It looks like things in the book social networking world are heating up.It seems that in their race to gain market share Shelfari has engaged in some pretty dubious behavior including astroturfing (posting on blogs pretending to be users, not employees) and partaking in widespread spamming campaigns.Tim Spalding founder of LibraryThing has documented the travesty over at the Thingology blog. The post is titled Shelfari Spam: "basically social network rapists" with the quote coming from a Gawker post on the issue.Before you get into the well he is the competition of course he is going to knock them read the...
God’s Longpen
Kuka writing the Martin Luther bible (2007) Meet Kuka - a robotic arm created by RobotLab whose calling is to silently write a version of the Martin Luther bible. The text is written in a calligraphic style similar to the original font used in the printing.Thanks to Boing Boing for the lead Originally uploaded by Marc Wathieu
A Sideways Approach to Reading in Bed
Bed Books has devised a "revolutionary" approach to reading in bed. Print the book sideways! Yep. No more propped up pillows, no more neck strain. Pure reading comfort.Sounds like a great idea but what about when you got to get up?It's hard enough to get out of bed as it is now the last thing I need is a book that I can only read in bed.What's next? A new type of toilet that accommodates you while reading a book that is printed sideways.Thanks to The Millions or the lead
A Step Closer to a World Digital Library
"Libraries are inherently islands of freedom and antidotes to fanaticism" - James H. Billington, Librarian of CongressThe prototype for the World Digital Library was unveiled yesterday to a group of reporters in Paris.The Library, expected to launch in 2008, is an online initiative created by the U.S. Library of Congress, the U.N. cultural body UNESCO and 5 international partner libraries; Egypt's Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the National Library of Egypt, the National Library of Brazil, the National Library of Russia and the Russian State Library"The international digital library will be free and multilingual, with contributions from around the world, including rare books,...
The Next Great Library
This is what the new National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague is going to look like when it is completed in 2011.The design is by Future Systems of London."Its unique form and curvature is a reference to baroque buildings in Prague"The "building is placed on a white unpolished marble platform, with mirror finished stainless steel wings lifted up the perimeter edges to reflect the building from different angles.It is a green building with:-carefully controlled natural lighting sufficient for reading during 70% of the library's open hours;-natural cooling and warming of incoming air through a thermal labyrinth constructed in...