*The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, July 21, 2004 PT1*
*****eBooks Readable By Both Humans And Computers Since July 4, 1971******
HOT PROJECT!!! ROBOTS ON THE LOOSE!!!
After years of trying, we have finally completed our copyright research on
the origin of the word "Robot," which first appeared in R.U.R. or Rossum's
Universal Robots in Czech, by Karel Capek. We are forming teams to make a
translation into English, and other languages. email hart@pglaf.org
Newsletter editors needed! Please email hart@pobox.com or gbnewby@pglaf.org
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eBook Milestones
We have now averaged 400 eBooks per year since July 4th, 1971!!!
13,295 eBooks As Of Today!!!
6,705 to go to 20,000
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 2001 to 2004 for our last 10,000
***
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This is Michael Hart's "Founder's Comments" section of the Newsletter
Over Our 33 02/52 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 365 eBooks Per Month This Year
85 per week
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In this issue of the Project Gutenberg Weekly newsletter:
- Intro (above)
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- Requests For Assistance
- Progress Report, including Distributed Proofreaders
- Flashback
- Continuing Requests For Assistance
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- Have We Given Away A Trillion Yet?
- Weekly eBook update:
Updates/corrections in separate section
70 New Public Domain eBooks Under US Copyright
- Headline News from NewsScan and Edupage
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*** Progress Report
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It took us from July 1971 to July 2000 to produce our first 2,395 eBooks!
That's 28 WEEKS as Compared to ~29 Years!
70 New eBooks This Week
70 New eBooks Last Week
140 New eBooks This Month [July]
367 Average Per Month in 2004
355 Average Per Month in 2003
203 Average Per Month in 2002
103 Average Per Month in 2001
2388 New eBooks in 2004
4164 New eBooks in 2003
2441 New eBooks in 2002
1240 New eBooks in 2001
====
10233 New eBooks Since Start Of 2001
That's Only 42.50 Months!
13,295 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks
8,705 eBooks This Week Last Year
====
4,590 New eBooks In Last 12 Months
364 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia
[Sorry, we rereleased data on one twice,
so I listed 364 last week, my apologies.]
We're still keeping up with Moore's Law!
Moore's Law 12 month percentage = 90%
Moore's Law 18 month percentage = 97%
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Jul 2004 - 147 (as of Jul 21)
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FLASHBACK!!!
2388 New eBooks So Far in 2004
It took us ~29 years for the first 2388 !
That's the 6.50 MONTHS of 2004 as Compared to ~29 YEARS!!!
Here Is A Sample Of What Books Were Being Done Around #2388
Nov 2000 Vikram and the Vampire, by Sir Richard F. Burton [vikrvxxx.xxx] 2400
Nov 2000 Imaginary Portraits, by Walter Pater [W. Pater #2][iprtrxxx.xxx] 2399
Nov 2000 The Renaissance, by Walter Pater [rnsncxxx.xxx] 2398
Nov 2000 Story of My Life, by Helen Keller [kellexxx.xxx] 2397
Nov 2000 History of the Catholic Church, V 1, J. MacCaffrey[hcathxxx.xxx] 2396
Nov 2000 The Golden Fleece, by Padraic Colum [fleecxxx.xxx] 2395
(This is not the same as eBook #1614)
Nov 2000 The Grand Canyon of Arizona, by George W. James [gcoazxxx.xxx] 2394
Nov 2000 His Dog, by Albert Payson Terhune [hsdogxxx.xxx] 2393
Nov 2000 Further Adventures of Lad, Albert Payson Terhune [faladxxx.xxx] 2392
Nov 2000 Bruce, by Albert Payson Terhune [brucexxx.xxx] 2391
Nov 2000 The Conquest of the Old Southwest, by Henderson [cnqswxxx.xxx] 2390
Nov 2000 Bardelys the Magnificent, by Rafael Sabatini [bardexxx.xxx] 2389
Nov 2000 The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Sir Edwin Arnold [bgitaxxx.xxx] 2388
Nov 2000 The Voice, by Margaret Deland [voicexxx.xxx] 2387
Nov 2000 Theodore Roosevelt; An Intimate Biography, Thayer [teddyxxx.xxx] 2386
Nov 2000 Gala-Days, by Gail Hamilton (Abigail Dodge) [galadxxx.xxx] 2385
Nov 2000 The Deliverance, by Ellen Glasgow [delivxxx.xxx] 2384
Nov 2000 Canterbury Tales and Other Poems, Geoffrey Chaucer[cbtlsxxx.xxx] 2383
Nov 2000 Proposed Territory of Arizona, Sylvester Mowry [tarizxxx.xxx] 2382
Nov 2000 Actions and Reactions, by Rudyard Kipling [RK#13][actrexxx.xxx] 2381
Nov 2000 Das Maerchen von dem Myrtenfraeulein, C. Brentano [?myrtxxx.xxx] 2380
[Language: German]
Nov 2000 Chastelard, by Algernon Charles Swinburne [chastxxx.xxx] 2379
Oct 2000 Select Epigrams from the Greek Anthology, Mackail [?efgmxxx.xxx] 2378
Oct 2000 The Son of the Wolf, by Jack London [London ###] [snwlfxxx.xxx] 2377
Contains:
An Odyssey of the North, by Jack London
The Wife of a King, by Jack London
The Wisdom of the Trail, by Jack London
The Priestly Prerogative, by Jack London
To the Man on the Trail, by Jack London
In a Far Country, by Jack London
The Men of Forty Mile, by Jack London
The Son of the Wolf, by Jack London
The White Silence, by Jack London
Oct 2000 Up From Slavery, by Booker T. Washington [slvryxxx.xxx] 2376
Oct 2000 Tartarin de Tarascon, by Alphonse Daudet [trtraxxx.xxx] 2375
[Translated and prepared by Oliver C. Colt] (See also #1862)
Oct 2000 Dora Thorne, by Charlotte M. Braeme [doratxxx.xxx] 2374
Oct 2000 The Path of the Law, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.[#2][pthlwxxx.xxx] 2373
Oct 2000 The Woman-Haters, by Joseph C. Lincoln [wmnhrxxx.xxx] 2372
Oct 2000 The Filigree Ball, by Anna Katharine Green [AKG#4][flgblxxx.xxx] 2371
Oct 2000 Sir Gibbie, by George MacDonald [GM #8][sirgbxxx.xxx] 2370
Oct 2000 One of Ours, by Willa Cather [Willa Cather #6][1oursxxx.xxx] 2369
Oct 2000 The Angel and the Author et al, by J K Jerome[#23][angauxxx.xxx] 2368
Oct 2000 Los Bombardeos Atomicos de Hiroshima y Nagasaki/SP[sbombxxh.xxx] 2367
[English title: The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]
[Language: Spanish]
(Note: This is our HTML Spanish edition; see #685 for our English edition.)
Oct 2000 The Beldonald Holbein, by Henry James [James #22][bldhbxxx.xxx] 2366
Oct 2000 The Princess de Montpensier, by Mme. de Lafayette [?mntpxxx.xxx] 2365
Oct 2000 Active Service, by Stephen Crane[Stephen Crane #3][tvsrvxxx.xxx] 2364
Oct 2000 Incognita, by William Congreve[William Congreve#5][ncogaxxx.xxx] 2363
Oct 2000 The Story of Wellesley, by Florence Converse [wlslyxxx.xxx] 2362
Oct 2000 Why Go To College, by Alice Freeman Palmer [y2clgxxx.xxx] 2361
Oct 2000 The Riddle of the Sands, by Erskine Childers [riddlxxx.xxx] 2360
Oct 2000 Stories by English Authors in France, Scribners Ed[sbeafxxx.xxx] 2359
Oct 2000 The After House, by Mary Roberts Rinehart[MRR #14][ftrhsxxx.xxx] 2358
Oct 2000 Great Jehoshaphat & Gully Dirt, Jewell Ellen Smith[gjagdxxx.xxx] 2357C
Oct 2000 Great Jehoshaphat & Gully Dirt, Jewell Ellen Smith[gjagdxxh.xxx] 2357C
Oct 2000 Tommy and Co., by Jerome K. Jerome [Jerome #22][tomcoxxx.xxx] 2356
Oct 2000 The Formation of Vegetable Mould, by Darwin [CD#9][vgmldxxx.xxx] 2355
Oct 2000 On the Brain, by T. H. Huxley [THH#3] [Darwin #8][huxbrxxx.xxx] 2354
Oct 2000 Tea-table Talk, by Jerome K. Jerome [Jerome #21][ttalkxxx.xxx] 2353
Oct 2000 Eurasia, by Chris. Evans [uasiaxxx.xxx] 2352
Oct 2000 John Halifax, Gentleman, by Mrs. Craik:Dinah Maria[halifxxx.xxx] 2351
Oct 2000 His Last Bow, by Arthur Conan Doyle[A.C.Doyle #23][lstbwxxx.xxx] 2350
***
Today Is Day #202 of 2004
This Completes Week #28 and Month #6.50
169 Days/24 Weeks To Go [We get 52 Wednesdays this year]
6695 Books To Go To #20,000
[Our production year begins/ends
1st Wednesday of the month/year]
85 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]
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Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet???
Statistical Review
In the 28 weeks of this year, we have produced 2395 new eBooks.
It took us from 1971 to 1999 to produce our FIRST 2395 eBooks!!!
That's 28 WEEKS as Compared to ~29 YEARS!!!
With 13,295 eBooks online as of July 14, 2004 it now takes an average
of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $0.75 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 $1.15 when we had 8705 eBooks a year Ago
Can you imagine ~13,295 books each costing ~$.40 less a year later???
Or. . .would this say it better?
Can you imagine ~13,295 books each costing 1/3 less a year later???
At 13,295 eBooks in 33 Years and 00.50 Months We Averaged
402 Per Year [We do nearly that much a month these days!]
33.5 Per Month
1.10 Per Day
At 2388 eBooks Done In The 202 Days Of 2004 We Averaged
12 Per Day
86 Per Week
367 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:
LINKED: THE AOL, MSN, & YAHOO MESSAGING SYSTEMS
[Of the corporation, by the corporation, for the corporation.]
[This will NOT work for the rest of us.]
The separate messaging services offered by AOL, MSN, and Yahoo are
being linked so that corporate computer users can communicate with one
another no matter which systems they use. Companies will have to license
new Microsoft network software that will serve as the hub connecting the three
messaging systems. Industry analyst Nate Root of Forrester Research says:
"This is a very significant announcement. The value here is for corporations.
Corporations will now have the ability to span the instant messaging landscape."
But he notes that the arrangement does not reach "the holy grail of instant
messaging, which is to allow anybody on any network to send a message to
anybody on any other network." The three companies have no plans at this time
to allow users outside the workplace to communicate with one another over
different instant message systems. (Washington Post 14 Jul 2004)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50182-2004Jul14.html
GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN: RFID USED TO TAG EMPLOYEES
RFID tags have been implanted under the skin of Mexico's top federal
prosecutors and investigators to give them quick access to restricted areas
inside a new federal anti-crime information center. The chips also could
provide more certainty about who accessed sensitive data at any given time.
(In the past, the biggest security problem for Mexican law enforcement has
been corruption by officials themselves.) The microchip tags lie dormant
under the skin until read by an electromagnetic scanner, which uses a
technology known as radio frequency identification (RFID) that's now
commonly used for inventory control. (San Jose Mercury News 14 Jul 2004)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9154114.htm
GOV. REMOVES PART OF S. DAKOTA LIBRARY SITE
South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds has had the teen section of the State
Library's Web site shut down because it provided links to material he
doesn't believe young people should see. The links to which he found
objection included one to a Planned Parenthood site and one to Columbia
University's Go Ask Alice! Rounds said: "As a parent, I would be very
disturbed to have my children connecting to any of these Web sites." His
position is that state government should not feature links to any advocacy
groups and that removal of the links isn't censorship because users can
still go directly to those organizations' sites. (AP/13 Jul 2004)
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20040713/D83Q3ON81.html
BUSH SIGNS IDENTITY THEFT BILL
President Bush has signed into law an identity theft bill that will add
two years to the prison sentences of criminals convicted of using stolen
credit card numbers or other personal data to commit crimes. On top of that,
the sentences of identity-theft violators who then commit acts of terrorism
will be extended by an additional five years. The Federal Trade Commission
estimates that 27.3 million Americans have been victims of identity theft in
the last five years. (Washington Post 15 Jul 2004)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51595-2004Jul15.html
DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH IN WORLDWIDE PC SALES
Market research firm IDC in Framingham, Mass. reports double-digit
growth in worldwide sales of personal computers for the fifth consecutive
quarter. IDC executive Loren Loverde explained that "demand in Europe,
supported by the strong euro and aggressive promotions, was the biggest
driver of the quarter." The top five worldwide vendors were (in this order):
Dell, HP, IBM, Fujitsu, and Acer. Acer showed the greatest growth (about
30%) from the year-ago quarter. (San Jose Mercury News 15 Jul 2004)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9165515.htm
WIRELESS GOES QWERTY
The success of multifunction devices such as Blackberry, PalmOne's Treo 600,
and Sidekick has inspired new qwerty-keyboard models from Sony Ericsson,
Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft: Sony Ericsson's P910 offers a fold-down
keyboard useful for sending long e-mail messages; HP and Danger have
developed devices with qwerty-style keyboards; and Microsoft will be
introducing a qwerty-keyboard device called the Pocket PC. Why the interest
in qwerty keypads? Consultant Andrew Seybold says, "In Europe and in Asia,
where the teenagers grew up with triple tapping, they got used to it. In the
U.S. the percentage of people who started out on keyboard is much higher and
that drives what they are used to on a handheld device." The Treo is the only
qwerty handset now being offered by all five major U.S. cellular carriers,
and PalmOne executive Joe Fabris boasts: "The Treo seems to be in the
Goldilocks zone: it's just the right size. We're in the refinement stage
and we're hammering ahead. Other people are still exploring." (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/19/technology/19phone.html
LINDOWS INSPIRED TO CHANGE ITS NAME FOR $20 MILLION
Microsoft has settled its trademark infringement lawsuits against
Lindows with a $20 million payment to that Linux operating system company --
which will now change its name to Linspire. Microsoft says, "We are pleased
that Lindows will now compete in the market place with a name distinctly its
own." Lindows has four years to continue using two of its Web addresses:
www.lindows.com and www.lindowsinc.com for the purpose of redirecting
visitors to its new Web sites. (AP/USA Today 19 Jul 2004)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-07-19-lindows-settles_x.htm
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
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***
>From Edupage
PIRACY REPORT STIRS CONTROVERSY
A recent report by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) about the cost
of software piracy has prompted some to suggest a political motive for
the report. Two weeks ago, the BSA issued a report that estimated
annual losses to software piracy at $29 billion. To some, however, the
timing of the report--released not long after a Senate bill was
introduced that would significantly strengthen copyright law--was not
merely coincidental. Opponents of the Senate bill argued that it would
effectively invalidate a Supreme Court decision that protects those who
develop technology that could be--but is not necessarily--used for
copyright violations. Overturning that precedent, said critics, would
only serve to protect interests of copyright holders and would stifle
technological innovation. Critics of the bill contend that the BSA,
which has previously estimated losses to piracy at $13 billion,
exaggerated the amount and released the report at a time that it would
influence senators considering the bill. Supporters of the bill said it
is sufficiently focused to target egregious violators of copyright. The
BSA defended the new estimate, saying the data that led to the higher
number were more comprehensive than in previous studies.
New York Times, 19 July 2004 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/19/technology/19piracy.html
HOUSE COMMITTEE ENCOURAGES OPEN-ACCESS PUBLISHING
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee has issued a report that urges
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to offer free, public access to
research it funds. While not a requirement, the recommendation gives
supporters of open access a significant boost and has left publishers
scrambling to try to change the report before it is approved by
Congress. The report encourages the NIH to make research available free
within six months of publication and directs the NIH to report back to
the committee by December 1, 2004, on how it plans to comply. Some
academic groups and librarians have long been pushing for such an open
model for scholarly publishing, especially as prices for many academic
journals have risen sharply. Since the report was issued, the
Association of American Publishers has been working to persuade members
of Congress to reject the open-access language in the report,
particularly the request for a report on compliance. Barbara Meredith
of the association, which said it was not consulted for input in the
writing of the report, said that establishing open-access publishing
for all government-funded research is "not in the best interest of
business and readers."
Chronicle of Higher Education, 19 July 2004 (sub. req'd)
http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2004/07/2004071902n.htm
CONTENTION OVER CELL PHONE 411 DATABASE
A planned directory-assistance database of cell-phone numbers is
raising concerns among civil liberties groups and industry analysts
about protecting the privacy of cell-phone users. Officials from the
Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) said the
411 directory would require customers to opt-in to be included and so
presents no risk to individual privacy. Some critics, however, question
whether the directory could have sufficient enrollment to be
sustainable unless an opt-out approach is used. Verizon Wireless has
said it will not provide its customers' names and numbers to the
directory, but the company's user agreement says that Verizon may
submit customer numbers to a directory unless users pay a fee to be
excluded. According to Adam Goldberg of Consumers Union, in such a
situation, Verizon could at any time decide to change its policy and
the user agreements could be taken as permission to opt-in to the
directory. Because of the uncertainties surrounding the directory and
its implementation, some are calling on the Federal Communications
Commission to regulate the directory. Officials from CTIA argued that
government regulation is not necessary, saying the list will only be
opt-in and that no fees will be charged to be either included or
excluded from the directory.
Wired News, 13 July 2004
http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,64185,00.html
DELL, HP UP THE ANTE FOR RECYCLING PROGRAMS
Leading computer manufacturers Dell and Hewlett-Packard have announced
new recycling initiatives for computers and other electronics. From
late July until early September, HP will accept PCs and other
electronic devices at Office Depot locations across the country for no
charge. Under Dell's offer, the company will pick up old computers and
accessories from homes. There is also no charge for Dell's recycling
program, but to qualify for the program, consumers must purchase a new
computer from the company. The fact that two of the largest computer
makers are competing for the title of most environmentally friendly
contrasts with the state of affairs not long ago, when most
manufacturers fought the notion that they should bear some
responsibility for recycling old hardware. According to Kate Krebs,
executive director of the National Recycling Coalition, "They started a
year ago with their arms across their chests saying no and here they
are now almost competing."
San Jose Mercury News, 14 July 2004
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9149940.htm
SIX MORE SCHOOLS TO OFFER NAPSTER ON CAMPUS
Six institutions--Cornell University, George Washington University,
Middlebury College, the University of Miami, the University of Southern
California, and Wright State University--will begin providing Napster
online music services to student this fall, joining Pennsylvania State
University and the University of Rochester. Terms were not released,
and conditions of the service vary by campus. At some schools, for
example, all students can access the service, while at others, it is
restricted to on-campus students. Student demand for the service was
cited by several institutions as a driving factor, and many also
expressed a desire to offer a legal alternative to P2P file-sharing and
to discourage copyright violations. Other companies including CFlix,
which provides movies as well as music, and Ruckus Network are also
working to sign up colleges and universities for their services.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech has signed a site license with Apple Computer
so its students can purchase songs from the company's iTunes service
without being part of a subscription service.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 19 July 2004
http://chronicle.com/free/2004/07/2004071901n.htm
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More Headline News Mostly Avoided By The Major U.S. Media
WHITE COLLAR CRIME OUTRANKS BLUE COLLAR 50 TIMES OVER
Apparently for every $25 billion in U.S. "blue collar" crime,
there is $1 trillion in "white collar crime."
Yet the police and court systems seem to act as if those
figures were in reverse.
***
SIMPLE SOLUTION OF THE WEEK
[From one of our readers]
Is it just me or does anyone else find it absolutely amazing
that the U.S. government can track a cow born in Canada
almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps
in the state of Washington, and determine exactly what that
cow ate. They can also track her calves right to their stalls,
and tell you what kind of feed they ate.
But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens
wandering around in their country, including people that are
trying to blow up important structures in the U.S.
My solution is to give every illegal alien a cow as soon as
they enter the country.
***
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pgweekly_2004_07_21_part_1.txt
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