Google and the public good

Scott Rosenberg's Links and Comments 12/14/04 Google and the public good
For those of us who are still consumers of those bundles of printed content known as books, the importance of today's news of Google's library deal is almost impossible to overstate. It's just huge.
John Udell 12/15/04 In Google We Trust?
Dave Winer today points to Scott Rosenberg's excellent take on Google's new library venture.

The public has a big interest in making sure that no one business has a chokehold on the flow of human knowledge. As long as Google's amazing project puts more knowledge in more hands and heads, who could object? But in this area, taking the long view is not just smart -- it's ethically essential. So as details of Google's project emerge, it will be important not just to rely on Google's assurances but to keep an eye out for public guarantees of access, freedom of expression and limits to censorship. [Scott Rosenberg]

Scripting News 12/15/04 Trusting Google
Comments on Scott Rosenberg's piece about Google and the university libraries. (Note: I agree with Scott's conclusions.)

Another way of looking at it: What if Microsoft were doing what Google is doing? Of course we wouldn't let them do it without a very serious and probably very shrill examination. Well, I'm telling you, Google today is as dangerous as Microsoft, and I wouldn't bet on their trustworthyness, not without a lot more light having been shed on this. The technology industry is built on a foundation of arrogance and disdain for users. Google is too. You may not have seen it yet, but I have.