authors guild
Slideshow: Text to speech in Kindle 2.
Submitted by Manon Ress on 8. April 2009 - 14:19On April 7, 2009, the Reading Rights Coalition held a demonstration in front of the Authors Guild in New York City, to protest the Guild's opposition to the text-to-speech feature in Amazon's Kindle 2 e-book reader.
Notes from the protest: People vs Authors Guild on Kindle 2 text to speech
Submitted by Manon Ress on 8. April 2009 - 8:36The following is my report from the April 7, 2009 Reading Rights Coalition demonstration in front of the NYC offices of the Authors Guild, regarding text to speech for Kindle 2.
Abraham Lloyd on the Kindle2/Authors Guild demo in NYC
Submitted by James Love on 7. April 2009 - 13:10I am in Montreal right now, and missed the Right Rights Coalition demonstration at the Authors Guild. Manon, Judit and Malini from our office are in NYC at the demonstration, and said it was incredibly moving. Several people at the protest sent reports by tweeter. The most complete was probably Abraham Lloyd. This was his account, with the Tweets organized from his first to last.
Some ideas for the Authors Guild
Submitted by James Love on 6. April 2009 - 7:11The Authors Guild is claiming text to speech functions in software programs and e-book readers violate their copyrights, and should be turned off unless they are paid more for the extra functionality. Obviously the geniuses among the Authors Guild are on to something. There are many similar areas of functionality to be exploited by the Authors Guild. Here are some thoughts on how the Guild might squeeze more money from readers, if they want to expand upon their new anti-consumer business strategy:
Growing Opposition to the Authors’ Guild Request to Remove Text-to-Speech on Kindle2
Submitted by Manon Ress on 31. March 2009 - 10:36The groups below represent 15 million Americans who cannot read print because of blindness, dyslexia, spinal cord injury and other print disabilities. Reading disabled persons affected by the Authors’ Guild request to remove the text to speech function on Kindle 2 include school children, the elderly, professionals, university students, returning veterans, and yes, your neighbors, family members and friends.
KEI Statement on Authors Guild attack on Kindle 2 synthetic speech functions
Submitted by James Love on 26. March 2009 - 22:38The Authors Guild is pressuring Amazon to modify the Kindle 2 so that the synthetic speech function can only be used with the express authorization of the owner of the copyright of a work. A coalition of organizations that represent or work with persons with reading disabilities is organizing a protest to persuade the Guild to change its position. KEI supports the protest, and makes this statement on the Kindle 2 issue:
