Last week, someone mentioned that Microsoft is starting its own digital library project — yes, kids, we’re sitting on the sidelines of what may become the world’s most fascinating* pissing match; let’s call it “My Digital Library Is Bigger Than Yours”. Despite the legal opposition, we’re putting our money on Google. Call us old fashioned, but we believe companies that primarily do data indexing are better suited to the task than companies that sort of do data indexing. . .in addition to everything else.
Focus, people, focus!
Microsoft is also playing it interestingly safe. Last week’s correspondent mentioned something about royalties and whatnot from Microsoft, but this story suggests that compensating artists isn’t a top priority. Is there another MS initiative being hidden from us?
. . .Microsoft and the British Library stressed that they will be choosing books only from the older end of the library’s vast collection of 13 million titles, as these have long fallen out of copyright.
Like, what, the titles already digitized by Project Gutenberg? The really obscure stuff? We want facts, and we want them now.
ktwice – Fascinating being a relative concept.
