*The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, June 30, 2004 PT1*
*****eBooks Readable By Both Humans and Computers Since July 4, 1971******
WE ARE 33 YEARS OLD ON SUNDAY, JULY 4TH!!!
eBook Milestones
13,106 eBooks As Of Today!!!
6,894 to go to 20,000
We've Added Over 2,000 New eBooks This Year
We Are Nearly 1/3 of the Way from 10,000 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 from 2002 to 2004 for our last 10,000
***
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
[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 new Newsletter editors 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 25/52 Year History, We Have Now Averaged About 400 eBooks/Yr
And This Year We Are Averaging that Same New eBook Level. . .PER MONTH!!!!!
We Are Averaging About 379 eBooks Per Month This Year
88 per week
*** HOT Requests!!!
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
and *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:
ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/images
***
In this issue of the Project Gutenberg Weekly newsletter:
- Intro (above)
- New Site (above)
- Hot Requests (above)
- Requests For Assistance
- Progress Report, including Distributed Proofreaders
- 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.]
99 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 5.80 months of this year, we produced 2173 new eBooks.
It took us from July 1971 to Jan 2000 to produce our first 2,173 eBooks!
That's 25 WEEKS as Compared to ~29 Years!
101 New eBooks This Week
55 New eBooks Last Week
298 New eBooks This Month [June]
379 Average Per Month in 2004
355 Average Per Month in 2003
203 Average Per Month in 2002
103 Average Per Month in 2001
2199 New eBooks in 2004
4164 New eBooks in 2003
2441 New eBooks in 2002
1240 New eBooks in 2001
====
10044 New eBooks Since Start Of 2001
That's Only 41.80 Months!
13,106 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks
8,352 eBooks This Week Last Year
====
4,754 New eBooks In Last 12 Months
363 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia
We're still keeping up with Moore's Law!
Moore's Law 12 month percentage = 97%
Moore's Law 18 month percentage = 94%
[100% of Moore's Law = doubling every 18 months]
***
On 13 Mar 2001, PGDP completed its first eBook for posting to the Project
Gutenberg collection (eBook #3320).
As of today, the Online Distributed Proofreading Team has produced it's
4,663rd eBook.
Projects completed since the beginning of the year:
Jan 2004 - 267
Feb 2004 - 421
Mar 2004 - 365
Apr 2004 - 276
May 2004 - 235
Jun 2004 - 227
Two years ago they completed their 318th eBook (#5259).
One year ago they completed their 1,454th eBook (#8138).
This week they are well past their 4,600th eBook!!!!!!!
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!!!
2199 New eBooks So Far in 2004
It took us ~29 years for the first 2198 !
That's the 5.80 MONTHS of 2004 as Compared to ~29 YEARS!!!
Here Is A Sample Of What Books Were Being Done Around #2199
Jun 2000 Human Genome Project, Chromosome Number 01 [01hgpxxx.xxx] 2201
Jun 2000 Human Genome Project, About the Human Genome Files[0ahgpxxx.xxx] 2200*
[Reserved for information about the Human Genome Project Files]
Jun 2000 The Iliad, by Homer, translated by Samuel Butler [iliadxxx.xxx] 2199
May 2000 Stories from Pentamerone, by Giambattista Basile [pntmnxxx.xxx] 2198
May 2000 The Gambler, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky[Dostoyevsky #2][gamblxxx.xxx] 2197
May 2000 An Iceland Fisherman, by Pierre Loti [icfshxxx.xxx] 2196
May 2000 The Master of Mrs. Chilvers by Jerome K. Jerome 19[mschlxxx.xxx] 2195
May 2000 Mauprat, by George Sand [Aurore Dupin/Dedevant] #1[muprtxxx.xxx] 2194
[Author AKA: Lucile Amandine Aurore Dupin; Armentine Lucile Aurore Dupin,
later Aurore Dudevant] (See also #138)
May 2000 A Ward of the Golden Gate, by Bret Harte[Harte #6][wotggxxx.xxx] 2193
May 2000 The Dark Flower, by John Galsworthy [dkflrxxx.xxx] 2192
May 2000 Boy Scouts in Mexico, by G. Harvey Ralphson [bsimxxxx.xxx] 2191
May 2000 Isabella von Aegypten, by Ludwig Achim von Arnim [?isblxxx.xxx] 2190
[Language: German]
May 2000 Der Gwissenswurm, by Ludwig Anzengruber [German] [?gwssxxx.xxx] 2189
[Language: German]
May 2000 Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurid Brigge, by Rilke [?maltxxx.xxx] 2188
[Language: German]
May 2000 Oberon, by Christoph Martin Wieland [In German] [?oberxxx.xxx] 2187
[Language: German]
May 2000 Captains Courageous, by Rudyard Kipling[Kipling#9][cptcrxxx.xxx] 2186
May 2000 Maruja, by Bret Harte [Bret Harte #5][marujxxx.xxx] 2185
May 2000 Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, by Isabella L. Bird [utrkjxxx.xxx] 2184
May 2000 Three Men on the Bummel, by Jerome K. Jerome [#18][tmotbxxx.xxx] 2183
May 2000 The Marble Faun V. 2, by Nathaniel Hawthorne[NH#9][2faunxxx.xxx] 2182
May 2000 The Marble Faun V. 1, by Nathaniel Hawthorne[NH#8][1faunxxx.xxx] 2181
May 2000 In A Hollow Of The Hills, by Bret Harte [Harte #5][hllhlxxx.xxx] 2180
May 2000 Drift from Two Shores, by Bret Harte [Harte #4[[dftshxxx.xxx] 2179
May 2000 By Shore and Sedge, by Bret Harte [Bret Harte #3][bysnsxxx.xxx] 2178
May 2000 Thankful Blossom, by Bret Harte [Bret Harte #2][tkfblxxx.xxx] 2177
May 2000 Seven Discourses on Art, by Joshua Reynolds [artdsxxx.xxx] 2176
May 2000 You Never Can Tell, by [George] Bernard Shaw [#7] [nvrctxxx.xxx] 2175
May 2000 Frau und Kindern auf der Spur, by Gerold K. Rohner[?spurxxx.xxx] 2174C
[Language: German]
May 2000 Thoughts on Present Discontents, etc., by Burke [thdscxxx.xxx] 2173
May 2000 That Mainwaring Affair, by Maynard Barbour [mnwrnxxx.xxx] 2172 ***
May 2000 Brother Jacob, by George Eliot [George Eliot #5][brjcbxxx.xxx] 2171
May 2000 Misc Writings and Speeches, Lord Macaulay V4 of 4[4mwsmxxx.xxx] 2170
May 2000 Misc Writings and Speeches, Lord Macaulay V3 of 4[3mwsmxxx.xxx] 2169
May 2000 Misc Writings and Speeches, Lord Macaulay V2 of 4[2mwsmxxx.xxx] 2168
May 2000 Misc Writings and Speeches, Lord Macaulay V1 of 4[1mwsmxxx.xxx] 2167
May 2000 King Solomon's Mines, by H. Rider Haggard [HRH #9][?kslmxxx.xxx] 2166
May 2000 The Lifted Veil, by George Eliot [George Eliot #4][lftvlxxx.xxx] 2165
May 2000 The Lumley Autograph Susan Fenimore Cooper[SFC#3][lumlyxxx.xxx] 2164
May 2000 The Bridge-Builders, by Mark Twain [MT#16][brdgbxxx.xxx] 2163
Apr 2000 Anarchism and Other Essays, by Emma Goldman [nrcsmxxx.xxx] 2162
Apr 2000 Song Book of Quong Lee of Limehouse, Thomas Burke [qunglxxx.xxx] 2161
Apr 2000 The Expedition of Humphry Clinker, Tobias Smollett[txohcxxx.xxx] 2160
Apr 2000 A Little Tour In France, by Henry James[James #20][altifxxx.xxx] 2159
Apr 2000 The Prime Minister, by Anthony Trollope[Trollope5][prmnsxxx.xxx] 2158
Apr 2000 Female Suffrage, by Susan Fenimore Cooper [SFC #3][sffrgxxx.xxx] 2157
Apr 2000 China and the Manchus, by Herbert A. Giles [#3][?mnchxxx.xxx] 2156
Apr 2000 Phyllis of Philistia, by Frank Frankfort Moore [phophxxx.xxx] 2155
Apr 2000 Around the World in 80 Days Jr. Ed. by Jules Verne[80dayxxa.xxx] 2154
(See also #103)
***
Today Is Day #181 of 2004
This Completes Week #25 and Month #5.80
190 Days/27 Weeks To Go [We get 52 Wednesdays this year]
6894 Books To Go To #20,000
[Our production year begins/ends
1st Wednesday of the month/year]
88 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)
listing Project Gutenberg eBooks and is available for downloading.
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). We have high-speed scanners currently located in
the east, west and central portions of the US to make shipping easier.
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://gutenberg.net/donation.html or email donate@gutenberg.net
--"INSTANT" ACCESS TO OUR LATEST eBOOKS
http://www.gutenberg.net/find
allows searching by title, author, language and subject.
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://gutenberg.net/dirs
or
ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/
and then navigate to the appropriate directory and look for the first
five characters of the file's name. Note that updated eBooks usually
go in their original directory (e.g., etext99, etext00, etc.)
*** HOW TO GET EBOOKS FROM OUR MIRROR SITES
Mirrors (copies) of the complete collection are available around the world.
To find the sites nearest you, go to:
http://gutenberg.net/list
*** Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet???
Statistical Review
In the 25 weeks of this year, we have produced 2199 new eBooks.
It took us from 1971 to 1999 to produce our FIRST 2199 eBooks!!!
That's 25 WEEKS as Compared to ~29 YEARS!!!
With 13,106 eBooks online as of June 30, 2004 it now takes an average
of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $0.76 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 $1.20 when we had 8352 eBooks A Year Ago
Can you imagine ~13,106 books each costing ~$.45 less a year later???
Or. . .would this say it better?
Can you imagine ~13,106 books each costing 1/3 less a year later???
At 13,106 eBooks in 32 Years and 11.80 Months We Averaged
398 Per Year [We do nearly that much a month these days!]
33.0 Per Month
1.09 Per Day
At 2199 eBooks Done In The 187 Days Of 2004 We Averaged
12 Per Day
88 Per Week
378 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:
[You've been hearing it here first for a while now, China is coming!]
[More coming from the current Wired, China exports are going way up,
including telecommunications, electronics, etc.]
YAHOO LAUNCHES SEARCH ENGINE FOR CHINESE
Yahoo's China unit has launched a new search engine called 'Yisou,' or
No. 1 Search, tailored to Chinese users. "By combining the best assets of
our proprietary Yahoo Search Technology with our expertise and knowledge of
the Chinese online space, we created a dedicated search destination
customized for the Chinese user," Zhou Hongyi, general manager of Yahoo
China, says. Yahoo's announcement comes less than a week after rival Google
took a strategic stake in leading Chinese-language Internet search engine
Baidu.com. Baidu, China's most popular search engine, was dropped by Yahoo
on its Chinese-language website in March. (The Age 22 Jun 2004)
http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/22/1087844904038.html
[and in a related story]
ASIA PACIFIC SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY TO GROW 27%
Gartner, the market and technology research company, is reporting that
the Asia Pacific semiconductor industry will grow at a world-fastest rate of
27.4% to reach $90.8 billion this year, fueled by demand in China. Over the
next four years, the industry is expected to average 14.3% annual growth to
be worth $138.8 billion, up from $71.3 billion in 2003. "Riding on the
positive wave created in 2003, the Asia Pacific semiconductor industry
is poised to propel the global semiconductor market to new heights,"
says Gartner Singapore-based analyst Philip Koh. "The rising demands
from the end-user industries are the key driving force. China, the
electronic manufacturing hub of the world, is expected to continue
to lead the industry in the region." (The Age 22 Jun 2004)
http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/22/1087844918325.html
[I also heard in that China is buying up huge quantities of coal, oil,
and other fuels, in addition to the steel, etc., mentioned earlier.]
NSW MAKES OPEN SOURCE MOVE
The New South Wales government has made official its push into open
source technology, launching a $AU1.5 million deployment of what may be the
state's largest-ever rollout of open source software on the desktop. The
deployment of the open source office productivity suite represents a real
threat to Microsoft's dominance of the desktop through its Office package.
The government's Roads and Traffic Authority has already indicated its
preference for open standards by installing Apple's iMac G4 across the
registries earlier this year. The rollout will be a limited deployment of
the software, with a further commercial rollout to half the organization's
7000 desktops promised over the next few years. (The Australian 24 Jun 2004)
australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,9939948%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html
NETWORK VANDALS WANT TO BANK WITH YOU
Computer security experts are issuing warnings that network vandals
hope to steal the password and account information of online bank accounts
by secretly downloading spy software to capture a PC user's keystroke
activity. The problem is not widespread, but Internet Explorer users are being
advised to set the security setting for their browsers to "high" (a level
which, however, makes it more difficult to interact with some Web sites).
(Washington Post 29 Jun 2004)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16023-2004Jun29.html
[Some media outlets are suggesting switching to another browswer until
these concerned have been remedied]
MICROSOFT'S BRAZIL LAWSUIT 'REPREHENSIBLE'
OSIA, Australia's Open Source industry body, has issued a scathing
criticism of Microsoft's lawsuit against Sergio Amadeu, President of the
Brazilian National Institute for Information Technology, calling it a
"reprehensible action" that attempts to "curb freedom of speech and of
criticism." The defamation lawsuit was filed after Amadeu defended the
Brazilian government's decision to shift 300,000 PCs from Windows to Linux.
He had said this decision "makes sense for a developing country where a mere
10% of the 170 million people have computers at home and where the
debt-laden government is the nation's biggest computer buyer." OSIA also
referred to Microsoft's "abuse" of its monopoly position, and Bill Gates's
address to university students in 1998, where he made a statement saying,
"Although about 3 million computers get sold every year in China, people
don't pay for the software. Someday they will, though. As long as they are
going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted,
and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next
decade." (The Age, 24 Jun 2004)
http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/06/24/1088046211448.html
AOL EMPLOYEE BUSTED FOR STEALING E-MAIL ADDRESSES
Jason Smathers, a 24-year-old employee of America Online, has been charged
with stealing the e-mail addresses of 92 million AOL customers and selling
them to spammers. Under a new federal anti-spam law, he faces the prospect
of as many as five years in prison plus a fine of $250,000. The stolen
information includes not only e-mail addresses but also telephone numbers,
Z*I*P codes and the type of credit card the customers use (though not the
actual credit card numbers, which are kept by AOL in a separate database).
The company says: "We deeply regret what has taken place and are thoroughly
reviewing and strengthening our internal procedures as a result
of this investigation and arrest."(New York Times 24 Jun 2004)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/24/technology/24spam.html
APPLE CHALLENGES MICROSOFT ON SEARCH TECHNOLOGY
Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs demoed an upcoming search feature
called Spotlight, which is based on the search technology used by Apple's
iTunes online music service. The feature will be incorporated into the next
version of Mac OS, called Tiger, which is slated for release in the first
half of 2005. Using technology designed to organize and search through song
collections, Spotlight can quickly find data stored on a hard drive
regardless of the type of file it is hidden in, says Jobs: "Search is a
problem for every personal computer company. It's easier to find a document
in a million pages on the Web using Google than it is to find a document on
your hard drive." Apple's intention to introduce roughly 150 new features
in Tiger indicates that Apple is "clearly going after [Microsoft's] Longhorn.
They're putting in a lot of features that will be in Longhorn, and that's
not coming out until 2006 or 2007," says Tim Bajarin, president of
Creative Strategies. "We think we are years ahead of Longhorn,"
concurs Jobs. "The other guys have been talking about it and we're doing it."
(New York Times 28 Jun 2004)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/29/technology/29apple.html
ASKJEEVES ADDS PAGE PREVIEW FEATURE
AskJeeves is adding a new preview feature that enables users to sneak
a peek at thumbnail images of the Web pages displayed in results. (The
feature works only when used with Windows/Internet Explorer.) "It
eliminates the need to go pogo-sticking around the Web to decide where you
want to go," says Jeeves senior VP Jim Lanzone, who notes in user testing,
the preview feature reduced the number of clicks used by searchers by 50%
to 70%. Although the images are tiny, they still are large enough to convey
an idea of the Web site's focus. Jeeves is also adding new shortcuts
designed to enhance user experience. For instance, after the user types in
a famous person's name, Jeeves displays a box at the top of the results
page with a minibio, photo and links to Web resources. If the user types in
a movie title, the search engine pops up a synopsis of the film and what
proportion of professional film critics liked it.
(Washington Post 27 Jun 2004)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7342-2004Jun26.html
[And for those who wonder about the "Next Generation". . . .]
NEW RECORD SET FOR TEXT-MESSAGING SPEED
Singapore student Kimberly Yeo, 23, has walked away with first place
in a contest designed to test text messaging speed and dexterity after she
managed to type a fiendishly complicated 26-word text message on her cell
phone in 43.66 seconds, says competition organizer Singapore
Telecommunications. The record beats by a significant margin the previous
time of 67 seconds set last year by Briton James Trusler in Sydney,
Australia. Contestants had to type, "The razor-toothed piranhas of the
genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish
in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human." Like many of her
fellow contestants, Yeo is an avid text-messager, sending about 50 a day,
or 1,500 a month. Singapore Telecom says its system now handles about 9
million text messages a day, up from 3.5-4 million in 2001-2002.
(AP 28 Jun 2004)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20040628/D83G0VQ81.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
REVISION TO DMCA GAINS SUPPORT
Joe Barton (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce
Committee, this week endorsed a bill that would amend the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to allow for broader fair-use access.
The bill, known as the Digital Media Consumer's Rights Act, was
introduced more than 18 months ago but has been stalled ever since.
Barton's support could see the bill marked up in July and possibly
passed before the end of the current Congressional session. An
anonymous Senator will reportedly introduce the legislation to the
Senate if it has sufficient backing in the House. The bill would allow
users to circumvent digital copy-protection measures if the purpose
falls within the scope of traditional fair use. Currently, the DMCA
prohibits such circumvention. The bill would also allow companies to
develop and market tools that bypass digital copy protections if those
tools are capable of significant noninfringing use.
Internet News, 22 June 2004
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3372091
ISPS AGREE ON ANTISPAM MEASURES
Four of the largest e-mail providers have agreed to work collectively
on sender-authentication technologies to limit the flow of spam.
Despite saying more than a year ago that they would cooperate on such
an undertaking, America Online, Yahoo, EarthLink, and Microsoft have
been working on separate approaches to the challenge of screening out
e-mail that does not come from its purported source. In May, however,
Microsoft announced it would combine its technology, called Caller ID,
with that of America Online and EarthLink, called Sender Policy
Framework (SPF), and name it Sender ID. Meanwhile, Yahoo has been
developing a technology called Domain Keys, which is potentially more
effective but requires more work to implement. The four companies
announced this week they would test each other's technologies, paving
the way for a coordinated effort to block spam.
New York Times, 23 June 2004 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/23/technology/23spam.html
AOL BUYS ONLINE DIRECT MARKETER ADVERTISING.COM
[Following in Google's Finanical Path to More Advertizing]
America Online has agreed to purchase online direct marketer
Advertising.com for $435 million in an attempt to obtain a new source
of advertising revenue. The acquisition gives AOL a direct presence in
the high-growth sector of online advertising called
pay-for-performance, in which advertisers pay for an ad only if it
yields results. The company's previous exposure to this model was
through its revenue-sharing agreement with search-engine company
Google. In the past, AOL has focused mainly on advertising revenue
based on the number of people who viewed an ad. Advertising.com charges
clients when customers click on an ad or take another type of action.
The company purchases ad banners on thousands of Web sites for its
clients. AOL plans to let Advertising.com operate independently,
according to AOL Chief Executive Jonathan F. Miller.
Wall Street Journal, 25 June 2004 (sub. req'd)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108807298735146375,00.html
[More on AOL]
AOL E-MAIL ADDRESSES SOLD TO SPAMMERS
An American Online engineer has been charged with stealing e-mail
addresses of AOL customers and selling them to spammers. An e-mail list
broker for spammers was also arrested. Both are charged with violating
the new federal antispam law, which took effect January 1. The two men
face a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a fine of
$250,000 (or twice the gross gain or loss from their actions).
According to the charges, the enginner used the identity of another AOL
employee to gain access to the list of addresses. The list included the
e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, Z*I*P codes, and type of credit
cards used by each AOL member. The credit card numbers are kept in a
separate database.
New York Times, 24 June 2004 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/24/technology/24spam.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
NEW U.S. MEDICARE DRUG CARD HAVING TROUBLE WITH LIFTOFF
The U.S. goverment says only 3.5 million are now enrolled
for the new Medicare/Senior Citizen Drug Card, as opposed
to the 8 million predicted, and apparently not all of the
3.5 million were voluntary or intentional subscribers, as
many of them were subscribed by their health programs.
This is in spite of the fact there will be some additional
charges than the $30 for the card for those who do not add
the card to their health coverage repertoire during a kind
of "introductory period."
The major reasons for people not buying the cards are:
1. Their current medical services will not talk about the
Drug Cards, saying that they are goo complex, disorganized
and difficult to deal with: this includes doctors, nurses
and pharmacists, as well as various medical administration
personnel.
2. Each card can cover different drugs, so certain of the
prescribed combinations will not be covered.
3. You can't change cards when you choose, only at a time
to be specified from time to time by the government, while
the companies supplying the cards can change that coverage
without consideration as to when users can change cards.
The Drug Card programs may change the drugs they support,
but users will be stuck with the card until the next time
an option to change cards happens without being able to
get the prescribed drugs via the Drug Card. You must only
choose ONE of the various drug cards, even if none of them
cover the drugs or combinations prescribed for you.
Some medical plans will be better than using any Drug Card
but it's not easy to find out without searching through an
assortment of records of the various companies to see what
drugs are carried by which companies.
Even the experts agree that it takes THEM an large effort
over an undue period of time to make such a determination
and that all that homework could be wiped out by an early
change in the coverage provided. There is the widespread
concern that allowing the companies to change coverage at
different times than their members can change companies is
an invitation to the "bait and switch" tactics which are
illegal in other forms of business.
[Notes taken while listening to our local NPR station]
[Mary Agnes Carey, Senior Health Reporter for
Congressional Quarterly. Search engines will give
an assortment of articles, interviews, etc.]
***
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 to subscribe directly by yourself, go to:
http://gutenberg.net/subs.shtml
and
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 to subscribe directly by yourself, go to:
http://gutenberg.net/subs.shtml
***
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
help@pglaf.org
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_06_30_part_1.txt
If you liked this post, say thanks by sharing it.