*The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, May 05, 2004 PT1*
*****eBooks Readable By Both Humans and Computers Since July 4, 1971******
Newsletter editors needed! Please email hart@pobox.com or gbnewby@pglaf.org
Anyone who would care to get advance editions: please email hart@pobox.com
eBook Milestones
We Are Over 1/4 of the Way from 10,000 to 20,000
12582 eBooks As Of Today!!!
7418 to go to 20,000
It took ~32 years, from 1971 to 2003 to do our 1st 10,000
It took ~10 years from 1993 to 2003 to grow from 100 eBooks to 10,100
It took ~3 years + 1 month from 2001 to 2004 for our last 10,000
[From 2,582 eBooks in April, 2001 to 12,582 eBooks in May, 2004]
***
[The Newsletter is now being sent in two sections, so you can directly
go to the portions you find most interesting: 1. Founder's Comments,
News, Notes & Queries, and 2. Weekly eBook Update Listing.]
Today, and until we actually GET a new Newsletter editor who want to
do another portion, there will be only 2 parts. . .this is Part 1,
and the eBook listings in Part 2 [New Project Gutenberg Documents].
[Since we are between Newsletter editors, these 2 parts may undergo a
few changes while we are finding a new Newsletter editor. Email us:
hart@pobox.com and gbnewby@pglaf.org if you would like to volunteer.]
This is Michael Hart's "Founder's Comments" section of the Newsletter
Over Our 32 17/52 Year History, We Have Now Averaged About 389 Ebooks/Yr
And This Year Averaged Over That Same New eBook Level. . .PER MONTH!!!!!
We Are Averaging About 419 eBooks Per Month This Year!!!
98 per week!!!
*** HOT Requests!!!
We may need a volunteer who is travelling to the US from
the UK or South Africa to bring a radio that might help
in the development of a world wireless eBook network.
***
We're working up a team to read our eBooks into MP3 files
for the visually impaired and other audio book users.
Let us know if you'd like to join this group.
More information at http://gutenberg.net/audio
***
Project Gutenberg Needs DVD Burners
So far we have sent out 2.5 million eBooks via snailmail!
We currently have access to a dozen DVD burners. If you have
a DVD burner or know someone with one, please email Aaron:
cannona@fireantproductions.com
We can set you up with images or snail you these DVDs
for you to copy. You can either snail them to readers
whose addresses we can send you, or you can do a stack
of the these and send the whole box back for reshipping
to individual addresses.
We can also send you blank discs in quantities of 50-100
an *perhaps* also provide envelopes, sleeves, etc.
We also have many volunteers who only have time to do one
DVD per day and mail it out. These are greatly appreciated.
There is no need to do a lot per person if we have a lot of
people working on this.
***
Project Gutenberg is seeking graphics we can use for our Web
pages and publicity materials. If you have original graphics
depicting Project Gutenberg themes, please contribute them!
To see some of what we have now, please see:
http://ibiblio.org/gutenberg/images
***
In this issue of the Project Gutenberg Weekly newsletter:
- Intro (above)
- New Site (above)
- Hot Requests (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
2 New From PG Australia [Australian, Canadian Copyright Etc.]
94 New Public Domain eBooks Under US Copyright
- Headline News from Newsscan and Edupage
- Information about mailing lists
*** Requests For Assistance
_I_ am still interested in a DVD that has an actual total
of 10,000 eBooks. . .or more. . .mostly for PR purposes--
if someone would be willing to make one.
*** PROJECT GUTENBERG IS SEEKING LEGAL BEAGLES
Project Gutenberg is seeking (volunteer) lawyers. We have
regular needs for intellectual property legal advice
(both US and international) and other areas. Please email
Project Gutenberg's CEO, Greg Newby <gbnewby AT pglaf.org> ,
if you can help.
This is much more important than many of us realize!
*** Progress Report
In the first 3.75 months of this year, we produced 1659 new eBooks.
It took us from July 1971 to Jan 1999 to produce our first 1,659 eBooks!
That's 17 WEEKS as Compared to ~28 Years!
96 New eBooks This Week
85 New eBooks Last Week
345 New eBooks This Month [April]
419 Average Per Month in 2004
355 Average Per Month in 2003
203 Average Per Month in 2002
103 Average Per Month in 2001
1675 New eBooks in 2004
4164 New eBooks in 2003
2441 New eBooks in 2002
1240 New eBooks in 2001
====
9520 New eBooks Since Start Of 2001
That's Only 40.00 Months!
12,582 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks
7,803 eBooks This Week Last Year
====
4,779 New eBooks In Last 12 Months
354 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia
We're still keeping up with Moore's Law!
Moore's Law 12 month percentage = 104%
Moore's Law 18 month percentage = 101%
[100% of Moore's Law = doubling every 18 months]
Check out our website at gutenberg.net, and see below to learn how
you can get INSTANT access to our eBooks via FTP servers even before
the new eBooks listed below appear in our catalog.
eBooks are posted throughout the week. You can even get daily lists.
Info on subscribing to daily, weekly, monthly Newsletters, listservs:
http://gutenberg.net/subs.shtml
***
FLASHBACK!!!
1659 New eBooks So Far in 2004
It took us ~28 years for the first 1674 !
That's the 4.0 MONTHS of 2004 as Compared to ~28 YEARS!!!
Here Is A Sample Of What Books Were Being Done Around #1675
Apr 1999 Life of Charlotte Bronte, V2, by E. C. Gaskell[#2][2locbxxx.xxx] 1700
Apr 1999 The Vanished Messenger by E. Phillips Oppenheim #4[vmsgrxxx.xxx] 1699
Apr 1999 The Survivors of the Chancellor, by Jules Verne #9[tsotcxxa.xxx] 1698
(Note: This is from a different source than our previous edition.)
Apr 1999 Madam How and Lady Why, by Charles Kingsley[CK #7][hwwhyxxx.xxx] 1697
Apr 1999 The Club of Queer Trades, by G. K. Chesterton/GKC8[tcoqtxxx.xxx] 1696
Apr 1999 The Man Who Was Thursday, by G. K. Chesterton/GKC7[tmwhtxxx.xxx] 1695
Apr 1999 Our Legal Heritage, by S. A. Reilly [rlglhxxx.xxx] 1694C
(Updated version in:) [rlglhxxa.xxx]
Apr 1999 Dangerous Days, by Mary Roberts Rinehart [MRR #8] [ddaysxxx.xxx] 1693
Mar 1999 1492, by Mary Johnston [For Columbus Day, 1998] [c1492xxx.xxx] 1692
(This eBook was being posted on October 12, 1998, Columbus Day, US
(We were several months ahead of schedule, so it appeared as March.)
Mar 1999 I Have A Dream, Martin Luther King, Jr. [dreamxxx.xxx] 1691
[We originally did this on Martin Luther King Day, a few years ago, but
waited until all the court cases were completed before posting. Note:S The case was later reversed, so we had to delete "I Have A Dream."]
Mar 1999 Marie, by H. Rider Haggard [H. Rider Haggard #4][mariexxx.xxx] 1690
(Note: the file name mariexxx.xxx is also used for #3451 in etext02)
Mar 1999 The Pivot of Civilization, By Margaret Sanger [pvcvlxxx.xxx] 1689
Mar 1999 The People of the Abyss, by Jack London[London#70][tpotaxxx.xxx] 1688
Mar 1999 Parmenides, by Plato [More Socrates] Plato #24][prmdsxxx.xxx] 1687
Mar 1999 The Secret of the Night, by Gaston Leroux [GL #3][tsotnxxx.xxx] 1686
Mar 1999 Mystery of the Yellow Room, by Gaston Leroux[GL#2][ylormxxx.xxx] 1685
[Contains ASCII diagrams, best viewed with non-proportional fonts.]
Mar 1999 The Egoist, by George Meredith[George Meredith #6][egostxxx.xxx] 1684
Mar 1999 Honorine, by Honore de Balzac[Honore de Balzac#59][hnrnexxx.xxx] 1683
Mar 1999 Menexenus, by Plato [Yet More Socrates] [Plato#23][mnxnsxxx.xxx] 1682
Mar 1999 Eryxias, not by Plato [More Socrates] [Plato#22][ryxisxxx.xxx] 1681
Mar 1999 At the Sign of the Cat & Racket, by Balzac[Hdb#58][ctrktxxx.xxx] 1680
Mar 1999 Hiram The Young Farmer, by Burbank L. Todd [hrmyfxxx.xxx] 1679
Mar 1999 An Historical Mystery, by Honore de Balzac[HdB#57][hmystxxx.xxx] 1678
Mar 1999 Alcibiades II, not Plato [More Socrates][Plato#21][2lcbdxxx.xxx] 1677
Mar 1999 Alcibiades I, by Plato? [More Socrates] [Plato#20][1lcbdxxx.xxx] 1676
Mar 1999 New Forces in Old China, by Arthur Judson Brown [ldchnxxx.xxx] 1675
.(Note: the file's name ldchnxxx.xxx is also used for a totally different
.(eBook, #3313 in etext02)
Mar 1999 The Narrative of Sojourner Truth [Slavery] [sjrnrxxx.xxx] 1674
Mar 1999 Lesser Hippias, by [?]Plato[More Socrates]Plato19][lhppsxxx.xxx] 1673
Mar 1999 Gorgias, by Plato [A Socratic Dialog] [Plato #18][grgisxxx.xxx] 1672
Mar 1999 When a Man Marries, by Mary Roberts Rinehart [#7][whammxxx.xxx] 1671
Mar 1999 Martin Luther's Small Catechism, Trns. by R. Smith[smlctxxx.xxx] 1670
Mar 1999 The Human Drift, by Jack London[Jack London#62-69][hmndrxxx.xxx] 1669
Mar 1999 Death of the Laird's Jock, by Walter Scott [WS #8][tpschxxx.xxx] 1668
Also Contains: The Tapestried Chamber, by Walter Scott [WS #7]
[Note: two tales from The Keepsake Stories]
Mar 1999 My Aunt Margaret's Mirror, by Walter Scott [WS #6][mamsmxxx.xxx] 1667
[Note: from The Keepsake Stories]
Mar 1999 The Golden Asse, by Lucius Apuleius "Africanus" [gldnsxxx.xxx] 1666
Mar 1999 Derrick Vaughan--Novelist, by Edna Lyall [dvnvlxxx.xxx] 1665
Mar 1999 Songs for Parents, by John Farrar [sfparxxx.xxx] 1664
Mar 1999 Webster's March 7th Speech/Secession, by HD Foster[wsm7sxxx.xxx] 1663
Mar 1999 The 1997 CIA World Factbook[CIA Factbook #7][No#6][world97x.xxx] 1662
Mar 1999 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Doyle [#15][advshxxx.xxx] 1661
Mar 1999 Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, by Balzac[HdB #56][sfaclxxx.xxx] 1660
Mar 1999 The Girl with the Golden Eyes, by Balzac [HdB #55][gwtgixxx.xxx] 1659
Mar 1999 Phaedo, by Plato [AKA"The Death of Socrates 3"]#17[phadoxxx.xxx] 1658
Mar 1999 Crito, by Plato [AKA"The Death of Socrates 2"]#16[critoxxx.xxx] 1657
Feb 1999 Apology, by Plato[AKA"The Death of Socrates 1"]#15[pplgyxxx.xxx] 1656
***
Today Is Day #119 of 2004
This Completes Week #17 and Month #4.00
244 Days/36 Weeks To Go [We get 52 Wednesdays this year]
7434 Books To Go To #20,000
[Our production year begins/ends
1st Wednesday of the month/year]
98 Weekly Average in 2004
79 Weekly Average in 2003
47 Weekly Average in 2002
24 Weekly Average in 2001
41 Only 41 Numbers Left On Our Reserved Numbers list
[Used to be well over 100]
*** Continuing Requests For Assistance:
Project Gutenberg--Canada is now starting up!!!
Please let us know if you would like to volunteer!
Copyright in Canada is "Life +50" as in Australia,
and we have volunteers working on both of these.
We will also be seeking volunteers from others of
the "life +50" countries, as it looks as if the
Australian copyright law is falling victim to the
new "Economic Warfare" being waged by the World
Intellectual Property Organization and various
billionaire copyright holders around the world.
email: James Linden <jlinden@pglaf.org>
***
DISTRIBUTED PROOFREADERS NEEDS CONTENT, PROOFERS AND SCANNER TYPES
Please contact us at:
dphelp@pgdp.net
if you would like to know more about the Distributed Proofreaders.
Thanks to very good recent publicity, the Distributed Proofreading
project has greatly accelerated its pace. Please visit the site:
http://www.pgdp.net
for more information about how you can help a lot, by
simply proofreading just a few pages per day, or more.
If you have a book that has been scanned, but not yet run
through OCR (optical character recognition) or proofed,
and you would like the Distributed Proofreaders to work on it,
please email dphelp@pgdp.net and we will get things started.
Also, DP is seeking public domain books not already in the
Project Gutenberg collection. To see what is already online,
visit http://ibiblio.org/gutenberg/GUTINDEX.ALL (a text file),
since the online database doesn't reflect recent additions.
Do you have Public Domain books your would like to see in the archive?
Can they be destructively scanned? If so send them to the Distributed
Proofreading Team! Please email dphelp@pgdp.net with your geographic
location. You will be given the address of the nearest high-speed scanner
(note that the high-speed scanner requires destruction of the book(s) which
will not be returned). Alternatively, you can send your books directly to:
Charles Franks
9030 W. Sahara Ave. #195
Las Vegas, NV 89117
Please make sure that any books you send are _not_ already in the archive
and please check them against David's "In Progress" list at:
http://www.dprice48.freeserve.co.uk/GutIP.html
to ensure no one is currently working on them. It would also be helpful if
you obtain copyright clearance before mailing the books, and send the 'OK'
lines to
dphelp@pgdp.net
Do you like to work on an entire book at once but don't have the time
or technology to do the scanning, OCR, and initial proofing yourself?
Distributed Proofreaders has the perfect solution! Just send us email
telling us that you are interested in post-processing and we will help
find a you project you would like to work on.
***
We Have Included Quick and Easy Ways to Donate. . .As Per Your Requests!
We Are Looking For Volunteers To Add eBooks In More Languages,
and in more formats, including music, artwork, movies, etc.
***
QUICK WAYS TO MAKE A DONATION TO PROJECT GUTENBERG
A. Send a check or money order to:
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
809 North 1500 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84116
USA
B. Donate by credit card online:
NetworkForGood:
http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networkforgood/donate.jsp?ein=64-6221541
or
PayPal to "donate@gutenberg.net":
http://www.paypal.com
/xclick/business=donate%40gutenberg.net&item_name=Donate+to+Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg's success is due to the hard work of thousands of
volunteers over more than 32 years. Your donations make it possible
to support these volunteers, and pay our few employees to continue the
creation of free electronic texts. We accept credit cards, checks and
transfers from any country, in any currency.
Donations are made to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
(PGLAF). PGLAF is approved as a charitable 501(c)(3) organization by
the US Internal Revenue Service, and has the Federal Employee Information
Number (EIN) 64-6221541.
For more information, including several other ways to donate, go to
http://promo.net/pg/donation.html or email donate@gutenberg.net
*** HOW TO GET EBOOKS FROM OUR MIRROR SITES
http://promo.net/pg (aka http://www.gutenberg.net) allows searching by
title, author, language and subject. Mirrors (copies) of the complete
collection are available around the world.
http://gutenberg.net/list.html can get you to the nearest one.
--"INSTANT" ACCESS TO OUR LATEST eBOOKS
Use your Web browser or FTP program to visit our master download
site (or a mirror) if you know the file's name you want. Try:
http://ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext04
or
ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext04
and look for the first five letters of the filesname. Note that updated
eBooks usually go in their original directory (e.g., etext99, etext00, etc.)
*** Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet???
Statistical Review
In the 17 weeks of this year, we have produced 1675 new eBooks.
It took us from 1971 to 1998 to produce our FIRST 1675 eBooks!!!
That's 17 WEEKS as Compared to ~28 YEARS!!!
With 12,582 eBooks online as of May 05, 2004 it now takes an average
of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $0.79 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 $1.28 when we had 7803 eBooks A Year Ago
Can you imagine ~12,500 books each costing ~$.49 less a year later???
Or. . .would this say it better?
Can you imagine ~12,500 books each costing 1/3 less a year later???
At 12,582 eBooks in 32 Years and 10.00 Months We Averaged
383 Per Year [We do more per than that month these days!]
31.9 Per Month
1.05 Per Day
At 1675 eBooks Done In The 119 Days Of 2004 We Averaged
14 Per Day
98 Per Week
419 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 7th was
the first Wednesday of 2004, and thus ended PG's production
year of 2003 and began the production year of 2004 at noon.
This year there will be 52 Wednesdays, thus no extra week.
***Headline News***
[PG Editor's Comments In Brackets]
>From Newsscan:
GOOGLE IPO CHANGES THE RULES
The waiting is over: Google, the leading company in the Internet-search
business, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) through which it
will sell about $2.7 billion of shares through an online auction -- a method
chosen in order to put more shares into the hands of individual investors.
The use of an online auction will also restrain the frenzied first-day
trading activity that sometimes result in investment scandals, and will
minimize the key role that investment bankers usually play in deciding who
gets IPO shares. Google has been profitable since 2001. Last year it
generated net income of $106 million, on revenue of $962 million derived
mainly from ads placed on Google's Web site and sites of Google's partners.
(Wall Street Journal 30 Apr 2004)
http://
online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108328345314098183,00.html?mod=2%5F1085%5F1
(Sub Req'd)
BAN ON INTERNET ACCESS TAX EXTENDED
The Senate has voted 93-to-3 to extend the ban against taxes on
Internet access for another four years, in an agreement brokered by Senator
John McCain (R, AZ), chairman of the Commerce Committee. Senator Ron Wyden
(D, OR) says: "This is a huge victory for those who want the Internet to be
healthy and vibrant in the years ahead." But Senator Lamar Alexander (R, TN)
cautions that "the debate should serve as a wake-up call to state and local
governments that they needed to make clear their views on what stages of the
Internet connection should be subject to taxes before the issue of the ban
came up again." Earlier in the week President Bush urged Congress to block
taxes on Internet access, because fast, affordable, and widely available
Internet service is key to the nation's continued economic competitiveness.
(New York Times 30 Apr 2004)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/30/politics/30INTE.html
PATRIOT ACT RULES MUFFLE DISSENT
The secrecy provisions of the USA Patriot Act have prevented the
American Civil Liberties Union from publicizing a lawsuit it filed three
weeks ago challenging the FBI's methods of obtaining many business records.
The ACLU was recently allowed to release a redacted version of the lawsuit
following extended negotiations with the Justice Department. "It is
remarkable that a gag provision in the Patriot Act kept the public in the
dark about the mere fact that a constitutional challenge had been filed in
court," says ACLU associate legal director Ann Beeson. "President Bush can
talk about extending the life of the Patriot Act, but the ACLU is gagged
from discussing details of our challenge to it." The crux of the ACLU's
case concerns a section of the Act that allows the FBI to request financial
records, telephone and e-mail logs, and other documents from businesses
without a warrant or judicial approval. Such requests are known as
"national security letters," and the FBI has issued scores of such letters
since late 2001. The ACLU complaint says that using national security
letters to force Internet service providers to turn over names, screen
names, e-mail addresses and other customer information without proper
notice to customers raises questions about the constitutionality of the
Patriot Act's legal underpinnings. (Washington Post 29 Apr 2004)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51423-2004Apr28.html
FOUR SPAMMERS FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES
Four California men face criminal charges for sending millions of
junk e-mail messages, becoming the first spammers to be charged under the
recently enacted federal CAN-SPAM Act. Christopher Chung, Mark Sadek and
Daniel and James Lin are accused of secretly hijacking proxy servers --
systems that relay e-mail from any point on the Internet -- owned by
unsuspecting businesses such as Ford Motor Co., Unisys and Amoco, and
government agencies, including the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
and the U.S. Army Information Center. The use of proxy servers is a
favorite trick among spammers to disguise their identity. "This has been a
problem that's plagued the Net for years, and the fact that corporations
and government agencies still have open mail servers is scandalous," says
one security consultant. "Somebody dropped the ball." If convicted, the men
face up to five years in prison for violating the anti-spam law, as well as
up to 20 years for mail fraud for distributing an allegedly fraudulent
weight loss skin patch. The group also sent spam mail hawking male organ
enlargement pills and Viagra. Terence Berg, the assistant U.S. attorney
handling the case, warns that this lawsuit is a harbinger of more to come:
"This is just a start. There will be many more prosecutions like this. The
government is determined to do something about the flood of spam that is
polluting the Internet." (Detroit Free Press/SiliconValley.com 29 Apr 2004)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/8546422.htm
APPLE WHISTLES A HAPPY ITUNE
Apple Computer says it's sold more than 70 million songs during the
first year of its iTunes online music service and chief executive Steve
Jobs says the company's now selling 2.7 million songs a week at 99 cents
per song. "We feel we have lots of momentum," he notes. Apple has recently
renegotiated the licensing arrangements with the five major record labels
to allow iTunes purchasers to share the songs among five personal computers
instead of three. In addition, the iTunes service is offering several new
features, including music videos and the ability for users to publish
"playlists" of favorite music lineups. At the same time, the number of
times a particular playlist can be burned on a user's CD has been reduced from
10 times to seven. Apple says it's considered moving to the subscription
business model, but has rejected that shift, noting that it believes most
users would rather own their songs than rent them for a limited time.
[As opposed to the Sony model of renting eBooks for $5 for 2 months.]
(New York Times 29 Apr 2004)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/29/technology/29apple.html
[And in a related story]
BOWIE CALLS ON BOOTLEGGERS
David Bowie has invited fans to bootleg his music -- and he's offering
prizes for the most creative theft. The musician's Web site invites
fans to mix classic Bowie songs with material from his latest album,
"Reality" to create a "mash-up" -- a track superimposing the vocal line
from one song with the backing tracks from another. The technique has
long been employed by record producers, but music software has made it
accessible to thousands of "bedroom DJs" - to the alarm of record companies
battling to control the distribution of music through the Internet. Bowie,
57, was quoted in The Times, saying mash-ups were "a great appropriation
idea waiting to happen." "Being a hybrid maker off and on over the years,
I'm very comfortable with the idea and have been the subject of quite a few
pretty good mash-ups myself," he said. (The Australian, 27 Apr 2004, rec'd
from John Lamp, Deakin University)
http:
//australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,9402775%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html
[And in yet another related story on the other side of the coin]
MICROSOFT'S NEW COPYRIGHT-PROTECTION SOFTWARE
Microsoft is introducing DRM "digital rights management" software
software to allow rented songs or movies to be used on portable players,
cellular phones and other devices. Songs and videos purchased through
subscription services will be given digital expiration dates. The Walt
Disney Co. and other companies are interested in using the new technology
for their content. (Los Angeles Times 3 May 2004) http://tinyurl.com/26553
[And for those who want to sidestep the publishing industry entirely]
GERMAN GROUP RELEASES ALBUM VIA RINGTONES
A German musical group called Super Smart has decided to release its
latest album, Panda Babies, exclusively as polyphonic ringtones for cell
phones. The band says they decided to go with ringtones in order to
sidestep the traditional music publishing industry. "Music has to be
re-thought," says Antonio Vince Staybl, founder of the Go Fresh Mobile
Music label. Go Fresh is offering Super Smart's mix of disco pop and
electro punk tunes for an introductory price of e1.99. The company has
already signed up 20 artists and says it's sold a million ringtones in its
first year of operation. "We release songs within a few hours across Europe
without interfaces to the traditional music industry. Our prices for a
ringtone album or a compilation of 10 to 12 tracks including a mobile phone
video will settle down at four to five euros and the price for a single
ringtone at e1.49 in the medium term," says a GoFresh Europe spokesman.
(BBC News 30 Apr 2004)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3671061.stm
WHO WILL KEEP AN EYE ON E-VOTING?
The tiny U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), whose mandate is to
supervise the use of electronic voting machines in the U.S., claims that it
is seriously underfunded and can't be expected to forestall widespread
voting machine problems. EAC director DeForest B. Soaries Jr. says: "We've
found some deeply troubling concerns, and the country wants to know the
solution... If you look at the evolution of voting in America, only in last
four months has there been a federal agency whose exclusive focus is to deal
with voting. It's the foundation of our democratic structure on one hand,
but on the other we've really left it to the states to manage completely."
Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, comments: "I
wish the EAC luck, but oversight of these systems is illusory. As long as
federal voting system standards are voluntary, voters across the country
will not have the peace of mind they need to feel confident in their voting
systems." (AP/San Jose Mercury News 3 May 2004)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/8580743.htm
[And in a related story]
CALIFORNIA DECERTIFIES E-VOTING MACHINES
California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has decertified electronic
voting systems across the state and is seeking a criminal investigation
of Diebold Inc., the maker of the e-voting machines. One of the systems
from Diebold has been banned outright. A different type of system, also
from Diebold, has been decertified temporarily and could be allowed
back in use if it is shown to meet strict security requirements.
According to Shelley, Diebold is guilty of "deceitful conduct" in
persuading California counties to install e-voting systems that had not
undergone adequate testing or been properly certified. Shelley also
accused Diebold of lying about the status of the machines. A statement
from Diebold did not address the charges specifically but said the
company is confident of its "technology and its benefits" and looks
forward to "helping administer successful elections in ... November."
Federal Computer Week, 3 May 2004
http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2004/0503/web-evote-05-03-04.asp
U.S. TAPS AUSSIE SPAMMER
The U.S. government has launched its first criminal case against
spammers, and taken civil action against an Australian spammer with the
help of local authorities. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission says that the
first charges have been brought against several U.S. companies under
Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing
(CAN-SPAM) Act, which took effect in January. It also has served legal
notices on Australian company Global Web Promotions Pty Ltd, which
investigators said pitched fraudulent weight-loss and growth-hormone
products. The FTC says it brought its case with help by the Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission and the New Zealand Commerce
Commission. ACCC spokeswoman Lin Enright confirmed the ACCC assisted the
FTC in tracking down Global Web Promotions, but would not say whether it
would have a continuing role in the matter. (The Australian 30 Apr 2004,
rec'd from John Lamp, Deakin University)
http://
australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,9430331%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html
You have been reading excerpts from NewsScan:
NewsScan Daily is underwritten by RLG, a world-class
organization making significant and sustained contributions to the
effective management and appropriate use of information technology.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the text, html, or handheld versions
of NewsScan Daily, send the appropriate subscribe or unsubscribe messages
(i.e., with the word 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe' in the subject line) to:
Text version: Send message to NewsScan@NewsScan.com
Html version: Send mail to NewsScan-html@NewsScan.com
NewsScan-To-Go: http://www.newsscan.com/handheld/current.html
***
>From Edupage
SCHOOLKIDS USING E-BOOKS
Beginning this fall, fifth- and sixth-grade students in a school
district outside Dallas, Texas, will begin using laptops instead of
textbooks. The initiative of the Forney Independent School District is
the latest in a series of projects aimed at replacing printed versions
of texts with electronic ones. The laptops in Forney will be loaded
with electronic versions of textbooks, works of art, and literature.
The district will spend about $1,000 per computer and another $500 per
student for wireless access and support. Similar projects are under way
at other schools, including colleges such as Wake Forest University.
Institutions working to replace some or all printed texts with
electronic versions face a number of challenges, including copyright,
technology, and pricing. According to Jay Dominick, chief information
officer at Wake Forest University, electronic books remain generally
more expensive than used, printed texts, leading most students to buy
used books when available.
Reuters, 27 April 2004
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=4958237
U.K. LIBRARIANS AND ACADEMICS DISAGREE OVER PUBLISHING CRISIS
At a British Parliamentary hearing, academics and librarians from
higher education in the United Kingdom presented conflicting opinions
about whether the country is experiencing a crisis in access to
scientific publications. The hearing was held by the U.K. Parliament^Rs
Science and Technology Select Committee, which is conducting an inquiry
into pricing and availability of such materials. The consensus among
the librarians at the hearing was that there is a very real crisis,
both in pricing and availability. Members of the library community
supported Open Access (OA) publishing, which requires payment from
authors for publication. Many of the academics at the hearing, however,
denied there is a crisis in academic publishing and rejected OA, saying
it raises a range of problems, not least of which is the required
upfront payment from authors. Some academics complained that the
committee's selections of speakers at the hearing unfairly favored
publishers, who agree with librarians that the academic publishing
industry is not flawed.
Information Today, 3 May 2004
http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb040503-3.shtml
PATRIOT ACT IMPEDES NEWS ABOUT PATRIOT ACT
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a federal lawsuit
alleging that the USA PATRIOT Act is unconstitutional, but the group
was prohibited from releasing information about the lawsuit's filing
because of secrecy provisions of the Patriot Act. Three weeks after the
filing, the ACLU reached an agreement with government officials to
release a redacted version of the suit, which contends that the power
granted by the Patriot Act to obtain information from "electronic
communication service providers" is unconstitutional. Ann Beeson of the
ACLU said, "It is remarkable that a gag provision in the Patriot Act
kept the public in the dark about the mere fact that a constitutional
challenge had been filed in court." According to the compliant, the
Patriot Act improperly allows law enforcement officials to compel ISPs
to turn over information such as names, screen names, and e-mail
addresses of customers without notifying the individuals involved. The
ACLU argues that a warrant or other judicial review should be required
for such disclosure.
Washington Post, 29 April 2004 (registration req'd)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51423-2004Apr28.html
INTERNET ACCESS TAX BAN PASSES SENATE
After reaching a set of compromises, the U.S. Senate this week
overwhelmingly approved a four-year extension to a ban on taxing
Internet access. Originally approved in 1998, the ban on taxing
high-speed access is seen by many including President Bush as necessary
to foster increased access among U.S. users and to guarantee a "healthy
and vibrant" Internet. Some supporters of the ban have called on
Congress to make it permanent. Opponents of the bill, including
officials from many state and local governments, believe taxes on
Internet access should be a source of governmental funding, especially
as phone services, which are taxed in their traditional form, are
increasingly moving to the Internet. One of the key concessions was to
exclude Internet phone services from the ban, allowing taxes to be
levied on phone services delivered over the Web. Grandfather clauses
were also added to allow states that have already taxed Internet access
to continue to do so. The bill must still be reconciled with a separate
House version.
New York Times, 30 April 2004 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/30/politics/30INTE.html
You have been reading excerpts from Edupage:
If you have questions or comments about Edupage,
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-958352.html
or send e-mail to: edupage@educause.edu
To SUBSCRIBE to Edupage, send a message to
LISTSERV@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
and in the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName
***
More Headline News Mostly Avoided By The Major U.S. Media
THE MOUSE THAT ROARS!
DATELINE HOLLYWOOD -- Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore's
documentary linking President Bush with powerful Saudi families,
including that of Osama bin Laden, is stirring up controversy even
before its release.
That is. . .if it even gets released.
Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety said in its Wednesday edition
Walt Disney Co. has moved to prevent its Miramax Films unit from
distributing "Fahrenheit 911."
The Disney edict could herald the bloodiest political battle yet
between Miramax's feisty co-chairman Harvey Weinstein and Disney CEO
Michael Eisner, who oversaw the purchase of Miramax a decade ago,
Variety said.
[Michael Eisner is on the outs with many at Disney, and Walt Disney's
brother, Roy, recently walked off the Disney Inc. board in protest.
It would appear Eisner's contract will not be renewed, which may or
may not make him more of a lame duck leader. However, some sat it
also makes him fight more like a cornered rodent.]
"Fahrenheit 911," Moore's follow-up to his Academy Award-winning film
"Bowling for Columbine, will still premiere in competition at the
Cannes Film Festival in France later this month. Rumors had been
circulating of a July release date in North America, but the film does
not appear on Miramax's summer schedule, the paper said.
It quoted a Miramax spokesman as saying that the company was "looking
forward to resolving this amicably."
Officials from Miramax and Disney were not immediately available for
comment on the report.
***
About the Project Gutenberg Monthly Newsletter:
[Goes out approximately first Wednesday of each month. But
different relays will get it to you at different times; you
can subscribe directly, just send me email to find out how,
or surf to promo.net/pg to subscribe directly by yourself.]
and
About the Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter:
[Goes out approximately at noon each Wednesday, but various
different relays will get it to you at different times; you
can subscribe directly, just send me email to find out how,
or surf to promo.net/pg to subscribe directly by yourself.]
***
Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists:
For more information about the Project Gutenberg's mailing lists
please visit the following webpage:
http://gutenberg.net/subs.html
Archives and personal settings:
The Lyris Web interface has an easy way to browse past mailing list
contents, and change some personal settings. Visit
http://listserv.unc.edu and select one of the Project Gutenberg lists.
Trouble?
If you are having trouble subscribing, unsubscribing or with
anything else related to the mailing lists, please email
"owner-gutenberg@listserv.unc.edu" to contact the lists'
(human) administrator.
If you would just like a little more information about Lyris
features, you can find their help information at http://www.lyris.com/help
pgweekly_2004_05_05_part_1.txt
If you liked this post, say thanks by sharing it.