Healthcare Economist » Blog Archive » Where there is no doctor

Unlike most the publishers of most reference guides, the Hesperian Books encourages individuals to copy relevant sections of the book and distribute them to needy communities as long as the material is provided at no cost. Since the book has been translated into over 70 languages, literate populations in developing countries now have a resource to educate themselves on their own healthcare needs.

Disney to Offer Some ABC Programs Free on the Web - New York Times

In an effort to extend its broadcast economic model to the Internet, the Walt Disney Company said today that it would offer some of its most popular ABC programs free on its Web sites but with commercials that cannot be eliminated.
Read the Journal article on the way up, and from that, three things jumped out at me:
-DRM: Ostensibly they're doing this only because they have what they think is effective DRM, but it really seems to me that for once they actually understand that DRM isn't really going to prevent piracy and they're using it for something it's more suited for--controlling the actions of most end-users (e.g. ad-watchers).
-Google: They aren't partnering with Google, but the dynamic, targeted insertion of ads is something straight out of Google's AdSense playbook.  In fact, not only are they not using Google Video, but they're adopting an entirely different model (no fee).  Whether or not they are directly working with Google, still the big G seems to be defining the marketplace (either you're a clone or your model is in opposition to theirs).
-Shows: They're leading with big shows.  No "Bubble" release here.  The Industry has a nasty habit of testing new technology/concepts with shows/movies which are going to fail anyway and then proclaiming the new concept useless. 

--Ari