Columns - Jim Baen's Universe RSS (2.0) Feed

The Greatest Thinker of Them All

Mike Resnick — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:18:00 -0000

Science fiction isn’t like any other field.

At the O. K. Corral

Barry N. Malzberg — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:09:00 -0000

Early on in what I then thought of as my "career" I had Big Plans.

The Science in Science Fiction

Ben Bova — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 23:58:00 -0000

June 2008

Stephen Euin Cobb — Sun, 18 May 2008 13:47:00 -0000

If you’ve been listening to the show, you know the last two months have been filled with many wonderful surprises.

Remembering Giants

Mike Resnick — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:05:00 -0000

There is a great Secret History of Science Fiction to be written, one that exposes all the scams, lies, dirty-dealings, illicit affairs, and the like—but while I know more than my share of it, someone else will have to write it.

The Nature of Transitions

Eric Flint — Sat, 03 May 2008 21:35:00 -0000

I left off at the end of my column in the last issue of the magazine by posing the following question: Even if it’s only a mental experiment at the moment, what would happen if electronic publishing did become the dominant form of publication—or even the almost exclusive form? What if any changes would be needed in the various policies that I’ve advocated so far?

Scattershot Again

Barry N. Malzberg — Sat, 03 May 2008 12:31:00 -0000

Scattershot One: Arthur Clarke was cool and hot on the page.

A Matter of Symbiosis

Eric Flint — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:10:00 -0000

In my last essay, I examined the question of whether e-books will be replacing paper books any time soon as the dominant format for publishing.

April 2008

Stephen Euin Cobb — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 16:31:00 -0000

Attending Worldcon

Mike Resnick — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:14:00 -0000

Jim Baen’s Universe has come of age.

The Toy Shop

Barry N. Malzberg — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:07:00 -0000

That's what Jimmy Cannon of the New York Post called the newspaper Sports Department.

Paper books are not going to be joining the dodo any time soon. If ever.

Eric Flint — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:27:00 -0000

Beginning with this essay, I’m going to devote several essays in this column to analyzing the impact on publishing as electronic reading continues to expand.

February 2008

Stephen Euin Cobb — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:04:00 -0000

Substantial Fire, or Why This Column Almost Didn't Appear

Barry N. Malzberg — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 14:54:00 -0000

Three passes at an opening, one reaching a quarter-length of a full column, and I abandoned each in disgust.

Television Has a Lot to Answer For

Mike Resnick — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 14:49:00 -0000

It was close to seven decades ago that Isaac Asimov looked around at the current state of the art, realized that except for Eando Binder’s crude, pulpish hero Adam Link, almost every robot in science fiction was a malicious monstrosity, applied a little rationality, and came up with the Three Laws of Robotics.

December 2007

Stephen Euin Cobb — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:24:00 -0000

From the Catacombs

Barry N. Malzberg — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:44:00 -0000

The Distinguished Editor in the past has had a question.

Breeding Like Rabbits—Or Hugos

Mike Resnick — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 21:23:00 -0000

Walk up to any serious science fiction reader and name the last hundred Hugo winners.

The Pig-in-a-Poke Factor

Eric Flint — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 19:15:00 -0000

In this essay, I want to take up the second of the arguments that is often advanced against the policy of taking a relaxed attitude toward fair use when it comes to online publishing.

October 2007

Stephen Euin Cobb — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:33:00 -0000

The Future And You is an award-winning audio podcast about the future which may be downloaded and enjoyed, or even copied and shared, for free. Every episode contains numerous interviews which reveal a wide variety of ideas and opinion about the future from a wide variety of people.

Revealed Falsehoods

Mike Resnick — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 21:50:00 -0000

Over the past century, the giants of science fiction have occasionally written a line or two that somehow survives them and their work, and is eventually viewed by most members of the field as a Revealed Truth.

Mail - July/August 2007

Jim Baen's Universe! staff — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 11:04:00 -0000

Letters to our editors

The Economics of Writing

Eric Flint — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 23:51:00 -0000

I ended my last essay by posing the two major objections to the policy of using free or cheap online distribution of an author’s works as a promotional method, which I both advocate and practice personally.

Scattershot

Barry N. Malzberg — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 22:59:00 -0000

Harold Bloom coined the term "Anxiety of Influence" in the 1970's, describing the situation facing the contemporary poet, but it transports effortlessly to science fiction.

The Literature of Fandom

Mike Resnick — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:51:00 -0000

There has always been a close tie between fandom and the world of professional science fiction.

Pleistocene Park

Mike Resnick — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:13:00 -0000

Turns out Michael Crichton had the right idea after all.

August 2007

Stephen Euin Cobb — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:48:00 -0000

The Future And You is an award-winning audio podcast about the future which may be downloaded and enjoyed, or even copied and shared, for free.

The Conventional Wisdom

Barry N. Malzberg — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 20:26:00 -0000

Kurt Vonnegut called the phenomenon "Foma" . . . myths whose falsity was well understood but which we had quietly agreed to treat as if they were true.

Slush

Mike Resnick — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:41:00 -0000

Everyone talks about slush, but no one does anything about it. Except read it. Very reluctantly.

Banana Slug and Stoney April 2007

Walt Boyes and Stoney Compton — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:48:00 -0000

Walt and Stoney discuss the latest news about JBU in April of 2007

The Future And You, June 2007

Stephen Euin Cobb — Tue, 22 May 2007 16:53:00 -0000

The Matrix and the Star Maker

Mike Resnick — Mon, 21 May 2007 00:19:00 -0000

So here's humanity, downtrodden, unhappy, fed false images of the real world, and stacked up against us are dozens, perhaps thousands, possibly even millions of computer programs that have taken shape and form and voice.

Chemo For Algernon

Mike Resnick — Mon, 21 May 2007 00:16:00 -0000

The Tiniest Assassins

Mike Resnick — Mon, 21 May 2007 00:14:00 -0000

Overtaken

Barry N. Malzberg — Thu, 17 May 2007 14:00:00 -0000

Here was Plan The First for this installment.

Straitjackets

Mike Resnick — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:56:00 -0000

I’ve received some interesting comments over on Escape Pod, an audio site where they read one of my stories every now and then.

The Future And You, April 2007

Stephen Euin Cobb — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:47:00 -0000

Listen as David Drake, Alan Dean Foster, Dave Freer, Ginjer Buchanan, Paul Levinson and Lucienne Diver describe many of the technological and social changes which will alter your life during the next few years.

Spillage: or, The Way Fair Use Works in Favor of Authors and Publishers

Eric Flint — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:36:00 -0000

In my last essay, I said I would continue to explore the way in which fair use benefits authors and publishers. In fact, I went so far as to say that "fair use has always been the author's best friend" and I made the following two claims:

April 2007

Mike Resnick — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 07:38:00 -0000

Okay, I hear you ask, how the hell can Jim Baen's Universe pay such phenomenal word rates? Are we just a loss leader for Baen Books?

Arias & Barcarolles

Barry N. Malzberg — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 18:34:00 -0000

From its inception as a category of publishing in this country (the first issue being Gernsback's April, 1926 Amazing Stories), science fiction was a literature of ideas.

Books: The Opaque Market

Eric Flint — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 23:06:00 -0000

In my last essay, I approached the question of so-called online piracy from what I called a "negative" standpoint—by which I meant that I was content with knocking down the arguments advanced in favor of DRM.

There Ain't No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

Eric Flint — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:22:00 -0000

I ended my last essay as follows:

Is it true that modern electronic devices have made copyright infringement "so effortless" that it has become—or threatens to become—a serious menace to legitimate copyright owners?

The answer is "no." In the next issue, I'll explain why.

The Future and You February 2007

Stephen Euin Cobb — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 15:08:00 -0000

Listen as Elizabeth Bear, Toni Weisskopf, Walter Jon Williams, Ginjer Buchanan and L.E. Modesitt describe many of the technological and social changes which will alter your life during the next few years.

From the Heart's Basement February 2007

Barry N. Malzberg — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 20:45:00 -0000

Here is the third incarnation of this column of commentary; there were eight in Pulphouse in the early 90's and then a couple in Ellen Datlow's online Event Horizon in 1998.

Editor's Page February 2007

Mike Resnick — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 16:35:00 -0000

So here I am, the new Executive Editor of Jim Baen's Universe. And here you are, wondering who the hell I am and what I like.

Schlock Cover for Dec 2006

Howard Tayler — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 18:51:00 -0000

Howard Taylor of Schlock Mercendary provides our cover for Issue number 4. Thanks Howard. Visit Schlock Mercendary now at http://www.schlockmercenary.com.

The Future and You December 2006

Stephen Euin Cobb — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 23:46:00 -0000

I am pleased to announce that your beloved online magazine, Jim Baen's Universe, has teamed with the award-winning podcast The Future And You, in an effort to benefit the patrons of both.

The Editor's Page December 2006

Eric Flint — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 14:11:00 -0000

Since our third issue came out a few weeks ago, we've expanded our staff by adding two new people.

Lies, and More Lies

Eric Flint — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 19:09:00 -0000

What is Fair Use

Eric Flint — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 23:34:00 -0000

Although this column addresses the controversy surrounding so-called Digital Rights Management, I devoted my first three essays to a discussion of the general principles concerning copyright as such.

The Editor's Page October 2006

Eric Flint — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 03:44:00 -0000

Jim Baen, the founder of this magazine, died three months ago. Between that and the fact that we've now had enough initial experience with Universe to have a much better sense of the prospects for the magazine than we did when we launched it at the end of last year, I think it would be appropriate for me to use this issue's Editor's Page to let our readers know what our current plans are.

Copyright: How Long Should It Be?

Eric Flint — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:50:00 -0000

I ended my last essay by presenting the general principles needed to answer the question, how long should copyright terms last?

The Editor's Page August 2006

Eric Flint — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 00:21:00 -0000

My original plans for this issue's "The Editor's Page" got swept aside last month by the death of Jim Baen, the man who launched the magazine and whose name is—and will remain—on the masthead.

McCauley on Copyright

Eric Flint — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 20:46:00 -0000

These are two speeches given by Thomas Macaulay in Parliament in 1841, when the issue of copyright was being hammered out. They are, no other word for it, brilliant—and cover everything fundamental which is involved in the issue.

Our second animated cover

David Mattingly — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 19:55:00 -0000

David Mattingly has been a major cover artist at Baen for a long time.

We hope you enjoy our second animated cover, "Cities in Flight."

Publisher's Podium

Jim Baen — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 03:39:00 -0000

Jim looks into the research of Cynthia Kenyon, an eminently respectable scientist who publishes on aging in nematodes.

Copyright: What Are the Proper Terms for the Debate?

Eric Flint — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:51:00 -0000

I want to continue my discussion of copyright, which I began in last issue's column, before turning my attention to the issue of so-called "Digital Rights Management" itself.

The Fifth Information Age

Michael Hart — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 03:51:00 -0000

We keep hearing about how we are in "The Information Age," but rarely is any reference made to any of four previously created Information Ages, and technology changes that were as powerful in their day as the Internet is today.

A Matter of Principle

Eric Flint — Mon, 22 May 2006 02:07:00 -0000

DRM isn't just evil. It's evil and stupid. The first of a continuing column on why.

The History of Power From the Gutenberg Revolution to the Computer Revolution

Michael Hart — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 05:20:00 -0000

The more the publishing media can deliver to the masses, the more it will be that laws are passed to stop that same media from reaching the masses.

June 2006

Eric Flint — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 15:04:00 -0000

What is the role of short fiction in F & SF and why does it matter?

Upload Your Life Now

Mark L. Van Name — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 02:12:00 -0000

Is the singularity coming? Mark Van Name provides a weather report.