This is only a preview of the June 2005 issue of Silicon Chip. You can view 39 of the 112 pages in the full issue, including the advertisments. For full access, purchase the issue for $10.00 or subscribe for access to the latest issues. Articles in this series:
Items relevant to "The Coolmaster Fridge/Freezer Temperature Controller":
Items relevant to "PICAXE Colour Recognition System":
Items relevant to "PICAXE In Schools, Pt.2":
Articles in this series:
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SILICON
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
Production Manager
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.)
Technical Editor
Peter Smith
Technical Staff
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Ross Tester
Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc, VK2ZLO
Reader Services
Ann Jenkinson
Advertising Enquiries
Lawrence Smith
Benedictus Smith Pty Ltd
Phone (02) 9211 8035
Fax: (02) 9211 0068
lawrence<at>benedictus-smith.com
Regular Contributors
Brendan Akhurst
Rodney Champness, VK3UG
Julian Edgar, Dip.T.(Sec.), B.Ed,
Grad.Dip.Jnl
Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK
Stan Swan
SILICON CHIP is published 12 times
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49
003 205 490 All material copyright
©. No part of this publication may
be reproduced without the written
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Victoria.
Distribution: Network Distribution
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rates, see the subscription page in
this issue.
Editorial office: Unit 8, 101 Darley
St, Mona Vale, NSW 2103.
Postal address: PO Box 139,
Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097.
Phone (02) 9979 5644.
Fax (02) 9979 6503.
E-mail: silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au
ISSN 1030-2662
Publisher’s Letter
Photocopying is a huge
cost to SILICON CHIP
One of the really good aspects of all the emails
we get from readers is the positive feedback.
Many readers are so positive it almost becomes
embarrassing. We try to make the magazine as
entertaining and informative as possible, so it
is very gratifying when people do write to say
they like it.
One such letter came in this week from a school
teacher, singing the praises of the magazine in
general and the PICAXE series of articles in particular. He loves it and so do the students. But there was jarring sentence at
the end: “I hope it’s OK to photocopy 20 sets of the article for my students.”
You would not believe how much that sentence hurt! Only a few minutes before that I had signed off on this year’s payment from the Copyright
Agency Limited. The Copyright Agency is the legal body which oversees
all photocopying done in universities, TAFEs, schools and libraries. On
the basis of their recording of photocopying, the CAL makes an annual
payment to publishers. All very well, you might say. And the amount to
be paid SILICON CHIP for the whole of 2004, for all photocopying in all the
above institutions? $701.75. Unbelievable.
In fact, there is massive under-recording of photocopying in all these institutions and for years publishers have been complaining to the CAL that
the whole system is severely inequitable. Some years ago, I spoke to a school
teacher about this and given her knowledge of the extent of photocopying
of magazine articles in her school alone, I asked her to estimate the annual
copyright fee that would accrue to SILICON CHIP. She said it would be huge
but when I pressed her for an actual figure, she said $26,000. When I told
her the actual fee for that year, she was astonished.
And while photocopying is rife in schools etc, what about all the photocopying being done elsewhere, in company laboratories and so on? We
cannot put a figure on the lost revenue every year but it would undoubtedly
make a large contribution to our costs.
All of this is a fact of life and we have no legal recourse. All we can do is
point out to all those people so enthusiastically photocopying is that each
and every photocopy represents a loss of revenue. The same comment applies to all copying of course, whether it applies to magazine articles, books,
CDs, software or whatever. Ultimately, this amounts to theft of intellectual
property and it reduces the incentive for publishers of all media to continue
in business. The music business is in very dire straits for this reason.
So if you really like SILICON CHIP, one of the very few magazines of its type
in the world, please remember that it takes a lot of resources to produce this
magazine to a high standard. If we are to continue to maintain and raise the
standard and to provide the service that you want, we do need your support.
Letters of praise are nice but buying the magazine is more effective.
And thanks to all those many thousands of enthusiastic readers who
subscribe or religiously buy SILICON CHIP every month.
Leo Simpson
* Recommended and maximum price only.
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