GWeekly_December_01.txt The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, December 01, 2004 PT1 *******eBooks Readable By Both Humans And Computers Since July 4, 1971****** Newsletter editors needed! 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We need some help getting to 100 in Spanish. We Are In The Da Vinci Code We are listed as one of the top acknowledgements! 14,649 eBooks As Of Today!!! 11,587 New eBooks Since The Start Of 2001 We Have Now Produced about 3,742 eBooks In 2004 We Are Already ~2/3 of the Way from 14,000 to 15,000 We Are 95% of the Way from 10,000 to 15,000 501 to go to 15,000!!! We have now averaged ~438 eBooks per year since July 4th, 1971!!! We Are Averaging About 340 eBooks Per Month This Year About 78 Per Week 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 * eMusic In our efforts to further the digitization of sheet music, Project Gutenberg also recommends the Mutopia Project. 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From NewsScan:

IBM MAY BE LEAVING THE PC BUSINESS IBM is said to be talking with Chinese PC-maker Lenovo, which was formerly known as Legend, about the possible sale of IBM's PC operations (though IBM neither confirms nor denies the rumor). Samuel J. Palmisano, who became IBM's chief executive in 2002, has been recasting it as a service organization offering itself as a consulting partner with its corporate customers. Industry analyst Mark Stahlman explains, "Palmisano's getting out of businesses that aren't growth opportunities and concentrating on what IBM does best. PC's are not where the growth is." And Gartner research vice president Leslie Fiering says: "Exiting the market may be the only logical choice for global vendors bleeding profits and struggling for share. The PC divisions of HP and IBM are vulnerable to being spun off if their drag on margins and profitability are deemed too great by their parent companies." (New York Times 3 Dec 2004) <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/03/technology/03ibm.html?hp&ex=1102136400&en =a404729a59c077f6&ei=5094&partner=homepage> EX-CIA CHIEF WORRIES ABOUT INTERNET SECURITY Former CIA Director George J. Tenet sees the Internet as "a potential Achilles' heel" in the fight against terrorism, endangering "our financial stability and physical security if the networks we are creating are not protected." Calling for new cybersecurity measures, Tenet says: "I know that these actions will be controversial in this age when we still think the Internet is a free and open society with no control or accountability, but ultimately the Wild West must give way to governance and control." He believes that access to the Web might need to be limited to those who can show they take security seriously. (UPI/Washington Times 3 Dec 2004) <http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20041201-114750- 6381r> 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

JUDGE REJECTS COPYRIGHT CHALLENGE A federal judge has rejected a challenge to several parts of copyright law that plaintiffs in the case said unnecessarily keep certain works out of the public domain. The nonprofit Internet Archive and the Prelinger Archives argued that so-called orphan works--books that are out of print, old films, and academic articles without significant commercial value--should be easier to archive and make publicly available. At issue in the case was the plaintiffs' contention that current law fundamentally alters the scope of copyright because it does not require owners of works to apply for copyright protection, instead granting protection irrespective of whether it is sought. The judge in the case disagreed, issuing her ruling without hearing arguments. Jennifer S. Granick, executive director of the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford University, which was involved on behalf of the plaintiffs, said the judge's ruling was improper and that the plaintiffs would appeal. Chronicle of Higher Education, 30 November 2004 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2004/11/2004113003n.htm BRITISH PROGRAM TEACHES SCHOOLCHILDREN ABOUT COPYRIGHT British Music Rights (BMR), a group that represents songwriters and composers, is sponsoring a program to educate British schoolchildren between the ages of 11 and 14 about copyright and music piracy. The group has put together education packs that include lessons about copyright, royalties, and downloading music on the Internet, as well as how these issues affect the creation of original work. Music piracy in the United Kingdom is blamed for a steady decline in recent years in CD sales and for significant financial losses to recording companies and to artists and songwriters. In addition to limiting copyright violations, the education packs, which have been requested by more than 1,600 schools, are designed to prepare children for possible careers in the music industry. Guy Chambers, one of the songwriters who has publicly supported the BMR campaign, said the education packs will help shield young people who might pursue a career in the music industry from "unscrupulous" individuals. BBC, 30 November 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4055753.stm S. KOREAN OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE CELL-PHONE CHEATING Officials in South Korea are investigating a suspected widespread ring of using cell phones to cheat on the country's university admissions examinations. Cultural pressure to succeed academically is intense in South Korea, so much so that some students commit suicide as a result of poor academic showing. As noted by Jung Bong-mun, an Education Ministry official who works on college admission policy, student cheating "is mainly due to pressure to do well in a test that will decide their lives forever." Combined with nearly ubiquitous cell phones, which provide new avenues for cheating, this pressure has led to an unprecedented level of cheating on this year's exam, which was taken by approximately 600,000 students. According to officials, several hundred may have been involved in the scheme to send answers by cell-phone text messages to those taking the test. Students reportedly paid around USD$1,000 each, which leads authorities to suspect that in many cases parents may be involved. Reuters, 3 December 2004 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=6986502 IBM CONSIDERS EXITING THE PC BUSINESS IBM is reportedly negotiating a possible sale of its PC unit to Chinese PC maker Lenovo Group, though neither company is commenting publicly at this time. If such a transaction takes place, it would mark the end of IBM's storied history with the PC, a market currently led by Dell and HP. Analysts consistently agree, however, that the move would be good for IBM, which has made no secret of its intentions to focus on higher-margin operations such as software and computer services. In particular, IBM executives have identified business process outsourcing as a key opportunity for the company. For its part, Lenovo stands to benefit significantly from acquiring IBM's PC business, which has in recent years migrated much of its production to China. If such a deal goes through, Lenovo would have access to U.S. markets, which have traditionally been out of its reach, and would also own the very popular ThinkPad series of notebook computers. As noted by IDC analyst Roger Kay, in such a deal, "the IBM notebooks would be the prize." CNET, 3 December 2004 http://news.com.com/2100-1042_3-5476256.html 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 *** TECHNOLOGY REVIEW It would appear that the globalization of technology is having more far flung effects than was predicted. In recent elections around the world, including some that are not reported much in the news, it would seem that cell phones have been one of the primary tools of the election monitors in kicking vote fraud to the curb. Election monitors are counting the ballots as they go though the official counting process and then calling in the results immediately. . .if the total is altered by the time the official results are released, everyone already knows cheating is going on. These results are being forwarded to the citizenry by new private radio stations that were not in existence until recently. Apparently in some regions these sources are regarded as the most accurate reflections of actual voting, since corruption is so rampant between the polling place and the central authorities. *Headline News Avoided By Most Of The Major U.S. Media REMEMBER THE FLAP ABOUT SAT SCORES FALLING TO 90% OF WWII LEVELS? The main reason was stated as the US scores should not be compared to the scores of other countries because only the highest level of students take such tests in other countries. FALSE: US population is 296 million of which 1,419,007 take the SATs. South Korean population is 48 million of which 600,000 take their test. US has 6 times as many people, but only 2.3 times as many student tests. [Figures are for 2002-2003 academic year] [BTW, the US barely average 25th in international testing.] [Detailed listing available on request, ask for schools.gut] * Is 'Fair Use' in Peril? The far-reaching Intellectual Property Protection Act would deny consumers many of the freedoms they take for granted. By Eric Hellweg November 19, 2004 Do you like fast-forwarding through commercials on a television program you've recorded? How much do you like it? Enough to go to jail if you're caught doing it? If a new copyright and intellectual property omnibus bill sitting on Congress's desk passes, that may be the choice you'll face. How can this be possible? Because language that makes fast-forwarding through commercials illegal-no doubt inserted at the behest of lobbyists for the advertising industry-was inserted into a bill that would allow people to fast forward past objectionable sections of a recorded movie (and I bet you already thought that was OK). And that's but one, albeit scary, scenario that may come to pass if the Intellectual Property Protection Act is enacted into law. Deliberations on this legislation will be one of the tasks for the lame-duck Congress that commenced this week. http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/04/11/wo_hellweg111904.asp?trk=3Dnl * The National Science Foundation, as per the current Omnibus Bill, is losing $30 million each for research grants and education programs, as part of a total loss of over $100 million for the coming year, as the US continues its push to continually whittle down this source of some of the greatest recent research and inventions. * NEW MININIM WAGE INCREASE IS ACTUALLY A DECREASE, COUNTING INFLATION You may have heard the great success stories that the new minimum wage is finally going to be put into effect at $7.15, up from previous $5.15. BUT. . .what you don't hear is that in 2007, when this increase will be finally in effect, the actual value of $7.15 will be only about $4.77, given a ten year inflation rate of approximately 4%. People will try to tell you that it's much lower than 4%, but if so, that would only raise the $4.77 to the average buying power of the last 50 years, as in the table below. . .however, using Google to search for "2003 inflation" the most recent figure I got was 4.4% for December 2002, January 2003, and June 2003, but with various disclaimers as usual, stating the previous year was abnormal. [National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) Decade Average in Current Dollars Average in 1997 Dollars 1950's $0.85 $5.02 1960's $1.29 $6.42 1970's $2.07 $6.30 1980's $3.33 $5.42 1990's $5.15 $5.15* 2000's $7.15 $4.77* Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, except for * Here's what you MAY have heard in the news: After years and years of wrangling, the Pennsylvania minimum wage finally is going to move from $5.15/hour to $7.15/hour over the next few years. The major reason given for fighting the increase was that corporations in the neighoring states of Maryland and West Virginia would thus have an economic advantage over those in Pennsylvania. Question: Why do so many people pretend that politics is NOT about the corporations versus the people? I literally can't remember how long ago it was that the minimum wage went to around $5, but it was a LONG time ago, and inflation has been pretty stiff over those years, probably averaging 4-5%. The new $7.15 Pennsylvania minimum wage, by the time it is fully implented in 2007, will be at an inflation rate of about $1.50 when compared to the $5.15 rate in 1997. . .or 2/3 of $7.15 = $4.77 Workers will have lost $.37 per hour in wages, not to mention higher taxes, higher health care, etc. * Recent classified documents from the CIA Station Chief in Iraq and other senior CIA officials have indicated the situation in Iraq is/was much more distastrous before the US election than President Bush would have liked us to believe, and that the current preparations for the Iraqi elections are taking place in an environment that is equally disastrous. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/07/international/middleeast/07intell.html?hp& ex=1102482000&en=78f41ffc3ad43b8a&ei=5094&partner=homepage *STRANGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK REWRITING THE HISTORY OF THE 1968 CHICAGO POLICE RIOTS You heard it here last week, before the official announcement! [By the way, as predicted here, it appears that both Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather will be marching off to join the other dinosaurs in the near future, and I predict Peter Jennings will join them. The average age of these three passed double the median age of the United States years ago when the median was 33 years of age. Their average age is now around 73 years old. Mr. Lehrer is only just now coming up to 70.] *PREDICTION OF THE WEEK [Last Week's] New news anchors for the major networks will be being tested on all the networks in the coming year or two, but the old ones will be invited back for the next election. *ODD STATISTICS OF THE WEEK

From the New York times:

"But it turns out the e-book market has been changing course and, though still tiny, has been growing at double-digit rates. It is, in fact, the fastest-growing segment of the comparatively static publishing world. Between 2002 and 2003, the number of e-books sold rose 71 percent, according to the industry's trade association, the Open eBook Forum. The industry posted record sales in the first quarter of 2004, a 46 percent increase compared with the same period last year. Still, last year's sales of 1.4 million downloadable books are minuscule compared with the more than 2.2 billion books sold in the United States in 2003." * US health spending shot up 9.3 percent in 2002 to $1.6 trillion, 3 to 4 times the average inflation rate. However, the average health and life expectancy figures barely increased at all. * ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS HAVE OVERTAKEN CHECKS [From Newsscan, details above] In 2003, Americans made 44.5 billion payments via electronic transactions, compared to only 36.7 billion payments by paper checks. The trend toward electronic purchases has been accelerated by strong growth in the popularity of debit cards, which can now be used to buy almost anything. Jean Ann Fox of the Consumer Federation of America says, "They're quick and easy. You don't stand there and hold up everybody in line behind you. Plus, folks are moving toward electronic banking and paying bills electronically." But she warns: "It's getting very confusing for consumers, and companies have not upgraded their protections." (Washington Post 6 Dec 2004) <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41858-2004Dec6.html> * 3/4 of all email today is spam! * CORAL REEF DAMAGE RISING WORLDWIDE from Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Only about 30 percent of the world's coral reefs are healthy, down from 41 percent two years ago, according to a study released Monday that lists global warming as the top threat. The study found as many as one-fifth of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed. Another half are damaged but could be saved, it said. Coral reefs are among the oldest and most diverse forms of life. They provide food and shelter to fish and protect shores from erosion. http://snipurl.com/b6lp *** Here is some follow up information sent in about our article on Bhopal 1. There was no siren and no warning--people woke with the gases already in their faces, filling their mouths, noses and lungs with excruciating pain. 2. NONE of safety systems were functioning on the night of the disaster six in all. 3. Union Carbide under-invested in an inherently hazardous facility located in a crowded neighborhood, used admittedly unproven designs, stored lethal MIC in reckless quantities, dismantled safety systems and cut down on safety staff and training in an effort to cut costs. 4. Union Carbide and its new owner, Dow Chemical, continue to blame the disaster on a fictitious and unnamed worker, and deny their own negligence. 5. In the wake of the disaster, Carbide claimed that the gas was harmless, when it knew it was lethal (as described in its own manuals). 6. Dow-Carbide refuses to share all its medical information about the health effects of the gas it released, MIC--information that doctors could use to save lives--claiming the information is a "trade secret". 7. Union Carbide fled India and abandoned its Bhopal plant, leaving thousands of tons of dangerous chemicals behind, which are now poisoning the water of the same people Carbide first poisoned 20 years ago. As more people grow sick, Dow-Carbide still refuses to clean up its pollution in Bhopal. 8. The Union Carbide Corporation, charged criminally with "culpable homicide" in the wake of the disaster, has refused to appear in court or stand trial. Union Carbide is now an international fugitive from justice, considered an "absconder" under Indian law. Bhopal remains one of the world's worst examples of corporate crime, but the people of Bhopal continue to persevere in their call for justice. *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 ***