iBookstore may have whole Project Gutenberg on launch
updated 01:55 pm EDT, Thu March 25, 2010
iPad would have public domain books on day one
Another leak from the iBookstore has surfaced on Thursday and suggests Apple is stocking up on public domain books. The same hunt that reportedly found $10 bestsellers has found titles clearly taken from Project Gutenberg, whose goal is to post free versions of all non-copyrighted books online. The selection hasn't been counted by AppAdvice but could include all 30,000 titles and should have classics like Mark Twain's library as well as modern-day books from open-access advocates like Cory Doctorow, among others.
Adding public domain books isn't an uncommon tactic for an e-reader launch or update, as companies have often used this to quickly swell the catalog or provide an incentive to customers who might not want to spend early on. Sony added one million e-books from Google to support its Reader line, and Kobo plans to preload 100 free books on its eReader to get newcomers started.
Many Project Gutenberg texts are already in Apple's preferred ePub format, making their addition to the iBookstore relatively trivial.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
Finaly
Now we won't see the c*** apps that want to sell these books at $0,99, good move Apple.