[A2k] print on demand books
Peter Eckersley
pde@csse.unimelb.edu.au
Thu Jul 13 09:27:15 2006
Picking the versions of wikipedia articles that have been reviewed as
"featured articles" might be a good way to get nice crisp editions.
On Thu, Jul 13, 2006 at 08:27:33AM -0400, Manon Ress wrote:
> Last night, in a papyrophilic mania I was trying to "put together" a
> book (I could not resist, I admit) but some articles have already
> changed (of course) since I had read them and I did not include the
> new ones...you're of course right: the process cannot be fixed.
>
> Well, it is still very tempting for me to print whatever I want to
> read or re-read. And I think that many people are still like that
> (we're in a transition period, it might not be the case in a few
> years). Also, in some places teachers and students do not have easy
> access to computers or libraries and they might like the print on
> demand? I went to visit a (rich) school in Yaounde 2 years ago: the
> 2 teachers had 1 book for a class of 70 children and no access to any
> kind of teaching materials.
>
> So, print on demand: for one thing it is relatively cheap, at least
> for us in the North. As you know, course packs are over priced (over
> $100 for a compilation of some copryright laws for a copyright course
> at a US university recently) and should not be since the content is
> free and the production is basic, if not primitive (xerox). My own
> pediapress version ended up at $15 (I'll get it via snailmail in a
> few days). You can also "publish" or make the book available to
> others and if sold you can either make money or give it to the
> foundation (around $2 per book).
>
> I have a young French high school student staying with us this summer
> and he was disappointed not to be able to "make a book of articles"
> he contributed to while working on a science report this year (the
> pediapress does not seem to work with wikipedia.fr?). We both, the
> student and former teacher, saw many possible teaching and learning
> applications of this "print on demand". It is interesting to imagine
> some teachers/learners putting together their own textbook knowing of
> course that that would be only a (black and white) snapshot of
> knowledge.
>
> Manon
>
> On Jul 13, 2006, at 5:19 AM, Gu=E9don Jean-Claude wrote:
>
> >This is a somewhat funny idea, obviously aimed at papyrophilic
> >individuals (to use Stevan Harnad's terminology of old).
> >
> >There is an interesting consequence to this offer: Wikipedia
> >evolves all the time. Each book will be like a snapshot slice of
> >the process.
> >
> >I say process because Wikipedia, in my opinion, is not a body of
> >texts conceived as objects; it is a body of texts conceived as an
> >attractor of people that keep on making it evolve. It is a hugely
> >accelerated process of creation that was first inaugurated by
> >scientific publishing in the 17th century. This, to me, appears to
> >be the truly revolutionary dimension of Wikipedia. It simply
> >materializes - a most problematic materialization, by the way,
> >since it relies on electronic bits - the conversations of thousands
> >of communities.
> >
> >Best,
> >
> >Jean-Claude
> >
> >
> >-------- Message d'origine--------
> >De: a2k-admin@lists.essential.org de la part de Manon Ress
> >Date: mer. 12/07/2006 17:59
> >=C0: a2k discuss list
> >Objet : [A2k] print on demand books
> >
> >Thanks to Achal for interesting pointer.
> >Check it out:
> >
> >http://pediapress.com/
> >
> >Individual books based on Wikipedia articles!
> >
> >PediaPress is a service that enables you to compile and order a book
> >with contents you pick from over a million Wikipedia articles. You
> >will then receive a unique, bound book with high quality, selected
> >articles!
> >
> >The goal of Wikipedia is to give every single person free access to
> >the sum of all human knowledge.
> >The goal of PediaPress is to make this knowledge available in a
> >printed form and promote the offline usage of Wikipedia articles.
> >FAST
> >build and order your encyclopedia in minutes
> >
> > * gather relevant articles in minutes
> > * preview and order your books with only a couple clicks
> > * your personal encyclopedia is printed and shipped within 2 days
> >
> >EASY
> >compiling a book with PediaPress is simple
> >
> > * PediaPress lets you quickly browse and search for Wikipedia
> >articles
> > * PediaPress suggests further articles based on what's in your
> >book
> >
> >INDIVIDUAL
> >unique, individual encyclopedias for a great price
> >
> > * you only pay for information you want in your book
> > * let others participate in your editorial talent by publishing
> >your book
> >
> >
> >************************************************
> >Manon Anne Ress
> >manon.ress@cptech.org,
> >www.cptech.org
> >
> >Consumer Project on Technology
> >1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
> >Tel.: +1.202.332.2670, Ext 16 Fax: +1.202.332.2673
> >
> >Consumer Project on Technology
> >1 Route des Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
> >Tel: +41 22 791 6727
> >
> >Consumer Project on Technology
> >24 Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX, UK
> >Tel: +44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252 Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607
> >
> >
> >
> >
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>
> ************************************************
> Manon Anne Ress
> manon.ress@cptech.org,
> www.cptech.org
>
> Consumer Project on Technology
> 1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
> Tel.: +1.202.332.2670, Ext 16 Fax: +1.202.332.2673
>
> Consumer Project on Technology
> 1 Route des Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
> Tel: +41 22 791 6727
>
> Consumer Project on Technology
> 24 Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX, UK
> Tel: +44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252 Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607
>
>
>
>
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--
Peter Eckersley
Department of Computer Science & mailto:pde@cs.mu.oz.au
IP Research Institute of Australia http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~pde
The University of Melbourne