Amazon Backs Off Text-to-Speech Feature in Kindle:

The headline is a little misleading, it makes it look as if Amazon is going to cripple the Kindle 2. What they actually did is basically tell the industry to go fuck themselves, then suggested that they will add a flag to their content which will allow the content creators to disable the text-to-speech feature.

In other words, Amazon is not going to do anything about it (apart from patching the Kindle so it acts based on this flag), if you don’t like text-to-speech, you will have to resubmit your content marked with text-to-speech disabled.

What the industry doesn’t understand is that 9- days after this feature kicks in, they are going to put out a press release with a statistical breakdown of how much content is available for the Kindle, versus how much content has been marked with text-to-speech disabled. Something tells me most of it won’t be marked as such.

Then it’s going to get better: the Writer’s Guild original target was Amazon, this is why they made so much noise, they simply wanted money. But what is going to happen now is that if any author takes offense, they can’t sue Amazon. Amazon provided their due diligence in this issue and responded with the content flag, if the author is not happy, then he/she will have to take the fight to the publisher, and any lawsuits will be between writer and publisher.

Amazon walks away, smelling like a rose.

Evolution yields revolution: the Kindle 2 – Ars Technica

A while ago Karla had asked me to define for her some IT roles, including solution architect. I was trying to explain that programmers resent some (notice I say some, not all) of those fellows because there is a tendency to promise to the customer more than what we can produce, then the project is dumped on our laps and they walk away. Their responsibility ends there, so it is the programmer’s fault if the work isn’t done, not the architect’s (and sales) fault for selling a bill of goods.

That marketecture fellow is what a solutions architect and the business developer would look if rolled into one.

Here is the basic outline:

1. Echo gets an assignment.

2. The FBI dude spends the episode running around. He’ll probably get his ass kicked.

3. Doyle gets hurt at least once per episode. If he is hurt bad enough, it is OK that he starts the episode hurting and then finishes OK.

4. The nerd guy somehow screws up Echo’s programming.

5. Throw a coin: heads means one Deus-ex-Machina per episode. Tails means two. If the coin stands up, then you gotta add a Lost, 24 or Battlestar Galactica reference.

6. Echo gets into trouble.

7. Doyle may get hurt helping Echo.

8. Echo saves the day on odd-numbered episodes. The other doll helps her in even-numbered episodes. All bets are off during May sweeps.

That’s all you need to know. Now all you have to do is write one 5-minute scene for each of these 8 points, which gives you 40 minutes. Add the start and end credits, that gives you probably 42 minutes. Now it is up to FOX to sell the ads for the rest of the hour, or put some “Dollhouse will be back in 90 seconds” spots.

Yeah, Josh, kiss my ass.

Pirate Bay Witness’ Wife Overwhelmed With Flowers

Happy Anniversary gift from Harlequin Press:

The following Harlequin Press Kindle books are available for free for a limited time:

• Once a Cowboy by Linda Warren
• Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry
• Kiss Me Deadly by Michele Hauf
• Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch by B.J. Daniels
• Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson
• Baby Bonanza by Maureen Child
• Price of Passion by Susan Napier
• Homespun Bride by Jillian Hart

HULC Exoskeleton Promo Vid (via RegisterPagey)

This is pretty badass. All it needs is a swivel arm to hold a rifle in front of you as you march, so your arms don’t get tired from marching while keeping the rifle at a ready position.

Ian Hawthorn » Blog Archive » Happy Birthday Ian!

We wish you a very happy Terrible Two!!!

“What happens to all the stuff left inside a foreclosed house when the ex-owners jet? The bank contracts these guys to haul it all away in what is called a “trash out.” Here’s a short video following a crew of junk chuckers.”

Why Kindle 2′s Screen Took 12 Years and $150 Million