Online book cataloging

  • Thread starter Thread starter ranabasheer
  • Start date Start date
Hi Coolabgirl,

I didn't say you spam, you probably mixed that up with John's comments.
I am sorry if it came across like that.

What I meant was that when I first looked at that site, it looked like
a collection of links that all lead to amazon.com. Just like an
affiliate would do in order to try to sell that stuff.

I understand what you are trying to do, but that doesn't change that
your website looks like the one of an amazon affiliate website. The
advertising, the "buy links" etc.

The problem is that there is so much stuff advertised as "free" on the
web today, and when you visit the sites, it's some affiliate stuff or
whatever that basicaly offers you a "free" catalogue to order
something. The word "free" really get's abused now adays

Look at the way how you announced your site. It sounded like (for me
anyways) that you uploaded your books to the internet (as ebooks, pdf
or whatever). Well, this would have been ilegal anyways. But then maybe
some people thought they actualy can download books for free but only
find a website packed with links to buy those books at amazon.

Maybe you need to think about the way you present you idea.

Chers
 
The service that I am referring to is a facility for people to organize
their home library. My plan was to provide a site where people with
small home library can catalog their information and share that with
their friends. I thought if I provide some program for free to use
which normally they have to pay money for then it constitutes a
freeware.
Click to expand...

So what program are you providing? Where do we download it?
 
Al said:
So what program are you providing? Where do we download it?
Click to expand...

Yea;

That was my understanding from your original post, collabcgirl. A
freeware proggie for keeping track of books, suitable for web sites. I
visited and found your chosen collection hyperlinked to Amazon.

At best it's a free /service/. Unless you're posting the
css/html...even then, it'd be more of a template than a proggie.

-Craig
 
At best it's a free /service/.
Click to expand...

And the "free service" is a link to Amazon that we can use with no
charge.

Is that like my employer doesn't pay me to work, but he gives me a
check every Friday so I can have a nice weekend? Hmmm ... think the
IRS would go for that?
 
I think the age of downloadable executables is going to end. The future
is going to be for web application. My website is an alternative to an
executable application that is available for mac computers called
delicious monster (http://www.delicious-monster.com).

Let me explain what I am providing for free.
If you go to the main page of my website www.gurulib.com you can signup
and you will be allowed to choose an username and password to log on to
the library. Once you log in with your username/password to the main
library you can create shelfs just like in your home and then start
filling them up with your books/movies etc. Normal applications for
book cataloging requires you to enter all information like its title,
author, genre, description etc. The advantage that I provide is that
you dont have to type in all the information for the book. Instead if
you have the ISBN/UPC code which is normally at the back of the book,
my website can retreive all the relevant information about the book
automatically from the internet. I have written some PHP scripts that
will read from online free book resources and parse the information
from them about the books title, front cover image, author, genre,
description and for movies a trailer etc. To do this once you have
logged on to your library using the username/password, click on the
"Add Item" button which allows 3 options to enter your information.
1. Using ISBN/UPC code
2. In case you dont have ISBN/UPC code, click on the search tab and
type in the title or author name on the text box and I will search the
internet for the book which you can then select.
3. The third option is the manual entry and is the least preffered.

Once you have all your books added to your library, you can tell your
friends about it by just sending them the link like
http://www.gurulib.com/username just like I send my library in this
post as http://www.gurulib.com/coolabcgirl

Your friends can write reviews about your book and the website will
also show how many other gurulib users shares the books that you have.
I hope I explained what I am providing for free. I will be happy if you
need some clarification.

Thanks and Regards
Rana Basheer
 
Hello Craig,
As I mentioned in my previous posting the age of downloadable
application is fast declining. Look at all kinds of web application
that big companies like Google, Yahoo and microsoft are coming up with.
I am not providing any downloadable executables but instead I providing
them a web application. You can go to the main page www.gurulib.com and
signup to create an username/password that can be used to log on to the
library. once logged in you can start cataloging your books/movies etc
but just their ISBN/UPC code at the back cover of the books/DVD etc.
All important information like the title, author, actors, genre,
description etc. are automatically retreived from the internet using
PHP scripts running in my server. The advantage that I am providing is
that in your library you can add shelfs just like you do in your home
and place books in them. By placing books what I mean is you can see a
thumbnail of the front cover of your book in that shelf. I am not
making any money or getting any money from anyone by doing all this. I
made this just for my personal use. The only reason I thought of
allowing others to use it is I spend several months writing the code
and I dont want someone else to go through all this pain to reach where
I am now. I would be more than happy if someone want to help me out by
sharing the load of developing this web application. I hope I tried to
explain what I am doing.

Thanks and Regards
Rana Basheer
 
Coolabcgirl said:
Al Klein wrote:



Yea;

That was my understanding from your original post, collabcgirl. A
freeware proggie for keeping track of books, suitable for web
sites. I visited and found your chosen collection hyperlinked to
Amazon.

At best it's a free /service/. Unless you're posting the
css/html...even then, it'd be more of a template than a proggie.

-Craig
Click to expand...


Hello Craig, As I mentioned in my previous posting the age of
downloadable application is fast declining.
[snipped]

The only reason I thought of allowing others to use it is...
[snipped]


Thanks and Regards Rana Basheer
Click to expand...
Rana;

Thank you for the explanation. It's pretty clear that you've spent a
fair amount of time and effort developing these php scripts. And I can
appreciate that. Fwiw, where I believe we disagree is at the onset: I
don't come here looking to use another person's /service/.

A case in point is photography. I have a photo gallery on my website.
I control access to account creation, viewing, uploading, etc. It is
multi-lingual (important for our members) and handles other media types.
This gallery is written in php. Perhaps you've heard of it, Coppermine.

Although technically, many would not consider coppermine a program, but
rather a series of php scripts, the net effect is the same for me: I
have control over its implementation and use. Part of the confusion in
your offering, for me at least, was that you seemed to be offering the
scripts...

In other words, you offer the product of your labor. Counter-intuitive
though it may be <grin>, that means handing over the scripts.

So, continuing in this vein, I would be interested in administering your
php scripts on my server for my members and would be happy to hand over
any tweaking I do to you. I would also be happy to join or even help
create a community (forum?). I would not, however, be interested in
using a "service." Your assertion that "the age of downloadable
application is fast declining" is debatable and -at the end of the day-
is not true in what I do. But that debate is for another thread. What
I do want to emphasize is that you are offering a /service/. Not a product.

And from where I stand, a.c.f. is not at all about services.

I'd like for you to consider the advantages of offering your scripting
either as proprietary i.p. or open source. I, for one, would consider
joining what would certainly become a community. Forums would spring
up...modifications offered, q&a's, etc. Quite fun actually.

As a service however, your offering doesn't jibe with a.c.f.'s faq (viz
http://users.net2000.com.au/~johnf/faq.html#4). To that end, I think
you've come to the wrong place. This may sound harsh on the face of it
but no harm is meant.

best wishes,
-Craig
 
The service that I am referring to is a facility for people to organize
their home library.
Click to expand...

< snip >

So you don't have any freeware ? That shows that you are
intentionally posting posts that are "off topic" for this newsgroup.
Don't be surprised then that people are critical of your posts.
 
Coolabcgirl said:
I think the age of downloadable executables is going to end.
The future is going to be for web application.
Click to expand...

Wishful thinking on the part of Microsoft. Remember that the original
"Personal Computer" was designed to free a user from the need to be a
workstation on a network. Bill Gates would like to go back in time and
for everybody to have to rent their software instead of having it
installed on their computers for a one time fee.

Ain't gonna happen. If computers start being made that require this kind
of idiocy, then hackers will quickly start finding ways around it. And
there's nothing to stop other companies from making computers minus any
such limitations if there is enough demand for them, and yes, there will
be such demand. To complement such computers, there will also be
programmers willing to do so. This is one of the reasons that freeware
(not free WEB SERVICES) is so important.
My website is an alternative to an
executable application that is available for mac computers called
delicious monster (http://www.delicious-monster.com).

Let me explain what I am providing for free.
If you go to the main page of my website www.gurulib.com you can signup
and you will be allowed to choose an username and password to log on to
the library. Once you log in with your username/password to the main
library you can create shelfs just like in your home and then start
filling them up with your books/movies etc. Normal applications for
book cataloging requires you to enter all information like its title,
author, genre, description etc. The advantage that I provide is that
Click to expand...

the information is all affiliate links to Amazon sites selling the book
and you make money from people clicking on the links. At best, what you
offer is an Adware web service.
(clipped)

Your friends can write reviews about your book and the website will
also show how many other gurulib users shares the books that you have.
I hope I explained what I am providing for free. I will be happy if you
need some clarification.
Click to expand...

No further clarification is needed on my part. Your post has nothing to
do with freeware.

--
John Corliss
I don't reply to trolls like Andy Mabbett or Doc (who uses sock puppets)
for instance. No adware, cdware, commercial software, crippleware,
demoware, nagware, PROmotionware, shareware, spyware, time-limited
software, trialware, viruses or warez for me, please.
 
Coolabcgirl skrev:
When I searched in Google for the definition of freeware I came up with
the following definition

"Freeware is copyrighted computer software which is made available for
use free of charge, for an unlimited time, as opposed to shareware
where the user is required to pay after some trial period."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeware
)

According to the above explanation my website surely constitutes as a
freeware and I should have the right to post in this usenet just like
others.
Click to expand...

We have been through that before in this group. A wikipedia statement is
not neccessarily true. In the end it is just one persons opinion, not an
official definition.

In alt.comp.freeware (a.c.f.) most prefer this definition:
Freeware: Legally obtainable software that you may use at no cost, monetary or otherwise, for as long as you wish.
Click to expand...
http://www.pricelesswarehome.org/acf/WareGlossary.php


regards from
 
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