Wikio - Open Content Alliance

Mid August news round up (hangingtogether.org)

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:29:24 GMT

... up more than 17,600 books. Beneficiaries have been the New York Times and the Internet Archive / Open Content Alliance. So comment away — you are helping to do great things. Finally, I was sad to hear that the Party Copyright Blog was shutting down — but even more disturbed that it subsequently vanished. Fortunately, the “voice of the people” was heeded, and the blog was mostly...

Source : hangingtogether.org (subscribe)

Explore : Internet Archive

Getting the classics right: Is Google spending enough on OCR for 19th and early 20th century type? (TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home)

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:44:19 GMT

Given all the greats, from Austen to Dickens , the 19th century may have been the time for the novel. But zillions of words from then still need to be scanned, and beyond the withdrawal of Microsoft from the public domain scene , other challenges abound. Here’s one. "OCR technology for 19th and early 20th century type fonts is not advancing," a Smithsonian staffer wrote during a discussion on the Open...

Source : TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home (subscribe)

Explore : Information Science, Internet, OCR, Software, Technology

Good and Evil in the Garden of Digitization (Red Orbit )

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:00:11 GMT

By Koehler, Wallace Google and Fair Use In a January 2008 Searcher article, Beth Ashmore and Jill Grogg discuss the Open Content Alliance (OCA) and Amazon.com's book digitization projects.

Source : Red Orbit (subscribe)

Explore : Digital Libraries, Google Print, Technology

Did lord knows how many books just enter the public domain, thanks to Google and some good-hearted folk? (Joho the Blog)

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:49:11 GMT

... you! — that information has been digitized and Google can search it. Google Book Search and The Open Content Alliance will use this list to provide open access to works that otherwise were kept out of the hands of the public because their copyright status just couldn’t be determined. Project Gutenberg , The Universal Library Project , and the Distributed Proofreaders...

Source : Joho the Blog (subscribe)

Explore : Google, Google Print, Information Science, Technology, Technology Blogs

Advice for interim library directors and more from PLN (Walt at Random)

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:28:24 GMT

... updates and changes to Ebook notes , Kindle and ebook reader notes , and Google Book Search, Open Content Alliance and Live Search Books notes among other updated articles. Fans of Jamie LaRue’s cogent views will find them all under a new category, LaRue’s Views –with a link to an archive containing much more of LaRue’s writing. Getting ready for ALA Annual in Anaheim? If you...

Source : Walt at Random (subscribe)

Explore : Cogent, Information Science, Software and services, Telecommunication

Coverage of the Demise of Microsoft's Mass Digitization Project (DigitalKoans)

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:05:06 GMT

Microsoft's decision to end its Live Search Books program, which provided important funding for the Open Content Alliance, has been widely covered by newspapers, blogs, and other information sources. Here's a selection of articles and posts: "Books Scanning to be Publicly Funded," "'It Ain’t Over Till It's Over': Impact of the Microsoft Shutdown," "Microsoft Abandons Live [...]...

Source : DigitalKoans (subscribe)

Explore : Digital Libraries, Google Print, Information Science

Microsoft Shuts Down Two of Its Google ‘Wannabe’s’: Live Search Books and Live Search Academic (Information Today)

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:25:34 GMT

... "We’ve got to scurry," said Brewster Kahle, head of the Internet Archive (IA; ) and leader of the Open Content Alliance (OCA).Though the content from both services—described in the Microsoft announcement as some 750,000 full-text books and indexing to 80 million scholarly journals and reports—will remain in Microsoft’s Live Search engine, the material will no longer...

Source : Information Today (subscribe)

Explore : Google, Information Science, Internet, Search Engines, Technology

Quick News Links for Week Ending 6/1/2008 (The Command Line)

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:57:07 GMT

Developer speaks out on Twitter outages The core problem they identified is a mismatched design. Twitter was original built as a CMS but is scaling like a messaging system. They are going to attempt an incremental re-write. The benefit of killing Live Book Search Microsoft is ending its involvement with the Open Content Alliance. Kahle, [...]

Source : The Command Line (subscribe)

Explore : Internet Archive, Twitter

THATCamp 2008: Text Mining and the Persian Carpet Effect (SpellboundBlog.com)

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 04:58:24 GMT

... detail. Still other situations call for using text mining to generate automated classification of content using established vocabularies. Different kinds of tools will be important during different phases of research. Projects, Tools, Examples & Cool Ideas Andrea Eastman-Mullins , from Alexander Street Press , mentioned the University of Chicago’s ARTFL Project and these two tools: PhiloLogic...

Source : SpellboundBlog.com (subscribe)

Explore : Digital Libraries, Information Science

Stop Press for May 28th (booktwo.org)

Thu, 29 May 2008 00:30:10 GMT

PODULARITY ? Authors and books. In a pod. - An interesting-sounding author interview podcast. Microsoft hands Google the future of digital books | The Register - Microsoft is shutting down Live Book Search, and, more worryingly, ending its funding of the Open Content Alliance.

Source : booktwo.org (subscribe)

Death of Microsoft Live: Don't be so quick to rejoice, Brewster (TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home)

Wed, 28 May 2008 06:20:39 GMT

... believe in the TeleRead vision, but nirvana isn't here yet. Microsoft, with its backing of the Open Content Alliance , helped balance out the influence of an OCA rival, Google. Perhaps Brewster could check out another perspective, Microsoft hands Google the future of digital books , in the Register . Although the Reg in character overstates its case, that opinion isn't entirely...

Source : TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home (subscribe)

Explore : Digital Libraries, Google Print, Information Science, Internet Archive, iPod

Microsoft's Live Book Search dies (Quillblog)

Tue, 27 May 2008 22:55:24 GMT

Microsoft is abandoning its Live Book Search venture after withdrawing from the Open Content Alliance digitization project. The company announced Friday that it will shut down the Live Search Books and Live Search Academic websites and stop scanning library and copyright books, instead relying on other library and digitization partners for book content. Microsoft had scanned...

Source : Quillblog (subscribe)

Explore : Ars Technica, Digital Libraries, Google Print, Information Science

Microsoft hands Google the future of digital books (The Register)

Tue, 27 May 2008 15:38:09 GMT

Here, have a monopoly While Bill Gates now holds a lucrative monopoly on digital images, his successors don't see the same prosperous future for the digital word. Microsoft is withdrawing from the Open Content Alliance digitisation project and will cease to scan books, the company said on Friday. It's abandoning its Live Book Search venture - a curious decision, since it effectively...

Source : The Register (subscribe)

Explore : Internet, Internet companies, Software and services, Technology, Telecommunication

Microsoft closing book-search sites (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Mon, 26 May 2008 07:01:00 GMT

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. is abandoning its effort to scan whole libraries and make their contents searchable, a sign it may be getting choosier about the fights it will pick with Google Inc.

Source : Philadelphia Inquirer (subscribe)

Explore : Business, Information Science, Internet, Search Engines, Technology

Microsoft ends last chapter of book scanning (MSNBC.com)

Mon, 26 May 2008 01:20:14 GMT

Microsoft Corp. is abandoning its effort to scan whole libraries and make their contents searchable, a sign it may be getting choosier about the fights it will pick with Google Inc.

Source : MSNBC.com (subscribe)

Explore : Information Science, Internet, Search Engines, Technology, Telecommunication

Microsoft Abandons Book Scanning (Time)

Sat, 24 May 2008 05:45:00 GMT

Microsoft Corp. is abandoning its effort to scan whole libraries and make their contents searchable

Source : Time (subscribe)

Explore : Information Science

Twitter Updates for 2008-05-23 (Fedora Planet)

Sat, 24 May 2008 05:29:48 GMT

... even to check email? Hit the red alert panic button escape seat (office chair thru window) # open content alliance is hiring executive director: http://www.opencontentalliance.org/ do it! # Wait, @ev, meaning, you guys have incentive to make things worse? hahahah, just kidding # Powered by Twitter Tools .

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Microsoft to shut down book scanning operations (Boston Globe)

Sat, 24 May 2008 00:21:55 GMT

Microsoft Corp. is abandoning its effort to scan whole libraries and make their contents searchable, a sign it may be getting choosier about the fights it will pick with Google Inc.

Source : Boston Globe (subscribe)

Explore : Information Science, Internet, Search Engines, Technology, Telecommunication

Microsoft to shut down book scanning operations (Seattle Times)

Sat, 24 May 2008 00:20:34 GMT

Microsoft Corp. is abandoning its effort to scan whole libraries and make their contents searchable, a sign it may be getting choosier about the fights it will pick with Google Inc.

Source : Seattle Times (subscribe)

Explore : Information Science, Internet, Search Engines, Technology, Telecommunication

Microsoft to shut down book scanning operations (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Sat, 24 May 2008 00:05:00 GMT

SEATTLE -- Microsoft Corp. is abandoning its effort to scan whole libraries and make their contents searchable, a sign it may be getting choosier about the fights it will pick with Google Inc.

Source : Seattle Post-Intelligencer (subscribe)

Explore : Information Science, Internet, Search Engines, Technology, Telecommunication