Google Books Mysterious Deletions

Nate the great · 08-17-2013, 03:38 PM

Has anyone ever heard of this happening before?

Quote:

So when I got here, I noticed that several of my iPad apps had updates on offer, so I clicked and approved. One of them was Google Play. When it finished and I went to open the app, it told me that it needed to update my book files and this might take several minutes. Time passed and the screen filled in the covers of the 30 or 40 titles I keep live on the machine. Two of them were books I am actively reading for my teaching this fall.

But all of my books had un-downloaded and needed to be downloaded again. The app is an inefficient downloader, almost as bad as the New Yorker app, so I dreaded this, but clicked on the two I needed most at once. (I checked the amount of storage used, and indeed the files really have gone off my tablet.)

And it balked. It turns out that because I am not in a country where Google Books is an approved enterprise (which encompasses most of the countries on the planet), I cannot download. Local wisdom among the wizards here speculates that the undownloading occurred when the update noted that I was outside the US borders and so intervened.

http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...-wrong-country

Anabana · 08-17-2013, 08:13 PM

Well, that's a bit scary. I don't go out of the country often, but am anticipating a visit to Canada - I'll have to remember to update everything before I cross the border or leave it alone until I return! I saw a cartoon some years ago with a person having computer problems; the caption read: It stands to reason that if we have artificial intelligence, we'll also have artificial stupidity.

mrscoach · 08-17-2013, 11:01 PM

I'm stuck at "iPad apps" and updating Google Play. Does Google do iPad apps now? How did I miss this?

doctorow · 08-18-2013, 05:31 AM

Not a big surprise, if you read the terms of services:

Quote:

In certain cases (for example, if Google loses the relevant rights, discontinues a service or a Product is discontinued, breaches applicable terms or the law), Google may remove from your Device or cease providing you with access to certain Products that you have purchased.

+1 for paper books. You don't have to worry about someone deleting the books that you acquired for your next vacation abroad.

pdurrant · 08-18-2013, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctorow

Not a big surprise, if you read the terms of services:

Wow. Now those are evil.

Alexander Turcic · 08-18-2013, 05:37 AM

Take a look at the attached banner...

Alexander Turcic · 08-18-2013, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctorow

Not a big surprise, if you read the terms of services:

Also:

Quote:

Rights
Once you've purchased an eBook from Google eBooks, it is available to you in your Google account. For information on copyright protection and digital rights restrictions afforded to rights holders of your eBooks, please view our Google Play Terms of Service.

While you have the right to access your eBook, please note that the copyright still resides with the eBook's rights holder, usually the publisher or author who submitted the title to the Google Books partner programme. In certain cases, we may be forced to remove customer access to content stored online. However, any downloads that you have obtained will continue to work, even if we're no longer able to provide online access to an eBook.

HansTWN · 08-18-2013, 08:17 AM

Was the online access restored after you returned to the US, OP? Alf's magic works on Google books, doesn't it? Just regular ADE epub?

Nate the great · 08-18-2013, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Was the online access restored after you returned to the US, OP? Alf's magic works on Google books, doesn't it? Just regular ADE epub?

It's not my story.

auspex · 08-18-2013, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctorow

Not a big surprise, if you read the terms of services:

+1 for paper books. You don't have to worry about someone deleting the books that you acquired for your next vacation abroad.

Well, actually, it's still a big surprise. Those particular terms don't give them the right to remove a book just because you left the country.

tomj777 · 08-18-2013, 08:44 AM

Eek - that is so.... Amazon

Nate the great · 08-18-2013, 09:06 AM

The original source showed up on my blog and offered more details.

It seems that all of the ebooks in question were PD scans of 19th century titles. They all came from Google Books, not the commercial ebookstore. Some were even available for download again after the purge, though there no pattern to predict which ones were still available.

http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...comment-173395

kyteflyer · 08-18-2013, 05:43 PM

And they all wonder why there's a thriving pirate market.

j.p.s · 08-18-2013, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

And they all wonder why there's a thriving pirate market.

The books deleted are in the public domain.

I can not think of a good reason for a software update to delete data that has not changed.

Edward_R · 08-18-2013, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomj777

Eek - that is so.... Amazon

What does Amazon have to do with Google Books?

08-18-2013, 05:37 AM	#6
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 18,175 Karma: 14021202 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Too many to count here.	Take a look at the attached banner... Attached Thumbnails

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08-17-2013, 08:13 PM	#2
Anabana Zealot Posts: 109 Karma: 2735606 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: San Diego, CA Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire 7" & 10"; 11"(?)-12" Lenovo laptop	Well, that's a bit scary. I don't go out of the country often, but am anticipating a visit to Canada - I'll have to remember to update everything before I cross the border or leave it alone until I return! I saw a cartoon some years ago with a person having computer problems; the caption read: It stands to reason that if we have artificial intelligence, we'll also have artificial stupidity.

08-17-2013, 11:01 PM	#3
mrscoach Guru Posts: 767 Karma: 4837659 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: San Angelo Texas Device: Samsung Galaxy tab	I'm stuck at "iPad apps" and updating Google Play. Does Google do iPad apps now? How did I miss this?

08-18-2013, 08:17 AM	#8
HansTWN Wizard Posts: 4,538 Karma: 264065402 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Taiwan Device: HP Touchpad, Sony Duo 13, Lumia 920, Kobo Aura HD	Was the online access restored after you returned to the US, OP? Alf's magic works on Google books, doesn't it? Just regular ADE epub?

08-18-2013, 08:44 AM	#11
tomj777 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Crowthorne, UK Device: Kobo Glo	Eek - that is so.... Amazon

08-18-2013, 09:06 AM	#12
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	The original source showed up on my blog and offered more details. It seems that all of the ebooks in question were PD scans of 19th century titles. They all came from Google Books, not the commercial ebookstore. Some were even available for download again after the purge, though there no pattern to predict which ones were still available. http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...comment-173395

08-18-2013, 05:43 PM	#13
kyteflyer Wizard Posts: 1,844 Karma: 9547754 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Newcastle, Australia Device: iPhone 12 Mini	And they all wonder why there's a thriving pirate market.

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