[NTLK] New eBooks!!!

Hello Newtonfolk:

I sent DJ a bunch of new eBooks for posting on the "DJ and Marty Newton
Library Site". We've got educational materials, historical narratives,
classic Russian literature, and even something for IT geeks:

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"The Wife and Other Stories", by Anton Tchekhov (Classic format only) -
A selection of short stories by the Russian writer:

The Wife
Difficult People
The Grasshopper
A Dreary Story
The Privy Councillor
The Man in Case
Gooseberries
About Love
The Lottery Ticket

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"The Oregon Trail" (circa 1846) - A historically-based fiction book;
decent reading and generally informative; potential material for Social
Studies lesson plans (available in Classic and eMate formats)

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"Hackers: Heros of the Computer Revolution", by Steven Levy -
[Description poached from Amazon.com] Steven Levy's classic book
explains why the misuse of the word "hackers" to describe computer
criminals does a terrible disservice to many important shapers of the
digital revolution. Levy follows members of an MIT model railroad
club--a group of brilliant budding electrical engineers and computer
innovators--from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. These eccentric
characters used the term "hack" to describe a clever way of improving
the electronic system that ran their massive railroad. And as they
started designing clever ways to improve computer systems, "hack" moved
over with them. These maverick characters were often fanatics who did
not always restrict themselves to the letter of the law and who devoted
themselves to what became known as "The Hacker Ethic." The book traces
the history of hackers, from finagling access to clunky
computer-card-punching machines to uncovering the inner secrets of what
would become the Internet. This story of brilliant, eccentric, flawed,
and often funny people devoted to their dream of a better world will
appeal to a wide audience.

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"Drake's Armada", by Captain Briggs (circa 1590) - An early account of
Sir Francis Drake's privateering exploits in the New World

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"eMate at Maple Ridge", by Dr. Marv Westrom - Dr. Westrom describes a
research project in which eMate computers were distributed to several
elementary and secondary school classrooms. Might be required reading
for enterprising school teachers searching for innovative ways to
utilize disparate technologies in their classrooms. Used with
permission from the author.

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eBook FAQ:

1. Are these eBooks copyright-free?
You bet! Most have been gleaned from Project Gutenberg. Others are
original works that have been reformatted and used with the original
authors' permission.

2. Are these eBooks available now?
Not exactly. The files have been forwarded to DJ Volkasko for uploading
on his (and Marty's) Newton Library site (When are you guys going to
come up with an official-sounding name for your archive?) The eBooks
should be available in a few days. If at that time they are still not
accessible, I will consider e-mailing small attachments (in response to
polite individual requests that follow the general conventions of the
English language).

3. Why are the topics of these eBooks so seemingly obtuse and
sometimes more than a bit "dusty"?
Well, we're dependent on using whatever content is deemed
copyright-free. Sometimes this means formatting content of books that
were written decades or even centuries ago. Not always, though, so be
of good cheer!

4. I'm not a software developer, I'm a desktop publishing person. Is
there anything that I can do?
Desktop publishers and editors take note: Newton eBooks are easy to
create. Use copyright-free content or write to authors and request
permission to use various selective pieces. If you are a desktop
publishing guru, get some smaller-sized maps of states and countries
and convert them into individual scrolling Newton map books! the list
goes on and on...

More free content to keep our unique computing platform relevant. Enjoy.

Matt K.
Detroit, Michigan, USA

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