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Google Offering Print Versions of Online Books
carluva writes "Google is teaming up with On Demand Books to offer paperback versions of its collection of over 2 million public domain books. The books will be able to be printed using ODB's Espresso Book Machine, which is already in use at several book stores and libraries and can print and bind a complete, paperback copy of a 300-page book in less than 5 minutes. Google and ODB each get $1 in royalties per book sold (Google has pledged to donate its proceeds to charities and nonprofit organizations). See also ODB's PDF press release."
There is already a site offering POD services for both Google Books and Internet Archive for over two years and it is done at cost:
PublicDomainReprints.org
Actually, I'd be curious as to a reference for this. While I'm sure you are right once you start talking about 1000's of books, I'm equally sure the production of 1 paperback book is not 'extremely wasteful and bad for the environment' compared to one e-book reader. The key, of course, is how many books you read on your e-book reader before it, too, becomes e-waste.
A little googling revealed this Master's Thesis on exactly this topic. I haven't read it in-depth yet, but it looks to strongly favor e-readers.
Sigh - I LIKE my printed books.
Thanks for lousy the AP article. Let's see...for a story about a great technology used to print books, I'll submit a link to a website read by those most hostile to science/technology, those who are not to keen about books that cover anything outside their narrow ideological realm. AND it's a friggin AP release. thank you so much for the effort!
Do they realize it could be used to print books about queers and such?!?!? Oh dear god nooooo... /sarcasm
yeah, mod me -1024 flamebait. Or, try this link http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/09/google-books-publish-on-demand/ or this one http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10355318-265.html
It's not clear what Google is planning on charging...
FTA, about $8 per book (including the pair of $1 fees going to ODB and Google), although a definite price hasn't been set.
$8 seems pretty fair to me...
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
Your facts will not stand in the way of my wishful thinking.
This post climbed Mt. Washington.
Books sequester carbon. So long as the ultimate source of the wood is a tree farm rather than a forest, not a big deal. (Of course paper from hemp, sisal, or other fibers would be even better.)
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
I really wish more people understood this... Trees are a renewable resource. There are more planted for those that are used for construction and for paper production. It's what allows those industries to continue. It's the clear cutting and deforestation for other purposes that's bad.
Michael J. Ryan - tracker1.info
Trees used for paper has been sustainable (ie renewable and operated that way) for a long time. It can be quite low quality wood and fast growing pines are fine. You get a *lot* of paper out of single tree. Even better you can use trimmings and other bits that are not useful in the construction industry. The environmental impact is in production, in particular how to get the paper white.... And in most of the western world this is heavily regulated to have none. Paper is also pretty harmless as a waste.
The Grey Goo disaster happened 3 billion years ago. This rock is covered in self replicating machines!
Don't know why this is modded troll. Its correct. You can't make money with donations. Its all about PR in this case. Or perhaps they really just wanted to do something nice...
The Grey Goo disaster happened 3 billion years ago. This rock is covered in self replicating machines!