Slashdot Mirror
Google's Library Up and Running
An anonymous reader writes "It seems that Google Print results are beginning to appear on searches. For
those who don't know, Google has been scanning from libraries from some of the world's
greatest universities in order to compile a freely accessible online library. An easy way to turn up these results is to simply type "book", and then
whatever you want to search for.
For instance, book origin of species will turn up the
full text of Charles Darwin's controversial treatise. 20,000
leagues, Oliver Twist and Pride and
Prejudice and m o r e are all there in full.
It'll be interestin to see how publishers deal with this if demand for these
books declines. In the meantime, would anyone like to point out any good books?" Hopefully, Google can also start to index some books that are being released in the Creative Commons/alternative open licenses.
"It would be great if textbooks were on there. $120 is too much for a calculus book."
Actually, there are three reasons you should be paying that much. First, that's the cost of the book as determined by a free, deregulated market.
Second, the publisher has a greater responsibility to its employees and shareholders than to you, so it needs to maximize its product prices and profit margins.
From your sig, I thought you would have grasped these basic facts.