StephenK

On March 13th, Google announced that its Reader application would disappear on July 1, 2013. Dan Seifert wrote at The Verge about the matter where it was indicated that Google is doing this as part of a regular service reduction exercise and that Google clims usage of Google Reader has declined. Chris Ziegler later noted at The Verge that this has generated some backlash.

Debian developer Richard Hartmann noted that this shows some of the dangers of relying solely on cloud services. Work is underway to bring the self-hosted reader Newsblur into the JuJu Charm Store for easy deployment to the Amazon Web Services public access cloud to have your own personal web-based RSS reader. The personal cloud platform ownCloud is available with an RSS reader mode added to the latest version. Ars Technica writer Casey Johnston speculates this closure is an attempt to make RSS reading social by moving it into Google+ perhaps.

The situation continues to develop especially as librarians like Michael Sauers explain how to migrate from Google Reader back to Bloglines.

READER’S DIGEST FILES BANKRUPTCY

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 18, 2013

DEVELOPING…

Bloomberg: Reader’s Digest Files Bankruptcy to Cut $465 Mln Debt

Colleen Flaherty reports at Inside Higher Ed that the Canadian Centre for Science and Education has hit Beall with a libel claim over his Beall’s List of Predatory Publishers 2013. This follows the recently recognized case of Dale Askey reported on by Library Journal, The Hamilton Spectator, Macleans, and Inside Higher Ed.

(h/t Glyn Moody)

Horrible Histories author Terry Deary has said libraries have had their day. Deary referred to libraries as being a Victorian idea that does not fit in contemporary times.

(h/t Public Libraries News)

[Tue Feb 05 22:39:03 +0000 2013] (x809) @nerdist HELP! Podcast listeners may lose your fave shows! Patent Troll is threatening PODCASTERS. Please spread, RT, @reddit: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/02/podcasting-community-faces-patent-troll-threat-eff-wants-help

It is not a good thing when I see an alert like this pop up from podcasting entrepreneur Chris Hardwick. Leo Laporte mentioned the same thing a few weeks ago. Apparently a patent troll is preparing to take on some podcasters with large audiences to the cleaners.

There always exists the threat of a patent troll, a very special form of litigant, suing you. Even if you are in the right, the thought of coping with the realities of the federal legal system for patent lawsuits is still an economic nightmare. In the Linux realm, the desire has been to move forward rather than to be paralyzed by fear of lawsuits whether righteous or not.

Leo Laporte has already stated that if the suits by the non-practicing entity Personal Audio against shows like the Adam Carolla Show and HowStuffWorks end up with Personal Audio winning in terms of patent infringement, it will be considered “game over” for the TWiT network as they will be forced by economic circumstances to shut down. From our perspective here, there would be no question of the need to shut down. We have operated without regular funding for far too long which leaves us with little resilience.

Case Omega remains the action plan for translating LISTen: An LISNews.org Program away from being an Internet-based program to more conventional means of distribution. Taking a Creative Commons license in concert with the ability to record radio airchecks allows us one means of distribution using perhaps more old-fashioned tactics. Our 2011 and 2012 drills on New Year’s Eve showed that on the production side we could carry such out.

We do not have a nest egg to sit on to be ready for adverse court decisions in a patent situation like this. With LISNews currently residing at ibiblio, I remain at a loss for good statistics to see where listeners are so that I can even begin to sound out suitable broadcasters for price quotes. The tools are there to react even if the patent trolling relative to podcasting itself goes in a bad direction. Provided funds could be raised, a change in manifestation can be executed within 30 days at a minimum.

Librarians are familiar with the notion of works having multiple manifestations. Since the launching of the Arab Spring, we have endeavored in production to ensure that we were not necessarily tied to any specific form of manifestation when it comes to producing works. As 2013 continues we may well have to flex the boundaries of information science as we seek support in continuing to provide service.

Nearing Case Omega’s Execution by Stephen Michael Kellat is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at http://archive.org/details/caseomega-execution.

This week’s episode talks about the ethics of information handling, promulgates a reading of a new open source license that could be used in LIS realm software projects, and provides a brief news miscellany.

Related links:

• Associated Press: Ohio judge weighs whether to keep rape trial open
• Reuters: Lawyer for accused Ohio rapist blames online group for notoriety
• copyleft-next
• The text of copyleft-next 0.1.0 as presented
• France24: France orders Twitter to identify racist users
• Scott Ott, a local Republican politician in eastern Pennsylvania
• PJ Tatler: Government-Approved Islam Books Coming to Library Near You
• British sociologist Dr. Tiffany Jenkins
• The Scotsman: Tiffany Jenkins — Libraries are on a slippery pole
• Censored Genius: Libraries, Chasing the 1%

Download here (MP3) (Ogg Vorbis) (Free Lossless Audio Codec), or subscribe to the podcast (MP3) to have episodes delivered to your media player. We suggest subscribing by way of a service like gpodder.net. Items that can be purchased to ameliorate our equipment damage can be acquired here via Amazon which would then be sent directly to us upon purchase.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/.

This week’s episode looks around the LISHost galaxy while looking at some ambiguous information in a speculative manner.

Related links:

• LISWire: Worch Memorial Public Library Joins COOL and Goes Live on Evergreen
• Pwnie Express: Pwn Plug Elite
• Wired: The Little White Box That Can Hack Your Network
• The Verge: Wikileaks claims Aaron Swartz was an ally and possible source, breaking anonymity
• CNET: WikiLeaks says Aaron Swartz may have been a ‘source’
• The Guardian: Libraries crisis set to get ‘much worse’ this year
• Galileo 0.012 released!

Download here (MP3) (Ogg Vorbis), or subscribe to the podcast (MP3) to have episodes delivered to your media player. We suggest subscribing by way of a service like gpodder.net. A way to send gifts of replacement hardware to Erie Looking Productions is available here via Amazon, as always.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/.

Chris Meadows at TeleRead referred to the recent suicide of Internet activist Aaron Swartz as a gross miscarriage of justice. Law professor Orin Kerr digs into the basis of the charges that were filed against Swartz while law professor Ann Althouse questions the end result of the situation while noting that something does not add up.

This week’s program deals with Wikipedia hoaxing, an Internet icon, and a miscellany of brief items.

Related links:

• The Daily Mail: The war that never was: Most elaborate Wikipedia hoax ever as 4,500 word article on ‘Bicholim Conflict’ – a fictitious fight for Goan independence – fooled site for FIVE YEARS
• Yahoo News: War is over: Imaginary ‘Bicholim Conflict’ page removed from Wikipedia after five years
• PC World: Fake Wikipedia entry on Bicholim Conflict finally deleted after five years
• The Register: Anger grows over the death of Aaron Swartz — Internet prodigy hounded to suicide claims family
• Althouse: "Prosecutor as bully."
• Threat Level: Aaron Swartz, Coder and Activist, Dead at 26
• EFF Deeplinks: Farewell to Aaron Swartz, an Extraordinary Hacker and Activist
• Reuters: Internet activist, programmer Aaron Swartz dead at 26
• BoingBoing: RIP, Aaron Swartz
• PCMag.com: Family of Aaron Swartz Blames U.S. Attorney’s Office in Statement
• Legal Insurrection: Sad irony in Aaron Swartz case
• Patterico’s Pontifications: EXCLUSIVE: Attorney for Aaron Swartz: Prosecutors’ Arguments Were “Disingenuous and Contrived”
• New York Times: Failing to Close the ‘Digital Divide’
• It’s Not About the Books: Mission creep – a 3D printer will not save your library
• PCMag.com: FCC Chairman Wants to Ease Wi-Fi Congestion
• The Verge: JSTOR begins offering free yet limited access to its online academic library
• Public Libraries News: Discovery, warmth, knowledge, dreams, welcoming … what’s your five words to describe public libraries?
• Voices for the Library: Concern over loss of Arts Council England Libraries post
• Megan McCardle: Is Barnes and Noble Next?

Download here (MP3) (Ogg Vorbis), or subscribe to the podcast (MP3) to have episodes delivered to your media player. We suggest subscribing by way of a service like gpodder.net. The list of hardware sought to replace our ever-increasing damage control report can be found here and can be directly purchased and sent to assist The Air Staff in rebuilding to a more normal operations capability.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/.

The News-Herald reports librarians claiming increased activity at their agencies in Ohio’s Lake and Geauga counties due to ebooks and ereaders as well as other technologies.