4 ms·

The author specifically noted: And the search result is limited to just my books, not the whole internet, that's the point of scanning instead of Googling.

hannasanarion 8y ago
And the above commenter specifically noted I’ve found books.google.com be alright for this as well. Google Books doesn't index the internet. It indexes books. Including using OCR.
- lethologica 8y ago
  books.google.com is mostly every book ever printed. Keeping it to your local bookshelf means you'll actually have access to these books.
- metaphor 8y ago
  Consider for a moment the critical difference between my books on my bookshelves and Google-indexed books in the ether.
  - diymaker 8y ago
    You can only search books you own by adding it your library in Google Books. This should limit it to returning results only from books you have.
    - metaphor 8y ago
      The problem with Google Books is search capability within "your library" really has no way to constrain itself to tables of contents and/or indices; even advanced search falls flat on its face by this measure and generally sucks hind tit by every other. I'm just imagining running a search query for "recursion" only to have Hofstadter and Wolfram comprise 90%+ of the return. Even if full search capability is what you really want, you're limited to ebooks for which digital rights are established via Google Play purchase. For everything else that isn't acknowledged public domain, you'll get a tease preview without even a hint of completeness...if you get anything at all. Invested in a Kindle digital library? I'm liable to suspect Google gave users vested in Amazon DRM a gratuitous GTFO-not-in-my-backyard finger. Then there's the issue of specific revisions, e.g. it doesn't matter that Google Books shows skant preview of 4e Sedra/Smith when 5e is on my bookshelf--which, oh by the way, doesn't have preview. Then there's the issue of copyright lockdown, e.g. only one of Carroll Smith's popular ...to Win series has any preview; the others are on lockdown. Same with Milliken on vehicle dynamics, Katz on aerodynamics, and many other titles published by SAE. (Observe how the thematic high mark we've been striving for is a mere preview.) Which brings up the issue of availability, e.g. good lucking trying to find the Institute of Navigation's canonical GPS red books in a Google Books query, or specific translations of the Bhagavad Gita, or other rare publications that an archivist would generally not hesitate to shoot you dead if caught attempting to adulterate in a scanner. Surely I'm not the only person on HN who maintains a tangible library that's 1000+ large and growing. Like the author, I care about what's in my library, not what Google Books superficially pretends to offer as a front to getting me to purchase books in the digital (when available) that I've already paid handsomely for. Amazon and eBay combined see roughly 70% of my bookshelves. Even if Google Books did a fair job by some objective measure, I neither need nor desire their service.
- quickthrower2 8y ago
  You are taking the comment too literally. Taking it to the extreme 'whole internet' would just be a list of IP addresses. (Because the 'world wide web' is all of the sites).
- princekolt 8y ago
  There's a marginal difference between searching the contents of all the books on earth and the indexes/glossaries of the books you have on your shelf. The latter is a great productivity boost, while the prior is most likely infuriatingly pointless. "Oh great, I found this exact algorithm I need in this obscure book which has been out of print since 1986."

hannasanarion 8y ago

And the above commenter specifically noted I’ve found books.google.com be alright for this as well. Google Books doesn't index the internet. It indexes books. Including using OCR.

lethologica 8y ago
books.google.com is mostly every book ever printed. Keeping it to your local bookshelf means you'll actually have access to these books.
metaphor 8y ago
Consider for a moment the critical difference between my books on my bookshelves and Google-indexed books in the ether.
- diymaker 8y ago
  You can only search books you own by adding it your library in Google Books. This should limit it to returning results only from books you have.
  - metaphor 8y ago
    The problem with Google Books is search capability within "your library" really has no way to constrain itself to tables of contents and/or indices; even advanced search falls flat on its face by this measure and generally sucks hind tit by every other. I'm just imagining running a search query for "recursion" only to have Hofstadter and Wolfram comprise 90%+ of the return. Even if full search capability is what you really want, you're limited to ebooks for which digital rights are established via Google Play purchase. For everything else that isn't acknowledged public domain, you'll get a tease preview without even a hint of completeness...if you get anything at all. Invested in a Kindle digital library? I'm liable to suspect Google gave users vested in Amazon DRM a gratuitous GTFO-not-in-my-backyard finger. Then there's the issue of specific revisions, e.g. it doesn't matter that Google Books shows skant preview of 4e Sedra/Smith when 5e is on my bookshelf--which, oh by the way, doesn't have preview. Then there's the issue of copyright lockdown, e.g. only one of Carroll Smith's popular ...to Win series has any preview; the others are on lockdown. Same with Milliken on vehicle dynamics, Katz on aerodynamics, and many other titles published by SAE. (Observe how the thematic high mark we've been striving for is a mere preview.) Which brings up the issue of availability, e.g. good lucking trying to find the Institute of Navigation's canonical GPS red books in a Google Books query, or specific translations of the Bhagavad Gita, or other rare publications that an archivist would generally not hesitate to shoot you dead if caught attempting to adulterate in a scanner. Surely I'm not the only person on HN who maintains a tangible library that's 1000+ large and growing. Like the author, I care about what's in my library, not what Google Books superficially pretends to offer as a front to getting me to purchase books in the digital (when available) that I've already paid handsomely for. Amazon and eBay combined see roughly 70% of my bookshelves. Even if Google Books did a fair job by some objective measure, I neither need nor desire their service.
quickthrower2 8y ago
You are taking the comment too literally. Taking it to the extreme 'whole internet' would just be a list of IP addresses. (Because the 'world wide web' is all of the sites).
princekolt 8y ago
There's a marginal difference between searching the contents of all the books on earth and the indexes/glossaries of the books you have on your shelf. The latter is a great productivity boost, while the prior is most likely infuriatingly pointless. "Oh great, I found this exact algorithm I need in this obscure book which has been out of print since 1986."