Amazon's new publisher: Make Millions from Selling Wikipedia in Print

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
> Date: March 20, 2010 9:40:35 AM EDT
> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
> Subject: Amazon's new publisher: Make Millions from Selling  
> Wikipedia in Print

> Dave - this is amazing!  Nonsense, but amazing.
>
> I just received in my email the recommendation of the following  
> "book" entitled"VirtualGL: ..."  which will cost me $53.00.  Look  
> carefully at the title and book description.  The title and blurb  
> description from Amazon seemed odd, but piqued curiosity.   So I  
> clicked through (carefully ensuring it *was* Amazon), and then  
> clicked on the author link (actually listed as "editor") for Lambert  
> M. Surhone.   And found a zillion books, all with similar  
> descriptions, bundling Wikipedia articles in loose clusters. (e.g.  
> "Resistance in Lithuania during WWII: ...", "Psoriasis: ..."
>
> Apparently algorithmic books on demand plus bot-spamming-SEOing  
> Amazon's recommendation engine plus gullible people may generate  
> revenue, or maybe it's just a joke.  But it's interesting, until it  
> gets really, really mundane.  (will RBL's start blocking  
> Amazon.com's emailer?)
>
> (I wonder, in particular, if the copyright for publication in book  
> form, which may possibly inhere to the original contributors of text  
> was cleared - someone with experience about Wikipedia's licensing  
> terms for online use might explore that as a matter of academic law,  
> I don't remember granting book publishing rights to Wikipedia in any  
> place I added substantial material in the past).
>
> ==============
> Amazon.com
>
> Dear Amazon.com Customer,
>
> As someone who has purchased or rated OpenGL(R) SuperBible:  
> Comprehensive Tutorial and Reference (4th Edition) by Richard S.  
> Wright or other books in the Graphics & Multimedia > OpenGL  
> category, you might like to know that VirtualGL: Open Source, Unix,  
> Linux, OpenGL, 3D Accelerator, Thin Client, VNC, Display List,  
> Texture Mapping is now available.  You can order yours for just  
> $53.00 by following the link below.
> VirtualGL: Open Source, Unix, Linux, OpenGL, 3D Accelerator, Thin  
> Client, VNC, Display List, Texture Mapping     VirtualGL: Open  
> Source, Unix, Linux, OpenGL, 3D Accelerator, Thin Client, VNC,  
> Display List, Texture Mapping
> Lambert M. Surhone
> Price:     $53.00
>
> Product Description
> High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! VirtualGL is an open  
> source program which redirects the 3D rendering commands from Unix  
> and Linux OpenGL applications to 3D accelerator hardware in a  
> dedicated server and displays the rendered output interactively to a  
> thin client located elsewhere on the network.Normally, VNC and other  
> thin client environments for Unix and Linux either do not support  
> running OpenGL applications at all or force the OpenGL applications  
> to be rendered without the benefit of OpenGL hardware acceleration.  
> Remotely displaying 3D applications with hardware acceleration has  
> traditionally required the use of "indirect rendering."



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