Digital Daily » Harry Potter

Microsoft’s Bing Deal

John Paczkowski — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:15:55 +0000

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Windows 7 to Harry Potter: Expelliarmus

John Paczkowski — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:01:58 +0000

Here’s an interesting Windows 7 stat as we near the operating system’s official release: It’s Amazon (AMZN) U.K.’s biggest pre-ordered product of all time. In fact, the online retailer has received more pre-orders for Windows 7 than it did for J.K. Rowling’s final “Harry Potter” book.

“The launch of Windows 7 has exceeded everyone’s expectations, storming ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the biggest grossing pre-order product of all time at Amazon.co.uk,” Amazon’s Brian McBride told the Telegraph. “Demand is still going strong. Over the past three months, only Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol has sold more copies than Windows 7, which is an incredible achievement for a software product.”

And an incredible achievement for Microsoft (MSFT), especially after that monument to disappointment, Windows Vista. Seems those early discounts and launch parties paid off. Well, maybe not the launch parties.

No Contracts. No Hidden Fees. No Gotchas! … No Company, Either.

John Paczkowski — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 18:00:59 +0000

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I Smell the Work of Lord Voldem … I Mean 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'

John Paczkowski — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:08:22 +0000

When the manuscript of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”– the seventh and final novel in the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling–was carried by hand from London to New York, the attorney for Scholastic, the book’s American publisher, sat on it throughout the flight. When it was bound and printed, the factory workers who oversaw its production were reportedly forced to work in near-darkness to prevent them from reading it. And when it was shipped to retailers, the vehicles carrying it were tracked by satellite to ensure that they did not deviate from their intended route.

All this for naught. Because the book’s been leaked. And torrented. And uploaded to a number of image hosting sites as well–even as millions of preordered copies sit sealed in closely guarded boxes around the world.

Now granted, the leaked book is being distributed as a poor-quality scan–legible only if the reader possesses some rudimentary Photoshop skills and a lot of free time. Still, some $20 million was spent to prevent exactly this sort of thing from happening. And for what? Harry.Potter.and.the.Deathly.Hollows.Complete.jpg.screenshots.torrent? “We have a litigation specialist poised 24 hours a day, seven days a week to deal with any breaches,” a spokesman for the series’ British publisher, Bloomsbury, told the Telegraph last week. “It is our intention to enforce the embargo vigorously and seek an immediate injunction if required.”

Best get to work on that, guys.