*The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, September 10, 2003*
******eBooks Readable By Both Humans and Computers For Over 32 Years*******
New eBook Milestones
We Reached 1/3 Of The Way From 9,000 to 10,000 Thursday!!!
9429 Books Done. . .571 To Go. . . !
We're Over 16/17 Of The Way To 10,000!!!
Distributed Proofreaders just posted its 2000th etext to Project
Gutenberg on September 4th. The 1000th was posted last February.
This means the DPs have produced 1,000 eBooks in 8 months!!!!!!!
[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 32 11/53 Year History, We Have Now Averaged Over 275 Ebooks/Year
And This Year Averaged Over That Same New eBook Level. . .PER MONTH!!!!!
By The Way, It's Been About 1 Billion Seconds Since The First eBook!!!
So we have averaged about 29 hours 47 minutes per book over the whole period,
but less than 2 hours 17 minutes per book for this year!
We Are Averaging About 321 Per Month This Year!!!
In this issue of the Project Gutenberg Weekly newsletter:
- Intro (above)
- Requests For Assistance
- Progress Report
- Flashback
- Continuing Requests For Assistance
- Making Donations
- Access To The Collection
- Information About Mirror Sites
- Have We Given Away A Trillion Yet?
- Weekly eBook update:
Updates/corrections in separate section
3 New From PG Australia [Australian, Canadian Copyright Etc.]
99 New Public Domain eBooks Under US Copyright
- Headline News from Newsscan and Edupage
- Information about mailing lists
*** Requests For Assistance
Interested in music? Project Gutenberg's music project
(http://ibiblio.org/gutenberg/music) is seeking people to
digitize musical scores. We also have a small budget to
work on publicity recruitment for our sheet music efforts.
Email Greg Newby <gbnewby AT pglaf.org> if you would like
more information.
***
!!!
I need a copy of zip for AIX that can do the "-9" high compression,
and still unzip via the standard unzip programs!!!
***
I am working on trying to collect and convert some public domain folk tunes
to ABC notation. Could use some help tracking down public domain versions
of the melodies or proof that these songs are in the public domain. Songs
I'm working on at present include:
I Know Where I'm Going
Simple Gifts
She Moved Throught The Fair
A Sailor Courted a Farmer's Daughter (aka Constant Lovers)
The Fisher Who Died in His Bed
Ufros Alienu
If anyone's interesting in converting folk songs to a digital public
domain format and would like to help or if you want to contact me, you can
do so through the mailing list at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pdsongs
***
Project Gutenberg DVD Needs Burners
So far we have access to a dozen DVD burners. If you have
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I have the first test DVD here right now!!! Nearly all
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*** PROJECT GUTENBERG IS SEEKING LEGAL ASSISTANTS AND ASSISTANCE
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*** Progress Report
In the first 8.00 months of this year, we produced 2686 new eBooks.
It took us from 1971 to 2000 to produce our first 2,686 eBooks!
That's 35 WEEKS as Compared to ~30 Years!
102 New eBooks This Week
178 New eBooks Last Week
102 New eBooks This Month [September]
335 Average Per Month in 2003 <<<
203 Average Per Month in 2002 <<<
103 Average Per Month in 2001 <<<
2686 New eBooks in 2003
2441 New eBooks in 2002
1240 New eBooks in 2001
====
6367 New eBooks Since Start Of 2001
That's Only 32 Months!!!
9,429 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks
5,909 eBooks This Week Last Year
3,452 New eBooks In The Last 12 Months [98.16%]
3,516 Would Have Been Exactly Moore's Law[100%]
4,614 New eBooks in the last 18 months [95.83%]
4,815 Would Have Been Exactly Moore's Law[100%]
273 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia
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***
FLASHBACK!!!
2686 New eBooks So Far in 2003
It took us 30 years for the first 2686 !
That's the 36 WEEKS of 2003 as Compared to ~30 YEARS!!!
Here Is A Sample Of What Books Were Being Done Around #2686
Jul 2001 Medical Essays, by Oliver Wendell Holmes [OWH #9] [medicxxx.xxx] 2700
Jul 2001 Pages From an Old Volume of Life by O.W. Holmes #8[pagesxxx.xxx] 2699
Jul 2001 A Mortal Antipathy, by Oliver Wendell Holmes[OWH7][antipxxx.xxx] 2698
Jul 2001 The Guardian Angel, by Oliver Wendell Holmes[OWH6][angelxxx.xxx] 2697
Jul 2001 Elsie Venner, by Oliver Wendell Holmes [Holmes #5][elsiexxx.xxx] 2696
[Please note these are by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Senior, not the jurist, Jr.]
Jul 2001 Jeff Briggs's Love Story, by Bret Harte[Harte #36][jfblsxxx.xxx] 2695
Jul 2001 I and My Chimney, by Herman Melville [Melville #4][chmnyxxx.xxx] 2694
Jul 2001 Greyfriars Bobby, Eleanor Atkinson [bobbyxxx.xxx] 2693
Jul 2001 A Protegee Of Jack Hamlin's by Bret Harte [BH #35][apojhxxx.xxx] 2692
Jul 2001 The Old Lumberman's Secret, by Annie Roe Carr [nsapcxxx.xxx] 2691
Jun 2001 Coral Reefs, by Charles Darwin[Charles Darwin #11][coralxxx.xxx] 2690
Jun 2001 Over the Teacups, by Oliver W. Holmes [OWH Sr. #4][teacpxxx.xxx] 2689
Jun 2001 The Clue of the Twisted Candles, by Edgar Wallace [clotcxxx.xxx] 2688
Jun 2001 The Snare, by Rafael Sabatini [Rafael Sabatini #7][snarexxx.xxx] 2687
Jun 2001 The Book of Snobs, by William Makepeace Thackeray [snobsxxx.xxx] 2686
Jun 2001 The Way to Peace, by Margaret Deland [wy2pcxxx.xxx] 2685
Jun 2001 Five Tales, by John Galsworthy[John Galsworthy #9][5talexxx.xxx] 2684
Jun 2001 Saint's Progress, by John Galsworthy [John G. #8][saintxxx.xxx] 2683
Jun 2001 Henri III et sa Cour by Alexandre Dumas Pere [#9][h3escxxx.xxx] 2682
Jun 2001 Ten Years Later, by Alexandre Dumas[Dumas Pere #8][tenyrxxx.xxx] 2681
Jun 2001 Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius [medmaxxx.xxx] 2680
Jun 2001 Poems of Emily Dickinson, Series Two [Emily D. #2][2mlydxxx.xxx] 2679
Jun 2001 Poems of Emily Dickinson, Series One [Emily D. #1][1mlydxxx.xxx] 2678
Jun 2001 Epistles from Pap, Letters from Andrew E. Durham [efpapxxx.xxx] 2677C
Jun 2001 The Bell-Ringer of Angel's, by Bret Harte [BH #34][tbroaxxx.xxx] 2676
***
Today Is Day #252 of 2003
This Completes Week #36
119 Days/17 Weeks To Go [We get 53 Wednesdays this year]
571 Books To Go To #10,000
91 Days To December 10, 2003
61 Days To November 10, 2003
[Our Goals For eBook #10,000]
[Our production year begins/ends
1st Wednesday of the month/year]
Week #71 Of Our SECOND 5,000 eBooks
75 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]
*** Continuing Requests For Assistance:
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*** Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet???
Statistical Review
In the 36 weeks of this year, we have produced 2686 new eBooks.
It took us from 1971 to 2000 to produce our FIRST 2686 eBooks!!!
That's 36 WEEKS as Compared to ~30 YEARS!!!
With 9,429 eBooks online as of September 10, 2003 it now takes an average
of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $1.06 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 1.5% of the world's population!
This "cost" is down from about $1.69 when we had 5870 eBooks A Year Ago
Can you imagine 9,429 books each costing $.63 less a year later???
Or. . .would this say it better?
Can you imagine 9,429 books each costing 1/3 less a year later???
At 9429 eBooks in 32 Years and 3.25 Months We Averaged
292 Per Year [About how many we do per month these days!]
24 Per Month
.80 Per Day
At 2686 eBooks Done In The 252 Days Of 2003 We Averaged
10.7 Per Day
74.6 Per Week
325.8 Per Month
The production statistics are calculated based on full weeks'
production; each production-week starts/ends Wednesday noon,
starts with the first Wednesday of January. January 1st was
the first Wednesday of 2003, and thus ended PG's production
year of 2002 and began the production year of 2003 at noon.
This year there will be 53 Wednesdays, thus one extra week.
***Headline News***
[PG Editor's Comments In Brackets]
From Newsscan:
[It's Only The Business Plans That Have Stopped Commercial eBooks]
BARNES & NOBLE SHELVES E-BOOKS
Barnesandnoble.com is shutting down its e-book business in a move viewed as
a setback for both Microsoft and Adobe Systems, which have been pushing
their technologies for digital book formats and readers. "Sales have been
pretty minimal," says Nielsen/NetRatings senior analyst Robert Leathern.
"E-books for a long time have been something that people have said will
lead to a spike in adoption, but the technology really hasn't been there
yet." The more futuristic vision is that you can carry the book around.
There is some technology in the works to make reading on those screens a
lot clearer, and there's some potential for that. It could become the
preferred way for people to read business documents. But I doubt whether
that will be the preferred way people read everyday things."
(CNet News.com 9 Sep 2003)
http://news.com.com/2100-1019_3-5073796.html?tag=fd_top
[A Quite Different Business Plan]
[Hewlett-Packard's New Ad Campaign Also Features High Density eBooks]
TINY (AND VERY LIGHT) ELECTRONIC WORDS
Weighty words are less weighty than they used to be, if you use the PDA
version rather than the print version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate
Dictionary. The print version: 1,664 pages, 3 pounds. The PDA-sized
electronic version, from Franklin Electronic Publishers, weighs just a few
ounces, and will not only spell and define the words, but will speak them
(in a computerish voice). You enter words using a full QWERTY keyboard, and
see the definition displayed on clear monochrome screen display. The
speaking version also supports Franklin's line of electronic books on
snap-in cartridges. Titles can be downloaded from www.franklin.com and
transferred to a cartridge using an optional PC Link
cable.(Courier-Journal/USA Today 10 Sep 2003)
www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/products/2003-09-10-pda-dictionary_x.htm
'PRE-OWNED' DIGITAL TUNE HITS AUCTION BLOCK
George Hotelling is pushing the envelope in digital music with his attempt
to auction off a song that he purchased on Apple's iTunes Music Store.
Hotelling says he's not concerned about recouping his 99-cent investment in
Devin Vasquez's rendition of "Double-Dutch Bus," but he's interested in
probing the murky legal ground surrounding digital copyrights. "I'd just
like to know that if I buy something, whether it's physical or intellectual
property, that I'll have my right of 'First Sale,'" says Hotelling. The
terms of service contract that accompanies iTunes songs doesn't say much
about the rules that guide resale of songs but does stipulate that the
songs are only for "personal, noncommercial use." One nagging question
concerns the lack of legal guidelines governing the rights of an owner of a
second-hand digital song, says Fred von Lohmann, senior staff attorney at
the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "If you were to win that auction and
get that song, you have no relationship with Apple. You didn't agree to the
terms of service. What governs that song after you've repurchased it?"
(CNet News.com 3 Sep 2003)
http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5071108.html?tag=fd_top
RECORDING INDUSTRY OFFERS AMNESTY TO MUSIC-SWAPPERS
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is planning to tell
people who have illegally downloaded copyrighted music from the Internet
that they will not be prosecuted providing they admit what they've done and
pledge to delete the songs from their computers. (The amnesty offer won't
apply, though, to music downloaders who have already been subpoenaed for
RIAA copyright-infringement lawsuits.) Attorney Fred von Lohmann of the
Electronic Frontier Foundation says: "I'll be curious to see how many opt
for this. It will be an interesting measure of how much fear the recording
industry has managed to inject into the American public."
(AP/San Jose Mercury News 4 Sep 2005)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6694357.htm
ON-DEMAND ENTERTAINMENT SET TO REPLACE HARD COPY
In five years, about a third of music sales will come from downloads and CD
sales will drop 30% from their 1999 peak, predicts a new study by Forrester
Research. "On-demand services are the future of entertainment delivery,"
says Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff. "CDs, DVDs, and any other forms of
physical media will become obsolete." Forrester predicts that over the next
nine months, at least 10 Windows-based music services will emerge, boosting
the market for online music to $270 million by the end of 2004. If the
trend continues, digital music sales could account for $1.4 billion of the
music industry's anticipated $12.8 billion in revenues three years from
now. "The CD is turning out to be a transitory sort of item," says Roy
Trakin, senior editor of Hits magazine. "The future of the CD may be in its
enhanced content -- in a hybrid CD-DVD and the more upscale formats like
DVD audio and super audio CDs." Meanwhile, Forrester urges Hollywood to
take note of what's happening in the music industry. By 2007, the research
group estimates that video rental revenues will plummet 37% and by 2008,
overall revenues from DVDs and tapes will drop 8%. "Consumers have spoken
-- they are tired of paying the high cost of CDs and DVDs and prefer more
flexible forms of on-demand media delivery," says Bernoff.(CNN.com 3 Sep 2003)
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/09/03/cd.future/index.html
DISNEY TOUTS SELF-DESTRUCTING DVDs
Walt Disney is launching its new, disposable DVD product line today, which
will be available in convenience stores, pharmacies and other outlets in
four U.S. cities. The test will gauge consumer enthusiasm for the EZ-D
format, which will carry a suggested price of $6.99 and are viewable for 48
hours after opening up the package. Once the package is opened, exposure to
oxygen slowly erodes the readability of the disc through a process similar
to the developing of Polaroid film. The plan has drawn criticism from
environmental groups, which say the discs will add needless waste to U.S.
landfills. Disney says there will be some recycling available -- although
not in-store -- and consumers eventually will be able to trade in six used
discs for a free new one. (Reuters/CNN Money 9 Sep 2003)
http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/09/technology/disney_dvd.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes
CASHING IN ON 'TRASH TRAFFIC'
Every day, millions of Web users make typos while keying in URLs -- a
phenomenon referred to as "trash traffic," which resourceful companies like
Microsoft and AOL Time Warner have figured out how to redirect to their
advantage. When a user mistypes an address, she is usually whisked off to
an MSN or AOL Internet search engine (complete with advertisements), which
suggests a list of sites she might have been trying to reach. Users who
click on one of the possibilities might be redirected to a page with
several hyperlinks, some of them ads. But now a group of Internet
registries, including VeriSign, is eyeing the possibilities for monetizing
trash traffic by diverting it their own sites. Internet founding father
Vinton Cerf says such shenanigans could be detrimental to non-Web
applications like e-mail because the registry operators would have to
modify their DNS servers to do things they're not designed to do. "I'm
adamantly opposed to it," says Cerf. (Wall Street Journal 5 Sep 2003)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1062710102434100,00.html (sub req'd)
ARE DATABASES THE NEXT COPYRIGHT BATTLEGROUND?
A proposed bill scheduled for a joint hearing by the U.S. House Judiciary
and Energy and Commerce Committees would prevent the wholesale copying of
news archives, professional directories, and other compilations of factual
information not currently protected by copyright laws. Backers of the
measure say it would prevent groups from simply copying and repackaging
databases to resell them or make them available for free, but the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce and consumer advocates plan to protest the proposed
legislation, arguing that it could dramatically limit the public's access
to information and that database providers can protect themselves through
existing terms-of-service agreements with users. "We think this is already
dealt with under license and contract law, and there's no reason to extend
beyond that," says Joe Rubin, director of congressional and public affairs
at the U.S. Chamber. And while some advocates say the measure would
encourage publishers to make more information available for free, Mike
Godwin, senior technology counsel at Public Knowledge, says the more likely
outcome will be the opposite: "Information, when not copyrighted, is
something that can be shared. Once you start putting fences around
information, there's not freedom of inquiry. That doesn't make us smarter,
it makes us dumber." (Reuters/CNet 5 Sep 2003)
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5072206.html
APPLE I RESURRECTED
A Cleveland, Ohio, computer enthusiast has been granted permission to
produce a replica of the Apple I, which he plans to sell out of his garage
for $200 apiece. Vince Briel has been planning his venture for some months,
but was unable to get the okay from Apple to do it. So he did the next best
thing -- he wrote Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak asking his permission to
use the Apple I ROM. "Sure you can use the ROMs," answered Wozniak. "I'm
sure that Apple would deny this request, even though what you are speaking
of is very noble and cannot hurt Apple in any way." Wozniak says he freely
distributed the Apple I's schematics and ROM code at the Homebrew Computer
Club in 1975, long before he and Steve Jobs started selling the machines
from Jobs' parents' garage. Briel says his replica uses different
components from the original, but that it's functionally identical. "I
spent a lot of time trying to get every detail so the replica functions
completely identically to the Apple I. I'm hoping this project generates
interest in creating hardware and exploring computers the way they used to
be. I just want to help people relive the 8-bit computer experience and get
more people involved in the history of computers and collecting."
(Wired.com 8 Sep 2003)
http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,60329,00.html
[More Below On This One]
JAPAN, CHINA, SOUTH KOREA SEEK ALTERNATIVES TO WINDOWS
Japan, China and South Korea have agreed to cooperate in an R&D program to
develop software for operating systems other than Microsoft's Windows, and
to encourage the more widespread of use of existing operating systems that
compete with Windows. Japanese trade ministry official Takashi Kume
explains, "The idea is to get existing non-Windows operating systems, such
as Linux, to be more broadly used, rather than developing a totally new
operating system." Besides giving more options to consumers, the
development of non-Windows operating system software would also allow
manufacturers a wider choice of platforms in developing electronics and
information devices. (AP/San Jose Mercury News 9 Sep 2003)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6699893.htm
You have been reading excerpts from NewsScan:
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***
From Edupage
COLLEGES INVESTIGATE LEGAL FILE SHARING
Members of the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and
Entertainment Communities are working to identify ways to reduce the
illegal sharing of copyrighted files on college campuses, including one
proposal to provide students with legal access to online music.
According to Graham Spanier, president of Pennsylvania State University
and co-chair of the committee, the service would work similarly to
cable television in dorm rooms. Spanier said about a dozen institutions
are considering testing such a program. The committee will not endorse
specific solutions to the problem of illegal file sharing but hopes to
collect educational, technological, and policy resources that parties
from both the higher education and entertainment communities can use to
work toward joint solutions. The other co-chair of the committee, Cary
Sherman of the Recording Industry Association of America, said
"collaborative solutions are the best approach" because university
administrators and entertainment executives "are in this boat together."
Internet News, 2 September 2003
http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/3071331
FILE-SWAPPER AMNESTY PROGRAM
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) will reportedly
announce an amnesty program next week aimed at individuals willing to
admit having downloaded and shared copyrighted music files. Those who
sign the amnesty form--admitting their past activity and promising to
delete copyrighted files and not to engage in future illegal file
trading--would be shielded from prosecution by the RIAA. The deal will
not be available to any of the more than 1,500 people for whom the RIAA
tas already served subpoenas. Fred von Lohmann of the Electronic Frontier
Foundation noted that because the RIAA does not represent all copyright
owners, the agreement would not protect individuals from prosecution
by other copyright holders. The amnesty offer, von Lohmann said, is
"not the kind of agreement that most people's lawyers will embrace."
San Jose Mercury News, 5 September 2003
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6694357.htm
QUALITY OF ONLINE COURSES EXPECTED TO ECLIPSE IN-CLASS COURSES
A survey conducted by Babson College and the Sloan Consortium indicates
growing respect among some college administrators--including presidents
and chief academic officers--for the quality of online courses.
One-third of the roughly 1,000 survey respondents expect the quality of
online courses at their institutions to surpass that of in-class
courses within three years. Fifty-seven percent said the quality of
Web-based classes already rivals that of in-class teaching. Some
administrators, however, particularly at private baccalaureate
institutions, remain skeptical of online teaching. One-third of the
respondents said Web-based courses would not become a significant part
of the teaching at their institutions.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 4 September 2003 (sub. req'd)
http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2003/09/2003090401t.htm
AUTOMATED ESSAY GRADING: MAKING THE GRADE?
Several companies offer computer tools to grade student essays, and
various schools around the United States, including some colleges and
universities, are using such grading tools to reduce teacher workload
and improve student writing. One tool called Criterion, developed by
the Educational Testing Service (ETS), is being used by Camden County
College in New Jersey. Criterion scores essays based on factors
"learned" from human readers and also provides students with feedback
on grammar, style, usage, and organization. Anthony Spatola, chairman
of the English department at Camden, said students appreciate the
feedback, and he believes the tool helps students improve their
writing. Officials from ETS acknowledged that the system theoretically
could give a high score to an essay that exhibited certain linguistic
characteristics but lacked a logical argument. Students' taking the
time, however, to fool the system is unrealistic, they argued. Such
automated systems have ardent detractors, including Julie Cheville of
Rutgers University and the local director for the National Writing
Project, who said automated grading systems "orient students to errors,
not to meaning." Cheville argued that "Vacuous student essays can
New York Times, 4 September 2003 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/04/technology/circuits/04grad.html
JUDGE ALLOWS POP-UP ADS
A federal judge has ruled in favor of desktop advertising companies,
stating that pop-up advertising does not infringe on the trademarks and
copyrights of Web site publishers and holding individual users
responsible for downloading software that drives pop-up ads. The case
concerned U-Haul moving company's allegation that WhenU violated its
copyrights and trademarks by displaying pop-up advertisements when a
user visited the U-Haul Web site. Although he issued the first ruling
granting adware companies the legal right to serve pop-up ads, U.S.
District Court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee noted that "we computer users
must endure pop-up advertising along with her ugly brother unsolicited
bulk e-mail, spam, as a burden of using the Internet."
Internet News, 8 September 2003
http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/3073741
EFF URGES USERS TO PASS UP RIAA'S AMNESTY OFFER
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has issued a statement warning
users against accepting the recording industry's anticipated but
unconfirmed plan to offer legal amnesty to those who admit to illegal
online file sharing, cautioning that users could still face legal
action. According to Wendy Seltzer, staff attorney for the EFF,
"Stepping into the spotlight to admit your guilt is probably not a
sensible course for most people sharing music files online, especially
since the RIAA [Recording Industry Association of America] doesn't
control many potential sources of lawsuits." The amnesty program is an
alternate tactic the RIAA is considering to prevent illegal file
sharing, pending the outcome of Congressional hearings on the subpoena
provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act--the legal basis of
the RIAA's subpoena campaign against individual file swappers (see the
related story below on the RIAA's filing of 261 lawsuits)--contested
by the EFF and other groups that defend privacy rights.
PCWorld, 8 September 2003
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,112362,00.asp
RIAA FILES 261 LAWSUITS
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed 261
lawsuits against alleged file swappers, charging the individuals with
"egregious" copyright infringement. Those targeted were supposedly
sharing 1,000 songs or more through file-swapping networks. The
lawsuits are the first time that copyright laws have been used on a
large scale against individual Internet users, and the RIAA has
promised to file thousands more in the next couple of months. Despite
the RIAA's legal warnings, file swapping on services such as Kazaa
have continued at a brisk pace, reflecting a finding by the Pew
Internet and American Life Project that 67 percent of people
downloading music do not care whether the music was copyrighted or not.
Violators can be held liable for up to $150,000 per violation, although
few of the suits are expected to go to trial. Many defendants are
expected to settle with the RIAA, as did four students the RIAA
previously sued, and several have already agreed to preliminary
settlements of around $3,000 apiece. In tandem with the lawsuits, the
RIAA has been considering a "Clean Slate" amnesty program that will
allegedly protect file sharers who admit to illegal file swapping and
pledge to stop. Both the lawsuits and the amnesty program have come
under attack from various sources, including the Electronic Frontier
Foundation. (See the related story, above.)
ZDNet, 8 September 2003
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5072564.html
[Is MicroSoft Going To Lose The Entire Pacific Rim?]
THREE ASIAN COUNTRIES PLAN WINDOWS COMPETITOR
China, South Korea, and Japan are jointly researching an open-source
software computer operating system to compete with Microsoft Windows.
Current alternatives, such as Linux, will be explored rather than
attempting to build a new system from scratch. The intent is to offer
alternatives to Windows that will allow manufacturers more choice and
help insulate the countries^R systems against cyberattack. The Japanese
government, which spearheaded the project, has already earmarked one
billion yen ($85.5 million). Top officials of the ministries of trade
of the three countries will meet later in September to further discuss
the project.
BBC, 8 September 2003
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3090918.stm
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