Weekly_June_22.txt **The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, June 22, 2005 PT1** *******eBooks Readable By Both Humans And Computers Since July 4, 1971****** Please note that this Newsletter is being prepared in advance so statistics for the total our production week to Wednesday are estimated based on 50, & 10 of these are from PG Australia. We have not yet worked out a system for reporting the eBooks contributed by PG Europe, but the total for this month is expected to be around 100. [This pre-edition is being prepared around noon Monday, June 20, just as I head out to the airport. 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 Please note that PT2 of this Newsletter is currently in flux, as we shift to an automated PT2 sender. The situation with Monthly Newsletters is in flux to an even greater degree. Our apologies as we make changes. * HOT REQUESTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS PROJECT GUTENBERG DISTRIBUTED PROOFREADERS UPDATE: Since starting production in October 2000, Distributed Proofreaders has contributed 6,997+ eBooks to Project Gutenberg. For more complete DP statistics, visit: http://www.pgdp.net/c/stats/stats_central.php * 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 10 New From PG Australia [Australian, Canadian Copyright Etc.] 35 New Public Domain eBooks Under US Copyright *Headline News from Edupage, etc. *Information About the Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists *** *eBook Milestones 16,525 eBooks As Of Today!!! 13,351 New eBooks Since The Start Of 2001 We Have Produced 1567 eBooks in 2005 We Are ~65% of the Way from 10,000 to 20,000 We are ~28% of the Way from 15,000 to 20,000 3,477 to go to 20,000!!! We have now averaged ~482 eBooks per year since July 4th, 1971 We Averaged About 339 eBooks Per Month In 2004 We Are Averaging About 273 books Per Month This Year We Are Averaging About 66 eBooks Per Week This Year 50 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.] * This is Michael Hart's "Founder's Comments" section of the Newsletter ***Continuing Requests New Sites and Announcements * Project Gutenberg of Canada needs your help! 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That's 24 WEEKS as Compared to ~27 Years! 50 New eBooks This Week 69 New eBooks Last Week 160 New eBooks This Month [Jun] ~273 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 1568 New eBooks in 2005 4049 New eBooks in 2004 4164 New eBooks in 2003 2441 New eBooks in 2002 1240 New eBooks in 2001 ==== 13351 New eBooks Since Start Of 2001 That's Only 53.00 Months! About 250 books per month 16,523 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks 13,005 eBooks This Week Last Year ==== 3,518 New eBooks In Last 12 Months 458 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia * PROJECT GUTENBERG DISTRIBUTED PROOFREADERS UPDATE: Since starting production in October 2000, Distributed Proofreaders has contributed ~7,000 eBooks to Project Gutenberg. 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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@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. 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Note that updated eBooks usually go in their original directory (e.g., etext99, etext00, etc.) *** Statistical Review In the 24 weeks of this year, we have produced 1567 new eBooks. It took us from 7/71 to 12/98 to produce our FIRST 1567 eBooks!!! That's 24 WEEKS as Compared to ~27 YEARS!!! FLASHBACK! Here's a sample of what books we were doing around eBook #1567 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] Dec 1998 Timaeus, by Plato, Benjamin Jowett, Tr. #3 [tmeusxxx.xxx] 1572 Dec 1998 Critias, by Plato, Benjamin Jowett, Tr. #2 [critixxx.xxx] 1571 Dec 1998 The Power of Concentration, By Theron Q. Dumont [prconxxx.xxx] 1570 The Lily of the Valley, by Honore de Balzac 1569 [Tr.: Katharine Prescott Wormeley] Dec 1998 Poems, by William Ernest Henley[William Henley #2][pmwehxxx.xxx] 1568 Dec 1998 Poems, by T. S. [Thomas Stearns] Eliot [Eliot #3][tsepmxxx.xxx] 1567 Dec 1998 The Evolution of Modern Medicine, by William Osler[teommxxx.xxx] 1566 Dec 1998 Last Days of Pompeii, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton [tldopxxx.xxx] 1565 Dec 1998 Boswell's Life of Johnson, Ed. by Osgood [ljnsnxxx.xxx] 1564 * Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet??? With 16,523 eBooks online as of June 22, 2005 it now takes an average of ~1% of the world gaining a nominal value of ~$.94 from each book. 1% of the world population is 64,487,605 x 16,523 x $.94 = ~$1 trillion] [Google "world population" "popclock" to get the most current figures.] With 16,523 eBooks online as of June 22, 2005 it now takes an average of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $0.61 from each book, This "cost" is down from about $.77 when we had 13,005 eBooks a year ago. 100 million readers is only ~1.5% of the world's population! At 16,523 eBooks in 33 Years and 11.75 Months We Averaged ~486 Per Year 40.5 Per Month 1.33 Per Day At 1568 eBooks Done In The 186 Days Of 2005 We Averaged 9.4 Per Day 65.5 Per Week 273.4 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] BRINGING THE INTERNET TO RURAL INDIA As many as 5,000 villages in rural India may soon be connected to the Internet, thanks to efforts of an international group of companies and organizations, including the World Bank. Many rural Indians do not have easy access to business or government functions, and the project is designed to fill that gap for villages with more than 5,000 residents in the Indian state of Karnataka. The computer centers or kiosks will connect to the Internet either through wired networks or by satellite and will have between 5 and 10 "thin client" computers. In addition to the World Bank, partners in the project include Comat Technologies, an Indian Internet service provider; ICICI Bank, a commercial bank in India; and California-based Wyse Technology, maker of computer terminal equipment. New York Times, 15 June 2005 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/16/technology/16compute.html DUKE EVALUATES IPOD PROGRAM A study conducted at Duke University provided a mixed review of the institution's iPod program, in which all incoming freshmen last fall were given the devices to investigate their educational value. According to the study, carried out by the Duke Center for Instructional Technology, three quarters of the students in the program used the devices for at least one course, primarily for recording lectures or other content. Some students said they benefited from being able to listen to lectures when it was convenient or to replay parts that they might not have understood during class. Faculty commented that the devices provided a significant level of convenience for students, and the study said some faculty who had not previously incorporated technology into their courses did so with the iPods. Limitations of the devices, according to the study, include a fairly small number of uses and the relatively low quality of recorded material. Duke had previously announced it would narrow the scope of the iPod program next year, giving the devices only to students enrolled in courses that use them. Chronicle of Higher Education, 16 June 2005 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2005/06/2005061602t.htm HOUSE VOTES TO LIMIT PATRIOT ACT The U.S. House of Representatives has voted 238-187 to impose limits on the powers of the Patriot Act. Sponsored by Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), the measure would eliminate federal authority granted by the Patriot Act to compel libraries and bookstores to disclose information about books their patrons have checked out or bought, without first obtaining a search warrant; the measure would preserve the right for government officials to obtain Internet search records from libraries. Although Attorney General Alberto Gonzales recently told Congress that federal authorities have never invoked the power, a number of libraries have begun deleting patron records to preempt the possibility of having to turn them over. Sanders called the vote "a tremendous victory that restores important constitutional rights to the American people." Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) defended the powers, saying that federal authorities need tools to help them identify planned terrorist activities and prevent attacks before they happen. The measure has not been introduced by the Senate, and President Bush has promised to veto the bill if it passes [without the no warrant search provision]. Wired News, 15 June 2005 http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,67880,00.html SOLARIS GOES OPEN SOURCE This week Sun Microsystems began offering its Solaris 10 operating system as a free, open source application, called OpenSolaris. According to Sun, users can download many of the technologies of the operating system--including the kernel and networking software--make changes to the code, and create new commercial products. Tom Goguen, vice president for platform software at Sun, said, "Our goal is to increase and really drive up the ecosystem around Solaris." Goguen said that with the release, Sun surpasses the University of California as the single largest contributor to the open source community. Gordon Haff, senior analyst at Illuminata, said the move is more likely to help Sun retain existing customers than to draw new ones. OpenSolaris is not likely a competitor for Linux in the near term, said Haff, and Windows is sufficiently different from Solaris that current Windows customers are unlikely to switch based on the new release. Haff said he believes Sun's goal is to support "its customer base and developer community that are still in the Solaris camp." InfoWorld, 13 June 2005 http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/06/13/HNopensolaris_1.html SPYWARE CHARGES RESULT IN $7.5 MILLION SETTLEMENT California-based Intermix Media will pay New York State $7.5 million over three years to settle a spyware lawsuit. In the suit, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer had charged the company with violating state false-advertising and deceptive-practices laws. Intermix acknowledged that it formerly distributed software that was surreptitiously installed on users' computers, though as part of the settlement the company admitted no wrongdoing. Intermix had previously suspended the distribution of the software at issue; with the settlement, the company will permanently discontinue the practice. Intermix has also created a position of chief privacy officer since the lawsuit was originally filed, and officials from the company said they have cooperated with federal regulators. Reuters, 15 June 2005 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=8798165 *** SUMMER BREAK *** Edupage will be taking a brief break and will not be published on Monday, June 20, or Wednesday, June 22. Look for the next Edupage on Friday, June 24. You have been reading excerpts from Edupage: If you have questions or comments about Edupage, 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 or To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 *** *HEADLINE NEWS AVOIDED BY MOST OF THE MAJOR U.S. MEDIA Philip A. Clooney, a White House lawyer with a BA in economics, has apparently been altering many of the White House statements concerning Global Warming [or Climate Change, as the spin medic establishment is attempting to recoin the term]. Apparently Mr. Clooney, Esq., has no scientific training, other than a stint as a lobbyist at the American Petroleum Institute, where he was the "Climate Team Leader." When The White House was asked for comment, Michele St. Martin, a White House spokeswoman, said: "We don't put Phil Cooney on the record. "He's not a cleared spokesman." However, his additions and editions of various adjectives and/or adverbs seem to have been exactly what the spin-doctors at The White House ordered, as he added the word "extremely" in this: "The attribution of the causes of biological and ecological changes to climate change or variability is extremely difficult." Here is an even more obvious example: "Many scientific observations indicate that the Earth is undergoing a period of relatively rapid change." became "Many scientific observations point to the conclusion that the Earth may be undergoing a period of relatively rapid change." In yet more of this kind of doublespeak, Harlan L. Watson, the chief climate negotiator for the State Department, said to the BBC last month: "We are still not convinced of the need to move forward quite so quickly," "There is general agreement that there is a lot known, but also there is a lot to be known." I guess the environment is now a negotiable commodity, in the eyes of The White House, at least. However, try telling that to chemicals we have put there already. Sources: The NY Times and the BBC *STRANGE WORDS OF THE WEEK When Mr. Evers, former head of MCI-Worldcom appeared in Congress to answer questions, he refused to even answer the simple query, as to whether he was the Mr. Evers who had headed MCI-Worlcom-- claiming his 5th Amendment rights again self-incrimination. Or should that one go under doublespeak? Source: The Congressional Record DOUBLESPEAK OF THE WEEK Recent news stories have reported various project to "harden" various "Public Safety Building," but the stories were sparse. 1. "Harden" means to make them more resistant to attack. 2. "Public Safety Building" = "Police Station" *PREDICTIONS OF THE WEEK There will be no 6 month report from Google Print in the media. *ODD STATISTICS OF THE WEEK The Illinois state budget was very quietly signed into law by the governor this week, as the pension fund was raided to do the magic of budget balancing. The Republicans, in a fit of fiscal responsibility, berated the governor for taking money from the pension fund at 8.5% when it could have been borrowed commercially for 3.5%. I suppose calling this a balanced budget might place this in the Doublespeak column.. . . * 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 *** *Information About the Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists For more information about the Project Gutenberg's mailing lists, including the Project Gutenberg Weekly and Monthly Newsletters: and the other Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists: The weekly is sent on Wednesdays, and the monthly is sent on the first Wednesday of the month. To subscribe to any (or to unsubscribe or adjust your subscription preferences), visit the Project Gutenberg mailing list server: http://lists.pglaf.org If you are having trouble with your subscription, please email the list's human administrators at: help@pglaf.org