For boys who like boys who like mandroids!

Homotron Feeds:

Staff:

Editor'n'Chief: Fruit Brute - Email
Editor: tiny dancer - Email
Writer: Ed Rodriguez - Email
Writer: Jesse James - Email
Writer: NeonMadman - Email
Contributor: Super Timsy - Email
Contributor: Asterick - Email
Contributor: SuperSpecialDavey - Email
ÜberDork: Mikey - Email
Have a tip?
Send it to us here!

Archives:

Hot Stuff: Apple Confirms Removal Of Anti-LGBT App · Pending LGBT Boycott Of Apple? · Chevy Shows Green Pride With Volt's 93MPG Sticker · Gay Founder Of Geocities Invests In New LGBT Social Networking Site · Homotron Awakes With iPad Launch ·

Amazon Crumbles Under Author's Guild's Mighty Pens, Text-to-Speech Optional On Kindle

Amazon's Kindle 2, hangin' out on a shelf.

Well, it seems that the Author's Guild didn't listen to the ranks of some of its own authors (like Wil Wheaton) and pressed Amazon enough to make Amazon acquiesce to their request: Kindle e-books will now only have the text-to-speech feature enabled if the publisher so wishes.

This is apparently *not* due to official legal pressure, but presumably because Amazon got tired of the Author's Guild's belly-aching.

The issue came about because the rights to publish a text version of a book and the audiobook version are sold separately. When Amazon gets the rights to sell a book on the Kindle 2, it only buys the text version rights. The Author's Guild objected to the Kindle 2's much advertised text-to-speech feature, saying that it amounted to an audiobook version, and would cut into audiobook sales.

Seriously, the thought that the Kindle 2's robotic voice would in any way cut into sales of audiobooks is absolutely ridiculous. Shame on you, Author's Guild.

Amazon Caves to Snippy Authors: Kindle's Text-to-Voice Feature Now Optional [Gizmodo]