The editors mailing list at O'Reilly is the place where we discuss incoming proposals, book ideas we dream up ourselves, and the general direction of technology. Sometimes we argue over issues that may be useful to our readers, and we highlight them here. Remember that technology choices are rarely cut-and-dry, and our editors are opinionated.

Return of the Self-Destructing DVD?

Edited by chromatic
September 2003

A few years after the ill-fated DivX player failed, media companies are again flirting with the idea of limited-use DVDs. This time, the pitch includes environmental concerns and convenience. Will it fly? The Editors List is still dubious.

Read this discussion.

Apple and Linux: A Mutual Friendship?

Edited by chromatic
May 2003

Apple's been pretty friendly to the open source world lately. It distributes quite a bit of open source software, adapts existing projects and sponsors new ones. Apple has even lent hardware to significant projects, such as Perl 6. Maybe the real test of Apple's patience and good citizenship is the Linux/PPC movement. What would motivate someone to put a GNU/Linux distribution on Apple hardware? Isn't Mac OS X Unix enough?

Read this discussion.

On DVD

Edited by chromatic
February 2003

Digital Video has been hot on the Editors List lately. With the spread of Mac OS X and apps like iDVD making DV recording affordable and easy, it seems like just a matter of time before a real consumer revolution takes place. A recent thread on the list sparked a different discussion, though. Does the increase in storage space make it worth considering publishing DVDs with books, or even as a stand-alone product?

Read this discussion.