[Web4lib] MS Windows Live Book Search

Tue Jun 13 12:54:00 EDT 2006

I do think competition is good, but it has to be good competition.
Taking one company's idea and creating a knock-off of it, however
successful the knock-off is, shouldn't be mistaken for competition.

Google had the guts to get the idea and the implementation out there
first, and then suddenly everyone wants to do this?  That's not
competition, that's riding coattails.

The only good example I can think to illustrate this is in desktop
environments for the 'Big Three:' Windows, Mac and Linux. (obvious
caveats about taking apples and comparing them to oranges)

KDE, in a default install, is essentially a knock-off of Windows.  It
exists to not rock the boat and so Windows users can use Linux with
little transitory pains.  Everything from the hierarchical ('Start')
menu on the bottom left to the task tray in the bottom right comes
straight from Windows.

A Mac, on the other hand, does things differently** A menu bar always at
the top of the screen, a dock instead of a taskbar, Apps-as-packages
instead of directory-with-executables models.

In my mind, KDE is a knock-off, OS X is a competitor.  It's the same
abstract task (a 'Graphical Interface'), but very different approaches.
Knock-offs are useful, and even in a lot of cases more popular than the
original, but they don't drive us forward into the vast and unexplored
world the computer opens up to us.

My earlier comment about Microsoft was only to illustrate that at some
point it gets a bit ridiculous that a company such as theirs with their
vast resources is still based on the 'me-too' model, instead of taking a
leadership role.  Why weren't they the first ones to popularize instant
messenging, satellite maps, online music stores, effective search or
book digitizing?  Because nobody else had done it first. 

I WANT them to take a leadership role, I WANT them to create an
innovative and exciting technology environment, and I WANT them to make
me excited about using their technology.  Unfortunately they don't seem
to want to do this, instead throwing their money into making and
marketing an endless stream of knock-offs.

To get back on subject, I make this point not to say that the OCA
shouldn't be doing this, or that it won't be good for the public in the
long run, or even that their implementation is a 'knock-off' of
Google's.  It's just that we have to be wary that there is a fine, but
distinct, line between 'competing' and 'copying.'  I really hope they
take this technology and beat the pants of Google with new and exciting
ways of accessing this content (WITHOUT tying me into Internet Explorer
or Windows in the meantime), but they have a lot of corporate history to
overcome.

Andrew

**Overlooking, of course, the inevitable similarities of file-based
desktop environments

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Michael McCulley
Sent: June 13, 2006 12:00 AM
To: 'DH MATTISON'; 'Web4Lib'
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] MS Windows Live Book Search

Just a note on the post, and Dave's fine points.. 

I will opt for the competition in this marketspace/experiment.. even
with limitations, the OCA and Microsoft's participation in it is
something I think the profession should encourage. Help them, make it
better, make suggestions..

There are no absolute paths to the bookosphere (tm), only various paths
or parts of a whole..

I try and think of the libraries and users and staff that will benefit
from more books online, searchable, available for - sometimes reading,
downloading, browsing, fact-finding, verification of bibliographic data,
analysis, discovery, serendipity, and so on...

I would think we need to welcome all players to the field for this one..
it's a, gulp, big endeavor.. needs accessibility work, interfaces (maybe
more than one, but maybe that's a plus; think differences between search
engine power), archives, repositories, cross-sector relationships and
agreements, rights and permissions, and so on.

>From me, Welcome Microsoft.. Google.. Yahoo! ..UC and University of
Toronto.. the game's afoot! And it feels exciting...

Best,
DrWeb

--
P. Michael McCulley aka DrWeb
mailto:drweb at san.rr.com
San Diego, CA
http://drweb.typepad.com/

Quote of the Moment:
 I don't necessarily agree with everything I say. (Marshall McLuhan)
Monday, June 12, 2006 8:46:30 PM 

>-----Original Message-----
>From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
>[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of DH MATTISON
>Sent: Monday, June 12, 2006 12:14 PM
>To: Web4Lib
>Subject: Re: [Web4lib] MS Windows Live Book Search
>
>To place this announcement in context, Microsoft is but one member of 
>the Open Content Alliance and this announcement is part of that 
>initiative. When I first read about Yahoo!
>digitizing books last October, I too had mistakenly assumed that it was

>a catchup effort on Yahoo!'s part, only to learn that Yahoo! was also a

>member of the Open Content Alliance.
>
>So it's actually the Open Content Alliance versus Google, not Yahoo! or

>MSN/Windows Live Book Search versus Google. I have to wonder when 
>Google will join the OCA. This is kind of like the VHS versus Betamax 
>format marketing war. In this case, however, we're probably going to 
>see more than two search interfaces.
>
>BTW, besides the University of Toronto, the list of Canadian OCA 
>partners includes McMaster University, Memorial University of 
>Newfoundland, Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, 
>University of Ottawa, and York University.
>
>David Mattison
>dmattison at shaw.ca
>Ten Thousand Year Blog: http://www.davidmattison.ca/

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