Geek Tip: Get A Harry Potter Preserver!

GeekSugar — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:14:10 -0700

It hasn't been easy averting our eyes and ears from the Harry Potter spoilers on the web. If you have stayed true you only have a few hours left until you can legally get yourself a copy of the book, which you will undoubtedly stay up all night reading while munching on some Harry Potter inspired treats. If your friends are like mine and think it's funny to keep taunting you with spoilers, I suggest you protect yourself by getting my original Potter Preserver-WX1 set. It's a fool proof, hear-no-evil-see-no-evil device that no true Potter fan should be without.

The Potter eye glasses protect you from any website that's leaked photos or plot points while the Potter Noise Canceling Headset blocks out all those people who keep walking by you whispering "I know who dies...." If you don't have time to make it to Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes this afternoon to make a purchase, you can even make your own by whipping out your favorite headphones and a blindfold.

Was The 'Harry Potter Leak' Digital Shoplifting?

GeekSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:00:52 -0700

The premature online release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which will be in stores this Friday at midnight, has caused quite the ruckus.

Most fans are conflicted: Do I sneak a peek, strain my eyes and ruin the surprise, or do I patiently wait it out all the while knowing it's out there? One thing's for certain - the widespread use and availability of digital cameras and web access makes it pretty easy for someone to snag a copy of an unreleased book, magazine cover or valuable piece of information and pop it up on the web. Even if that means taking pictures of 784 pages and uploading them.

While I'm most interested in learning the identity of the geeky James Bond-wannabe that committed what I've dubbed the "Deathly Hallows Offensive," digital shoplifting isn't a new phenomenon. In fact in 2003, Japanese bookstores launched a national campaign against the trend after it was noted in the magazine world. (Publishers reported young women were snapping pictures of styles and trends in magazines and sending them to their friends instead of purchasing the publications.) Is the core of digital shoplifting one of those unavoidable repercussions of digital life, or do you think it should be punishable by law? Most importantly, what do you think should happen to the person who leaked the latest Harry Potter onto the net?
Source: Boing Boing