While there is still no official word from the Big G itself, word on the street seems to suggest that Google will begin charging for full access to texts through its BookSearch service. Given the amount of hassle they’ve been getting from publishers and copyright owners about the Universal Library project, we probably shouldn’t be surprised … but I also expect there’ll be more to the idea than has been initially reported once an official announcement arrives. [Image by Laineys Repertoire]
Tag Archives: Google
Manage your library with Google Book Search
Looks like LibraryThing and Shelfari just got served – Google Book Search now allows you to tag titles that you own and assemble an online catalog of your precious book collection. I liked the look of LibraryThing, but the idea of having to pay to catalog more than a few hundred titles was a deal breaker for me. Yet another business model trounced by the ubiquitous giants of search …
On the subject of libraries, the place where I work has a lot of old manuscripts which are, tricky to read – at least for anyone unaccustomed to 19th Century copperplate handwriting. So if the technical types who’ve developed the new ‘Blurred Shape Model’ optical character recognition system need someone to beta test it, we’d be more than happy to help. [Image by GeneralWesc]
Accretive Cartography
What’s the cartography of your life? Google and many others want you to contribute to their mapping solutions. I won’t try to improve on Brady Forrest’s write up at O’Reilly Radar, except to say that if you haven’t checked out the Open Street Map yet, you should.
Tour de Earth
Got a few centuries under your belt? Think you could handle the Tour de France some day? You might want to check out the 2007 route on Google Earth before you get too cocky. Make sure you make the appropriate cheering noises as you zoom down the Champs Elysees for the finish. [wired]