[gweekly] PT1 Weekly Project Gutenberg Newsletter
Michael Hart
hart at pglaf.org
Wed Sep 8 09:36:57 PDT 2004
GWeekly_September_8.txt
The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, September 8, 2004 PT1
******eBooks Readable By Both Humans And Computers Since July 4, 1971*******
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
[Search for "*eBook" or "*Intro". . .to jump to that section, etc.]
*eBook Milestones
*Introduction
*Nanotechnology
*Hot Requests New Sites and Announcements
*Continuing Requests and Announcements
*Progress Report, including Distributed Proofreaders
*Permanent Requests For Assistance:
*Donation Information
*Access To The Project Gutenberg Collections
*Mirror Site Information
*Instant Access To Our Latest eBooks
*Have We Given Away A Trillion Yet?
*Flashback
*Weekly eBook update:
This is now in PT2 of the Weekly Newsletter
Also collected in the Monthly Newsletter
Corrections in separate section
2 New From PG Australia [Australian, Canadian Copyright Etc.]
52 New Public Domain eBooks Under US Copyright
*Headline News from NewsScan and Edupage
*Information About the Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists
***
*eBook Milestones
We Are Over 90% of the Way to 15,000!!!
1,269 to go to 15,000
13,731 eBooks As Of Today!!!
We have now averaged about 4142 eBooks per year since July 4th, 1971!!!
It took ~32 years, from 1971 to 2003 to do our 1st 10,000 eBooks
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 eBooks
***Introduction
[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
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and the eBook listings in Part 2 [New Project Gutenberg Documents].
[Since we are between Newsletter editors, these 2 parts may undergo a
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hart at pobox.com and gbnewby at pglaf.org if you would like to volunteer.]
This is Michael Hart's "Founder's Comments" section of the Newsletter
Over Our 33 08/52 Year History, We Have Now Averaged About 414 eBooks/Yr
And This Year We Are Averaging Nearly That New eBook Level. . .PER MONTH!
We Are Averaging About 353 eBooks Per Month This Year
About 81 Per Week
***
*Nanotechnology : A commentary from Bill Hammack's public radio program
You can listen to this commentary at http://www.engineerguy.com
With nanotechnology engineers manipulate atomic sized particles
to create tiny machines. They'll be able to create, for example,
toothpaste filled with nano-particles that repair damaged teeth,
or pills that are really tiny pacemakers. Although still a young
technology, the National Science Foundation forecasts the U.S.
Market will be one trillion dollars by 2016.
Yet this promise may never be fulfilled, but not for lack of
technological know how or resources: The U.S. Government alone
will pour 3.7 billion dollars into nanotech over the next four
year. But to really thrive a technology needs more than a
scientific side, it must fit into our world socially and legally.
For nanotech storm clouds already loom on the horizon.
For example, Britain's Prince Charles suggested that
nanotechnology could be a disaster like thalidomide - the drug
that caused grotesque birth defects in the 1960s. His remarks
signal to the nanotech community the work yet to be done in
creating a public receptive to their technology.
I suggest they look carefully at two negative role models:
Biotechnology and nuclear power. Nether industry conveyed to the
public the benefit of their product, nor did they listen to
public concerns. In the absence of intelligent dialogue,
heightened concerns grew over the risk, nearly crippling both
industries. Better public engagement could have prevented this
backlash. The public isn't going to accept any technology where
there hasn't been detailed studies of risks and benefits.
Right now the lack of information about nanotechnology invites
alarmist scenarios. The nanotech industry needs to educate the
public about what exactly nanotechnology is, and it needs to
listen carefully to public concerns.
And there are other ways nanotech needs to fit into our world
before being fully accepted - consider legal and regulatory
aspects. The EPA is deciding whether to regulate nano-materials
under the Toxic Substances Control Act, or to classify them as
the naturally occurring "ultra-fine" materials - the same as
dust, forest fire smoke, volcanic ash, bacteria and viruses.
And Patent Examiners are grappling with nanotech. If you use nano
methods to make a tiny motor is that legally any different than a
full-sized motor? In the past a simple change in size hasn't been
patentable absent some other utility or novelty that comes from
To researchers who enjoy conquering the technological problems of
creating a nanotech world, these social, legal and regulatory
concerns may seem like dull things. Yet, some fraction of the
nearly four billion dollars being invested into nanotechnology
needs to be used to answer these questions. If not then these
tiny nano-sized machines will bite back big time.
Copyright 2004 William S. Hammack Enterprises
[Reprinted with Bill's personal permission]
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355 Average Per Month in 2003
203 Average Per Month in 2002
103 Average Per Month in 2001
2824 New eBooks in 2004
4164 New eBooks in 2003
2441 New eBooks in 2002
1240 New eBooks in 2001
====
10669 New eBooks Since Start Of 2001
That's Only 44.00 Months!
13,731 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks
9,327 eBooks This Week Last Year
====
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375 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia
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Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet???
Statistical Review
In the 35 weeks of this year, we have produced 2824 new eBooks.
It took us from 1971 to 2000 to produce our FIRST 2824 eBooks!!!
That's 35 WEEKS as Compared to ~30 YEARS!!!
With 13,731 eBooks online as of September 8, 2004 it now takes an average
of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $0.73 from each book,
for Project Gutenberg to have currently given away $1,000,000,000,000
[One Trillion Dollars] in books.
100 million readers is only ~1.5% of the world's population!
This "cost" is down from about $1.07 when we had 9327 eBooks a year ago
Can you imagine ~13,731 books each costing ~$.35 less a year later???
Or. . .would this say it better?
Can you imagine ~13,731 books each costing 1/3 less a year later???
At 13,731 eBooks in 33 Years and 02.00 Months We Averaged
414 Per Year [We do nearly that much a month these days!]
34.5 Per Month
1.13 Per Day
At 2824 eBooks Done In The 251 Days Of 2004 We Averaged
11.2 Per Day
80.6 Per Week
353.0 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.
*Flashback!!!
2820 New eBooks So Far in 2004
It took us ~30 years for the first 2824!!!
That's the 8.00 months of 2004 as Compared to ~30 years!!!
Here Is A Sample Of What Books Were Being Done Around #2824
Oct 2001 Sir Nigel, by Arthur Conan Doyle [A. C. Doyle #24][nigelxxx.xxx] 2845
Oct 2001 Fatal Boots, by William Makepeace Thackeray [#25][fbootxxx.xxx] 2844
Oct 2001 Little Travels and Roadside Sketches, by Thackeray[ltarsxxx.xxx] 2843
Oct 2001 Black Heart and White Heart, by H. R. Haggard[#24][bwhrtxxx.xxx] 2842
Oct 2001 The Ivory Child, by H. Rider Haggard [Haggard #23][ivoryxxx.xxx] 2841
Sep 2001 De Franse Pers, Heinrich Heine [#3/Flemish/Dutch][fpersxxx.xxx] 2840
Sep 2001 Franse Toestanden, Heinrich Heine[2/Flemish/Dutch][ftoesxxx.xxx] 2839
Sep 2001 De Beurs lacht, Heinrich Heine [#1/Flemish/Dutch][fbeurxxx.xxx] 2838
[These three are our first eBooks in Flemish/Dutch]
Sep 2001 Lendas do Sul, by J. Somoes Lopes Netto [lendaxxx.xxx] 2837
[Language: Portuguese] [Our First eBook in Portuguese!]
Sep 2001 Abraham Lincoln and the Union, Nath'l W Stephenson[alatuxxx.xxx] 2836
[Author: Nathaniel W. Stephenson]
Sep 2001 The Canadian Dominion, by Oscar D. Skelton [cndndxxx.xxx] 2835
Sep 2001 The Portrait of a Lady, Vol 2, by Henry James[#37][2pldyxxx.xxx] 2834
Sep 2001 The Portrait of a Lady, Vol 1, by Henry James[#36][1pldyxxx.xxx] 2833
Sep 2001 Myth, Ritual, and Religion, V1, by Andrew Lang #28[1mrarxxx.xxx] 2832
Sep 2001 A Bundle of Ballads, by Henry Morley [bndbaxxx.xxx] 2831
Sep 2001 Reginald, by Saki (H. H. Munro) [Saki HH Munro #5][rgnldxxx.xxx] 2830
Sep 2001 Fanny and the Servant Problem, by Jerome K. Jerome[fnyspxxx.xxx] 2829
Sep 2001 Under the Deodars, by Rudyard Kipling[Kipling #19][undeoxxx.xxx] 2828
Sep 2001 Aslauga's Knight by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque 4[slkntxxx.xxx] 2827
Sep 2001 The Two Captains by Friedrich de la Motte-Fouque 3[2cpnsxxx.xxx] 2826
Sep 2001 Undine, by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque[Fouque #2][undinxxx.xxx] 2825
Sep 2001 Sintram and His Companions, by Friedrich Fouque #1[sntrmxxx.xxx] 2824
[Author: Friedrich Heinrich Karl, Freiherr de La Motte-Fouque]
Sep 2001 The Fitz-Boodle Papers/William Makepeace Thackeray[fitzbxxx.xxx] 2823
Sep 2001 London in 1731, Don Manoel Gonzales [londnxxx.xxx] 2822
Sep 2001 The Story of the Gadsby, by Rudyard Kipling[RK#18][tsotgxxx.xxx] 2821
Sep 2001 La Fin des Livres by Octave Uzanne & Albert Robida[endbkxxh.zip] 2820
[English Title: The End of Books]
Sep 2001 Barrack-Room Ballads, by Rudyard Kipling [RK #17][barbaxxx.xxx] 2819
Sep 2001 Beautiful Joe, by Marshall Saunders [beajoxxx.xxx] 2818
Sep 2001 Chamber Music, by James Joyce [James Joyce #2][chamuxxx.xxx] 2817
Sep 2001 The City of the Sun, by Tommaso Campanells [tcotsxxx.xxx] 2816
Sep 2001 Democracy An American Novel, by Henry Adams[HA #2][demamxxx.xxx] 2815
Sep 2001 Dubliners, by James Joyce [James Joyce #1] [dblnrxxx.xxx] 2814
*Headline News from NewsScan and Edupage
[PG Editor's Comments In Brackets]
>From NewsScan:
CYBERCAFE LOOKS BACK ON A TEN-YEAR REVOLUTION
Cafe Cyberia opened its doors ten years ago Wednesday in the heart of
London as the brainchild of a Polish psychology student who had the savvy
and foresight to combine coffee and e-mail. Eva Pascoe's cybercafe drew
raves immediately, along with investments from the likes of rock star Mick
Jagger. From the branch on Wiltshire Road, in London's bustling Tottenham
Court Road area, it spawned outlets across Britain and abroad, showing up
even inside Paris' Pompidou Center, the contemporary art museum in the heart
of the French capital. (The Age 3 Sep 2004) Rec'd from J. Lamp
<http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/02/1093939058886.html>
MALAYSIA SEEKS TO BECOME TOP OUTSOURCING CENTER
Malaysia prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says that outsourcing
operations have emerged as one of the largest sectors in Malaysia's
Multimedia Super Corridor, spawning investment of more than one billion
ringgit by 49 companies and some 8,000 new jobs in the special zone south of
Kuala Lumpur. The sector would play a key role in the zone's second phase of
development from 2004 to 2010, creating at least 100,000 new jobs by the end
of the period. (The Age 2 Sep 2004) Rec'd from J. Lamp
<http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/02/1093939032933.html>
"INDIAN" OUTSOURCERS COULD BE ANYWHERE
India's back-office service providers have been establishing operations
in other parts of the world: an Infosys subsidiary has opened offices in the
Czech republic and MphasiS BFL's arm MSourcE has created a processing center
in Mexico. Raju Bhatnagar, president of ICICI OneSource, explains: "It is
more from a customer perspective. If the vendor, however reliable, has a
single delivery center, it forces the customer to look for a second vendor
outside India, rather than put all his eggs in one basket. If I can bridge
that gap, I can keep business from going to another vendor."
(Reuters/USA Today 3 Sep 2004)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/industry/2004-09-03-further-outsou
rcing_x.htm
[Speaking of outsourcing, I heard that "call centers" are now going up
in Eastern Europe as various countries join NATO and start using Euros]
LABOR SECRETARY DEFENDS OUTSOURCING
In defense of outsourcing, which has been under much attack in this
political year, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao says that companies have created
millions of jobs in the United States, far outpacing the amount of work that
American businesses have shifted abroad. "People talk about it a lot, but
the anxiety belies the numbers." Noting that we live and work in a worldwide
economy, Chao warns: "If we isolate ourselves from this worldwide economy,
we will put in jeopardy the 9 million jobs that Americans currently hold"
in foreign-owned companies. (AP/San Jose Mercury News 2 Sep 2004)
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9556426.htm>
[Notice she doesn't say "foreign-located companies, or sweatshops.]
SPY VERSUS SPY: UNBLOCK THAT CALL-BLOCK
A new computerized service from a company called Star38 will allow
callers to create false outbound phone numbers and thereby fool call block
software. Customers of the new service will be able to go to the company's
Web site to enter the number they want to call and the number they want to
appear on the caller ID screen of the recipient's phone. Some privacy-rights
advocates are concerned that angry former spouses, stalkers or fraud artists
could use the service for mischief, but Robert Atkinson of the Institute for
Tele-Information at Columbia University, comments: "Some people see caller
ID as an invasion of their privacy, while others see it as a protection of
their privacy. It's spy versus spy." (New York Times 2 Sep 2004)
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/02/technology/02caller.html>
FRANCE TELECOM EMPLOYEES PROTEST PRIVATIZATION PLANS
France Telecom employees have protested government plans to privatize
the group, with management characterizing the mobilization as modest and
unions describing it as robust resistance. Company officials say 18.3% of
the workforce heeded a union call for a 24-hour strike, while the SUD-PTT
union claims the figure was 25% and characterizes the response as
"significant." Another union, the CGT, says 30-70% of the workforce went out
on strike, with turnout varying among branches. The strike call followed an
announcement by the government that it will reduce its stake in France
Telecom to below 50%. (The Age 8 Sep 2004) Rec'd from J. Lamp
<http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/08/1094530645952.html>
E-VOTING IN NEVADA
Nevada voters have become the first in the nation to cast ballots in a
statewide election using computers that produced printed paper records of
electronic ballots. "Knock on wood, so far things have been working
flawlessly," said Secretary of State Dean Heller. Nevada's $9.3 million
voting system includes more than 2,600 computers and printers deployed in
every county. The system, developed by California-based Sequoia Voting
Systems, aims to address concerns that paperless touchscreen votes cannot be
properly audited or recounted. "From what I've seen, voters seem to enjoy
the experience," says DeForest B. Soaries Jr., chairman of the U.S. Election
Assistance Commission. "There hasn't been frustration or confusion."(AP/USA
Today 8 Sep 2004)
<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/evoting/2004-09-08-nv-evote-sy
stem_x.htm
and in a related story:
MARYLAND JUDGE OKAYS TOUCH-SCREEN VOTING
[Yes, but it's the UNREASONABLE ones who stuff the ballot boxes.]
Rejecting a challenge to the state's touch-screen voting machines, a
Circuit Court judge in Maryland suggests that the machines are more accurate
than the paper ballots the plaintiffs are seeking to make optional for the
November elections, and notes that election officials have "taken all
reasonable steps to protect the integrity of the voting process." The lead
plaintiff's response is: "I am very disappointed that Maryland voters will
be forced to vote on machines that we believe are illegal under Maryland law
and that are clearly very insecure." In his ruling the judge wrote: "No
system is infallible. No machine is infallible. All experts agree systems
such as these are much more secure and less vulnerable than the paper
ballot" -- or the optical scan machines used in most Maryland jurisdictions
in the last presidential election. (Washington Post 1 Sep 2004)
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54409-2004Sep1.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
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NewsScan-To-Go: http://www.newsscan.com/handheld/current.html
*
>From Edupage
U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE DRAFTS NEW VERSION OF INDUCE ACT
[Right, Fortune 500 companies such as Sony and Apple can do it,
but the little guys face total destruction.]
Responding to strong criticism of the recently introduced Induce Act,
the U.S. Copyright Office has written a revised version of the
legislation. The "discussion draft" offered by the Copyright Office
attempts to shield devices such as Apple's iPod from prosecution for
inducing consumers to commit copyright violations while outlawing
networks such as Kazaa and Morpheus for doing just that. The draft
limits liability to those who "intentionally induce" piracy--a more
stringent definition of wrongdoing than in the original bill. The
Copyright Office's draft has sparked new criticism, however, based on
requirements that ISPs and technology companies must take all
"reasonably available corrective measures" and cannot "actively
interfere" with efforts to locate copyright violators. Sarah Deutsch,
vice president and associate general counsel of Verizon Communications,
noted that the language in the draft is vague and could make an ISP
liable, for example, if it refused to provide copyright holders with a
list of the company's subscribers.
CNET, 2 September 2004
http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5345528.html
You have been reading excerpts from Edupage:
If you have questions or comments about Edupage,
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More Headline News Avoided By Most Of The Major U.S. Media
HALLIBURTON OUT OF IRAQ?
Various reports are surfacing from both government and
private sources that Halliburton, Vice-President Cheney's
previous employer, will not renew its Iraq contracts.
Multiple sources indicate that the US Army will terminate
Halliburton's no-bid 9-figure contract, of which some $1.2
billion seems to be unaccounted for, and will finally put
these services up for competitive bidding.
Halliburton is reportedly not even going to prepare a bid,
as the new contracts won't be nearly as profitable, since
they now require the usual bidding system.
Researchers on this story say that even if the bidding is
about the same as what the previous contractors received,
it will still save significant amounts of tax revenues,
since Halliburton doesn't really do the work, but rather
takes a few percent off the top and then sub-contracts
the work to others.
ILLINOIS GOVERNOR LOSES TO BUSH ON CANADIAN PHARMACIES
Interestingly enough, I never heard a word about this
in the Illinois media, though I am sure something has
appeared about this.
Illinois governor Rod Blagoijovich's program to allow
citizens to legally fill prescriptions from Canadian
pharmacies was apparently defeated last week.
I only found out about this because a friend needed
some money to fill a prescription that had apparently
just jumped $65 as a result of lost price competition.
*ODD STATISTICS OF THE WEEK
US LIBRARIES LOSING GROUND?
Early indicators point to a drop in library books checked out.
In several interviews around the country, data is emerging to
show that for the first time in history the number of books
checked out from the average US library has actually dropped
over the last couple years.
1 BILLION CELL PHONE SALES IN 18 MONTHS
If industry analysts are correct, the 18 months surrounding
today, 9 months past and 9 months future, will see nearly a
billion cell phones sold worldwide in just a year and a half.
meanwhile:
1/8 BILLION iTUNES SALES
Apple announced that it has sold 125 million iTunes at $.99.
SIMPLE SOLUTION OF THE WEEK
It would appear that the officials at the Republican National
Convention finally figured out how to keep demonstrators from
sneaking into the convention with unapproved signs or comments:
Across the street they have created a Checkpoint Charlie system,
in which delegates, press, etc., are screened, and then wrapped
in orange plastic fencing before being ushered across the street
into Madison Square Garden inside the orange packaging material.
[However, it would appear this didn't work too well, not only
annoying the authorized personnel, but still not keeping out
various groups that wanted platform changes.]
*ODD QUOTATION OF THE WEEK
"When civilized men can no longer stand the horrors of war,
they will be conquered by uncivilized men who can."
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