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13 Vol 3 Num 1 June 2008
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August 2008
Thu, Jul 24, 2008
Being master of ceremonies at LibertyCon, helping to found a new international organization, awarding trophies at a tournament, dancing at a rezday party, and becoming addicted to World of Warcraft.
Adventures with a Search Engine
Mon, Jul 21, 2008
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?
At the O. K. Corral
Tue, Jul 8, 2008
Early on in what I then thought of as my "career" I had Big Plans.
June 2008
Sun, May 18, 2008
If you’ve been listening to the show, you know the last two months have been filled with many wonderful surprises.
Remembering Giants
Thu, May 15, 2008
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
Sat, May 3, 2008
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?
A Matter of Symbiosis
Thu, Mar 20, 2008
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.
The Toy Shop
Sun, Feb 17, 2008
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.
Mon, Jan 28, 2008
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.
Substantial Fire, or Why This Column Almost Didn't Appear
Sat, Dec 22, 2007
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
Sat, Dec 22, 2007
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.
Breeding Like Rabbits—Or Hugos
Mon, Oct 15, 2007
Walk up to any serious science fiction reader and name the last hundred Hugo winners.
The Pig-in-a-Poke Factor
Sat, Oct 13, 2007
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
Sat, Sep 15, 2007
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
Thu, Sep 6, 2007
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.
The Economics of Writing
Wed, Aug 29, 2007
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
Sun, Aug 26, 2007
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
Wed, Aug 8, 2007
There has always been a close tie between fandom and the world of professional science fiction.
August 2007
Wed, Jul 18, 2007
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
Thu, Jun 28, 2007
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
Thu, Jun 14, 2007
Everyone talks about slush, but no one does anything about it. Except read it. Very reluctantly.
Banana Slug and Stoney April 2007
Mon, Jun 4, 2007
Walt and Stoney discuss the latest news about JBU in April of 2007
The Matrix and the Star Maker
Mon, May 21, 2007
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.
Straitjackets
Thu, May 17, 2007
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
Mon, Mar 19, 2007
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
Wed, Mar 7, 2007
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
Sun, Mar 4, 2007
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
Sat, Mar 3, 2007
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
Fri, Feb 9, 2007
In my last essay, I approached the question of so-called online piracy from what I called a "negative" standpoint—
There Ain't No Such Thing as a Free Lunch
Fri, Feb 2, 2007
I ended my last essay as follows:
Is it true that modern electronic devices have made copyright infringement "so effortless" that it has become
The answer is "no." In the next issue, I'll explain why.
The Future and You February 2007
Sun, Jan 28, 2007
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
Wed, Jan 24, 2007
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
Fri, Jan 12, 2007
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
Fri, Dec 1, 2006
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
Fri, Nov 24, 2006
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
Tue, Nov 14, 2006
Since our third issue came out a few weeks ago, we've expanded our staff by adding two new people.
What is Fair Use
Sat, Sep 16, 2006
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
Sat, Sep 16, 2006
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?
Thu, Aug 24, 2006
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
Tue, Aug 1, 2006
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
McCauley on Copyright
Mon, Jul 31, 2006
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—
Our second animated cover
Mon, Jul 31, 2006
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
Fri, Jul 14, 2006
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?
Fri, Jun 16, 2006
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
Wed, Jun 14, 2006
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
Mon, May 22, 2006
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
Tue, Apr 4, 2006
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.
Upload Your Life Now
Tue, Feb 7, 2006
Is the singularity coming? Mark Van Name provides a weather report.
