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Please email hart@pobox.com or gbnewby@pglaf.org Anyone who would care to get advance editions: please email hart@pobox.com 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, 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 47 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!!! 13,484 eBooks As Of Today!!! 6,516 to go to 20,000 We have now averaged 400 eBooks per year since July 4th, 1971!!! 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Statistical Review In the 31 weeks of this year, we have produced 2577 new eBooks. It took us from 1971 to 1999 to produce our FIRST 2577 eBooks!!! That's 31 WEEKS as Compared to ~30 YEARS!!! With 13,484 eBooks online as of August 11, 2004 it now takes an average of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $0.74 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 $1.12 when we had 8861 eBooks a year Ago Can you imagine ~13,484 books each costing ~$.38 less a year later??? Or. . .would this say it better? Can you imagine ~13,484 books each costing 1/3 less a year later??? At 13,484 eBooks in 33 Years and 01.25 Months We Averaged 407 Per Year [We do nearly that much a month these days!] 34.0 Per Month 1.12 Per Day At 2577 eBooks Done In The 223 Days Of 2004 We Averaged 12 Per Day 83 Per Week 369 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!!! 2602 New eBooks So Far in 2004 It took us ~30 years for the first 2578 ! That's the 7.25 months of 2004 as Compared to ~30 years!!! Here Is A Sample Of What Books Were Being Done Around #2478 Feb 2001 Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse [Our English Edition] [siddhxxx.xxx] 2500 Feb 2001 Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse [In 8-bit German] [?siddxxx.xxx] 2499 Feb 2001 Addresses, by Henry Drummond [addrexxx.xxx] 2498 Feb 2001 Put Yourself in His Place, by Charles Reade [#4][phyipxxx.xxx] 2497 Feb 2001 Our Village, by Mary Russell Mitford [vllgxxxx.xxx] 2496 Feb 2001 Susy, A Story of the Plains, by Bret Harte [#12][susyxxxx.xxx] 2495 Feb 2001 The story of Saint Stanislaus Kostka, by W.T. Kane[stanixxx.xxx] 2494 Feb 2001 Adventures of Paddy the Beaver, Thornton W.Burgess[paddyxxx.xxx] 2493 Feb 2001 Orpheus in Mayfair & Other Stories, Maurice Baring[orphexxx.xxx] 2492 Feb 2001 Love or Fame; et. al., by Fannie Isabelle Sherrick[lvrfmxxx.xxx] 2491 Jan 2001 Lamia, by John Keats [Poetry/Poem] [John Keats #1][lamiaxxx.xxx] 2490 Jan 2001 Moby Dick, by Herman Melville [HM #3][mobyxxxx.xxx] 2489 (moby11.* is the complete text.) (See also #2701) Jan 2001 Moby Dick, by Herman Melville [HM #3][mobyxxxa.xxx] 2489 (moby10a.* is only Chap. 72, missing from prior eBook #15) Jan 2001 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas, by Jules Verne[#13][2000010a.xxx] 2488 Jan 2001 Cross Roads, by Margaret E. Sangster [crsrdxxx.xxx] 2487 Jan 2001 Queer Little Folks, by Harriet Beecher Stowe[HBS2][qltfkxxx.xxx] 2486 Jan 2001 Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants, by Darwin[cplntxxx.xxx] 2485 Jan 2001 The Boys' and Girls' Plutarch's "Lives", by White [tbagpxxx.xxx] 2484 Jan 2001 Janice Day, Young Homemaker, by Helen Beecher Long[jncdyxxx.xxx] 2483 Jan 2001 New York, by James Fenimore Cooper[J.F. Cooper #6][nwyrkxxx.xxx] 2482 Jan 2001 The Civilization of Illiteracy (C)Mihai Nadin 1997[cviltxxx.xxx] 2481C Jan 2001 Under Western Eyes, Joseph Conrad[Joseph Conrad25][wstysxxx.xxx] 2480 Jan 2001 The Friendly Road, by David Grayson [frnrdxxx.xxx] 2479 [Note: David Grayson is a pseudonym for Ray Stannard Baker] [The following are from "The Circus Boys" series: [Each title starts with "The Circus Boys" = TCB here Jan 2001 TCB On The Plains, by Edgar B.P. Darlington [CB#5][05tcbxxx.xxx] 2478 Jan 2001 TCB On The Mississippi, by Edgar Darlington [CB#4][04tcbxxx.xxx] 2477 Jan 2001 TCB in Dixie Land, by Edgar B.P. Darlington [CB#3][03tcbxxx.xxx] 2476 Jan 2001 TCB Across The Continent, by Edg. Darlington[CB#2][02tcbxxx.xxx] 2475 *Headline News from NewsScan and Edupage [PG Editor's Comments In Brackets]

From NewsScan:

[In two somewhat related stories this week, the U.S. goverment refuses to give equal protection on wired and wireless phones.] FCC SUPPORTS CALEA FOR INTERNET PHONE CARRIERS [They don't want to stop tapping your wireless phones without warrants.] The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) responded to law-enforcement concerns by suggesting that Internet-based telephone services should be subject to laws that permit the government to monitor landline telephone conversations. Discussion of the proposed rule was the first formal step by the FCC to hold Internet phone carriers to the same requirements as traditional phone companies, as specified in the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). Industry executives who have supported law-enforcement efforts nonetheless fear the new rules could be too expensive and too difficult to apply to Internet phone services without impeding technological progress. New York Times, 5 August 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/technology/05phone.html and FCC MOVES TO PROTECT WIRELESS DEVICES FROM SPAM [So Why Can't They Do This For The Internet???] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is issuing new rules prohibiting marketers from sending commercial electronic messages to wireless technology users who haven't given them explicit permission to do so. The agency is also urging the industry to develop technologies to prevent spam from overwhelming wireless devices the way it now bedevils the Internet. FCC chairman Michael K. Powell says, "By prohibiting all commercial messages to wireless phones and PDAs absent affirmative consent from the consumer, Americans can now use their wireless devices freely, without being bothered by unwanted and annoying messages." (Washington Post 4 Aug 2004) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41009-2004Aug4.html more FCC RULES TO STOP SPAM ON CELL PHONES, PDAS The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued rules requiring marketers to obtain explicit permission from wireless-device users before sending commercial e-mail. The rule is an attempt to prevent cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) from becoming subject to massive e-mail spam. The FCC also urged the industry to develop technologies to prevent spam. The rule does not apply to services that forward existing computer e-mail messages to wireless devices or permit the devices to connect to a computer-based mail account. Washington Post, 5 August 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41009-2004Aug4.html [More on the RFID et al front] U.S. TO IMPLANT ID TAGS IN PASSPORTS The U.S. State Department plans to implant electronic ID chips in U.S. passports to allow computer face-recognition systems to match facial characteristics of the digital passport photo on the chip against a photo taken at the passport control station and against photos on government watch lists. The change is planned despite warnings that face-recognition technology has a high error rate. Critics suggest using fingerprint identification instead, as a more reliable technology. The new passports are scheduled to enter use in 2005. Washington Post, 6 August 2004 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43944-2004Aug5.html [and yet more on this stuff] U.K. PROHIBITS SMILING FACES ON PASSPORTS The U.K. Home Office ruled that all new passport photos must show an unsmiling face with closed mouth because open mouths can confuse facial recognition systems. The new guidelines require good contrast between the face and background; the full face looking straight at the camera; no shadows; and a neutral facial expression. The rules will apply immediately to new and replacement passports. The Register, 6 August 2004 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/08/06/passport_scanners/ DECLINING NUMBERS OF COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJORS The Computing Research Association says that the number of newly declared computer science and computer engineering majors in the U.S. and Canada fell last year 23% from the year before. The explanation is fairly straight- forward: since the dot-com bust a computer science degree no longer seems the key to instant riches. But Peter Lee, an associate dean of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, is unworried by the falloff in applications: he thinks today's students are often of higher quality, because they're motivated not by money but by love of technology. (USA Today 8 Aug 2004) http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-08-08-computer-science_x.htm [More details in Edupage report below] THE UTILITY OF HIGH-SPEED ACCESS In some U.S. public housing developments residents can tap into shared broadband networks for less than $15 a month -- much less than the cost of individual high-speed accounts. According to Rey Ramsey, CEO of the nonprofit One Economy Corp. in Philadelphia, "the real issue was trying to get access in the home where it's convenient. If the library or learning center closes at 6 and you don't get off work until 8, that's not real access." Robert Wendel, a former Cisco engineer working to provide access to housing complexes, points out: "In the early days, a lot of low-income housing didn't have washer-dryer hookups, either"; he predicts: "Eventually, all new houses will be wired this way." (Washington Post 8 Aug 2004) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50706-2004Aug8.html APPLE ACCUSED IN FRANCE OF UNFAIR PLAY Online music retailer Virgin Mega has lodged a complaint with the French Competition Council charging that Apple Computer has "wrongfully refused" to license its Fairplay copy-protection technology and open up the iPod portable music player to rivals. Apple uses to the Fairplay technology to prevent unlimited copying of songs and to restrict other online music providers from making their secure song files transferrable to the iPod. (AP/San Jose Mercury News 6 Aug 2004) http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9339367.htm and in a related story SONY VS. APPLE, TRA-LA, TRA-LA Sony, the electronics giant that developed the legendary Walkman personal stereo, is launching a new version meant to capture the Apple's iPod's current position as today's leading digital music player. Called the Network Walkman NW-HD1, the device uses a proprietary file format, works only on a Windows PC, and will cost $100 more than an iPod when it's released later this month. Technology analyst Matthew Fordahl of the Associated Press says the Sony's software doesn't rise to the level of the hardware and adds, "Sony's format does produce good sound quality while taking up less space, but users aren't given a choice. What happens if the unique ATRAC format is abandoned? Just ask anyone who bought a technically superior Betamax VCR instead of a VHS model." (AP/USA Today 5 Aug 2004) http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/products/2004-08-05-sony-walkthing_ x.htm [And will Sony's gizmo support eBooks???] WINDOWS ON A BUDGET [The quote at the bottom of this one is a riot!] Microsoft has created less-expensive versions of its Windows XP operating system to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and is developing similar programs in two other countries. The widespread interest in the Linux operating system has helped focus Microsoft's attention on the need for seriously competitive pricing strategies throughout the world. Deepak Phatak, a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, says that India is exploring programs to distribute low-cost PCs using Linux but that it could be tempted by lower new prices from Microsoft: "People in the government will never play a technology-favorites game. They want to see value for money." (Wall Street Journal 11 Aug 2004) http://www.wsj.com (sub. req'd) 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

IBM DONATES SOFTWARE TO OPEN-SOURCE GROUP IBM will provide more than half a million lines of its software code for the Cloudscape database to open-source software group the Apache Software Foundation. The company's goal reportedly is to make it easier for software developers to write applications in the Java programming language. IBM is a leading supporter of Java, originally developed by Sun Microsystems. The IBM software platform WebSphere runs and manages such Java-based applications, competing with Microsoft's Net platform, written in C++. New York Times, 3 August 2004 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/03/technology/03java.html NUMBER OF COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJORS FALLS Despite the improving outlook for the high-tech sector of the economy, enrollment in most computer science programs at U.S. institutions continues to decline, causing some to worry about the possibility of a high-tech workforce shortage in coming years. Schools such as San Jose State University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Ohio State University have seen lower computer science enrollments, and according to the Computing Research Association, enrollment is down by 23 percent in the United States and Canada. Peter Lee of Carnegie Mellon pointed out, however, that far fewer applications were received this year versus last for his institution's computer science program but that they were generally from more qualified applicants. No longer are students applying, said Lee, because they are simply lured by the prospect of high-paying jobs and stock options. Others noted that enrollments in graduate computer science programs, which remain strong, may soon begin to suffer due to increased restrictions on foreign students, who represent 43 percent of students in graduate computer science programs in the United States and Canada. USA Today, 8 August 2004 http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-08-08-computer-science_x.htm STEALTH WALLPAPER PROTECTS WI-FI NETWORKS British firm BAE Systems has developed a type of wallpaper that prevents stealth users from connecting to a company's unprotected Wi-Fi network while still allowing cell phones and other desirable signals to pass through. Wi-Fi networks are a boon to companies that want to set up inexpensive wireless access within their buildings, but many such networks are installed without adequate security to prevent roaming hackers from easily connecting to networks and gaining access behind a company's firewall. BAE's wallpaper is made from a sheet of kapton plastic with copper on both sides in patterns of crosses. The particular placement of the copper crosses determines which frequencies are able to pass through and which are blocked. The company is working on a transparent version of the technology to be used on windows. New Scientist, 8 August 2004 http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996240 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 Avoided By Most Of The Major U.S. Media ODD GOVERNMENTAL REGULATIONS OF THE WEEK ALA WELCOMES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE DECISION TO RESCIND DESTRUCTION REQUEST WASHINGTON, DC - The American Library Association (ALA) today welcomed the Department of Justice's decision to rescind its request that the Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents instruct depository libraries to destroy all copies of five Department of Justice publications addressing forfeiture. The Justice Department claimed that the documents are "training materials and other materials that the Department of Justice staff did not feel were appropriate for external use." ALA disagreed with this categorization of the public documents, two of which are texts of federal statutes, and with the instruction to destroy them. ALA trusts that there will be no repetition of such unjustified instructions to destroy government information...as below: "The office's one-paragraph directive listed the five pamphlets, with titles such as "Civil and Criminal Forfeiture Procedure" and "Select Federal Assets Forfeiture Statutes," and instructed librarians to "withdraw these materials immediately and destroy all copies by any means to prevent disclosure of their content," according to a copy of the e-mail sent to the Boston Public Library and all other depository libraries. [Which would have limited access to this information to lawyers. Apparently they didn't want the public to know just what rights did and did not exist during federal forfeiture cases.] "Calls to the Government Printing Office seeking comment were not returned." http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/07/24/libraries_ordered_to_d estroy_us_pamphlets/ * On a more local note, our county just instituted a tax on cats, which requires registration, shots, etc., and limits household animals to three [some of this is word of mouth, and I'm not sure if it counts animals that live in cages, such as birds, gerbils, hamsters, etc.] * And with national ramifications: "The Republicans will have to go to a federal judge and get a declaratory judgment to get Bush on the ballot," said Kris Kray, the official legislative liaison for the Illinois election board, answering questions about the Republican policy of having their convention unusually late to allow for more fundraising time. When the Democrats announced they were also considering having their convention late the Republicans complained furiously, stating it was simply for political fundraising purposes. There were similar problems in several states. * Not quite on the level of odd govermental regulations, but the Washington Press Corps, in a city that is has twice as many blacks as whites, is perhaps the most segregated major institution in the country. Hardly any black or Latino reporters get to interview candidates. District of Columbia statistics: Black: 343,312 (60.0%) White: 176,101 (30.8%) 2000 Census population: 572,059 [Prompted by several mentions of this outside our major media covering the U.S. national political conventions.] SIMPLE SOLUTION OF THE WEEK Convicted criminals must repay for the their own crimes, along with those of all the unconvicted criminals, thus making the convicted pay for the unconvicted and saving all government judicial expense, since they have to pay for court costs, as well. Perhaps even make them pay for the salaries of the police. Thus crime will become a "zero sum game" for the criminals, as well as for everyone else. *** ODD STATISTICS OF THE WEEK The current head of OPEC [the Organization of Petroleum EXPORTing Countries] is Indonesia, which is a net oil IMPORTing country now. * It costs $67 per day to keep a person in jail. The U.S. has the highest percentage of it's population in jail, or on parole or probation. The U.S. and nearly every one of the individual states, spend more money on prisons than on education, and the prison budget continues to increase while educations budgets fall behind. It costs only about 10% as much to keep them on an "RFID" leash working from a GPS that keeps track of where they are and warns if they enter "forbidden zones." * According to 60 Minutes, 80% of all counterfeit products are made in China, where perhap 15-20% of brand name products are knockoffs. [When I lived near China, you couldn't buy ANY products I know of that were not copies, and there was no effort to disguise copying. This also happens in other Third World countries, but not to the same extent, or so rapidly. Around the Pacific Rim products are usually available as counterfeits within a week of release. The prices are usually $1 for music [price hasn't changed in decades, it's just a nominal price] and sometimes under 10% of the face value of the real products.] * Another note on China: Local residents say that when everyone was poor, nearly everyone was honest, but the addition of money has created an ethical situation of "Man eat man." [Warning: After keeping notes on China's industrial revolution for quite some time, I found it odd to find several reports of this sort of negativity release at the same time.] * A note on statistics in general: I have noticed, even in years without major elections, that a huge amount of the "information" we received from Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw is a direct quotation from press releases, much of which are provided by politicians to support their own positions. * One more note, I have spent a great deal of time studying how to see through this kind of statistical manipulation. *** ODD QUOTATION OF THE WEEK Hummer vs. Hybrid debate [Relayed from the BBC] "The government credits you up to $100,000 in taxes for vehicles weighing over 6000 lbs? Versus $1,500 for hybrids?" [BTW, many of these news stories come to us from overseas, as our local media mostly refuses to deal with them at all.] *** *Information About the Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists 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 ***