Morning Coffee – 12 September 2021

Here are a few stories to read this Monday morning. Amazon has announced several software updates coming to the Kindle.  Librarians are talking about replacing the Dewey System. It’s not just that he was a racist and anti-Semite, but also that Dewey has structural flaws in its classification system.  There’s a hack for Kobo ereaders which lets...

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Morning Coffee – 23 August 2021

Here are a few stories to read this morning. Amazon is shutting down its 3G network soon, so doesn’t that mean they also have to stop charging ebook delivery fees? If you’re looking for your next read, LitHub has a list of recommendations based on the hobby you took up during the pandemic.  Kristin Nelson shares 14 reasons why being an agent is...

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Amazon is About to Shut Down Their Excuse for Charging Kindle eBook Delivery Fees

In a few short months Amazon will no longer have an excuse to charge ebook delivery fees. Now would be a good time to tell them to stop. Early in 2010 Amazon responded to the imminent launch of iBooks by offering new payment terms to indie authors. Self-published books had been in the Kindle Store since it launched in November 2007, but most of those...

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Monday Morning Coffee – 6 September 2021

Here are a few stories to read this Monday morning. Japan struck the first blow against the Apple content tax.  iOS apps will soon be able to link to an external website so users can set up or manage an account. It turns out the AAP was wrong; Maryland’s library ebook law does not necessarily run afoul of fed’l copyright law.  An opinion paper (PDF)...

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Monday Morning Coffee – 30 August 2021

Here are a few stories to read this morning. Authors are suing Audible over the liberal returns policy.  In addition to ending fines, librarians are also working to get cops out of libraries.  Speaking of which, did you know that libraries have to take steps to protect themselves from copyright lawsuits over reader comments and reviews?  The pandemic...

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Monday Morning Coffee – 16 August 2021

Here are a few stories to read this Monday morning. Beware resurrected tech companies; you don’t always know who raised the zombie, or why.  LitHub delves into the ABA’s embarrassing gaffes last month.  It may be 2021, but there are still schools teaching lies about slavery. And that is merely the most obvious of falsehoods which are still taught...

Aug 2021

Beware Resurrected Tech Companies

A few weeks back I warned you about using a branded email address on important accounts such as Amazon. One of my concerns was that scammers, hackers, or other criminal types might misuse your old domain. A couple days ago I found the perfect example of how that can happen, and why you need to be careful. To make a long story short, someone has re-registered...

Aug 2021

Morning Coffee – 8 August 2021

Here are a few stories to read this Sunday morning. As the EFF shows in detail, the automated content filters just don’t work.  The 9.7″ Pocketbook Inkpad lite is launching this fall.  Here’s some good news for those in my line of work: BookFunnel now offers team logins (this lets authors give techs and VAs access without handing over your username...

Aug 2021

Morning Coffee – 1 August 2021

Here are a few stories to read this morning. Time spent reading rose by 21% in the second half of 2021.  BookFunnel is now letting you brand your ebook download pages with your domain.  After 14 years, Amazon is shutting down the Kindle’s 3G connectivity in December.  It would seem mall Santas spend the off-season in Key West as Ernest Hemingway...

Aug 2021

Branded Email Addresses, And How Not to Use Them

Many marketing experts will tell you that you should get your own domain and set up a branded email (MyName@MySite.com, for example). And they are right; many people see having a branded email as a sign of professionalism, and use it to decide who they want to do business with. That is a good marketing and branding tip, but here’s a tech and security...

Jul 2021