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Internet Archive Challenges Google

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the pistols-at-dawn dept.

richards1052 writes "The Internet Archive, whose main claim to fame is the Wayback Machine, designed to archive the internet's web history, has created a new project: the Open Content Alliance. It's purpose is to open the nation's library collections to universal web search. A number of major library systems, including the Boston Public Library and Smithsonian, have refused to sign up with competing ventures by Microsoft and Google because they do not provide for universal access to digitized books. These commercial ventures prohibit books being accessed by competing search engines. So far, 80 libraries and research institutions have signed on with Open Content Alliance. They must pay for the scanning of their books while Google and Microsoft offset that cost for their participating institutions."

6 of 115 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Society lost by RsG · · Score: 4, Funny

    Might be a good idea to archive the books lest somewhere in the future we re-live something like the Spanish Inquisition where important literature was lost.
    Oh really, does that seem likely?

    I don't expect the Spanish Inquisition...
    --
    Erotic is when you use a feather. Exotic is when you use the whole chicken.
  2. Nobody... by jefu · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.....

    (Can't believe I'm the first one to respond with that. Of course by now I'm probably not. )

  3. Nobody... by benhocking · · Score: 2, Funny

    Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

    (I couldn't bear to leave you hanging.)

    --
    Ben Hocking
    Need a professional organizer?
  4. Re:Society lost by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 4, Funny

    PDFs don't weigh anything.

    Not true, ones have slightly more mass than zeros, so they weight a tad more than zeroing out that section of your drive!

    Note, my source is Dilbert. But it was right about smaller font sizes leading to smaller .doc sizes as well.

    --
    Your ad here. Ask me how!
  5. Re:Scan My Books by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, except it's already bad enough that Google has a log of every Web search I make. I don't need them having a log of every book I've read. They'd have a map of my mind. Next they'd require I upload my genome as the "encryption key". Then I'd face an army of imprinted clones, each backed by Google's budget.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  6. Re:Project Gutenberg... by eldepeche · · Score: 2, Funny

    Maybe they'll move toward an ad-supported revenue model. Did you know Harry Potter wears Reeboks?