Harper Collins
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Hitting the Books: We'd likely have to liquidate Jupiter to build a Dyson Sphere around the Sun
In "The Possibility of Life," science journalist Jaime Green examines humanity's intriguing history of looking to the stars and finding ourselves reflected in them.
Hitting the Books: How a radio telescope cost this West Virginia town its modernity
The Quiet Zone, by journalist Stephen Kurczy, is the story of a sleepy small town that hosts the Green Bank radio telescope. But the presence of this scientific installation comes at a terrible price.
Hitting the Books: The correct way to make coffee, according to science
The best part of waking up is, of course, hot bean juice in your cup.
Hitting the Books: How NASA selected the first Lunar Rover to scoot across the moon
In his latest book, Across the Airless Wilds, journalist Earl Swift, examines the oft ignored Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions, our last trips to the Moon's surface.
Hitting the Books: The 'symphony' of Fourier transformations that first imaged a black hole
In 2019, Dr. Heino Falcke led an international team of astronomers on an epic quest to capture images of a black hole. Light in the Darkness is a meditation on those efforts, exploring the nature of black holes through the technological, scientific, philosophical and spiritual.
Hitting the Books: How NASA survived the Reagan era 'Dark Ages'
The US has not always led from the front when it comes to interplanetary exploration.
Reuters: Apple, Amazon e-book battle in EU nearing a conclusion
Source have told Reuters that EU regulators are going to accept an offer by Apple and four publishers to end antitrust investigations into their e-book pricing schemes. This result essentially cedes a victory to Amazon, which will be able to sell online books for less than its competitors. Apple, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Hachette Livre, and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck apparently made their proposal in September. They'll let retailers set their own prices and/or discounts for two years, and will suspend controversial "most-favored nations" clauses for five years. "Most-favored nations" clauses prevent publishers from making deals with competitors like Amazon to sell e-books for less than what Apple will charge. While the European Commission hasn't publicly commented on the proposed settlement, it's likely to accept the offer and make an announcement in December.
States reach $69 million settlement with three publishers in e-book price fixing case
When the US Department of Justice sued Apple and five major book publishers over alleged e-book price rigging, it immediately became clear that a few of these companies would do just about anything to avoid trial. That same day, three of the publishers -- HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette -- elected to settle with the DoJ. Now, those same three publishers have reached an agreement in 49 states (all but Minnesota), wherein consumers will receive a combined $69 million in compensation. Specifically, the payout applies to people who bought agency-priced e-books between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012. Interestingly, the payout includes folks who bought e-books from Macmillan and Penguin, even though those two publishers aren't settling. As for making sure people get paid, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google, Sony, Apple and Kobo have agreed to identify and contact affected customers. According to ABC News, most of these retailers will give customers the option of receiving a check or a credit toward future purchases. Sony, meanwhile, will automatically issue checks, while Google will direct customers to an online submission form where they can file a claim. Whatever the method, payments are expected to begin 30 days after the settlement is approved. The DoJ settlement, which is separate from the agreement with the 49 states, is still awaiting clearance.
Three iPad giveaways in three days: day one, courtesy of Wonders of the Universe!
The response has been absolutely amazing since we began our regular series of giveaways two months ago. As a way of showing our gratitude -- not to mention the fact that these contests aren't going away anytime soon -- we're offering up three new iPads over the next three days! That's right, you'll have the chance to win one of Apple's latest tablets each day through Friday. Let's meet our first contestant. We have a 16GB WiFi-only iPad up for grabs, courtesy of HarperCollins and its new app called "Wonders of the Universe." The astronomy app was designed for iOS5 and takes full advantage of the new iPad's Retina display. It essentially combines seven programs into one, offering a visual experience that lets you explore the Universe from subatomic levels all the way up to full galaxies. So read the rules, leave a comment and you've successfully entered to win for the first day! But you'll need to come back tomorrow and Friday if you want to take a shot at the other two.
Apple and major publishers investigated for e-book price fixing in Europe
The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into some of the world's largest publishers following a series of unannounced inspections back in March. Hachette Libre, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin and the German owner of Macmillan are all suspected of "anti-competitive practices" in the way they've sold e-books in Europe, "possibly with the help of Apple." Read on for the full press release.
WSJ: Apple wants e-books to be $12.99 or $14.99 for hardcover best sellers
Here's a little price snippet on Apple's e-book plans, care of an eleventh hour Wall Street Journal piece. According to the article, the gang in Cupertino is asking book publishers (HarperCollins was specifically cited) to set the price point for digital versions of hardcover bestsellers at either $12.99 or $14.00, "with fewer titles offered at $9.99." The publisher apparently has the option to set its own price, but at any rate, Apple's taking the usual 30% cut from each sale -- a $14.99 novel would thus leave about $10.49 for the publisher. Nothing else to glean from this other than a rather strongly-phrased assertion that tomorrow's tablet has a 10-inch touchscreen, but no indication on where that's coming from. These prices would put Apple's selection at a premium compared with Amazon and its Kindle store, but perhaps it'll also be bypassing any rumored digital delay on new works -- question is, if Apple really is entering the e-book business and bringing with it higher prices, will it let us import our digital books purchased from other stores? What say you, Mr. McGraw?
Report: Harper Collins, Apple negotiating tablet deal
The Wall Street Journal is reporting this morning that Apple is in talks with Harper Collins regarding ebooks for the new tablet. They suggest that the publisher will set the prices of the books with Apple taking a cut, in similar fashion to the 30/70 split currently in place for the App Store (but percentages not determined). The most interesting line notes that the ebooks "...will have added features." Back in December, HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray noted that "...e-books enhanced with video, author interviews and social-networking applications" were a possibility. Just watch this demo from Sports Illustrated to get an idea of the potential. While consumers love the über-cheap prices being offered on the Kindle and the Nook, publishers would undoubtedly like to bump them up a little. These additional features will serve both the consumer and the publisher: Shoppers get a more interesting ebook experience, wrapped in Apple style, while publishers receive a bigger payday. The Wall Street Journal notes that other publishers have been talking with Apple without offering any additional details. Now that we have a firm date for the tablet's introduction (probably, maybe) the rumors are going to swirl ever faster. Hold on to your seats. [Via Engadget]
WSJ: Apple and HarperCollins negotiating e-book deal for tablet
Here's the skinny from The Wall Street Journal: major publishing company HarperCollins is in talks with Apple about bringing e-books to the oft-rumored, still-unconfirmed tablet that's expected to be the focus of its January 27th event. The article also states that other publishing companies have been in talks with Cupertino HQ. That jibes with what we've heard through the grapevine, specifically with Time Inc. property Sports Illustrated, and fits comfortably well with the New York Times conjecture from earlier today. E-book readers are all the rage these days, but like we said just after CES, we'd wager the future of the medium integrated into slates to provide rich, color multimedia presentations. Seems someone might be sharing in our perspective, but of course, this is just one of many, many, many Apple rumors we expect to see in the buildup to next week.
HarperCollins now also thumbing nose at e-book industry with digital delay
Joining Simon & Schuster and Hachette Book Group (Stephanie Meyer, James Patterson) in delaying e-books months after their hardcover releases? HarperCollins, home to Neil Gaiman and the Lemony Snicket series. Beginning in 2010, five to ten books released each month will be given a physical head start lasting anywhere from four weeks to six months. Similar justification as before, the prevailing worry is that the cheaper digital copies so early in a title's release will make for "fewer literary choices for customers" because publishers won't be as willing to take a risk on new writers. It's not necessarily the most sound of arguments, but still we can imagine some short term harm to the e-book industry. Question is, how long can these arbitrary delays last? [Thanks, Joe]
