Bringing a snazzy new gadget to market that does all sorts of whizzy bang things isn't that easy, not least because of all the other people who need to stick their oar in.
Like the Kindle 2. Now I'm not an auto-fan of this new gadget, but I do appreciate what it's trying to do. It may not float my boat, but if I were to get one, I'd want it to do all the whizzy bang things you'd expect of a new gadget.
Which is why it gets my goat when 3rd parties get precious and find a reason to block a gadgets functionality.
Like when the N95 came out and Vodafone and Orange started getting all uppity about the WiFi, the Authors Guild is getting uppity about the text-to-speech functionality of the Kindle 2. Ideal for those with impaired vision, text-to-speech isn't new; it's when the computerised voice reads what's on the screen to you. And the Author's Guild thinks that's taking revenues from audio-book rights (which are usually bought separately, and worth a fair whack). Now, the Kindle 2 is good. It's text-to-speech is pretty good. But come on...comparable with an audio book?
Artificial intelligence must be coming on in leaps and bounds. Apparently computers are now trained actors, able to give the performance of their lives and keep an audience rapt for hours.
Get off your high horse Authors Guild, let me have fun with my new toy and let those who need that feature benefit from it.
The patent truth
12 years ago
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