RSSGoogle Launches Web Book Reader
By Nate Mook | Published November 22, 2006, 6:34 PM
Firing a shot over Adobe's bow, Google on Wednesday launched a Web-based application for reading books digitized by the company's Book Search project. Like Google Maps and Gmail, the interactive tool works directly in a Web browser and supports zooming as well as a fullscreen mode.
Books that are available through the search can still be downloaded in PDF format, but Google's online utility replaces the need for the bulky Adobe Reader. Users can switch to a two-page view that appears like a physical book, or read one page per screen like a standard Web page. Scrolling through the book is instant using the mouse.
On the right side of the page, users can find a search and table of contents that lets them jump through to different sections of a book, as well as links to purchase the book from a number of online retailers. Google has also linked the application up to Google Scholar so users can locate works that reference the book.
"Just click on "About this book" to find more books related to the book you're reading," says Google developer Nathan Naze. "If the book How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains interests you, you'll probably like Comic Book Artist Collection, Vol. 1. We also revised our 'About this book' page to provide better information for in-copyright books, from which you can just see short snippets or a limited preview."
For now, the number of full books available for reading is still limited, as Google is still in the process of digitizing a number of major libraries including those of the Universities of Michigan and California, Harvard, Oxford, Stanford, as well as the New York Public Library. Google recently signed a deal to scan 3 million works from Complutense University in Madrid.
Still, not everyone is impressed with the immense effort to catalog the world's books. Last month, a second publisher group in France has joined a lawsuit against Google in French court over its Google Book Search service. The suit is similar to one brought forth by the US-based Author's Guild and was filed October 24.
I think the concept is great, but I don't think Google picked the most sound way to start into this task. They should have first concentrated on out of copyright books and RARE books. Or even publishing info obtained through the freedom of information act. Basically stuff that is hard for people to get... if a publisher is suing, then they're wanting to sell their works and hence they're available and not all that critical to digitize.
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|Well done! To my opinion Google is actually the company on the market that just constantly keeps the online life even better than ever before, meanwile, Both the company and users do get lots of benefits from each other, especially the end users are actually using these services for free!
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|Works really well. A lot faster than Adobe's mammoth plugin. I like it. The end.
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|... and here is the news from December 1st 2026 ...
... on the subject of the new Google Operating System - Google has again been fined by the EU, for what the EU described as 'holding a strangle hold' ...
shape of things to come ???
(shadows of Microsoft's trouble with EU over its Windows Operating System)
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|lol. I think it is what all Google fans want. I mean, Google get their profit from ads, mainly from the search engine. When someone come up with better product, it will get replaced. Unlike OS, where there are many components involve, it cannot be replace easily. And human nature doesn't like change.
Of course, unless Google change their business model completely, like charging for their software, I don't think it will go anywhere.
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|Very good on Google's part making this available. No need to go to the library if you have to write a paper.
What scares me a bit that Goolge is starting to control most of the search technologies. We all know what happenes when sombody has to much power. I don't think you could call this "Firing a shot over Adobe's bow". I'm sure Abobe is aware and watching. They might have to share the pie with Google but this will also ensure we users see more inovation. Thats very good.
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|To be quite honest here, Google has been a little slow to react to certain developments in the online arena.
However, I do believe that in some respects they are playing on the second mover advantage a lot in order to be able to do things faster, better and in a more relevant manner.
This Google book reader is one of those developments I believe.
Thanks.
Jason
www.flexewebs.com
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|Well, some people are so close minded that they don't see this is a benefit for them. I can find a book they published and go buy it by this tool instead of not knowing of it at all.
This is a tremendous advance for all us. Searching every published book is a dream made real for me and millions of other people out there. Google deserves the credit for taking the lead on this and bearing with the stubbornness of the ones filling lawsuits to them. I hope none of those finds merit.
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|in an age where you can download so many copyrighted books on torrent sites for free its pretty dumb to rip on Google for offering a service that can only help people. I guess you can always count on the French to be a******s! =P
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