Google Books

ruddell · 08-06-2009, 09:56 PM

Here's a theoretical question. When the Google Books lawsuit finally is settled and their books are available online in full, do you think they will keep their contract with Sony for e-reader content, thus making the Amazon library pale in comparison to the Sony library? No way Amazon can compete with Google at this point. Will us Kindle users be left wishing we had Sony devices? I can't imagine Sony giving up on DRM if keeping it means effectively shutting Amazon out of business.

daffy4u · 08-06-2009, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruddell

Here's a theoretical question. When the Google Books lawsuit finally is settled and their books are available online in full, do you think they will keep their contract with Sony for e-reader content, thus making the Amazon library pale in comparison to the Sony library? No way Amazon can compete with Google at this point. Will us Kindle users be left wishing we had Sony devices? I can't imagine Sony giving up on DRM if keeping it means effectively shutting Amazon out of business.

As far as I know, all those Google books are scanned (some very poorly) public domain titles. If you are interested in some old obscure texts (other than classic novels), I would think you could access them via a computer. You can always add a Sony to your reader collection (505s may be flooding the market soon).

I guess time will tell.

ruddell · 08-06-2009, 10:42 PM

scanned, yes. But Google's image2txt software seems to be pretty good (allowing you to search almost flawlessly in those poorly scanned books) that I bet they could convert them to text for e-readers pretty easily.

markbot · 08-06-2009, 11:00 PM

I downloaded a few google books and have been surprised by how utterly awful they are. typoooS every where, strange spacin 8. it drives me nuts. they are not very good. when I spend hours and hours reading a book, I want the artist's original intent. the pure text.

markbot · 08-06-2009, 11:02 PM

also, i should point out that u can download those googlebooks and upload them to the Kindle via calibre for free.

ruddell · 08-06-2009, 11:04 PM

True, but I'm guessing when the publisher's lawsuit gets settled, the in-copyright books will not be downloadable. I can't imagine the publishers agreeing to that. Book sales would go through the floor.

ruddell · 08-06-2009, 11:36 PM

Here's an interesting article from NYT comparing Kindle with Barnes and Noble's latest entry into the e-book industry. It seems Google Books has also contracted with B&N, so perhaps there is hope that Google will keep with it's "available for all" strategy and find a way for Google Books to become available on the Kindle.

doreenjoy · 08-06-2009, 11:42 PM

They may be bad scans, but many of these books are rare and long out of print. I for one am happy to have copies of some of them.

08-06-2009, 09:56 PM	#1
ruddell Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Kindle	Google Books Here's a theoretical question. When the Google Books lawsuit finally is settled and their books are available online in full, do you think they will keep their contract with Sony for e-reader content, thus making the Amazon library pale in comparison to the Sony library? No way Amazon can compete with Google at this point. Will us Kindle users be left wishing we had Sony devices? I can't imagine Sony giving up on DRM if keeping it means effectively shutting Amazon out of business.

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08-06-2009, 10:42 PM	#3
ruddell Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Kindle	scanned, yes. But Google's image2txt software seems to be pretty good (allowing you to search almost flawlessly in those poorly scanned books) that I bet they could convert them to text for e-readers pretty easily.

08-06-2009, 11:00 PM	#4
markbot Guru Posts: 612 Karma: 7511929 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New York, NY Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2	I downloaded a few google books and have been surprised by how utterly awful they are. typoooS every where, strange spacin 8. it drives me nuts. they are not very good. when I spend hours and hours reading a book, I want the artist's original intent. the pure text.

08-06-2009, 11:02 PM	#5
markbot Guru Posts: 612 Karma: 7511929 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New York, NY Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2	also, i should point out that u can download those googlebooks and upload them to the Kindle via calibre for free.

08-06-2009, 11:04 PM	#6
ruddell Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Kindle	True, but I'm guessing when the publisher's lawsuit gets settled, the in-copyright books will not be downloadable. I can't imagine the publishers agreeing to that. Book sales would go through the floor.

08-06-2009, 11:36 PM	#7
ruddell Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 20 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Kindle	Here's an interesting article from NYT comparing Kindle with Barnes and Noble's latest entry into the e-book industry. It seems Google Books has also contracted with B&N, so perhaps there is hope that Google will keep with it's "available for all" strategy and find a way for Google Books to become available on the Kindle.

08-06-2009, 11:42 PM	#8
doreenjoy 01000100 01001010 Posts: 1,889 Karma: 2400000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Polyamorous	They may be bad scans, but many of these books are rare and long out of print. I for one am happy to have copies of some of them.

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