(no subject)
hmmm, this was relevant in a past life. i must say--Good call.
i had always thought MS's position in the text digitization business to be rather odd... you know, given their embrace of DRM-like technologies (which was still going strong when their book search program began). after all, enforcing access/distribution limitations is much harder for text than music. since consumers of text are rarely actually seeking an entire publication, publishers lose so much more retail leverage by exposing fragments of book contents (vs fragments of songs).
the nuances of the medium add up to such digital library endeavors benefiting the consumer much more than the provider (or content owner). success in this particular business seems to involve a level of 'sticking up for the little guy' that is entirely out of character for MS.
i had always thought MS's position in the text digitization business to be rather odd... you know, given their embrace of DRM-like technologies (which was still going strong when their book search program began). after all, enforcing access/distribution limitations is much harder for text than music. since consumers of text are rarely actually seeking an entire publication, publishers lose so much more retail leverage by exposing fragments of book contents (vs fragments of songs).
the nuances of the medium add up to such digital library endeavors benefiting the consumer much more than the provider (or content owner). success in this particular business seems to involve a level of 'sticking up for the little guy' that is entirely out of character for MS.