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"Essential reading for any writer who wants to have any chance of understanding what's going on - and who perhaps wants tohelp shape the future." -- Writer's News January 2009
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Hailed by Bruce Sterling as 'a political activist, gizmo freak, junk collector, programmer, entrepreneur, and all-around Renaissance geek', the Internet's favourite high-tech culture maven is celebrated with the first collection of his infamous articles, essays, and polemics. Irreverently championing free speech and universal access to information - even if it's just a free download of the newest Britney Spears MP3 - he leads off with a mutinous talk given at Microsoft on digital rights management, insisting that they stop treating their customers as criminals.Readers will discover how America chose Happy Meal toys over copyright, why Facebook is taking a faceplant, how the Internet is basically just a giant Xerox machine, why Wikipedia is a poor cousin of "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy", and how to enjoy free e-books. Practising what he preaches, all of the author's books, including this one, are simultaneously released in print and on the Internet under Creative Commons licenses that encourage their reuse and sharing. He argues persuasively that this practice has considerably increased his sales by enlisting readers to promote his work. Accessible to geeks and non-techies alike, this is a timely collection from an author who effortlessly surfs the zeitgeist while always generating his own wave.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Content, is a new book by Cory Doctorow filled with small essays. Essays ranging from 2 to 10-15 pages in length, so they are quickly read but still takes some time to digest because of the depth. Cory knows his stuff and it really shows. The book includes the now infamous DRM talk at Microsoft. Not that they have learned much from it it seems :) And a lot of other good stuff, including stories on how he deals with copyright in an internet age using Creative Commons.
The good thing about the short stories is that they are easy to go through, so I found myself just wanting to read one more. The bad side of putting that many short stories in there is that the stories can be a little tiring when many of them are about the same subject.
The good thing about the short stories is that they are easy to go through, so I found myself just wanting to read one more. The bad side of putting that many short stories in there is that the stories can be a little tiring when many of them are about the same subject.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Covers a range of interesting ideas, but is often repetitious in this coverage: a consequence of this title being the accumulation of previously published pieces. However, it remains a readable and broadly ranging introduction to a terrain that is highly pertinent to the legal wars being fought around ownership of ideas in contemporary society.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Cory's book is a great resource on DRM and copyright problems.
20 Oct 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've read or seen most of the material in this book online and am a big fan of Cory's work. I thought this would be a great resource to have instead of a bunch of print outs or bookmarks. Cory Doctorow has some of the best thought out arguments against DRM and for digital freedoms, pointing out tons of interesting historical examples along the way. Great read!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Great overview of Doctorow's non-fiction work
19 Sep 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Excellent way for someone relatively new to Cory's non-fiction to come up to speed quickly. A great overview of his thoughts on copyright, the Internet, and society. And even if you're a dyed-in-the-wool True Fan (like me), you'll probably find something new, and you'll definitely enjoy having the essays collected in one place. His Microsoft DRM essay is included, which is a favorite of mine. Well worth picking up if you have any interest whatsoever in topics like the future of copyright, media and the Internet, etc.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
DRM rants
11 Sep 2008
Format:Paperback
Most of this collection of "rants" is about the stupidity of DRM for digital content. The rants are both witty and have a seriousness that befits this topic. Unlike most authors, Doctorow actually has "skin in the game" and puts his money where his mouth is by offering free digital versions of many of his books. His argument that paper books are not the same as digital ones, each having different features that meet different needs is very persuasive. However, we should be very careful of extending this argument to other media, like music, where this distinction is not clear at all.
The only issue I have with this collection is that it is a little repetitive, some rants being just reworkings of other ones.
Overall, a good, quick read, offering a fairly simplistic take on DRM in an amusing style.
The only issue I have with this collection is that it is a little repetitive, some rants being just reworkings of other ones.
Overall, a good, quick read, offering a fairly simplistic take on DRM in an amusing style.
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