E-book project to put third of a million books online next month
Every few months, it seems, somebody tries to spur on an e-book fad. Several articles on the subject of why they fail have been written, but technologists still can’t seem to let go of the idea. I guess there’s some kind of romantic book-worm notion about being able to download books onto a screen. And who knows, perhaps one day it will become a popular form of media. Anyway, the latest big move for ebooks happens next month:
Electronic book devotees may want to set aside some extra screen time this summer. An e-book non-profit based in Urbana is preparing to put more than 300-thousand books online without charge.
Project Gutenberg plans to make “a third of a million” e-books available for a month at the first World e-Book Fair. Downloads will be available at the fair’s Web site from July Fourth through August Fourth.
I’m already a big fan of Project Gutenberg for their tireless effort for making public domain property public. This new idea of theirs seems pretty damn cool.
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