Unified Search Engine - The ball is in motion

[Gianfranco]

I have sent this to a number of eBook sellers which I found via the wiki

Hi!

Over at www.mobileread.com/forums we are discussing the possibility of a (free to use) unifying eBook search engine
which would allow a user to search all possible ebook stores and list the results with regard to price and availability.
Something along the lines of price runner etc.

Are you interested in this? Would you consider to produce a web-based API for your database which would be usable for
this so that someone could create a search tool / site for the named purpose? If you are interested, your API should
be fully documented and be usable through the standard HTML methods like POST. The replies should be in a well formed
XML format. I will be the spider in the net, so to say (no pun intended) for now.

This email is not only sent to you, I have also sent this to the others listed below (yes, your
name is there also), If you who receive this email is not the person which can take this kind of decision, then
please make sure it gets to the right person. Also only reply to my email address: Gianfranco 'dot' alongi 'at' gmail 'dot' com with
the Subject: "Unified search engine", it will make it easier for me to organize this.

Ebooks.com
EbookMall
Diesel Ebooks
CyberRead
Book Habit
EEEPcBooks.com
EReadable
FictionWise
KindleShops
MyBookStoreAndMore
Numilog
SimonSays
SmashWord
WalkBroadPublishing
WhiskeyCreekPress
Taylor & Francis
WHSmith eBooks
BLTC Press
Books On Board
Club Lighthouse Publishing
Ebooks about everything
EHarleQuin
HarperCollins
Nuever
Penguin
Powell's Books

Ps. Some of your names may be misspelled, I apologize for this.

This was made by filling out contact-forms, and sending an email to those who had an email address visible. It was no easy task, but it's done. Let's hope something comes out of it. I will keep you posted on what goes on.

[zelda_pinwheel]

that's a great effort gianfranco, thanks ! let us know the responses you get.

you might want to encrypt (spell AT instead of @ for example) or remove your email address though, if you don't want to get lots of spam.

[Over]

That would be great. It would be very nice if the search engine would display the prices, so that we could make compare them.

Humm... Maybe the publishers wouldn't like that

[=X=]

Hi Gianfranco,

I like your idea. Here is a search engine link by overdrive that does something similar

It was posted in this thread

[Gianfranco]

Thanks!
I didn't know this existed, however, searching using some general keywords don't seem to give any hits. This includes titles which are available at stores like eBookMall, fictionwise etc.

I have got some positive responses from the contacted ebook sellers, and I have a good feeling about this. No matter how the ebook sellers change their sites, as long as the API is the same, the UESE (Unified Ebook Search Engine) should work like a charm.
It would also be very easy to add new eBook sellers to the engine.

[acidzebra]

I think it is a smashing idea, but I hope "UESE" is either a really funny word in Italian or Swedish or just a temporary term for your project. It doesn't really roll off the tongue.

I suggest you put up a MR thread/poll looking for a good name, something like BEST (Borderless Ebook Search Tool) or even PEST (Perfect Ebook Search Tool) although the latter will have some negative psychological implications. 's catchy, though.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by acidzebra

I think it is a smashing idea, but I hope "UESE" is either a really funny word in Italian or Swedish or just a temporary term for your project. It doesn't really roll off the tongue.

I suggest you put up a MR thread/poll looking for a good name, something like BEST (Borderless Ebook Search Tool) or even PEST (Perfect Ebook Search Tool) although the latter will have some negative psychological implications. 's catchy, though.

very catchy. i like it. it reminds me of "pester" which is a french verb meaning "to complain loudly about something which annoys you." like discovering the book you want to buy is not available as an ebook, when searching for it using PEST.

[acidzebra]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

very catchy. i like it. it reminds me of "pester" which is a french verb meaning "to complain loudly about something which annoys you."

How... very French *where is that duck-and-run icon?*

pester
–verb (used with object)
1. to bother persistently with petty annoyances; trouble: Don't pester me with your trivial problems.
2. Obsolete. to overcrowd.

[Origin: 1530–40; perh. aph. var. of empester, impester to tangle, encumber (though pester is found earlier than these 2 words) < MF empestrer to hobble, entangle < VL *impāstōriāre to hobble, equiv. to im- im-1 + pāstōri(a) a hobble, n. use of L pāstōrius of a herdsman or shepherd + -āre inf. suffix (see pastor);

I guess the English nicked it from you guys, but I wonder where the hobbling herdsman comes in?

Seriously though, do a thread/poll. I'm sure there's enough creativity in this community to come up with something really cool.

[Gianfranco]

Well, I'll be quite tangled up in the project itself, but you seem keen on the whole name thing
Would you consider taking care of that part?

[acidzebra]

Originally Posted by Gianfranco

Well, I'll be quite tangled up in the project itself, but you seem keen on the whole name thing
Would you consider taking care of that part?

Well, okay then.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by acidzebra

How... very French *where is that duck-and-run icon?*

heh, yes, complaining is a national sport here (along with going on strike, and watching people from café terrasses). sometimes i like to do a little gratuitous complaining when it's not merited just to keep a hand in.

pester
–verb (used with object)
1. to bother persistently with petty annoyances; trouble: Don't pester me with your trivial problems.
2. Obsolete. to overcrowd.

no comment.

[Origin: 1530–40; perh. aph. var. of empester, impester to tangle, encumber (though pester is found earlier than these 2 words) < MF empestrer to hobble, entangle < VL *impāstōriāre to hobble, equiv. to im- im-1 + pāstōri(a) a hobble, n. use of L pāstōrius of a herdsman or shepherd + -āre inf. suffix (see pastor);

I guess the English nicked it from you guys, but I wonder where the hobbling herdsman comes in?

yes but pester in english and "pester" in french don't seem to come from the same origin though ; from empestrer we have "empêtrer" in modern french which still means to entangle or hobble. according to the dictionary, pester can be translated as "to storm" or "to rave".

Seriously though, do a thread/poll. I'm sure there's enough creativity in this community to come up with something really cool.

i sincerely like your suggestions but i agree the people around here are really good at stuff like this.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by acidzebra

Well, okay then.

I thought bookworm.com would be great. But, alas go daddy says that domain name is taken, even though there doesn't appear to be a web server at that address.

BOb

[Gianfranco]

It would be nice if name-specific posts where kept in the name thread I'll post progress information and such here

[=X=]

Originally Posted by Gianfranco

I have got some positive responses from the contacted ebook sellers, and I have a good feeling about this. No matter how the ebook sellers change their sites, as long as the API is the same, the UESE (Unified Ebook Search Engine) should work like a charm.
It would also be very easy to add new eBook sellers to the engine.

Very cool! This is something that is sorely needed in the eBook community.

BTW If your taking suggestions (i'm sure you've thought of these already)
- Make sure to include public domain sites like manybooks, feedbooks, gutenberg. And also the free audio site.
- Integration with Firefox search engines.

That is all for now
=X=

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I thought bookworm.com would be great. But, alas go daddy says that domain name is taken, even though there doesn't appear to be a web server at that address.

BOb

That's interesting. Back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, I wrote a "shareware" eBook viewer called "Bookworm" for the very first generation of Windows CE machines!