Archive for January 2005
The Management & Logistics of Digitization Projects
"Susan Wojcicki’s grandmother, a librarian for more than 30 years, ran the Slavic department at the Library of Congress. Now Wojcicki is overseeing Google Inc.’s ambitious plan to digitize the collections of five top libraries: Stanford, Harvard, Oxford, the University of Michigan and the New York Public Library.
"The project eventually will allow any Internet user anywhere in the world to search inside millions of volumes, seeing the pages exactly as they appear in the originals, complete with illustrations, charts and photos.
"The logistics involved are staggering."
Carolyn Said. Digitizing Books: A Mountainous Task for Google. SeattlePI.com. Dec. 24, 2004.
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Analysis of Microsoft’s EU Decision
"In rejecting Microsoft’s appeal this week a European court has dealt a significant setback to Redmond’s attempts to mount an attack on competitors based on intellectual property litigation.
"The decision by Judge Bo Vesterdorf at the European Court of the First Instance reveals for the first time many of the legal arguments that were made behind closed doors this year. The parts that interest us here are the decision itself, which rejects the idea that communication protocols are any kind of ‘trade secret,’ and the slightly astonishing admission from Microsoft itself that suing people for IP violations is bothersome, or in its lawyers’ own words: ‘a particularly complicated and inefficient exercise.’
"If we’re to take the lawyers at their word (always a risky business), then what has so often been described as a patent war between Redmond and open source developers looks much more like a phony war. Put the two together, and we have a much clearer idea of Microsoft’s strategy than we did twelve months ago."
Andrew Orlowski. How Microsoft Played the Patent Card, and Failed. The Register. Dec. 23, 2004.
See also:
Red Herring. Europe Smacks Microsoft. Dec. 24, 2004.
BBC. The European Court of Justice. No date.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
A Look Back at 2004
"In the legislative battle over copyright and file swapping, you might assume the entertainment industry’s lobbyists are sitting fat and pretty.
"Nothing could be further from the truth, and the constellation of forces in Washington could be ripe for a redrawing, said Declan McCullagh–one of the many columnists who offered CNET News.com readers insight and analysis of the major tech events of 2004."
Charles Cooper. Year in Review:Politicos in the Crosshairs. News.com. Dec. 25, 2004.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
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