Link Smorgasbord, July 1 - 7

First glimpse of the cover of Neil Gaiman's new Sandman comic
Time again to use that 'Gaiman' tag.  I am very excited about the new Sandman comics, I may have to set up a comic pull again for this.  The Sandman is what got me into comic books years ago (and then I discovered comics by Warren Ellis and Allen Moore).

Miracles of miracles! WIPO passes the treaty for the blind!
"By all accounts, however, when the treaty goes into effect, nations with exceptions for the disabled will be able to share accessible content across borders.  Libraries will be considered “authorized agencies” that can make accessible copies without the prior permission of the rights holder."
Also: Miracle In Marrakesh: “Historic” Treaty For Visually Impaired Agreed 

Humble eBook Bundle 2
Some awesome books (that I happen to own across a variety of formats already) are up at Humble Bundle.  The ebooks are DRM free, you pay what you want, the money is split between the authors and charity.  A few of the books are reserved as rewards for giving more than the average donation.  The total bundle is only 6 books right now, but based on my experience with the first one, more books are likely to be added in and you will get access to those if they are added after you donate.

Raffle: Win a set of Before Watchmen
Because who doesn't love free special editions?  If you follow the link I get an extra entry in the raffle and it does ask to sign you up for a newsletter that I really like but is easy to unsubscribe to.

As Competition Wanes, Amazon Cuts Back Discounts
Cue my surprised face.  Oh damn, I guess I'm not all that surprised, but then again I've had my history of issues with Amazon so I would be pessimistic towards them.

The Price of Amazon
A post that asks what is the "real" price of a book, taken from observing the changing price point for titles on Amazon.

How Copyright Makes Books and Music Disappear (and How Secondary Liability Rules Help Resurrect Old Songs)
Abstract: A random sample of new books for sale on Amazon.com shows three times more books initially published in the 1850’s are for sale than new books from the 1950’s. Why? This paper presents new data on how copyright seems to make works disappear. First, a random sample of 2300 new books for sale on Amazon.com is analyzed along with a random sample of 2000 songs available on new DVD’s. Copyright status correlates highly with absence from the Amazon shelf. Together with publishing business models, copyright law seems to stifle distribution and access. On page 15, a newly updated version of a now well-known chart tells this story most vividly. Second, the availability on YouTube of songs that reached number one on the U.S., French, and Brazilian pop charts from 1930-60 is analyzed in terms of the identity of the uploader, type of upload, number of views, date of upload, and monetization status. An analysis of the data demonstrates that the DMCA safe harbor system as applied to YouTube helps maintain some level of access to old songs by allowing those possessing copies (primarily infringers) to communicate relatively costlessly with copyright owners to satisfy the market of potential listeners.

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