[gweekly] PT1 Weekly Project Gutenberg Newsletter
Michael Hart
hart at pglaf.org
Wed Jul 20 10:10:52 PDT 2005
Weekly_July_20.txt
**The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, July 20, 2005 PT1**
*******eBooks Readable By Both Humans And Computers Since July 4, 1971******
We have produced ~1800 eBooks in 28 weeks this year!
It took us from July 1971 to Jul 1999 to produce our first 1800 eBooks!
That's 28 WEEKS as Compared to ~28 Years!!!
My apologies, there is still some disagreement on the exact number of books
done this week, and therefore this year and in total. I hope to start work
examining the numbers next week, after I finish jury duty. I am planning a
weekend off, after jury duty, but don't really expect to get it. :-) But
I hope to get these numbers worked out by next week, as our people have the
numbers, it is just that _I_ have not had time to catch up.
Actually, I took the time right now to make the following updates from some
older numbers to newer ones:
Wk Date old# new#
21,06/01/05, 69 <<== 70
22,06/08/05, 62 <<== 61
23,06/15/05, 48
24,06/22/05, 45
25,06/29/05, 41
26,07/06/05, 74
27,07/13/05, 61 <<== 63
28,07/20/05, 56
and thus, while this Newsletter his going out a few minutes later than usual,
it contains these up to date counts:
Year to date: 1,796
Grand total: 16,752
My apologies to all concerned for not getting this corrected sooner!
Michael
Newsletter editors needed! Please email hart at pobox.com or gbnewby at pglaf.org
Anyone who would care to get advance editions: please email hart at pobox.com
Please note that we are still in the process of correcting our statistical
program data. Last week we subtracted a few that we thought had been in a
duplicate count situation, but either that correction didn't stick or some
new similar problem has occured. As always, the total count should be the
consideration of some attention as to possibly being off by a few eBooks.
Please note that PT2 of this Newsletter is currently in flux, as we shift
from to an automated PT2 sender. The situation with Monthly Newsletters
is in flux to an even greater degree. Our apologies as we make changes.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
[Search for "*eBook" or "*Intro". . .to jump to that section, etc.]
*eBook Milestones
*Introduction
*Hot Requests, New Sites and Announcements
*Continuing Requests and Announcements
*Progress Report
*Distributed Proofreaders Collection Report
*Project Gutenberg Consortia Center Report
*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
56 New Public Domain eBooks Under US Copyright
*Headline News from Edupage, etc.
*Information About the Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists
***
*eBook Milestones
This Weekend We Should Be Twice As Close to 20,000 as 10,000 !!!
16,750 eBooks As Of Today!!!
13,688 New eBooks Since The Start Of 2001
That's 250 eBooks per Month for 54 Months
We Have Produced ~1800 eBooks in 2005
We Are ~84% of the way to 20,000
3,250 to go to 20,000!!!
We have now averaged ~492 eBooks per year since July 4th, 1971
We Averaged About 339 eBooks Per Month In 2004
We Are Averaging About 280 books Per Month This Year
We Are Averaging About 64 eBooks Per Week This Year
56 This Week
It took ~32 years, from 1971 to 2003 to do our 1st 10,000 eBooks
It took ~32 months, from 2002 to 2005 for our last 10,000 eBooks
It took ~10 years from 1993 to 2003 to grow from 100 eBooks to 10,100
It took ~1.25 years from Oct. 2003 to Jan. 2005 from 10,000 to 15,000
*
***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.]
[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 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
***
***Continuing Requests New Sites and Announcements
PROJECT GUTENBERG OF EUROPE TAKES OFF!!!
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This past month marked the official beginnings of our
new companion, Project Gutenberg of Europe with eBook
entries expected in over 100 languages. In the first
month we have seen a total of 100 about eBooks and an
assortment of 65 articles in total, thus representing
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to PGE would be greatly appreciated in creating eBook
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PGE and its branches operate under European copyright legislation
(life+50 and life+70).
It already has volunteers all over the continent: European Community,
Comonwealth of Independent States [ex-USSR] and other countries.
"Distributed Proofreaders Europe"--as central European PD digitizing system,
and only Unicode is capable of that kind in the world at the moment--releases
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between May 31 and June 30, including first wave of physical events--
conferences and promotions--in Eastern Europe (Macedonia, Serbia, etc).
[For details please email hart AT pglaf.org]
*
Darwin!!!
Would anyone like to work on reproofing our Darwin collection
and creating a compilation file as requested by our readers.
We could also use some help making some new editions of
"The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" and "Frankenstein."
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v0.2 version of PodReader is out, and it interfaces to PG. This allows
users to browse the catalog on their Desktop, pick a book, and have it
downloaded to their iPod in the correct format...this is a good plus for
PG users since it makes it a lot easier to get to PG documents.
http://homepage.mac.com/ptwobrussell/podreader.html
*
We have been invited to peruse the various eBook collections
of the Internet Archive for potential Project Gutenberg eBooks.
http://www.archive.org
Don't worry, many of the numbers listed are out of date,
but you should get all the files when you pass through
to the original sites.
Click on "texts" to get started, feel free to pick up any
of the eBooks you would like to work on.
Many Thanks To Brewster Kahle and the Internet Archive!
*
REQUEST FOR RUSSIAN TRANSLATOR
We are trying to start up a Project Gutenberg Russian Team,
and we need someone to translate simple email messages from
members of Project Gutenberg who want to provide a service
to the Russian Team, but who do not know Russian. . .these
people will be helping with scanning, finding books, etc.
The messages will be in MS Word's .doc format in Cyrillic,
we need them translated into English, also in a .doc file.
Thanks!!! Contact Jared Buck <JBuck814366460 at aol.com>
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***Progress Report, including Distributed Proofreaders
In the first 06.50 months of this year, we produced ~1800 new eBooks.
It took us from July 1971 to Jul 1999 to produce our first 1800 eBooks!
That's 28 WEEKS as Compared to ~28 Years!!!
56 New eBooks This Week
61 New eBooks Last Week
117 New eBooks This Month [Jul]
~277 Average Per Month in 2005
336 Average Per Month in 2004
355 Average Per Month in 2003
203 Average Per Month in 2002
103 Average Per Month in 2001
1794 New eBooks in 2005
4049 New eBooks in 2004
4164 New eBooks in 2003
2441 New eBooks in 2002
1240 New eBooks in 2001
====
13688 New eBooks Since Start Of 2001
That's Only 54.50 Months!
About 250 books per month
16,750 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks
13,295 eBooks This Week Last Year
====
3,455 New eBooks In Last 12 Months
462 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia
*
PROJECT GUTENBERG DISTRIBUTED PROOFREADERS UPDATE:
Since starting production in October 2000,
Distributed Proofreaders has contributed
7,163 eBooks to Project Gutenberg.
For more complete DP statistics, visit:
http://www.pgdp.net/c/stats/stats_central.php
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*Project Gutenberg Consortia Center Report
Please note the addition of the Internet Archive
marked with <<< below.
PGCC's current eBook and eDocument Collections listings
of 18 collections. . .with this week's listing as:
Alex-Wire Tap Collection, 2,036 HTML eBook Files
Black Mask Collection, 12,000 HTML eBook Files
The Coradella Bookshelf Collection, 141 eBook Files
DjVu Collection, 272 PDF and DJVU eBook Files
eBooks at Adelaide Collection, 27,709 eBook Files
Himalayan Academy, 3,400 HTML eBook Files
Internet Archive ~30,000 eBook Files [In Progress] <<<
Literal Systems Collection, 68 MP3 eBook Files
Logos Group Collection, ~34,000 TXT eBook Files
Poet's Corner Poetry Collection, 6,700 Poetry Files
Project Gutenberg Collection, 15,035 eBook Files
PGCC Chinese eBook Collection ~300 eBook files <<< Note Name Change
Renaisscance Editions Collection, 561 HTML eBook Files
Swami Center Collection, 78 HTML eBook Files
Tony Kline Collection, 223 HTML eBook Files
Widger Library, 2,600 HTML eBook Files
CIA's Electronic Reading Room, 2,019 Reference Files
=======Grand Total Files=========~137,142 Total Files=====
Average Size of the Collections 8,067.18 Total Files
These eBooks are catalogued as per the instructions of
their donors: some are one file per book; some have a
file for each chapter; and some even have a file for a
single page or poem. . .or are overcounted for reasons
I have not mentioned. . .each of which could cause the
overcounting or duplication of numbers.
If we presume 2 out of 3 of these files are overcounts,
that leaves a unique book total of
~45,714 Unique eBooks
If we presume 3 out of 4 of these files are overcounts,
that leaves a unique book total of
~34,286 Unique eBooks
***
Please also note that over 23,000 eBooks are listed via
The Online Books Page, of which over 5,300 are from PG.
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/
In addition: The Internet Public Library had a similar
listing which is now in limbo. If anyone knows what is
happening with the IPL, please let us know. Inquiries,
made months ago, and again recently, have not turned up
any current information.
You can try a new IPL service at:
http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/hum60.60.00/
It would appear that The Internet Public Library ended
its first incarnation with about 22,284 entries, which
has now been surpassed by the Online Books Page.
Still looking for more Internet Public Library info.
***
Today Is Day #196 of 2005
This Completes Week #28 and Month #06.50 [364 days this year]
168 Days/24 Weeks To Go [We get 52 Wednesdays this year]
3,250 Books To Go To #20,000
[Our production year begins/ends
1st Wednesday of the month/year]
64 Weekly Average in 2005
78 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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***
Statistical Review
In the 28 weeks of this year, we have produced ~1800 new eBooks.
It took us from 7/71 to 7/99 to produce our FIRST 1800 eBooks!!!
That's 28 WEEKS as Compared to ~28 YEARS!!!
FLASHBACK!
Here's a sample of what books we were doing around eBook #1800
Mon Year Title and Author [filename.ext] ###
A "C" Following The eText # Indicates That This eText Is Under Copyright
[Note: books without month and year entries have been reposted]
Jul 1999 The Boys' Life of Abraham Lincoln by Helen Nicolay[bloalxxx.xxx] 1815
Jul 1999 The Agony Column, by Earl Derr Biggers [gnyclxxx.xxx] 1814
A Man of Business, by Honore de Balzac 1813
[Translated by Clara Bell and Others]
A Prince of Bohemia, by Honore de Balzac 1812
[Tr.: Clara Bell and others]
Massimilla Doni, by Honore de Balzac 1811
[Tr.: Clara Bell and James Waring]
Jul 1999 A Second Home, by Honore de Balzac [de Balzac #67][2ndhmxxx.xxx] 1810
[Tr.: Clara Bell]
Jul 1999 Bucky O'Connor, by William MacLeod Raine[Raine #2][bkcnrxxx.xxx] 1809
[Subtitle: A Tale of the Unfenced Border]
Jul 1999 The Log of the Jolly Polly, by R H Davis[Davis#20][jlplyxxx.xxx] 1808
Jul 1999 The Lost House, by Richard Harding Davis[Davis#19][lsthsxxx.xxx] 1807
Jul 1999 The Frame Up, by Richard Harding Davis [Davis #18][frmupxxx.xxx] 1806
Jul 1999 The Gentle Grafter, by O. Henry [O Henry #6][grftrxxx.xxx] 1805
Jul 1999 War and the Future, by H. G. Wells[H.G. Wells #18][wrftrxxx.xxx] 1804
Jul 1999 Wyoming, Story of Outdoor West, by William M Raine[wymngxxx.xxx] 1803
Jul 1999 King Henry VIII, by Shakespeare [WL][1ws4211x.xxx] 1802C
Jul 1999 The Tempest, by Shakespeare [WL][1ws4111x.xxx] 1801C
(eBooks #1765 thru #1802 were a newly proofread version of Shakespeare.)
*
Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet???
If our average eBook has reached just 1% of the world population of
6,455,073,164 that would be 16,750 x 64,550,732 = 1.08 Trillion !!!
With 16,764 eBooks online as of July 20, 2005 it now takes an average
of ~1% of the world gaining a nominal value of ~$.92 from each book.
1% of the world population is 64,550,732 x 16,750 x $.92 = ~$1 trillion]
[Google "world population" "popclock" to get the most current figures.]
With 16,750 eBooks online as of July 20, 2005 it now takes an average
of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $0.60 from each book,
This "cost" is down from about $.75 when we had 13,295 eBooks a year ago.
100 million readers is about 1.5% of the world's population!
At 16,750 eBooks in 34 Years and 00.50 Months We Averaged
~492 Per Year
41.0 Per Month
1.33 Per Day
At 1800 eBooks Done In The 196 Days Of 2005 We Averaged
9.2 Per Day
64 Per Week
280 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 5th was
the first Wednesday of 2005, and thus ended PG's production
year of 2004 and began the production year of 2005 at noon.
This year there will be 52 Wednesdays, thus no extra week.
***
*Headline News from Edupage
[PG Editor's Comments In Brackets]
U.S. LOSING GROUND IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
[No matter how you slice it, in 1970 the United States had over double
the share of world college students as it did just three decades later.
Over 30% dropped to under 15%. As I have been saying here for years,
keep your eye on China, India and then Indonesia.]
Confirming the suspicions of many, a new report from the National
Bureau of Economic Research indicates that the United States is
steadily losing ground to a number of other countries, particularly
China, in the number of PhDs it awards in science and engineering
fields. In 1970, nearly one-third of the world's college students
attended a college or university in the United States, and more than
half of the science and engineering PhDs were awarded by U.S. schools.
A number of global factors contributed to those numbers, making them
artificially high. Since that time, however, higher education around
the world, and especially programs in science and engineering, has
greatly expanded, leaving the United States with just 14 percent of the
world's college students by 2001. According to the report, China could
surpass the United States as early as 2010 in the number of science and
engineering PhDs it awards.
Inside Higher Ed, 15 July 2005
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/07/15/science
TEXAS INSTITUTIONS TO DEVELOP JOINT DIGITAL LIBRARY
[If this program "will not include books," then how can it be
"aimed broadly at public users?"]
Rice University and four university systems in Texas have announced a
partnership to create a digital repository of online resources aimed
broadly at public users. Dubbed the Texas Digital Library, the
repository will pool the efforts of Rice University, the Texas A&M
University System, the Texas Tech University System, the University of
Houston System, and the University of Texas System. Initially, at
least, the repository will offer various resources online, including
teaching aids and practical information, but will not include books.
Fred Heath, vice provost of the University of Texas Libraries, said
that the program was conceived as a resource largely for individuals
outside the walls of academia, fulfilling in some measure the charge of
public higher education to serve the public good. The budget for the
project has not yet been finalized. Heath said he hopes the repository
will be online by the end of the year, but the timing will depend on
having sufficient content available for users.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 13 July 2005
http://chronicle.com/free/2005/07/2005071301t.htm
EC RAIDS INTEL OFFICES
As part of an ongoing investigation of antitrust allegations against
Intel, the European Commission (EC) this week conducted raids on Intel
offices around Europe and on computer makers and retailers. The EC
began looking into antitrust concerns more than four years ago, but the
investigation was left idle for lack of evidence in 2002. After
antitrust authorities in Japan began looking into Intel's business in
2004, the EC reopened its investigation. Intel competitors have charged
the chip maker with unfairly using its position in the market to
pressure computer manufacturers and retailers to use its products.
Critics also charge Intel with abusing a rebate program, which reward
computer makers for using its chips. The Japanese Fair Trade Commission
in March found Intel guilty of violating that country's regulations
with the rebate program. Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices has sued
Intel for $55 million in Japan and has filed a separate action in U.S.
courts.
New York Times, 13 July 2005 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/13/technology/13chip.html
and, from one of our readers:
MUNICIPAL NETWORK APPROVED FOR LAFAYETTE, LA
In the latest battle over municipal broadband networks, voters of
Lafayette, Louisiana, approved a bond issue to fund the development of
a network that will serve the city's nearly 120,000 residents. As in
other localities, the phone and cable companies that serve the area
objected to the proposed network, arguing that the city has no business
offering a service that competes with those offered by the private
sector.
In related news, taxi firms across the USA are planning to sue
municipalities for providing bus services to residents...
[here is the report from Edupage in it's entirety]
In the latest battle over municipal broadband networks, voters of
Lafayette, Louisiana, approved a bond issue to fund the development of
a network that will serve the city's nearly 120,000 residents. As in
other localities, the phone and cable companies that serve the area
objected to the proposed network, arguing that the city has no business
offering a service that competes with those offered by the private
sector. City officials argued that they can provide cheaper service to
more residents than the cable and phone companies, whom they accused of
spending more effort lobbying politicians than offering services the
city needs. The issues facing Lafayette are being taken up by a number
of other municipalities across the United States, and 14 states have
already passed legislation that outlaws or limits cities and towns from
providing Internet services that compete with those offered by local
companies. At the national level, competing bills have been introduced
in the U.S. House of Representatives, one to explicitly allow municipal
networks and the other to ban them.
CNET, 17 July 2005
http://news.com.com/2100-1033_3-5792387.html
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*HEADLINE NEWS AVOIDED BY MOST OF THE MAJOR U.S. MEDIA
In the wake of a United States Supreme Court ruling in Kelo v. New
London on eminent domain last week, a California man has proposed that
Justice David Souter's New Hampshire home be seized by the state and a
hotel be built on the site. Logan Darrow Clements faxed a letter to
town officials in Weare, New Hampshire June 28, 2005 that justified
the action as such:
"The justification for such an eminent domain action is that our hotel
will better serve the public interest as it will bring in economic
development and higher tax revenue to Weare."
Justice Souter, who was in the majority ruling in the Kelo case, has
lived at the farmhouse in Weare since he was 11 years old. Clements
indicated that it was necessary to build on that location because "it
is a unique site being the home of someone largely responsible for
destroying property rights for all Americans." The action has given
rise to a great deal of support nationwide, as many are writing to the
councilors of the small town of Weare to voice their approval for the
proposal.
The proposal for the "Lost Liberty Hotel", as it is to be called,
features a number of components which seem to focus on the libertarian
leanings of its designer. A dining room, called the "Just Desserts
Cafe" and a museum based on the "loss of freedom in America" are two
such components. Instead of a Gideon's Bible (a standard item placed
in most American hotel rooms), each guest will receive a free copy of
Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged.
Sources:
Dan Whitcomb "Man to try to seize home of Supreme Court justice".
Reuters via Washington Post, June 29, 2005
Ron Strom "Supreme Court Justice faces boot from home?".
WorldNetDaily, June 28, 2005
Bob Ellis "Tidal Wave of Support for Souter "Lost Liberty Hotel"".
Dakota Voice, June 29, 2005
AP "Proposal: Replace Souter's home with 'Lost Liberty Hotel'".
The Boston Globe, June 29, 2005
Logan Darrow Clements "Press Release". Freestar Media, LLC, June
28, 2005
*
The above mentioned raids on European Intel offices.
and
More Kark Rove, there's plenty, choose your own.
*STRANGE WORDS OF THE WEEK
More Kark Rove, there's plenty, choose your own.
DOUBLESPEAK OF THE WEEK
More Kark Rove, there's plenty, choose your own.
*PREDICTIONS OF THE WEEK
My current prediction is that I will be focused on jury duty.
*ODD STATISTICS OF THE WEEK
Supreme Court justices from the Republicans stay there over 20 years.
Supreme Court justices from the Democrats stay there about 13 years.
Warning: your mileage may vary!
[Since WWII, numbers from oyez.org]
As reported above:
In 1970 United States colleges enrolled over 30% of world students.
In 2001 United States colleges enrolled under 15% of world students.
*
50 million Americans live in various kinds "gated communites."
That means out of just a handful of people, one is most likely
living in such an "arranged community."
*
Still hoping for more statistical updates and additional entries.
"If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely
100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same,
it would look something like the following. There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth
and all 6 would be from the United States
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer
I would like to bring some of these figures more up to date,
as obviously if only 1% of 6 billion people owned a computer
then there would be only 60 million people in the world who
owned a computer, yet we hear that 3/4 + of the United States
households have computers, out of over 100 million households.
Thus obviously that is over 1% of the world population, just in
the United States.
I just called our local reference librarian and got the number
of US households from the 2004-5 U.S. Statistical Abstract at:
111,278,000 as per data from 2003 U.S Census Bureau reports.
If we presume the saturation level of U.S. computer households
is now around 6/7, or 86%, that is a total of 95.4 million,
and that's counting just one computer per household, and not
counting households with more than one, schools, businesses, etc.
I also found some figures that might challenge the literacy rate
given above, and would like some help researching these and other
such figures, if anyone is interested.
BTW, while I was doing this research, I came across a statistic
that said only 10% of the world's population is 60+ years old.
This means that basically 90% of the world's population would
never benefit from Social Security, even if the wealthy nations
offered it to them free of charge. Then I realized that the US
population has the same kind of age disparity, in which the rich
live so much longer than the poor, the whites live so much longer
than the non-whites. Thus Social Security is paid by all, but is
distributed more to the upper class whites, not just because they
can receive more per year, but because they will live more years
to receive Social Security. The average poor non-white may never
receive a dime of Social Security, no matter how much they pay in.
*
POEM OF THE WEEK
collage
scattered wood shavings fallen feathers
waves of sand tossed on a toasty beach
undulating pattern shows my heart and eyes ensemble
riding on the high tide of beauty without boundaries
Copyright 2005 by Simona Sumanaru and Michael S. Hart
Please send comments to: simona_s75 AT yahoo.com & hart AT pobox.com
This poem is from the poetry volume "Thoughts of My Exiled Self."
The motto for this volume is, "Upon this Word I shall build my life."
***
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