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Daily Archives: March 30, 2014

Commentary – How Copyright Laws Keep E-Books Locked Up

The Digital Paradox: How Copyright Laws Keep E-Books Locked Up By Hilmar Schmundt

“…In many cases, it is the readers themselves who, through their taxes, pay the university authors whose studies they are then unable to access. It is also likely that many professors themselves cannot even afford a subscription to the journal in which their work is published. Subscription rates of up to €15,000 ($20,633) per year are hardly a rarity. The Journal of Comparative Neurology, for example, comes with a price tag of more than €20,000 annually. Authors who publish their works in such a journal usually don’t see a single cent for their labors. Publishing companies such as Reed Elsevier, by contrast, regularly achieve pre-tax profit margins of over 25 percent. “Publishers of scientific journals make so much money because they collect their product for free from taxpayers and then sell it back at inflated prices,” says Günter M. Ziegler, a distinguished mathematician at Berlin’s Free University. Until two years ago, Ziegler was the co-publisher of two mathematics journals at Reed Elsevier. Then he joined a boycott that has since attracted the support of 14,000 others. He is now working for an academic journal that is available to everyone on the Internet according to open access principles. Elsevier says that the conflict has more to do with a misunderstanding than a conflict of interests.”

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Issues Fifth Report

“The Working Group II contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report considers the vulnerability and exposure of human and natural systems, the observed impacts and future risks of climate change, and the potential for and limits to adaptation. The chapters of the report assess risks and opportunities for societies, economies, and ecosystems around the world. Climate… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – 3D Printing: The Manufactory of Knowledge

Via LLRX.com – 3D Printing: The Manufactory of Knowledge – Ken Strutin’s article addresses the increasing use and impact, social and legal, of the emerging and high visibility technology known as 3D printing. The technology’s use in a wide range of sectors – including education, manufacturing, firearms, robotics and medical devices, as well as in the home – is… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – DHS Asset Forfeiture, Spectrum Management

DHS ASSET FORFEITURE: Additional Actions Could Help Strengthen Controls over Equitable Sharing, GAO-14-318:Published: Mar 28, 2014. Publicly Released: Mar 28, 2014: “From fiscal years 2003 through 2013, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components that participate in the Treasury Forfeiture Fund—U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and… Continue Reading

CoreBrand’s Top 100 Most Powerful Brands 2014

“The CoreBrand Top 100 Most Powerful Brands Rankings is a showcase for the brand image data we have been continuously collecting for decades in our Corporate Branding Index® (CBI). The Top 100 Most Powerful Brands Rankings provide a market-view evaluation of brand strength regardless of industry affiliation. They allow us to use a single measure to compare… Continue Reading

EFF – Reforming Terms of Service: Microsoft Changes Its Policy on Access to User Data

News release: “Last week we wrote about initial news reports that Microsoft had searched and disclosed the contents of a blogger’s Hotmail account as part of an internal investigation into the alleged theft of Microsoft source code and other trade secrets. Since then, EFF has been in touch with Microsoft to discuss our objections to the company’s… Continue Reading

Senate Staff Report Details Target’s Missed Opportunities to Stop Massive Data Breach

“Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV released a staff report titled, “A ‘Kill Chain’ Analysis of the 2013 Target Data Breach.” The report details how Target possibly failed to take advantage of several opportunities to prevent the massive data breach in 2013 when cyber criminals stole the financial and personal information of as many as… Continue Reading

A nationwide poll of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans

A legacy of pain and pride – A nationwide poll of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans reveals the profound and enduring effects of war on the 2.6 million who have served: “More than half of the 2.6 million Americans dispatched to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan struggle with physical or mental health problems stemming from their service,… Continue Reading