PGWeekly_June_4.txt
****The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, June 4, 2003****
*****eBooks Readable By Both Humans and Computers For Nearly 32 Years******
New Newsletter Format In This Section
1400+ New eBooks This Year!
8148 Books Done. . .1852 To Go. . .To Get To #10,000
That's ONE More Per Day Than We Have Been Averaging!
Thus We Need One More Editor Who Can Polish 1-A-Day!
[The Newsletter is now being sent in three sections, so you can directly
go to the portions you find most interesting: 1. Founder's Comments,
2. News, Notes & Queries, and 3. Weekly eBook Update Listing.]
This is Michael Hart's "Founder's Comments" section of the Newsletter
Over Our 31 11/12 Year History, We Have Now Averaged About 200 Ebooks/Year
And Last Year Averaged About That Same 200 eBook Level. . .PER MONTH!!!!!
This year we are averaging about 281 per month!!!
***
In this issue of the Project Gutenberg Weekly newsletter:
- Intro (above)
- Hot Requests For Assistance
- Progress Report
- Flashback
- Continuing Requests For Assistance
- Making Donations
- Access To The Collection
- Information About Mirror Sites
- Have We Give Away A Trillion Yet?
- Weekly eBook update:
Updates/corrections in separate section
4 New From PG Australia
69 New U.S. eBooks
- Headline News from Newsscan and Edupage
- Information about mailing lists
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*** Progress Report
In the first 5 months of this year, we produced 1405 new eBooks.
It took us from 1971 to 1998 to produce our first 1,405 eBooks!
That's 22 WEEKS as Compared to 27 Years!
73 New eBooks This Week
51 New eBooks Last Week
296 New eBooks This Month [May]
281 Average Per Month in 2003 <<<
203 Average Per Month in 2002 <<<
103 Average Per Month in 2001 <<<
1405 New eBooks in 2003 <<<
2441 New eBooks in 2002
1240 New eBooks in 2001
8,148 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks
5,307 eBooks This Week Last Year
2,793 New eBooks In The Last 12 Months
3,948 New eBooks in the last 18 months
237 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia
***Week 45 Of The 32nd Year Of Project Gutenberg eBooks***
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***
FLASHBACK!!!
1404 New eBooks So Far in 2003
It took us 27 years for the first 1405!
That's the 22 WEEKS of 2003 as Compared to 27 YEARS!!!
Here Is A Sample Of What Books Were Being Done Around #1405
Aug 1998 El Verdugo, by Honore de Balzac [de Balzac #30][vrdugxxx.xxx]1425
Aug 1998 Castle Rackrent, by Maria Edgeworth [Edgeworth #1][rkrntxxx.xxx]1424
Aug 1998 No Thoroughfare, by Dickens [#47] & Collins [#5] [nothoxxx.xxx]1423
Aug 1998 Going into Society, by Charles Dickens[Dickens#46][gisocxxx.xxx]1422
Aug 1998 Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy by Charles Dickens [CD #45][mlrlgxxx.xxx]1421
Aug 1998 London's Underworld, by Thomas Holmes [lndwdxxx.xxx]1420
Aug 1998 Mugby Junction, by Charles Dickens [Dickens #44][mgjncxxx.xxx]1419
Aug 1998 Country Sentiment, by Robert Graves [csentxxx.xxx]1418
Aug 1998 Sons of the Soil by Honore de Balzac [Balzac #29][ssoilxxx.xxx]1417
Aug 1998 Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings, by Charles Dickens [#43][mlldgxxx.xxx]1416
Aug 1998 Doctor Marigold, by Charles Dickens [Dickens #42][drmrgxxx.xxx]1415
Aug 1998 Somebody's Luggage, by Charles Dickens[Dickens#41][smlggxxx.xxx]1414
Aug 1998 Tom Tiddler's Ground, by Charles Dickens [CD #40][ttgndxxx.xxx]1413
Aug 1998 Masterman Ready, by Captain Marryat [Marryat #1][mmrdyxxx.xxx]1412
Aug 1998 Domestic Peace by Honore de Balzac [de Balzac #28][dmspcxxx.xxx]1411
Aug 1998 The Commission in Lunacy by Honore de Balzac [#27][lunacxxx.xxx]1410
Aug 1998 The Soul of the Far East, by Percival Lowell [#1][sofrexxx.xxx]1409
Aug 1998 The Natural History of Selborne, by Gilbert White [tnhosxxx.xxx]1408
Aug 1998 A Message From the Sea by Charles Dickens [CD #39][amftsxxx.xxx]1407
Aug 1998 Perils of Certain English Prisoners by Dickens #38[pocepxxx.xxx]1406
Aug 1998 The Collection of Antiquities, by Balzac [HDB #26][clntqxxx.xxx]1405
Jul 1998 The Federalist Papers, by Hamilton, Jay & Madison [federxxa.xxx]1404
Jul 1998 A Start in Life, by Honore de Balzac [Balzac #25][stlifxxx.xxx]1403
Jul 1998 Where the Blue Begins, by Christopher Morley [wtbbgxxx.xxx]1402
Jul 1998 Tarzan the Untamed, Edgar R. Burroughs [Tarzan #7][tarz7xxx.xxx]1401
[Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs]
Jul 1998 Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens[Dickens#38][grexpxxx.xxx]1400
Jul 1998 Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy/Tolstoi [Tolstoy #5][nkrnnxxx.xxx]1399
Jul 1998 Dore Lectures on Mental Science, by Thomas Troward[dorelxxx.xxx]1398
Jul 1998 The Ruins by C. F. [Constantin Francois de] Volney[ruinsxxx.xxx]1397
Jul 1998 Rienzi, last of the Roman Tribunes, by E. B.Lytton[rienzxxx.xxx]1396
Jul 1998 Letters on Literature, by Andrew Lang [Lang #8] [ltlitxxx.xxx]1395
Jul 1998 The Holly-Tree, by Charles Dickens [Dickens #37] [hlytrxxx.xxx]1394
Jul 1998 Amours de Voyage, by Arthur Hugh Clough [mrvygxxx.xxx]1393
Jul 1998 The Seven Poor Travellers, by Charles Dickens[#36][svprtxxx.xxx]1392
Jul 1998 Penelope's Irish Experiences by Kate D. Wiggin[#7][pnliexxx.xxx]1391
[Author: Kate Douglas Wiggin]
Jul 1998 The Jimmyjohn Boss and Other Stories by Wister [jmyjnxxx.xxx]1390
Jul 1998 Gobseck, by Honore de Balzac[Honore de Balzac #24][gbsekxxx.xxx]1389
Jul 1998 Padre Ignacio, by Owen Wister [Owen Wister #7] [igncoxxx.xxx]1388
Jul 1998 Mother, by Owen Wister [Owen Wister #6] [mothrxxx.xxx]1387
.(Note: the filename mothrxx.xxx is also used for a totally different
.(eBook, #3635 in etext03)
Jul 1998 Lady Baltimore, by Owen Wister [Owen Wister #5] [lbaltxxx.xxx]1386
Jul 1998 Lin McLean, by Owen Wister [Owen Wister #4] [lmclnxxx.xxx]1385
Jul 1998 The Ayrshire Legatees, by John Galt [John Galt #3][ayrlgxxx.xxx]1384
Jul 1998 Poems by George Meredith - Volume 3 [Meredith #5] [pmgm3xxx.xxx]1383
Jul 1998 Poems by George Meredith - Volume 2 [Meredith #4] [pmgm2xxx.xxx]1382
Jul 1998 Poems by George Meredith - Volume 1 [Meredith #3] [pmgm1xxx.xxx]1381
Jul 1998 The Two Brothers, by Honore de Balzac [Balzac #23][brthrxxx.xxx]1380
Jul 1998 A Straight Deal, by Owen Wister [Owen Wister #3] [strdlxxx.xxx]1379
Jul 1998 A Straight Deal, by Owen Wister [Owen Wister #3] [strdlxxx.xxx]1379
Jul 1998 The Land of Footprints, by Stewart Edward White #4[fprntxxx.xxx]1378
Jul 1998 The Talisman, by Walter Scott[Sir Walter Scott #3][tlsmnxxx.xxx]1377
(Note: Vols. III & IV of Tales of the Crusaders)
Jul 1998 The Little White Bird, by J.M. Barrie [Barrie #4][tlwbdxxx.xxx]1376
Jul 1998 New Chronicles of Rebecca by Kate Douglas Wiggin 7[tncorxxx.xxx]1375
Jul 1998 Vendetta, by Honore de Balzac[Honore de Balzac#22][vndtaxxx.xxx]1374
Jul 1998 Study of a Woman, by Honore de Balzac [Balzac #21][sowmnxxx.xxx]1373
***
Today Is Day #154 of 2003
This Completes Week #22
216 Days/31 Weeks To Go
1852 Books To Go To #10,000
189 Days To December 10, 2003
[Our Goal For eBook #10,000]
[Our production year begins/ends
1st Wednesday of the month/year]
Week #58 Of Our SECOND 5,000 eBooks
63 Weekly Average in 2003
47 Weekly Average in 2002
24 Weekly Average in 2001
39 Only 39 Numbers Left On Our Reserved Numbers list
[Used to be well over 100]
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*** Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet???
Statistical Review
In the 22 weeks of this year, we have produced 1405 new eBooks.
It took us from 1971 to 1998 to produce our FIRST 1405 eBooks!!!
That's 22 WEEKS as Compared to 27 YEARS!!!
With 8,148 eBooks online as of June 4, 2003 it now takes an average
of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $1.23 from each book,
for Project Gutenberg to have currently given away $1,000,000,000,000
[One Trillion Dollars] in books.
100,000,000 readers is only about 1.59 percent of the world's population!
This "cost" is down from about $1.88 when we had 5266 eBooks A Year Ago
Can you imagine 7,000 books each costing $.65 less a year later???
Or. . .would this say it better?
Can you imagine 7,000 books each costing 1/3 less a year later???
At 8148 eBooks in ~31 11/12 years We Averaged
255 Per Year [About how many we do per month these days!]
21 Per Month
.7 Per Day
At 1405 eBooks Done In 2003 We Averaged
9 Per Day
64 Per Week
281 Per Month
The production statistics are calculated based on full weeks of
production, each production-week starting/ending Wednesday noon,
starting with the first Wednesday in January. January 1st was
was the first Wednesday of 2003, and thus ended the production
year of 2002 and began the production year of 2003 at noon.
***Headline News***
[Editor's Comments In Brackets]
From Newsscan
[Damn, I Shoulda NEVER Put My Pics On The Web!]
CIA BANKROLLS DEVELOPMENT OF PHOTO-SEARCHING SOFTWARE
The CIA's venture capital group, In-Q-Tel, is funding the development of
innovative software from California startup PiXlogic, designed to sift
through millions of digital photos or video clips and pick out specific
cars, street signs or, eventually, human faces. "There was a great deal of
interest in these capabilities," says In-Q-Tel president Mike Griffin.
"Because more and more of what is on the Internet is in visual form, the
ability to search on those materials is important and getting more
important all the time." PiXlogic CEO Joseph Santucci says his company is
probably about a year away from adding effective face-recognition
capabilities to the software to help CIA operatives track specific people.
PiXlogic's software analyzes each photo or video frame, identifies each
item by geometry, color and other characteristics, and stores these details
in files linked to the image. It can then compare details from a sample
image with those stored in its database or on the Web to make a likely
match. "We're able to emulate the sight process pretty well, but there are
no cognitive capabilities built into the software," says Santucci. Thus, it
can recognize the side view of a car, but can't infer what that vehicle
might look like from the front. (AP 3 Jun 2003)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030603/D7REF2GG0.html
BROADBAND BROADENS RISK AS WELL AS PERFORMANCE
A study of 120 broadband users conducted by the National Cyber Security
Alliance (a group of business and government entities) has found that
although 77% think their systems are protected from outside hackers, fewer
than 60% had installed firewalls to keep their systems safe. "The
disconnect means we have to do more to educate people," says Alliance
spokesman Keith Nahigan, who is also a consultant to the national Office of
Homeland Security. Despite the vulnerability of their systems, 86% of
broadband users keep sensitive information on their computers. Broadband
systems are "always-on" and Nahigan notes: "When you have your connection
open all day and all night, it's easier for hackers to get in." (New York
Times 4 Jun 2003)
http://partners.nytimes.com/2003/06/04/technology/04NET.html
FUND THE SCIENTISTS, NOT THE MACHINES, SAY BELL AND GRAY
Influential computer scientists Gordon Bell and Jim Gray say that "today's
supercomputer centers will become superdata centers in the future," and
that federal money should be diverted from machines and given directly to
people: "The core of our argument is to give money back to the sciences and
let them do the planning." They believe that huge storehouses of digital
data are increasingly playing a critical role in scientific research, and
also that innovations in data-storage technology are significantly
outpacing progress in computer processing technology. What they want to see
are planning and funding strategies that invest in "data-centric,"
"information-centric," and "community-centric" approaches that make use of
inexpensive clusters of linked computers running the Linux operating
system. (New York Times 2 Jun 2003)
http://partners.nytimes.com/2003/06/02/technology/02SUPE.html
BROWSER WAR ENDS IN TRUCE
After years of mutual animosity and legal wrangling, Microsoft has agreed to
pay AOL Time Warner $750 million in a settlement that lays a foundation for
further cooperation between the two companies. As part of the agreement, AOL
will receive a seven-year royalty-free license of Microsoft's Internet
Explorer browser, as well as a long-term nonexclusive license to use
Microsoft's Windows Media 9 software. The companies will also work toward
making AOL and MSN Messenger interoperable, and will explore ways to boost
the adoption and distribution of digital media. Finally, Microsoft will
distribute AOL CD-ROMs to PC manufacturers along with Windows operating
software and will expand its support contract with AOL. The settlement is
being described by both companies as a win-win -- it enables AOL to reduce
some of its $23 billion debt burden and relieves Microsoft of one of its
nagging legal problems. "Microsoft has been very pragmatic in putting its
antitrust issues behind it," says one antitrust attorney. "What will be
interesting to see is if they settle with Sun. That's a bit more of a grudge
match." (CNet News.com 29 May 2003)
http://news.com.com/2100-1032-1011296.html?tag=nl
APPLE IS THE NEW MTV
Numair Faraz, who has started several online service companies, says of the
current music scene: "Apple is the new MTV. It is the new funnel for music.
When things moved from radio to video, MTV was the sole source of music. Now
Apple is going to control the distribution and promotion of music. The
entire ecosystem they are using is theirs." (New York Times 29 May 2003)
http://partners.nytimes.com/2003/05/29/arts/music/29POPL.html
MIND MADE UP: MUNICH LIKES LINUX, WILL GET UNIQUE PRICING PLAN
After months of analysis and discussions, the city government in Munich,
Germany, has decided to drop Microsoft products completely and make a
strategic decision in favor of Linux, migrating its entire computer network
to the open source Linux operating system. SuSE Linux AG and IBM worked
closely with the city to come up with a Windows-to-Linux migration program
that will begin next year. A SuSE executive says the company has proposed a
new price-per-inhabitant pricing model: "We've decided to charge not on a
PC basis but rather on a resident basis. This approach is unique in the
industry. Each resident should know what IT costs he or she generates."
(Linux World 28 May 2003)
http://www.linuxworld.com/2003/0528.munich.html
TIVO TO MARKET VIEWER DATA
TiVo, recently described as "God's machine" by FCC chairman Michael Powell,
has begun offering advertisers and broadcasters detailed information on
what TV programs and commercials its users are watching -- or skipping.
TiVo executives say they will be gathering information only in the
aggregate, keeping individual user data anonymous. "Advertisers and
programmers undoubtedly will want to understand how the technology will
impact viewer behavior, and this is the first opportunity for them to get
data to understand how viewers are using the technology," says an IDC
analyst. Unlike traditional TV rating surveys that indicate which shows
consumers are watching, the TiVo data reveals *how* viewers are watching --
at which points they're fast-forwarding or rewinding for an instant replay.
For instance, during the Grammy Awards, TiVo noticed a spike in instant
replays when Julia Roberts walked on stage to give an award. TiVo's
measurement service will initially focus on viewer habits during prime-time
programs and will be marketed as a quarterly subscription report.
Customized data will be available as well. (AP 2 Jun 2003)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030603/D7RDUTBG0.html
[And On A Similar Note]
LOOKING FOR MEANINGFUL PATTERNS IN YOUR LIFE? SEE DARPA!
The Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is taking
bids on a new project called LifeLog, which will help someone capture his
or her "experience in and interactions with the world" via cameras,
microphones, and sensors; the goal is to created advanced software to
assist in the analysis of a person's behavior, habits, and routines.
Privacy advocates are expressing concern, but DARPA spokesperson Jan Walker
says that the "allegation that this technology would create a machine to
spy on others and invade people's privacy is way off the mark." LifeLog's
software "will be able to find meaningful patterns in the timetable, to
infer the user's routines, habits and relations with other people,
organizations, places and objects." (AP/USA Today 2 Jun 2003)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2003-06-02-lifelog_x.htm
You have been reading excerpts from NewsScan
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***
From Edupage
MICROSOFT AND AOL REACH TRUCE
Rivals Microsoft and AOL Time Warner have settled their dispute over
Internet browsers. AOL is dropping its antitrust suit, filed against
Microsoft in January 2002, that alleged anticompetitive business
practices favoring Microsoft's Internet Explorer browsing software
over Netscape's software. Netscape, a subsidiary of AOL and the former
industry leader, now claims only five percent of the browser market
compared to Internet Explorer's 90 percent. Microsoft has agreed to
pay AOL $750 million and to license free-of-charge its browsing
software to AOL through 2010. In addition, AOL and Microsoft will
collaborate on new digital media initiatives and product compatibility,
including integrating their instant-messaging services. AOL, which
currently uses RealNetworks Inc.'s digital services, can also license
Microsoft's digital media and antipiracy digital rights management
technology. In addition, Microsoft will provide technical information
on its Windows operating systems and will pair AOL-branded Internet
service software with Windows on some hardware, which could expand
AOL's reach by millions. The deal issues in a new era of cooperation
between the software and media giants.
New York Times, 30 May 2003 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Microsoft-AOL.html
REPORT SAYS CIA NOT USING IT CREATIVELY
A report written by a member of a CIA think tank argues that the
agency's use of information technology is handicapped by a culture
that treats technology as a threat rather than a benefit. In the
report, "Failing to Keep Up With the Information Revolution," Bruce
Berkowitz writes that the agency's focus on security prevents the
CIA's Directorate of Intelligence "from applying information
technology more effectively." Berkowitz points to a CIA database, the
Corporate Information Retrieval and Storage (CIRAS) database, which the
report states is the most-used database at the CIA. Compared to systems
outside the CIA, he said, CIRAS is primitive. Because of the
shortcomings of CIRAS, CIA analysts depend largely on an informal
source network, according to Berkowitz, who characterized such an
informal network as "exactly what the World Wide Web does in an
automated fashion when it is combined with a search engine like Google
or Alta Vista."
Internet News, 29 May 2003
http://www.internetnews.com/infra/article.php/2213741
STUDY SHOWS IMPROVED VISUAL PERCEPTION FROM VIDEO GAMES
A study conducted at the University of Rochester indicates that playing
high-action video games can increase a person's performance on a range
of visual tests. The tests included locating the position of a blinking
object, counting simultaneous objects on a screen, and identifying the
color of an alphabet letter. In the study, subjects who spent several
months regularly playing action video games consistently performed
better on the tests than those who did not play the games. The study
did not address the question of how violence in video games influences
those who play them. The authors of the study said the results suggest
that such video games could be beneficial to people with visual
impairments or to soldiers training for combat. Military experts
confirmed the latter notion, saying that soldiers who have spent many
years playing action video games are often better at certain combat
skills, such as operating long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.
Wall Street Journal, 28 May 2003 (sub. req'd)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB105413319494664400,00.html
REALNETWORKS LOWERS THE BAR FOR PER-SONG DOWNLOAD PRICE
Not long after Apple Computer's new music service went online selling
songs for 99 cents each, RealNetworks announced that its new Rhapsody
music service would charge just 79 cents per song. Rhapsody is based on
the Listen.com service, which RealNetworks acquired last month.
According to RealNetworks's Dan Sheeran, users who subscribe to the
service for $9.95 per month will be able to download songs for the
79-cent price. Sheeran said the revenues from subscriptions will allow
the service to run at a profit. By comparison, Apple's service is
available to anyone with a Mac, without a monthly subscription fee.
Subscribers to the Rhapsody service will be allowed unlimited downloads
and can burn any downloaded songs to CDs.
Internet News, 28 May 2003
http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/2213011
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pgweekly_2003_06_04_part_1.txt
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