. (2013, July 9). Apple Releases iOS 7 Beta 3 and Other News You Need to Know. Mashable. Online. Accessed July 10, 2013. http://mashable.com/2013/07/09/apple-ios7-brief/

High Tech Glasses For The Visually Impaired, Update On The DOJ v. Apple E-Book Case, Amazon Brings Back Kindle DX, Cornell’s New Technology School & Librarian & Blogger David Lee King’s Tale On A Recent E-Book Conference

Linda Reimer

Wow talk about your tech news for the day! The cool tech articles I came across today were many! And the ones I selected to highlight on this blog discuss new high tech Google Glass-like eye glasses that will allow the visually impaired to read, an update on the Department of Justice v. Apple e-book anti-trust case, the fact that Amazon has at least for now brought back their 9.7” e-ink Kindle DX, Cornell’s got a new high tech technology school and Librarian and Blogger David Lee King offers his input on a recent e-book conference he attended that had publishers’ representatives, OverDrive staff (OverDrive is a library e-book vendor) and librarian professionals on hand.

High Tech Glasses For The Visually Impaired: A new Israeli company called OrCam has developed a pair of high tech eye glasses that will scan and read aloud text that the wearer passes in front of the glasses — allowing people that have macular degeneration or other vision impaired conditions to be able to essential have a narrator read things for them where every they go!

The New York Times offers an article on OrCam and the new high tech glasses titled “Device From Israeli Start-Up Gives the Visually Impaired a Way to Read:”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/science/israeli-start-up-gives-visually-impaired-a-way-to-read.html?ref=technology&_r=0

Update On The DOJ v. Apple E-Book Case: Reuters reports that the alleged alliance between Apple and five of the largest publishers in the U.S. was not a harmonious one and that there is evidence that Apple and the publishers were trying to force the media giant and e-book seller Amazon to accept publisher’s prices for e-books. Here is a link to a that Reuter’s article which offers a more in-depth report on the case so far:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/06/us-apple-ebooks-trial-idUSBRE95500U20130606

Amazon Brings Back Kindle DX: The tech site The Verge reports that Amazon’s Kindle DX which hasn’t been seen listed on the Amazon site for sale since last fall – is back! The Kindle DX is the 9.7” e-ink e-reader – so it is the same size as an iPad but features the e-ink technology so you can read an e-book on the DX outside – at the lake, at the beach or just in your back yard and there won’t be any glare from the screen as there is with a e-reading devices that has a color screen. The Kindle DX sells for $299.

And here’s a link to The Verge article itself titled “Amazon brings back long dormant Kindle DX, says it’s ‘excited’ to do so;”

http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/5/4399144/amazon-brings-back-long-dormant-kindle-dx

Cornell’s New Technology School: Cornell which won New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s contest to create a great new science & technology school has done so! The new school which is located on New York City’s Roosevelt Island is a huge space donated by Google for the project that is filled with cutting edge technology. The school which offers a one year master’s degree in computer science opened earlier this year and had eight students enrolled in its beta program this term. The school gives us a glance at what computer science schools of the future may be like.

Here’s a link to a New York Times article on the school titled “Building a Better Tech School” which offers more information on the subject:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/education/edlife/cornell-nyc-tech-planned-for-roosevelt-island-starts-up-in-chelsea.html?ref=technology

Librarian & Blogger David Lee King’s Take On A Recent E-Book Conference: Librarian and blogger David Lee King recently attended and e-book conference that featured representatives from major publishers in the U.S., from the library e-book vendors in the U.S. (namely OverDrive which is the vendor used by the Southern Tier Library System) and library professionals. David Lee paints a picture of publisher representatives that don’t seem to have been in a public library since they went to school and are under the mistaken impression that it is easy for patrons to download their e-books and keep them forever – which is not the case! Here’s the link to the David Lee King posting (from his blog) which is titled “Ebooks in Libraries – #BEA2013:”

http://www.davidleeking.com/2013/06/06/ebooks-in-libraries-bea2013/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+davidleeking+%28David+Lee+King%29#.UbD1Fec4vTo

And a link to an article he recommended titled “BEA Panel Suggests Publishers Still Clueless about Library E-Books and Piracy:”

http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/bea-panel-suggests-publishers-still-clueless-about-library-e-books-and-piracy/

And on a completely un-tech related note if by any chance there are any veterans who fought on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, who read this article today – hats off to you for helping free Europe from Nazi control and thus keeping our world a free one. Thank you!

Have a great day!

Linda R.

References

Markoff, John. (2013, June 3). Device From Israeli Start-Up Gives the Visually Impaired a Way to Read. New York Times. Online. Accessed June 6, 2013.

Meadows, Chris. (2013, June 4). BEA Panel Suggests Publishers Still Clueless about Library E-Books and Piracy. Teleread. Online. Accessed June 6, 2013.

Perez-Pena, Richard. (2013, April 13). Building a Better Tech School. The New York Times. Online. Accessed June 6, 2013.

Raymond, Nate. (2013, June 5). Publishers gave Amazon “ultimatum” over e-book pricing: executive. Reuters. Online. Accessed June 6, 2013.

Robertson, Adi. (2013, June 5). Amazon brings back long dormant Kindle DX, says it’s ‘excited’ to do so. The Verge. Online. Accessed June 6, 2013.