Slog - Comments on So, I'm Reviewing... http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing ... this early 18th-century play this weekend and I don't have it in my extensive collection of Restoration comedies (just kidding--my collection of Restoration comedies is basically limited to The Way of the World in an anthology). I want to read The Beaux Stratagem before I see it. Enter Google Books. Unfortunately.... What kind of jokers are they hiring to digitize these things? This is pathetic.... Copyright 2008 Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:22:40 -0800 Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:35:13 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Mr. Poe Jokers like me, actually.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989410 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989410 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:25:14 -0800 Comment by elenchos Adrian, Jonah and now Annie. It's hate the little servant people Thursday!

]]> elenchos http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989414 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989414 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:27:21 -0800 Comment by Katelyn Annie, I thought that was a very artistically blurred scan. I would probably frame it and hang that in my living room. Not joking.

]]> Katelyn http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989429 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989429 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:33:04 -0800 Comment by mattymatt You deserve to have no Restoration comedies, you young minx.

]]> mattymatt http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989441 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989441 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:37:11 -0800 Comment by michael strangeways That's usually outsourced to the Phillippines...seriously.

]]> michael strangeways http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989467 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989467 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:46:05 -0800 Comment by Neal Walfield They use robots to turn the pages. See for instance the following:

http://www.addovere.com/2008/03/05/alexandrians-in-action-google-books/

]]> Neal Walfield http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989471 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989471 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:49:15 -0800 Comment by elswinger "This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project
to make the world’s books discoverable online."

Download the pdf file. It will make you sick.

]]> elswinger http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989510 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989510 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:12:03 -0800 Comment by Fnarf If you've ever spent any time looking at old census microfilm, you will have come across one of the many pages that have a 1920s worker's hand spread out across the page obscuring the text. He or she didn't get it out of the camera in time. You can't go back and look at the original, because the government destroyed those to save space. sucks if it's your data that's so tantalizingly close.

If you're familiar with the shoddiness of the microfilming work that was perpetrated against libraries back in the day, you'll know why some people are a bit skeptical of grandiose claims for scanning and whatnot "making paper obsolete".

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989533 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989533 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:23:28 -0800 Comment by j4zz3rgrl The Beaux Stratagem is one of my least favorite plays ever.

In case you were wondering.

]]> j4zz3rgrl http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989556 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989556 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:38:45 -0800 Comment by elswinger Fnarf, the least Google could do is have a disclaimer at the beginning of the text.

]]> elswinger http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989558 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989558 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:39:29 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Oh, I quite agree. But their mandate is "we have x zillion books", not "we take care with what we're doing, and care that you're satisfied".

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989566 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989566 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:44:19 -0800 Comment by Greg Has anyone ever actually finished reading The Way of the World? I got about halfway through before I bailed.

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989592 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989592 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:51:11 -0800 Comment by tomcat98109 "Dammit, I'm paying good money to get these digitized versions of books and I shouldn't have to put up with such shoddy work!"

Oh, yeah. Nevermind...

]]> tomcat98109 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989594 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989594 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:51:39 -0800 Comment by josh Forget the scan, the text looks awful. I'd cancel if I were you. Anything that has "Here, here" = barf.

]]> josh http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989608 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989608 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:00:51 -0800 Comment by w7ngman You know you can flag the page as unreadable? It's on the right sidebar, at the bottom.

]]> w7ngman http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989724 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989724 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:18:20 -0800 Comment by Andy Would you like some "hoo" with your "boo"

]]> Andy http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989732 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989732 Teh Internets Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:32:33 -0800 Comment by Dude I've done high-speed scanning for crap wages. Want better scans? Pay the workers better.

]]> Dude http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989874 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989874 Teh Internets Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:41:17 -0800 Comment by chris This reminds me of my free-internet-porn-is-too-poorly-lit hissy fit of last week.

]]> chris http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989940 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989940 Teh Internets Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:25:55 -0800 Comment by Ashley I mean it is free, so I guess we shouldn't complain THAT much.

Nonetheless, it was kind of a downer once I realized how many Google books are completely unreadable. It isn't even worth doing if they're not going to bother making the images clear and readable.

]]> Ashley http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989978 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c989978 Teh Internets Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:03:36 -0800 Comment by Chester At least the production was good, even if the digitized text wasn't.

]]> Chester http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c993654 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/04/so_im_reviewing#c993654 Teh Internets Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:35:13 -0800