cooling on ebooks

I was never one to jump on any "ebooks are evil" bandwagon. I was also never one to insist a person choose between one format or the other (print vs. ebook.) I saw both as tools in the arsenal. eBooks had some value. Less expensive. Physical eReaders (not eReader apps on tablets or computers) are easy to carry around and hold. My tired eyes were thankful for font adjustment, or choosing an ebook because the print font was ridiculously small. And lots of out-of-print books coming back in eBook form.

But there was always that little voice that reminded me, "You don't own eBooks. You buy access to the eBook. It can be pulled at any time."  So, really, what it means is you're renting the eBook. If you're lucky, in most cases, it's a one-time fee and an open-ended rental. I never really saw it as much of an issue.

Until last week.

Everyone thought it would be Amazon.

It was Dark Horse.

I had a period--when I first bought an iPad--where I binge purchased digital comics through various sales. I fell off that eventually, and my son bogarted the iPad. Flash-forward a few years, and my son hasn't been using the iPad as much. I had access the other night. Side quest: I was going to watch the new HELLBOY: The Crooked Man movie. I knew the film was based on a comic. I couldn't recall which digital HELLBOY issues I had acquired. I went to check.

And this greeted me;

Dark Horse are done managing their digital library. Hey, I get it if it's too much work and no returns. And, in future, they will offer digital comics through other platforms.

But what does that mean now? It means, the Dark Horse no longer supports their app. Their library is no longer accessible. If you want to read your comics, you needed to download them all already. And just leave it all on your tablet.

They will also keep a website browser live--but that is also end-of-life, probably at the end of summer.

In their write-up, if you clicked over the FAQ (which I did) one of the prominent questions was;

"Don't I own my digital Dark Horse comics?"

"No, you don't. See Terms & Agreements."

So, there you have it. eBook access revoked. Digital Dark Horse personal library gone.

Now, I am far less eager to add anything else to my Kindle library--even $1 sales.

Team Barbarian-Luddite

I've got some real tech fatigue of late.

I'm becoming more and more of a Luddite, in the historic sense. I am not against the technology, I am against many ways it is being (mis-)used. Mainly, because too many people want to make a fast buck, or more money than they ever need, and they are too lazy to put in the work.

Avarice is an ugly beast.

It isn't a matter of "genie out of the bottle" or "opening Pandora's box." Those are supposed to be rare moments in advancement. There are too many genie bottles, and Pandora has a pallet full of boxes, and they are unleashing on a weekly basis.

Strip mining Africa for lithium, "AI" shoved in everywhere (and it is far from being ready for the world where it is rolling out,) and AI farms consuming ridiculous amount of resources (including water!) for what? So kids can cheat at school and let the machines write their papers?

And the abhorrent greedy behavior that comes with it. We don't need a board of certified medical experts to make insurance decisions--we'll feed that information into an "AI" engine! Oops. It seems to baseline to 90% denials. OK. That works for us!

Let's ripoff artists and writers and musicians or other creatives by using their art on our AI training without any compensation! (Because, we all know how rich that business can make you! What do you mean not every author makes Stephen King money?!)

All that misuse is feeding into my dwindling positive tech attitude, even when the tech is applied appropriately.

For Christmas--due to some family miscommunication--we were gifted two birdcam feeders. These seem like a neat idea. For a nature enthusiast like me, it would appear perfect. Smart camera right in the feeder. Super up-close high definition images. The feathers! The beaks! The plumage!

I followed the instructions. The feeder camera sends images over the wifi. (I don't think you can dump them manually as with my trail cam.) So, first, we need to place the feeder close to the house where we can't view the feeder itself from inside. More to the point, as soon as I hooked the camera to our wifi, we experienced wifi outages. I suspect the feeder was dragging the network.

I turned off the feeder cam. I reset the router. It could have been coincidence. Maybe our provider had issues. Maybe the router needed a flush. I'd rather not risk trying another hookup.

I realized that at this point, I can't be bothered. Those feeders would be another thing to manage. (beyond filling them with food.) I have enough in my personal life already that feels like I'm a manager who needs a secretary. (you know--teenagers and pets.)

I've reached tech overload.

I am recalling those letter exchanges between H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. Civilization versus barbarism.

 I am feeling very team Barbarian-Luddite currently.

(Yes. You can point out the irony of complaining on the Internet about out-of-control technology. I am whining on my blog, not social media, at least.)   (image courtesy of Effin' Birds)

Mobile improvement

I was over at Adventures Fantastic via my iPhone the other day, and was surprised when the page popped up mobile ready - meaning, it displayed in a way that played 'nice' when viewing from the iPhone.

I found the Blogger setting. Under Settings->Email & Mobile, if you choose "Yes" on the Mobile Template, your blog will be much more easily read when viewed from a mobile phone. It does not affect viewing from the web browser on a computer.

I wonder which display it would use when viewed from an iPad?

Anyway - if you're on Blogger, you might want to change your setting to help out those accessing from mobile devices.

I've made the flip on mine - which you won't notice unless you're viewing from a mobile device, obviously.