Public Domain...NOT

Here's a handy guide to some downloadable books that are in the public domain in countries other than the U.S. If our copyright laws were more sensible, these would be legal to download here. Thanks to UPenn for the object lesson.

Books Online, NO US ACCESS [University of Pennslvania]

Edgar Rice Burroughs ... Willa Cather ... G. K. Chesterton ... Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ... Kahlil Gibran ... James Joyce ... Sinclair Lewis ... George Orwell ... Mark Twain ...

 

 duck in noose

The apparent story behind the cryptic 'duck in a noose' message to the shooter:

Sniper's Message Cites Cherokee Tale [ABC News]

In the ancient story, passed down through generations of Cherokee Indians, a rabbit brags that he can catch a duck. He throws a noose over the neck of a duck, but it flies away with the rabbit hanging on. Eventually the rabbit must let go, landing in a hollow tree stump. The conceited animal has to eat his own fur for food and is embarrassed by his appearance when he finally escapes.

Ultimately, the killer ... may be less duck than rabbit, [Tera Shows, spokeswoman for the Cherokee Nation] said.

 

 Google de-listing some sites in some countries

This is a tough nut. Seems like they're doing the best they can:

Google excluding controversial sites [CNET.com]

"To avoid legal liability, we remove sites from Google.de search results pages that may conflict with German law," said Google spokesman Nate Tyler. He indicated that each site that was delisted came after a specific complaint from a foreign government.

..."As a matter of company policy we do not provide specific details about why or when we removed any one particular site from our index. We occasionally receive notices from partners, users, government agencies and the like about sites in our index. We carefully consider any credible complaint on a case-by-case basis and take necessary action when needed. This is not pre-emptive--we only react to requests that come to us...to avoid legal liability, we remove sites from Google search results pages that may conflict with local laws."

Tyler said an internal team involving lawyers, management and engineers makes the final decision on what to remove. "At Google we take these types of decisions very seriously," he said. "The objective is to limit legal exposure while continuing to deliver high quality search results that enable our users to find the information they need quickly and easily."

 

 iPods in Target

I saw iPods in Best Buy on Tuesday. Apparently Apple's going to try for the big time this Christmas: iPods to hit Target [CNET]. Wonder if there'll be price cuts. I still don't need one, but the cheaper they get... :)     1 comment(s)  

I love our iPod - we take it in the car for road trips, on the plane, to the pool...Scott gives credit that it's one of the coolest MP3 players around.
      ...posted by Kristin on October 25, 2002 9:08 PM

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 Sniper apparently arrested

Two Men Arrested in Sniper Case [WTOPNEWS.com]

A law enforcement source said a gun found in their car appeared to have the same caliber as the one used in the shootings. The official said police also found a scope and a tripod in the car, and were awaiting ballistics tests on the gun.

"We're positive it's these guys," the official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Well, hoo-rah.

Now just wait for the copycats.