Google to Allow Free Downloads of Books

@Bartleby:

One would think you had a vendetta against Google? What's the problem? Do you work for a publisher of books which are already in the public domain?

I hate to break it to you, but every time you or someone else reads a book from google they are going to sell your habits to any advertiser or paid hack that wants access to your behavior for God knows what ultimate purpose.

GASP!

That sounds terrible! If Google knew what I liked, they might even....help make something relevant to me!!!

In all seriousness, I agree that some information should be sensitive, but people know the risks of using Google. They know Google will hold their information. If you don't want that information to be held, simply don't use the service. They have no monopoly on you at all. If you want email, get email from MSN. It you want to search, go to Yahoo.

I, for one, don't really care if they know my search history or not. I'm not searching for books with tips on how to murder your wife, so this isn't very incriminating to me. Though, I am well aware of the fact that people, eg. the president and others, say that if you have nothing too hide you shouldn't be concerned about privacy. That kind of thinking is something I'm against, so long as it's forced. I'm willingly using Google fully aware of the consequences, because something like this doesn't bother me. However, once it gets to the point that Google comes to my house to install camera's and monitor me so they can "better my search results," I'll probably think differently. =P

I'm not searching for books with tips on how to murder your wife

However, some of us are doing exactly that and would like our searches to be a little more private.

I'll probably think differently.

I wish Apple had a search engine too. ;)

So, go ahead and use Google Earth, Google Books, etc. but you should be aware that not only is big brother at Google watching you but your clicks are being sold to whomever for whatever purpose as Google's revenue model.

You act like this is a new concept and only Google does such an evil thing.
I assume you use Yahoo when searching for tinfoil hats.

Bartleby, your crazy if you think this is new and or different from the rest of your life. Your privacy is compromised if you use credit card, use ez-pass(or toll booth), walk into a shop, walk down the street, walk in to an office, make a phone call, send an unencrypted email, use IM, or post a comment on this site. Oops do Newsvine keep a copy of all that you look at or seed and then use it for advertising. Your sunk no matter what you do unless you pay for everything with cash, ride a bike/walk every where while wearing a ski mask. Funny I think that might compromise your privacy/freedom too. Quick pass the tin foil hat......

I am unsure who you mean by "they" but I hope the NSA have better algorithms than google.

On your second point, why are you not worried about your search data but you are about what the data on public domain books you read? I don't understand your logic at all.

So are you more worried about the NSA knowing what you look for or Google (or their clients) selling you products? I'm still confused about why your not worried about search result data?

I'm not worried at all about the NSA, but I am worried about their political superiors. Sure Google could always see it to them instead, save all that constitutional drivel going on.

every time you or someone else reads a book from google they are going to sell your habits to any advertiser or paid hack that wants access to your behavior for God knows what ultimate purpose.

So download books from a computer at your local library. Or use a friend's computer. Then they won't know who downloaded it.

They are welcome to watch me download their whole inventory in one shot. They are even welcome to sell the idea to all the marketers they want. They can even resell it when I update it every six months just in case they have something they didn't before.

Thanks for pointing this out - I was going to add it, but I'm glad to see you already covered it. :)

I'm amazed that Google hasn't partnered with Project Gutenberg yet.

Lunar-no kidding. You'd think they'd have pegged it immediately. Or, maybe they tried, but PG said no thanks, we'll stay non-profit and free, and we won't have links to online booksellers, and we'll let the general public volunteer to do our proofreading, etc.

I like PG's model better, to be honest. And there are several books available on PG that are only available on Google in Limited View (e.g., Mark Twain).

VikiBables

I am really excited about this, I was just trying to get through the smokescreen. I think Bartleby's issues are with free rather than with privacy. No opportunity fot leverage.

erosion of our privacy aside,

Privacy, schmivacy. No one's had a private life since the Social Security System was introduced. And to Bartleby who thinks this is the end of the world, I wouldn't worry too much. No one really cares about your private life. Just like no one really cares about mine.

And as far as marketing goes, I happen to be responsible with my money and don't just click and buy things because a banner ad told me to.

Maybe when the S.S. comes in and throws me in prison for buying too much swiss cheese, I'll say "Dammit! Bartleby told me it'd come down to this, and I didn't listen! I just kept using those store cards!!!" But until then - bring on the freebies.

It offers out of print books, and allows you to keep them.

In truth I'll probably stick with Project Guttenburg. It does what I need and that ultimately is what is important to me.

It's a terrifying thought that 90% of all the literature ever written is out of print, here's hoping that it becomes more commonplace to release more online free of charge.

As to google, well, it's pretty much as bartleby says - it sells advertising and offers advertisers a more refined method of ad targetting. I don't know that it sell's its data, but it does offer advertisers a very capable platform from which to launch their offerings in a well defined and targetted environment.

Oh and Google dropped the "do no evil" bit from their company requirements... Something about China.

So essentially, it's *better* than a library (when it comes to non-copyrighted stuff), and, while we can debate the merits of advertisers knowing what we like, I can't for the life of me see the harm in Google (and others) knowing what books I like/read.

The question you should always ask yourself is not "how can they use this?" but rather, "How could someone abuse this or use this information against me?"

Now whilst for the most part people shouldn't worry too much about it, it is something you should be aware of. How many folk have lost jobs because of things that got picked up in a google search?

What might seem perfectly ok to you, might be thoroughly offensive to your employer or whatever.

I do however doubt that Google sells it's information, it is far more valuable for it to keep the information and offer a platform where advertisers come knocking to it... Court orders however...