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[Commentary] Holiday shopping season is just around the corner, and e-books and e-book readers will be high on many people's wish lists. But public libraries don't share in the joy, and the people who use libraries will look in vain for e-books that aren't available from any library. They are missing, and here's why.

Think of the world of e-books like this: Imagine if every car that was purchased had to be a new car -- no more lots for used, pardon me, previously owned, cars. Or if every article of clothing had to be purchased new -- no more fancy consignment shops or second-hand stores from charities like Goodwill. On top of that, consider if every "purchase" of a car was really a lease, subject to terms and conditions from the dealer or car manufacturer. That's the way it is with e-books. Has anyone seen a "used" e-book? No. Not a one. Because they don't exist. Every e-book purchased is a new e-book. The reason for that is that book publishers have come to control the market for e-books in a way that other industries envy. Yes, the Justice Dept. may throw a flag about pricing and yes, publishers may lose a court case here and there. But the clear fact is that publishers have succeeded in a way that no other industry has.

The Homeland Security Department is working quickly to address the complex issue of how to effectively develop, recruit and retain a workforce capable of preventing and responding to cybersecurity threats, including the release last month of a report by a special advisory council that put forth 11 recommendations for addressing these challenges going forward. But while that report is a testament to cybersecurity challenges being high on DHS’ radar, many of its recommendations are shortsighted and do not address the core challenges government and industry face in identifying, developing and retaining these highly-skilled workers, said Hord Tipton, executive director of (ISC)2.

The report, released Oct. 3 by the Homeland Security Advisory Council’s Task Force on Cyber Skills, outlined 11 recommendations, including establishing a department-level infrastructure that oversees the development of the cyber workforce, streamlining the hiring process, establishing a two-year community college program that identifies and trains large numbers of students for cyber jobs and directs the use of department’s direct-hire authority to bring on almost exclusively those with critical cyber skills, until at least 600 of those workers are fully on board. But Tipton noted that those 600 “super sleuth” workers are not readily available, nor can they be trained overnight

More than ever, satellite services suffer interference from human error, the inability to track systems that aren’t performing and intentional jamming by unfriendly governments that don’t want particular content to reach their populations. And the wireless industry’s push to get satellite’s spectrum also is interrupting service, according to panelists at the Content and Communications World conference.

When sweeping cybersecurity legislation failed to advance in the Senate in August, it went down with a barrage of finger-pointing and posturing. And aides from both parties say that nothing really has changed since it was filibustered.

Unlike in August, the lame-duck debate will take place in the shadow of an impending executive order by the Obama Administration that would establish a system of voluntary standards. The White House says that Congress will still need to act to fully address some issues, including information-sharing among businesses and government, as well as federal information-security policies. But White House officials say they’re not holding their breath.