Both are digitizing books. But “Google is working from the top down. It’s very centralized. Project Gutenberg is the opposite: It’s decentralized, it’s grassroots. From the consumer’s point of view, if you’re trying to get a quotation from a book, you could get the book from Project Gutenberg and cut and paste, say, the whole “Hamlet” soliloquy. On Google, you can’t. Also, ours is totally non-commercial. You won’t find advertising on any of our pages.”
Tag: 12.12.05
Serpentine Gallery Fails To Summit
An plan to build a mountain above London’s Serpentine Gallery has failed. “The proposal, put forward by the Dutch architect MVRDV, was hailed as the most ambitious project to date in the Serpentine’s annual programme of temporary summer pavilions. It called for a 23m-high steel frame, enclosing the gallery and covered in artificial grass, which visitors could climb to admire the views of London. However, practical and financial problems led to the design being shelved indefinitely.”
UK Leads Europe In Digital Download Habit
“A survey conducted by Motorola into musical habits around the continent showed that the UK is more in tune with music downloading than any other European country. Britons spend an average of 75p a month on digital downloads, three times more than Germans, French or Italians. This reflects the widespread adoption of digital music in the UK, as well as a thriving legal internet music scene.”
Gardiner’s Home-Grown Bach (It’s a Commercial Success)
John Eliot Gardiner was halfway through recording all of Bach’s 198 cantatas when Deutsche Grammophon pulled the plug. He decided to continue and release them himself. And how’s it going? “We have practically no overheads because it’s run from home. And the musicians have agreed to accept royalties rather than fees. The break-even for each disc is around 5,000 to 6,000 and the first album sold 16,000. So far it’s gone better than any of us could have hoped. We’ve got hundreds of subscribers for the whole series of 52 CDs. Any profit we make goes straight back into the financing of the next batch of records.”
Nero Palace Closes For Emergency Repair
The palace of Nero is closing abruptly for emergency repairs and will be closed for at least two years. “Leaking water is threatening the palace’s frescoed walls. The estimated the cost of repairs is five million euros ($6.8 million). Ministry archaeologists said a full-blown restoration of the palace and the surrounding area would cost 130 million euros ($179 million) over 10 years.
Whitbread Pulls Out Of Book Awards
Retailer Whitbread is pulling out of sponsoring its annual book awards. “The hotel and restaurant firm, which set up the awards in 1971, says it is pulling out because it no longer sells products using the Whitbread name. It is looking to find a new sponsor for the book awards, which include the £25,000 book of the year prize.”
Apres The Geriatric Rockers? Rien?
Today’s biggest pop music draws, those capable of filling stadiums and charging big ticket prices are getting on in years. Younger artists of their stature aren’t coming along, and presenters are worried. “I don’t know what the Social Security plan is for those of us in the concert industry who will be waiting for the Stones and McCartney to still be touring in 10 to 15 years. But we need to worry about how to fill those arena, amphitheater and stadium dates with an artist-driven or event-driven tour.”
My Life Online
The generation coming of age today straddles life between online and the physical world. “Although social networks are still in their infancy, experts think they’re already creating new forms of social behavior that blur the distinctions between online and real-world interactions. In fact, today’s young generation largely ignores the difference. Most adults see the Web as a supplement to their daily lives. But for the most part, their social lives remain rooted in the traditional phone call and face-to-face interaction. The MySpace generation, by contrast, lives comfortably in both worlds at once.”