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"Maker Media Inc ceased operations this week and let go of all of its employees — about 22 employees" founder and CEO Dale Dougherty told TechCrunch. "I started this 15 years ago and it's always been a struggle as a business to make this work. Print publishing is not a great business for anybody, but it works...barely. Events are hard . . . there was a drop off in corporate sponsorship." Microsoft and Autodesk failed to sponsor this year's flagship Bay Area Maker Faire.
But Dougherty is still desperately trying to resuscitate the company in some capacity, if only to keep MAKE:'s online archive running and continue allowing third-party organizers to license the Maker Faire name to throw affiliated events. Rather than bankruptcy, Maker Media is working through an alternative Assignment for Benefit of Creditors process.
"We're trying to keep the servers running" Dougherty tells me. "I hope to be able to get control of the assets of the company and restart it. We're not necessarily going to do everything we did in the past but I'm committed to keeping the print magazine going and the Maker Faire licensing program." The fate of those hopes will depend on negotiations with banks and financiers over the next few weeks. For now the sites remain online.
LINK:
https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/07/make-magazine-maker-media-layoffs/
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 10 2019, @01:39AM (3 children)
How long ago did you check out e-ink? The early stuff was pretty ordinary, but recent screens are as good to read as 300dpi laser print.
Next time you've got a few minutes to waste in the appropriate store ask to have a look at one of the flagship models - Amazon's Kindle Oasis, or Kobo's Aura One.
Due to aging eyes and not liking glasses my reading time had dropped to almost zero, but has gone back up to historical levels since I got an Aura One. Bump the font size one or two points and suddenly reading is comfortable again.
(Score: 2) by EJ on Monday June 10 2019, @02:13AM (2 children)
DRM
Storage capacity
Batteries
Ease of use
No need to transfer to a new device
I don't lose my entire collection when the publisher goes under
Digital media will be the end of our culture. Thousands of years from now, people may wonder what we were like because there will be no physical records of our existence. Maybe someone will dig up an old Kindle from under some rubble, but it won't do anything. We can read parchments from thousands of years ago. We're going to leave nothing behind for the future.
If you don't like physical books, then we don't need to have this discussion because you just won't get it. It's like me trying to explain the joys of a well-cooked steak to a vegan.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 10 2019, @02:50AM (1 child)
I do like books. My personal library has about four thousand physical books.
I got the Kobo Aura One because it reads almost anything, holds thousands of books, is waterproof (6' depth, 60 minutes) and is easy to read and light to carry. Combine it with Calibre to strip DRM and convert, and nobody is taking my digital books. It is not a replacement for physical books, but it is a very welcome counterpart. I take it nearly everywhere, and am never stuck waiting and bored. It lasts days to weeks on a charge, depending on backlight usage, and I usually have a small powerbank in my bag. It will recharge it several times. I've had the e-book for two years, and haven't had to transfer books to a new device yet. When I do, it will be a matter of plugging it into the PC and telling Calibre to do it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 10 2019, @03:18AM
Yeah, but that's a lot of work stripping out DRM, backing up and all that. As opposed to physical books, that you buy, stick into a bookcase, and that's that.
True, you need space and maintenance (storage space, don't get it wet, etc.), but it's so much easier to forget maintenance when it's a some file on microscopic storage devices.
Also, physical bound book is still a superior technology.