HackerNews Summary (2023-05-17 11PM)

Source: Illinois General Assembly

Summary
The Child Labor Law has been amended to ensure that minors previously featured in vlogs may request the permanent deletion of any content including their likeness, photograph, or name. Vloggers are required to set aside a specific amount of earnings on any minor’s vlog content to be held in a trust account for the benefit of the minor upon reaching the age of majority. The bill becomes effective on January 1, 2024.

Facts

📜 The Child Labor Law has been amended and includes a trust account provision.

🧒 Minors who were featured in vlogs may request the permanent deletion of content including their name, likeness, or photograph.

💰 Vloggers must set aside a specific amount of earnings on any minor’s vlog content in a trust account for them.

🏦 The bill becomes effective on January 1, 2024.

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Source: The Work of the Audiobook

Summary
The market for audiobooks has grown significantly in the 21st century, with the number of new audiobooks produced each year increasing from 7,200 to over 46,000. It is now a driving economic force in the publishing industry, with its own dedicated networks of promotion and literary prizes. The audiobook boom is also changing how writers work and is influencing storytelling.

Fact

📈 The market for audiobooks is expected to reach a projected valuation of $19.7 billion by 2028.

🎙️ Writers are now creating works with the audiobook format in mind.

🏆 Audiobooks have their own literary prizes, including the Audies and the Golden Voice Awards.

🖊️ Novelist Jess Walter and narrator Edoardo Ballerini jointly wrote an audiobook with Ballerini adding some lines himself.

📝 Rebecca Makkai’s novel I Have Some Questions for You follows a professor-cum-podcaster attempting to solve a decades-old murder, taking cues from true-crime podcasts and pop-historical deep dives.

📚 Narrator Julia Whelan’s 2022 novel Thank You for Listening explores the audiobook world through the romantic comedy of two audiobook narrators who fall in love while working on a romance novel.

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Source: ‘We are losing money’: companies in Apple’s repair program say they can’t compete with tech giant

Summary
Third-party repair companies in Apple’s independent repair program have claimed that high prices for parts and delays in the repair process make it difficult for them to compete with Apple’s own program. Repairers revealed that repair delays are up to six months, and it feels as though their applications are in a black hole without anyone in Apple to provide feedback. Repairers also complained about the company’s portal offering no customer support and slow credit processes.

Fact

📉 High prices for parts and slow processing in Apple’s independent repair program make it almost impossible for small companies to compete with its own program.

📅 It has taken up to six months to be admitted to the program and eight weeks, as claimed by Apple, for it to process the application.

💻 Repairers have access to Apple parts, tools, repair manuals, and diagnostic software for iPhones and Macs, but the price of the parts and the process of obtaining a discounted rate for them makes it difficult to compete with Apple’s own program.

🌐 The price of Apple’s parts and slow progress in providing discounts have affected repairers in Australia and the US.

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