Monday, November 09, 2009

The Library of Congress….

....in your hip pocket

Well. Not exactly. But it gets pretty darn close to it. Save for those items that are still under copyright laws that the owners will not relinquish.

How does one do it? Get an Apple iPod Touch.

I’ve had an iPod (classic) for quite some time. I found it mildly entertaining while waiting for another ‘round’ at debate tournaments. I’d listen to my favorite music. But battery life was somewhat limited. And, recording was not as effective or lengthy as I would wish. So, when I figured I’d need some more recording capability, I finally dropped on a second-generation iPod Touch. And I have to admit that it has become the most used electronic device in the household. And not just for the pleasant music I’ve collected over the decades. Nor for the games that are available at Apple’s iTunes Store. But I will admit that playing Monopoly and Scrabble with other people using iPods IS a pleasant way to play such games. And then there are the internet based contest games too.

Rather, what prompted this missive is the discovery of an app titled Eucalyptus. This is a ‘reader’ program that has been developed as an ‘open source’ project to make as many books that are out of copyright or their copyright owners have agreed available to be read on the iPod and iPhone products from Apple.

At last Saturday’s debate tournament, I decided I’d like to have something good to read, but my selection was limited on the iPod. Yesterday, I went searching the iTunes store for good books to read and discovered Eucalyptus. They claim 20,000 titles so I dropped on the application for $10 and discovered what, for all the world, to me seemed the ancient library of Alexandria. Since then I’ve been merrily downloading things ranging from novels about Allan Quartermain to the histories of Herodotus, Xenophon, Josephus, Tacitus, Julius Caesar, Cicero and others to the works of Shakespeare, Cornell Wilde, Lewis Carroll, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Edgar Allen Poe, Jane Austin, Rudyard Kipling, the philosophies of Thomas Paine, John Locke, Marcus Aurelius, Thoreau…. The names and lists seem to be endless.

Kudos to Apple for coming out with a device that can be SO useful and entertaining at the same time. And special thanks to the people at Project Gutenberg, the creators of Eucalyptus.