Friday, May 22, 2009

Apple says no to Proj. Gut. app because the db includes..

the Kama Sutra. It appears Wired broke the story about this inexplicable denial. The app, Eucalyptus, was created by Project Gutenberg and therein rest the "problem". The app does not come with any books, you search PG's database and download whatever you want to read.

Among PG's vast db of public domain books is the Kama Sutra, and Apple claims this work, first compiled in the second century CE contains "inappropriate sexual content" [N.B. I assume the PG version is the 1883 "Burton" edition  and not the recent 2002 "scholarly translation"]. 

The interesting issue here is that Apple is precluding it NOT for something "in it", but something obtainable *through* it. Doesn't this mean that Google and all other "search-y" apps need to be blocked as they can "find" dirty text and pictures??? It appears that PG has coded a filter to protect iPhone users from the Kama Sutra and hopes to get the app approved....at least those who don't know how to use Google...or Safari. Oh, wait....hmmm. [Thnx to @ncacensorship]

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1 Comments:

At 2:54 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amazing. I am a fairly pious Gutenberg user, and this makes me sad. As you mentioned, people can get in trouble any number of ways, and the good that this app can do far outweighs the bad.

Gutenberg is absolutely fantastic for lovers of old books who also happen to have OCD, which precludes browsing stacks of dusty books. :-)

 

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