New York bookshop launches rescue mission to digitize out-of-print sci-fi titles Sep 4th 2012, 01:26  Singularity & Co aims to rescue near-extinct 20th century sci-fi titles to ensure they still exist in the next one. Established from a Kickstarter campaign, the small team has already digitized and published A Plunge Into Space and The Torch, both with new cover art, while its third title required a thousand-mile journey to scan its contents from a university archive. While Mr. Stranger's Sealed Packet is out of copyright, many education establishments weren't willing to let anyone scan its edition of such rare books. Talking to Ars Technica, Ash Kalb added: "If you're part of that university or that consortium then you have access to that book. If you don't then you don't." The republishing group, which ensures it doesn't tread on any existing copyright toes, also offers up a better deal to authors and author estates, in addition to reviving interest in long-gone books. Singularity and Co's now opened its bricks-and-mortar doors in Brooklyn, or you grab more details and updates on their progress at the source below. Filed under: Internet, Alt New York bookshop launches rescue mission to digitize out-of-print sci-fi titles originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Ars Technica | Singularity & Co | Email this | Comments | BBC iPlayer for iOS update coming with downloads and offline viewing, on Android soon Sep 4th 2012, 00:50  The BBC has revealed that an update arriving Tuesday for its iPlayer app on iPhone and iPad will add the ability to download shows for viewing offline, instead of being streaming only. First reported by The Guardian, it will let those with paid up TV licenses load their phones and tablets with plenty of programming to view when and where (including abroad) they want, for up to 30 days or within 7 days of being watched. Those restriction will keep viewers from building up libraries they can truly keep with them indefinitely, and it should be noted that the app will only let users download shows over WiFi for now, not surprising when we remember how long it took to add 3G streaming. Also interesting is the Beeb's decision not to charge extra for downloads, but we'll have to wait and see if competitors like ITV follow suit. The app is not live in iTunes yet, but we'll keep an eye out and let our UK based friends know when it's available to download. That here in the US we're (still) waiting for global iPlayer access hasn't made us jealous at all. Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD, Mobile BBC iPlayer for iOS update coming with downloads and offline viewing, on Android soon originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Sep 2012 20:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Pocket-Lint | Guardian, iTunes | Email this | Comments | |