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Another revolution is about to happen.
A revolution that is many times in size and importance bigger than the music revolution. I call it the e-book revolution.
In this moment a number of technologies are coming together:
On the one side OCR technologies are reaching a level of sophistication, where it is nearly as easy to photocopy a book as to make an ebook out of it. Do you remember when you would go to a photocopy shop, and ask them to make a copy of the book. Now it is that easy to have the ebook version of it, if you know how to do it. This means that more and more books are available in ebook format.
But the difference between the ebooks now, and the mp3, back then, is that when the mp3s came out, a song (5 minutes of fun) was about 5 MB. And since the internet was slower back then, it would take quite some time to download those 5 minutes of fun. Now a book, is often between 1 and 10 Mega Byte. And it can permit you to read it, study it, but also just to consult it.
More about this later.
I thought there were few ebooks around. That mostly you could find some old classics, but nothing really interesting. I was SO wrong.
Here is a collection available for download from pirate bay with more than 1000 ebooks, all on computer science. Here another with practically all of the ebooks from the “* for dummies” collection.
Those are not just some old classics. Those are good new books.
But why are users going through the whole work of digitalizing a single book to post it online? I guess this text will explain us: Continue reading Ebooks, the next revolution. But this time is BIG!
Paolo Rossi, an italian comedian, made a wonderful job, in taking an old discourse from Pericles, and presenting it to the modern public as part of his personal show: Il Signor Rossi e la costituzione (mr. Rossi and the constitution- but, as Rossi is the most common italian name, could be translated as mr. Smith and the constitution). The speech is so precise, so moderne, that it was censored by Berlusconi controlled state television. After confronting the italian version from Paolo Rossi, with the original which we have in the project Gutenberg, I translated Paolo Rossi’s speech in English, trying, as much as possible to use the expression of the original translator in English. What follows here is first the translation, then the whole original speech is copied, with the parts that have been taken by Paolo bolded, to clarify the context in which they originally were. In the translation there is also a phrase in italic, it is a phrase that was absent in the original text, but that fitted perfectly both in the original text, and in the italian situation. It was inspired to Paolo Rossi by the ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Here in Athens we do like this, our government favours the many instead of the few; this is why it is called democracy.
Here in Athens we do like this, the laws, here, afford equal justice to all in their private differences; but we never ignore reputation for capacity.
When a citizen has shown himself worthy, he will be, upon others, favored to serve the state, not as a privilege, but as a reward for worth, and poverty doesn’t bar the way.
Here in Athens we do like this. The freedom which we enjoy, extends also to our ordinary life.There, far from exercising a jealous surveillance over each other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbour for doing what he likes. We are free, free to live exactly as we please, and yet are just as ready to encounter every legitimate danger. An Athenian citizen does not ignore public affairs, when he is following his private life, but, upon all, never uses public affairs to solve his private problems.
Here in Athens we do like this: we have been taught, to respect magistrates, and we have been taught to obey the laws, and never to forget those who have been injured. And we have been taught to respect that code which, although unwritten, is based upon the universal feeling of what is right, and cannot be broken without acknowledged disgrace.
Here in Athens we do like this: we see him who takes no interest in public matters not as unambitious but as useless, and although few are able to originate a politics, we all athenians are able to judge it. We don’t look on discussion as a stumbling-block in the way to democracy.
We believe that happiness originates from freedom, but freedom only originates from courage.
In short, I say Athens school of Hellas, and that every Athenians shows in himself a happy flexibility, self trust, and readiness to face any situation. And this is why we throw open our city and never by alien acts exclude foreigners.
What follows is the original discourse from Pericles, from The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. Continue reading Here in Athens we do like this
We have all heard the news that do-no-evil Google has accepted to comply with Chinese laws and ban some words from the search results (Google testimony here). More than that China is censoring media, editors, journalist, blogs, and practically any form of free expression. According to this article this censorship is not having the desired effect from the government. The only reason they give is that there are simply too many blogs.
Well, I have a different idea, I think that censorship is not useless as a strategy for China’s government. It is counterproductive. It is making the the chinese blogsphere stronger. Let me explain why do I think it is so. Continue reading Small China
I have been reading Boing Boing lately. It came with the feed reader of the mobile phone. I especially like it because the feed contains the complete article and not just an excerpt. Which, when you are reading a feed while being inside a bus, is handy. I really liked the series on the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and how it was getting reformed also thanks to blogging.
But today I found an article that I think is seriously going over the line (originally from: Tian’s blog). Where the owner of a vandalised car (Tian) offers ‘$500′ for the identification of the person(s) and castration of their testicles OR cut off their right hand(s).
I know he is joking. And I know that we must not take ourself too seriously. But I also know that blogging is powerful. That when you post something you don’t know who is going to read it. And that generally inviting people to cut each other testicles (and what if it was a woman? Are you so sure it was a man) is not what I would call a useful and positive way of using your internet power.
When I was in the military service they teached us how to use a gun. The first phrase we were told was: ‘Guns are used to kill’. The second phrase was: “You don’t aim a gun at a person as a joke. Never, ever, under no circumstances.” .
Well, believe me, blogs are more powerful than guns. You don’t aim a blog at a person. Not even as a joke. Never, ever, under no circumastances (see also the blogsphere).
“Freedom of speech is more dangerous than guns, we don’t let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have freedom of speach?”
Mao Tse Tung.
We still have freedom of speach, let’s use it properly.
Pietro
Update: Tian crossed out the request for the person castration. I think this is good. Still I will not cross this whole post, because it took me to much to write it. And will be my reminder of conscious blogging. (Beside Boing Boing hasn’t crossed out their copy of the post. Hmm, interesting situation mainly generated by the creative common copyright: who is now legally responsible for that request?)
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