Borders chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Another new development regarding the future of the printed book:  major U.S. book retailer Borders Group has filed for Chapter 11 protection under the United States Bankruptcy Code. http://www.printaction.com/News/20110222-borders-chapter-11.html

Espresso Book Machine for on-demand publishing now available

Clearly, equipment vendors foresee continued commercial viability for on-demand book publishing. Witness the recent advent to market of the Espresso Book Machine, an all-in-one book printing and finishing device that can churn out a 300-page bound volume in less than 4 minutes. Already for sale in the U.S., it will also become available commercially in Canada starting in March. Xerox has inked a deal with inventor On Demand Books to distribute the machine, which Xerox sees being paired with a Xerox 4112 printer. http://www.printaction.com/Vendor-Wire/20110215-espresso-book-machine.html

Rupert Murdoch launches world’s 1st iPad-only newspaper

Further to my 2-Nov-2010 post and true to Rupert Murdoch's word, his News Corporation has launched the world's 1st iPad-only newspaper. Called The Daily and led by Jesse Angelo, former Executive Director of the New York Post, another News Corporation property, the publication will cost 99 cents US a week or $39.99 USD for a year’s subscription.  In providing news coverage, The Daily intends to focus on in-depth editorial, more akin to a magazine's content than a newspaper's.  http://www.printaction.com/News/20110208-the-daily.html

More mixed signals on the future of printed books

Further to my 17-Nov-2010 posting, the last few weeks have been another roller coaster ride for anyone wondering about the future of printed books. 

Canada logged a major casualty in the filing for bankruptcy protection of H.B. Fenn, the country’s largest book distributor.  http://www.printaction.com/News/20110207-hb-fenn-bankruptcy.html

Additionally, Amazon has announced that its sales of Kindle e-books have exceeded not only its hardcover sales (which occurred last year), but now the number of paperbacks it sells as well.  http://www.printaction.com/News/20110201-kindle-paperback.html

Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, the New York Times Sunday Book Review assures us that the number of printed books out there remains impressive.  It estimates that in 2010 (after returns), American publishers shipped an estimated 3.2 billion books—or about 10 printed volumes for every man, woman, and child in the U.S.A. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/books/review/InsideList-t.html

Not surprisingly, speculation and discussion from many quarters continues on a 3-month-old LinkedIn discussion group that asks the question “Do you think printed books will die? Are we all going digital?” at: http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=33459885&gid=145854&commentID=31079155&trk=view_disc.

Toronto statistician cracks scratch lottery ticket code

Ticket printers & sellers beware!  Thanks to a feature article in this month's "Wired" Magazine, a Toronto statistician is receiving lots of attention for detecting flaws in scratch lottery tickets that make it easy to beat the odds.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/01/ff_lottery/all/1

Canadian government upholds Internet's democratic roots

Today the Canadian government has championed the founding concept of the Internet as a tool for universal access to information by threatening to reverse a controversial ruling by the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission).  This recent ruling denied independent Internet service providers the right to continue offering flat-fee-for-unlimited-use plans to consumers.  Prior to today's development, Industry Minister Tony Clement had received tens of thousands of emails requesting that the CRTC's decision be struck down. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/932571--ottawa-threatens-to-reverse-crtc-decision-on-internet-billing

Manager Know Thyself

Last spring, after “The New York Observer” posted its congratulations to a big-time TV producer on her retirement and plans to launch a 2^nd career as a guidance counsellor, they received over 200 comments on line.  Most came from her former employees, claiming the story was bogus and that she was a “foul-mouthed, cliquish bully”, to quote “Psychology Today” reporter Carlin Flora.

Flora reports:  “In his new book, “Good Boss, Bad Boss:  How to Be the Best … and Learn from the Worst,” Robert Sutton, Ph.D., catalogs [the] disproportionate effect that managers have on well-being.  A meta-analysis found, for example, that ‘about 75 percent of the workforce reports that their immediate supervisor is the most stressful part of their job.’

"For the majority of managers, who presumably want to fall on the heart-attack-reducing side of the scale, Sutton shares a key insight:  Good bosses know themselves.  And yet, just being in power is a deterrent to self-awareness, making it especially difficult for leaders to correctly ascertain the impact their behaviors and policies have on their employees.  ‘It turns out that followers, peers, superiors, and customers consistently provide better information about a boss’s strengths, weaknesses, and quirks than the boss herself,’ Sutton writes.  …

“[He] suggests they consciously beak out of the power bubble by asking [these info sources] for direct input and feedback.”

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201010/earnings-and-yearnings-dear-leaders