Question

[Ab]

Let me get this straight- you want to translate books from English to
different languanges and post them in the net for all to see for free.
If I were an author in the US and have written a textbook in English,
I would want to get paid or to give you permission to do what you are
trying to do. We have copywriting laws in the US and I wonder how are
you dealing with it.

You want to form a non-profit corp. and you need help. Hmm...
something is amiss here- nobody starts a business- for-profit and
non-profit to waste time and energy. How do you intend to stay in
business? If everything is free- the service and labor to get there-
how is this business going to make it- as a for profit or as a
non-profit? And what is in it for you?

Thanks
Ab

More about the project
1.Find two other board members
2.File as a non-profit organization
3.Setup a website
4.Seek funding / Start writing
- Make up-to-date textbooks available via the web in both HTML and PDF formats
- Make them free for most proposes
- Translate these works to many different languages

I am starting a non-profit company that will write and freely
distribute academic material free over the net and sell published
works at cost of publishing (i.e. write textbooks that are affordable
and accessible). I need two more people who are willing to help me
oversee the company. I also will need writers, proof readers,
technical reviewers, fund raisers, etc... Yes, I realize that this is
a very fuzzy description as there are still a lot of details to work
out.
If you are interested in helping me with any of this please email me
Thanks,
Brian Lain

[Brian Lain]

I have setup a new forum for this project. Some rough details are
posted there and I welcome anyone's comments, but please give
constructive comments. The link to the forum is:

http://balain.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1

Thanks,

Brian Lain

I am starting a non-profit company that will write and freely
distribute academic material free over the net and sell published
works at cost of publishing (i.e. write textbooks that are affordable
and accessible). I need two more people who are willing to help me
oversee the company. I also will need writers, proof readers,
technical reviewers, fund raisers, etc... Yes, I realize that this is
a very fuzzy description as there are still a lot of details to work
out.
If you are interested in helping me with any of this please email me
Thanks,
Brian Lain

[Brian Lain]

Here is a good link! Sorry about that.

http://emec.balain.com/

Thanks,

Brian Lain

Post by Brian Lain
I have setup a new forum for this project. Some rough details are
posted there and I welcome anyone's comments, but please give
http://balain.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1
Thanks,
Brian Lain

I am starting a non-profit company that will write and freely
distribute academic material free over the net and sell published
works at cost of publishing (i.e. write textbooks that are affordable
and accessible). I need two more people who are willing to help me
oversee the company. I also will need writers, proof readers,
technical reviewers, fund raisers, etc... Yes, I realize that this is
a very fuzzy description as there are still a lot of details to work
out.
If you are interested in helping me with any of this please email me
Thanks,
Brian Lain

[PCPhD]

Please use exteme caution in doing any work for this party, as it
appears he hopes to enlist free workers while he can potentially
collect the profits.

No good deed goes unpunished.

[Bob]

Post by Brian Lain
I have setup a new forum for this project. Some rough details are
posted there and I welcome anyone's comments, but please give

Brian,

A couple of thoughts...

You should look at what Cornell Univ is doing -- their Internet-First
University Press. (Take that as encouragement; there should be plenty
of room for many players.)

One thing you might consider, rather than trying to write new books,
is getting the rights to old ones. There is room for only a limited
number of major books in the regular market place, and some that do
not quite make it or are only minor players, may be quite reasonable
books. I am sure that many authors would be happy to collaborate with
you, esp if they have already invested the major effort in doing the
book. Money is only one motivation for an author, and a minor one for
some. But if the book is written and not particularly successful
commercially, they may be happy to see it used via other means.

bob

[azureus]

Just a thought, but why do we need traditional textbooks in the first
place? Couldn't we issue CD's to the students, possibly set up to meet
each students particular needs? That pretty much bypasses the actual
printing, binding, and shipping operations. All that would be needed
was a kiosk in a bookstore, a good supply of blank CD's, and a battery
of texts to download. Every college student these days has a laptop,
or access to a computer.
Books could be written in guided collaborative efforts, with
chapters
updated as necessary. Additional literature could be selected by the
professors, put to disk, with proper royalties paid to authors.
I think the textbook industry could use a change or two.
Michael

1) not every college student has a laptop!
2) students want to study from paper so they would have to print it
themselves and you shift the expenses from the publisher to the buyer
3) updating electronic books is very time-consuming and therefor very
expensive
4) i think the textbook industry wouldn't be to happy handing out their
material in an easy-to-copy format. how many copys of a book would be sold
on campus? one, two?

[PCPhD]

It still a scam to get you to work for free while he collect the money.. ignore

Post by azureus
on campus? one, two?