Old Books, New Movies Accessible
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Internet megaliths Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. blazed forth in recent days vowing to change The World As We Know It with book and movie download schemes for all of the Web surfing credit card holders living on the aforementioned planet.  Amazon got the jump on Apple Computer Inc.
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When everything gets an API then everything you can imagine will be possible if you can write a script.  And sometimes, to give you an idea, all that has to happen is that a wall come down. The latest, most intriguing such wall was the paywall at the NY Times. Now all of a sudden we find the wealth of information published by the NY Times over many decades is available without tariff. More important, we can point into the archive. We've gotten so accustomed to the wall, that you actually have to think when it may be possible to go in there, as if it left behind a wall in our minds, even after the wall on the web is gone. For example, the first episode of Ken Burns's The War, an epic series about World War II from the American perspective, cited several NY Times articles. If you looked carefully you could see the dates, and the actual headlines, and then if you have a browser handy, as I do (I have an iPhone) you can actually read the article while the narrative continues. Today this is mostly a gimick, but I suspect as we get used to having history so available (like having a library microfilm machine, which I used to spend whole days playing with when I was a kid) it will change our sense of information, perhaps as much as anything else that's ever been on the web. Take movie reviews for example. What a thrill to be able to read a review of a movie that I love that came out in 1932! The reviewers back then were more forgiving, less sarcasting, more enthusiastic. Consider their review of the Hollywood Revue of 1929, a favorite of mine that I've only seen once (I'd pay for a DVD, if it were available). They loved audible movies (that's what they called them) as if the term "talkie" was as elusive as "podcast" was in the summer of 2004. Again, we've just scratched the surface. Wouldn't you like to have NY Times movie reviews integrated with Netflix? Or have Yahoo's movie rating service available on the NY Times site. And I have to wonder whether they really have gone all the way. You can't see the reviews unless you're logged in. Can Google's robots, therefore, see the movie reviews? Unless the've made some special arrangements, it seems not.  It would be helpful to get a technical guide to the newly hatched NY Times on the Web, or (as in the old days of software) a reviewer's guide, so we get some ideas of what to look at. Clearly a lot of work went into opening up the Times archive. I'm going to be in NY the week of October 8 and will have some time toward the end of the week. If anyone at the Times would be willing to spend some time with me reviewing what's now open, that would be helpful. In any case, at least the Times today is somewhat more available to be integrated into the fabric of the web. That's some progress. How much, remains to be seen. Postscript: Kottke did a great job of skimming the surface of the newly opened Times when it first came online, just one week ago today.
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Here is a chance to check out where your favourite movies stand in the box-office.
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Itâs been a good year for old-movie buffs. The DVD industry continued to mature in 2007; diminishing returns on newly produced films led both the big studios and the boutique labels back to the archives. Rapid advances in digital restoration techniques and a concerted attempt to return to original release material produced some amazingly handsome new versions of familiar films (âThe Jazz Singer,â âNosferatuâ), as well as neglected gems (âKiller of Sheep,â âTrue Heart Susieâ).
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THE WORLD&#39;S TOP library is taking shape, and no one will need a library card or clean hands to riffle through old manuscripts.
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This month's Playlist ranges from sci-fi TV remakes to classic books in bite-size bits.
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A selection of the week's best movies stories.
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Digital audio downloads save shelf space, and patrons don&#39;t have to wait until a book is returned. Remember how exciting it was as a child to go into the library to fill out an application for your very own
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Capsule reviews of films opening this week:
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Although the pricey gadget provides a pleasurable way to enjoy literature, don't throw away your paper books just yet. By Tom Bentley.
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Companies will offer a service that authenticates movies, music, and games.
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Several emerging collectives offer free or inexpensive audiobooks, usually read by volunteers, of works whose copyrights have expired.
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Older newsletter recommendations may offer hidden value.
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Amazon.com and iTunes have joined the growing number of online venues selling movie files. USA TODAY's Mike Snider clicks through the latest way to get flicks.
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I noted yesterday that there seems to be some media fanfare surrounding Amazon's launch of a digital book tablet. It occurred to me that the markets surrounding media such as books, music and movies bear more than a passing resemblance to financial markets, and as such, perhaps they were amenable to a similar method of analysis. Being the owner of a sizable collection of paper books, this led me to consider the drawbacks one faces when Digital Rights Management restrictions are put in place.
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THE CANON: A WHIRLIGIG TOUR OF THE BEAUTIFUL BASICS OF  SCIENCE   Natalie Angier   Houghton Mifflin. 293 pp. $27.
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Take a look at some of the week's top movies stories.