independence

Amazon has reached a settlement with the Independent Publishers Group over sales of the e-book versions of the nearly 5,000 titles distributed by IPG.

In February, Amazon stopped selling digital versions of titles distributed by IPG, which represents more than 500 publishers, owing to a disagreement about terms. As The Wall Street Journal points out in its report (subscription required), publishing terms cover such things as wholesale pricing, payment requirements, and marketing.

The Journal paraphrases an unnamed source as saying that IPG's terms, in February, were not as good as those from rival distributors. But IPG's president … Read more

Sure, the future of gaming may see the end of used games, but it's also ushering in a wave of independent and download-only titles that may not have otherwise seen the light of day.

Current-generation consoles have provided independent studios with accessible platforms like Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) and the PlayStation Network (PSN) that exposes their work to millions of gamers, similar to what the App Store has done for iOS developers.

Microsoft has even taken it a step further with its XNA initiative, ensuring that literally anyone can create a game.

The widespread embrace of these titles has encouraged others to follow suit and has paved the way for indie classics like Braid, LIMBO, Bastion, Minecraft, and most recently, Journey.… Read more

Google is nixing the reseller program that falls within the Google Books platform -- effectively cutting off an additional revenue stream (and possible lifeline) for independent booksellers.

Scott Dougall, director of product management and digital publishing at Google, explained on the Google Book Search blog that based on results to-date, "it's clear that the reseller program has not met the needs of many readers or booksellers."

This change will help us focus on building the best ebooks experience we can across hundreds of devices with millions of books. Books will continue to be a major content pillar … Read more

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Hard ball by Amazon or simply part of the normal warp and woof of business? Probably a bit of both.

The Independent Publishers Group says Amazon has decided not to renew an agreement to resell electronic titles offered by the book distributor's client publishers in an apparent dispute over wholesale discounts on books. About 5,000 Kindle titles will be affected, though the print editions of the books remain available for sale on Amazon.

The group's president, Mark Suchomel, said in an interview that Amazon "wanted better margins" suggesting this was part of a pressure campaign … Read more

Independence Day is coming on July 4th, and that means people will be getting together to light fireworks or watch fireworks shows, and--perhaps most importantly--cook great food.

Though this might seem early with the 4th of July more than a week away, we wanted to make sure everybody had time to figure out their menus and get their supplies ready before the mad rush to the grocery stores. With these apps, you can start planning for the perfect Independence Day feast.

This week's app collection is all about cooking apps for iOS. The first lets you browse recipes from famous chefs on the Food Network; the second gives you a giant database of recipes and cooking guidance for any time of year; and the third is perfect for planning and cooking outdoors on the barbecue.… Read more

Openfilm, a new Web site and online hub for independent filmmakers, hopes to combine social-media technology with streaming video, online conferences, and other resources to bring like-minded created types together from around the world.

It's backed by Scott Caan, star of the TV series "Hawaii Five-O" and "Entourage." As a director and indie filmmaker himself, he's the advocate of non-studio features, shorts, online movies, and other Hollywood outsider products. To kick off hype for the new site this past week, Scott participated in a live streaming conference at the LA Film School hosted by … Read more

A majority of American voters wants the FCC to keep its hands off the Internet.

At least, that was the finding of new survey results released this week by polling firm Rasmussen Reports.

Among the 1,000 "likely U.S. voters" questioned, only 21 percent said they'd be in favor of the Federal Communication Commission regulating the Internet. A majority 54 percent said they're opposed to government control of the Net, while 25 percent were left undecided.

Rasumussen conducted its survey on December 26, just a few days after the FCC unveiled new regulations that would … Read more

A recent frenzy of storage acquisitions--with 3PAR going to HP, Isilon to EMC, and now Compellent to Dell--brings storage full-circle. Your next enterprise storage purchase? Almost guaranteed to be from a leviathan.

One of the once-amazing changes in the computer business was the birth of independent storage vendors. For decades there've been a few odd after-market and third-party storage vendors. But they were mere pilot fish congregating around the truly big, important swimmers: systems vendors. When you bought storage, it generally came from the same company that made your computer. That was the natural order.

But in the 1990s, … Read more