Date: 09/20/2004 01:25 PM
From: Ted Bush (tbush@yahoo.com)
Subject: Free Content Still Sells
The Baen Free Library has put many books online for free, especially the first novel of a series, in the expectation/hope that people will like the first enough for more ("Free Content Still Sells," Sept. 20, 2004). I believe Baen Books is finding this to be the case. I know I would not have read any of the books the publisher put out (the cover art tended to put me off) and have since purchased many of Baen's titles after discovering a series/writer I enjoyed. Some purchases were paperbacks, most were e-books (read on my Clie NX80).
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Date: 09/20/2004 07:08 AM
From: Henry Melton (hmelton@mac.com)
Subject: Saving the Artistic Orphans
This is a highly spun article praising organized pirates for their attempt to steal copyright-protected works from people like me ("Saving the Artistic Orphans," Sept. 20, 2004). They declare a work "orphaned" without notifying the true owner. "Oh, it's just too hard for me to track down the owner. All I want to do is make a database of other people's work to sell." It's self-serving thievery.
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Date: 09/21/2004 09:20 AM
From: Tom Schmidt (tomschmidt1@mac.com)
Subject: TB May Be Global Threat Again
The developed economies have a history of neglect when it comes to the problems of the Third World such as genocide and disease. But as your story ("TB May Be Global Threat Again" Sept. 19, 2004) illustrates, this neglect has consequences, not just for people in "remote places," but for everyone on the planet.
We neglect the AIDS epidemic in the Third World, and the disease and its attending illnesses mutate and flourish "over there." Then a new strain of TB emerges that is resistant to known treatments and to which the entire world is vulnerable. It's a kind of karmic justice.
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Date: 09/21/2004 02:16 AM
From: emily (e.nd@mac.com)
Subject: Back to School and Gaming, Kids
Just wanted to say that this was an interesting article but I thought it was a bit over the top ("Back to School and Gaming, Kids," Sept. 19, 2004). Do youngsters ever really think about whether they are being marketed anything, whether that comes in game form or not? Perhaps it's different in the United Kingdom, but certainly when the ads come on for various toys, all the kids see are the toys, not the fact that they are being targeted by marketers. The same goes for these games.
I think, however, that you're right to point out who the actual advertisers are -- McDonald's marketing to young kids is far more dangerous than a toy company looking to tap into a kid's pester power. But then surely isn't that the responsibility of the government?
Just thought I'd add my tuppence.
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