[LMB] (newschat) the worth of widgets?

[Lois McMaster Bujold]

[LMB] (newschat) the worth of widgets?
Peter H. Granzeau pgranzeau at cox.net
Wed Mar 12 16:35:22 GMT 2008


At 06:42 PM 3/11/2008, Lois McMaster Bujold wrote:
 >Oh cool, you can get a free _Passage_ widget!
 >
 >http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061375330/The_Sharing_Knife_Volume_Three/index.aspx
 >
 >Cute.  Help yourselves!

 >(snips)

I have no idea what do do.  All I want to do is read whatever piece of 
_Passage_ they are offering, and making it an exercise in learning how 
(and making it difficult, at that) is completely counterproductive.  
Screw them.

Sorry, Lois.  I had to vent.  If I could find whoever at HarperCollins 
was responsible for this abortion, I'd do something completely illegal 
(and painful, too) to them.




*** Oh, sorry!  A misunderstanding.  The widget I'm discussing here is 
just the little countdown-to-sale-date novelty item.  It doesn't lead to 
anything useful, such as a sample of actual prose.  (Which is why I was 
musing on its utility in the first place.)  In an attempt at what I 
believe is called viral advertising, they make it something people can 
e-carry off and use to decorate their own e-domiciles.

A "Browse-Inside" widget (*how* did that word come to be used for this 
sort of thing?) with actual sample text will be available on or near 
that same webpage at a later date.  (A lot later than I would prefer, 
around 4/8 I'm told.)

Ta, L.  (Fascinated by the business end of all this, which is alien to 
me -- like many writers, I have no prior business background, so it's 
all a learning experience.  Every round I find out something new.)