penguin

Penguin settles state e-book pricing suits for $75M

Penguin has agreed to pay $75 million to settle e-book pricing lawsuits filed by many states and private class plaintiffs, bringing an end to the long-running complaints in the U.S.

The settlement would resolve claims filed by 33 state attorneys general against Penguin, as well as class-action lawsuits filed by consumers who alleged the company's behavior violated unfair competition laws and caused consumers to overpay for e-books.

Along with the $75 million in damages, Penguin also agreed to pay costs and fees related to the claims and abide by the same "injunctive relief" as in its … Read more

Penguin reaches pact with EU to end e-book price-fixing probe

Penguin has vowed to change its pricing strategy for digital books, including terminating an e-book pricing pact with Apple, to resolve an antitrust probe by the European Union.

As part of the deal, Penguin has agreed to terminate existing agency agreements -- those pacts that allow a publisher, not a retailer, to set prices -- and will refrain from adopting "most favored nation" pricing clauses for five years. Those had prevented retailers such as Amazon from undercutting Apple's e-book prices.

If Penguin does enter into new agency agreements, retailers would be free to set the retail price … Read more

Spy-camera robot penguins infiltrate bird colonies

James Bond and robotic spy-camera penguins have a lot in common. They both wear tuxedos and they both sneak into precarious places to do spy work. The robot penguins were unleashed by John Downer Productions for an up-close BBC documentary look at penguin life.

"Penguins: Spy in the Huddle" documents nearly a year hanging out with penguins through the surrogate eyes of 50 different spycams. Some of the spycams were disguised as chunks of snow or small boulders, but the most adorable cameras were those in the guise of robotic penguins.… Read more

Penguin settles DOJ lawsuit over alleged e-book price-fixing

Penguin has become the latest book publisher to settle federal charges of e-book price-fixing, leaving only Apple and Macmillan to fight the Justice Department allegations.

In an antitrust lawsuit filed in April, federal prosecutors accused Apple and five book publishers of conspiring to artificially hike prices. The same day, the Justice Department announced it had reached settlements with three publishers but said Apple and the other two publishers had opted to fight the charges. Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group, News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishers, and Simon & Schuster (owned by CBS, which publishes CNET) agreed to settle.

Penguin added … Read more

Penguin looks to Los Angeles, Cleveland to expand e-book lending

Penguin Publishing is loosening its grip a bit in the e-book-lending market.

The company will announce today that it is expanding its e-book lending program to Los Angeles and Cleveland, The New York Times reported. Penguin launched an e-book-lending service to New York public libraries in September. The success of that program has prompted it to expand elsewhere.

Penguin is still keeping a tight hold on its e-books. According to the Times, Penguin sells e-books to public libraries six months after their launch. The e-books can only be lent to one person at a time. At the end of a … Read more

The 404 1,126: Where we've got a Batman hangover (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode starring Jeff Sussman from TheBatSignal Podcast:

- "Dark Knight Rises" Blu-Ray extras likely to include deleted Bane origin sequence.

- Top 10 things you may have missed in "The Dark Knight Rises." Our favorite is the Robin "R" insignia that pops up in the stadium.

- The politics of "The Dark Knight Rises"

- Batman is a reformer and humanist in "The Dark Knight Rises," not an avatar for right-wing fears.

- 12 Gotham newspaper headlines during "The Dark Knight Rises."

- … Read more

Google Maps visits Antarctica's snowy landscape

Antarctica is long known to be an inhospitable place of constant cold and wind and completely void of plant life. It is also supposed to be beautiful -- filled with snowy vistas, blue-tinted glaciers, and penguins.

Google announced today that with the introduction of its new Google Maps feature people don't need to gear up, survive the elements, and make the long journey to explore this corner of the world. They can simply fire up their computers and take a tour with Antarctic Street View. … Read more

My favorite game this year just got a major update

Ski Safari (99 cents) challenges you to swoosh down a powdery mountain to avoid an avalanche, with animal friends and other vehicles along the way to help you with your escape. This distance game quickly became my go-to time-waster on both my iPhone and iPad, so when an update was announced last week, you can bet I was at the App Store immediately. The update adds a new mountain you can choose for your run, a new animal to help you along your way, and added achievements to keep you coming back for more.… Read more

Can you borrow e-books at the library? Most don't know

Do you know if your local library lends e-books? If not, you're in good company.

A full 62 percent of people recently polled by Pew Internet admitted they had no idea whether they could borrow electronic books from their library system. Even among active library card holders, 58 percent expressed the same confusion.

Only 22 percent of those polled said they know their library carries e-books, while 14 percent said they know their library has no such program.

Even those who would take advantage of e-book lending are unsure of their library's policy.

More than half (55 percent) … Read more