Author Archives: Marina Evans

The Art of Programming: The Coder as Rock Star

A recent article in The New Yorker, “The Programmer’s Price,” described a new business model in the tech world: programmers are working with agents to find business opportunities and negotiate contracts.  This demonstrates a shift in how the tech world and other industries view programmers – no longer are they hired to sit in a

‘Breakout Books’ Category in Apple iBookstore Shines the Spotlight on Independents

Earlier this month the Apple iBookstore launched Breakout Books, a new category of the online store which features self- and independently-published books. Although the iBookstore has always accepted self-published titles, Breakout Books highlights the increasing market share of the independent author and gives added support in terms of marketing and promotion. To give an idea of

Status Matters: After 30+ Years as a Woman-Owned Business, OBS Is Now Certified as a Woman-Owned Business

Back in 1996, the Weld-Cellucci Administration in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts signed Executive Order 390 – The Affirmative Market Program in Public Contracting. The idea behind this order was to ensure a commitment to incorporate minority and woman-owned businesses into the public sector marketplace. Now, over 15 years later, OBS is proud to announce our

The Rise of the Local Newspaper – Online

While digital subscriptions to online magazines have soared in the past year – the fall 2012 Survey of the American Consumer, conducted by research group Growth from Knowledge (GfK), reports increases of nearly 50% for online magazine subscriptions – major newspapers such as the New York and Los Angeles times are reporting losses in digital subscription revenues. One survey

In Europe, Apple Concedes; in the U.S., Publishers Pay – Yet Another Argument for Distributing Digital Content Directly

(Reuters) An ongoing antitrust investigation of Apple’s pricing negotiations with European publishers in December 2011 may be coming to a close, though not in Apple’s favor. The four publishers – Simon & Schuster, News Corp (HarperCollins), Hachette Livre and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck (owner of Macmillan in Germany) – made deals that allowed Apple to