Been reading good things about it. I can’t wait to see if it’s really faster, and has better search capabilities on my HD! Have you ever tried to search thousands of images on XP?

I know, everyone expects all artists and cartoonists to have Macs. Most of them do! But I always knew I wanted the thinking kind of machine, not the feel-good one, so I went with Windows. My only regrets are getting viruses or trojans, once bad enough to disable my whole computer for a couple of weeks. Hideous and frightening. Oh, and as I said, the search on XP totally sucks. Come to me, Windows 7, baby.

For some reason, I just recently discovered Google Desktop, which is supposed to do a fast search. I can see why I turned it off a couple of years ago. It’s great for the double control click to search my own files, but when internet search gets involved, forgeddaboutit! It must take a good 20 seconds to do any search at all, since it searches both my whole hard drive and the internet. Stupid code. I finally had to turn off the whole toolbar, and I really liked that little clock. :(

Anyway, saving my pennies for Windows 7, but not looking forward to wiping my drive and copying everything over somewhere else. That sort of thing is super scary.

The Caption: Windows 7 as the rising sun in the East. This is one of my favorite cartoons ever. Sometimes the surprises in the drawing are the best part. I could have drawn it as a really simple sunrise, but I all of a sudden remembered a job I had back east for an insurance job. (YES, I did the cubicle thing for a couple of years! How else do you think I identify with the little people?!) A handful of us really wanted the overtime, so we would get there very early, when there was hardly anyone in the building, and no one on our floor. All the way down at the far end of the building a colleague found we could see the sunrise. It was beautiful, and a good way to start the day. That building actually had great views all over. I have great views here, too, but sometimes the cold city is what I crave.

More cartoons:

1. Building a mosque near Ground Zero? It’s a NO-brainer.
2. Great Halloween cartoon of haunted house!

I was trying to decide what to do for my Slate cartoon today, and found that once again Google was in the news for lifting not just orphan books, but every book ever written.  I did my first Slate cartoon about Google a few weeks ago, and  the news then was that FINALLY the Justice Department was investigating Google for anti-trust violations and being an obvious monopoly and stealing all books for itself. Today, however, the New York Times reports:

The Justice Department, which submitted a 32-page filing to the court on Sept. 18, said it was concerned the agreement could violate antitrust law by giving Google “de facto exclusive rights for the digital distribution of orphan works.” Orphan works are books whose authors are unknown or cannot be found. The Justice Department also said it wanted the settlement to comply with procedures for class-action lawsuits.

WHAT??????????? How did you publicize this date? I have 2 books in print. Did you contact me? Did you have Amazon contact me? Did you tell my publishers to contact me? Did you include a notice under my name which I google at least once a week, and which includes my books? Did you find me in gmail? Did you look me up on the internet and find my name which is listed hundreds of times?

OR DID YOU DO ******* NOTHING?

I wrote to you almost 2 years ago telling you that I didn’t want to be a part of Google, EVER. I was so angry then to find that you had stolen 30 cartoons, 20% of my book, my copyrighted book, that I was shaking. Instead of doing what I told you to, you IGNORED my request, and continued to display my cartoons for 2 years for your own benefit.

I’m enclosing an invoice for your use of my cartoons for 2 years. I am demanding that you remove both of my books from Google’s stolen “library” and also remove me from any settlement you make with any organization.

My comments on your outrageous proposal to steal every single book published before 2009 and distribute it, as the monopoly you are, to benefit your own coffers, follow each of your demands below.

God, what lying pigs you are. TAKING 20% OF ALL BOOKS AND DISTRIBUTING THEM TO EVERYONE IS NOT FAIR USE, AND BREAKS DOWN THE DMCA.

THAT MEANS EVERY AUTHOR, ALIVE OR DEAD, WHO PUBLISHED A BOOK BEFORE THIS YEAR.

Are there any printed works that are excluded from the definition of “Book?”
Yes. The following items are excluded from the definition of Book:

• Periodicals, for example, newspapers, magazines or journals;

YOU ALREADY LINK TO EVERY NEWSPAPER AND CACHE ALL THEIR MATERIAL, AND YOU’VE RUINED THE MAGAZINE & NEWSPAPER BUSINESS. BUT FOR SOME REASON YOU DON’T INCLUDE THEM IN YOUR SO-CALLED “LIBRARY.” WHATS THE MATTER, DID THEY HAVE TOO MANY LAWYERS?

If you do nothing, you will be bound by the Settlement. If you do not claim your Books, you will not receive any Cash Payment or be able to participate in future revenue from Google’s use of your Books. By staying in the Settlement, you will, however, release all copyright infringement claims you might have against Google for digitizing your Books without your permission.

IN OTHER WORDS, WE HAVE TO DO THE WORK TWICE TO GET PAID FOR THE BOOKS YOU ARE STEALING FROM US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If an author or publisher opts out of the Settlement, the terms of the Settlement will not apply to this author or publisher. This means that the author or publisher is retaining all rights to bring a legal action against Google, for digitizing and displaying the author’s or publisher’s books and Inserts, and against the Participating Libraries, if desired. It also means that the Settlement neither authorizes Google to make certain uses of these books and Inserts nor does it prohibit Google from doing so.

I WORK IN THE MEDIA. I’M SAVVY ABOUT COPYRIGHT AND CONTRACTS. AND IF I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THIS SEPT 4 DEADLINE, YOU CAN BET THOUSANDS OF OTHERS DIDN’T KNOW EITHER. I HATE YOU SO SO MUCH.

Under the Settlement, Rightsholders authorize Google, on a non-exclusive basis, to:

• Continue to digitize Books and Inserts
• Sell subscriptions to an electronic Books database to institutions;
• Sell online access to individual Books;
• Sell advertising on pages from Books;
• Display portions of Book in a “preview” format to encourage sales of online access to Books;
• Display Snippets from Books; and
• Display bibliographic information from Books.

YOU’RE NOT MY ******* PUBLISHER!!!!! YOUR PREVIEW OF 20% OF THE BOOK IS BOGUS AND IS GIVING THE BOOK AWAY FOR FREE YOU STUPID *****.

Only one $60 Cash Payment will be made for a Principal Work, even if it appears in more than one Book, or that both as a Book and also as an Insert in another Book (because a portion of the first Book was quoted in the second Book). Each Book contains only one Principal Work. For example, a Book of the novel The Old Man and the Sea might contain an introduction, footnotes and an afterword. The novel itself would be that Book’s Principal Work; each of the other materials would be an Insert if the U.S. copyright interest in those other materials is held by someone other than the Rightsholder of the Principal Work. Similarly, a Book could contain several short stories from a variety of authors (such as the Best Short Stories of 2008). A collection of short stories would be the Principal Work and each individual short story would be an “Insert.”

$60 FOR A BOOK? THAT DOESN’T EVEN PAY FOR THE USE OF ONE CARTOON!!!! HOW GREEDY CAN YOU GET? YOU ARE SUCH BLATANT THIEVES, SHUTTING DOWN COPYRIGHT LAW AND HURTING MILLIONS OF REAL CREATORS. WITH THIS FORCED CONTRACT, YOU PROVE HOW UNETHICAL YOU TRULY ARE.

Can Rightsholders request that their works NOT be available on Google?

Books: Yes. Rightsholders of Books have two options under the Settlement, removal or exclusion.

Rightsholders can request Google to remove one or more of their Books if they have already been digitized, or request Google not to digitize a Book at all. Rightsholders have the right to remove a Book from the Google Library Project by request received on or before April 5, 2011. After April 5, 2011, Google will honor “do not digitize” requests if Google has, as of the date of that request, not already digitized the Book.

GOOGLE HAS MADE US BEG. GOOGLE IS USING ITS DISGUSTING POWER TO FORCE AUTHORS AND CREATORS TO LICK THE GROUND AND BEG GOOGLE NOT TO COPY OUR BOOKS, INSTEAD OF GOOGLE MANNING UP AND PAYING US FOR OUR GOOD WORK. GOOGLE HAS BROKEN THE SPINE OF COPYRIGHT LAW.

What are the Display Uses?
Display Uses include Access Uses, Preview Uses, Snippet Displays, and Display of Bibliographic Pages.

• Access Uses include viewing and annotating the entire Book, and printing and copying and pasting portions of the Book, subject to page number limitations. The uses include institutional subscriptions, consumer purchase of online access, public access at libraries and elsewhere.
• Preview Uses allow a searcher to view up to 20% of a book before making a purchase decision, but will not allow a searcher to copy and paste, annotate or print any pages from the Book. Preview uses are designed to serve as a marketing tool to sell the Book.
• Snippet Displays allow a search to view three or four lines of text from a Book, with up to three snippet uses per user for the Book.

HERE WE GO. GOOGLE’S IDEA OF HOW TO SELL A BOOK IS TO GIVE 20% OF IT AWAY FOR FREE. HOW MORONIC DO YOU THINK WE ARE?????????????

What am I giving up if I stay in the Settlement?
If you choose to stay in the Settlement, you give up your right to sue Google and each Participating Library ever again for any claims related to those at issue in this Settlement. For further information, please read the complete release, contained in Article X of the Settlement Agreement.

IN OTHER WORDS, WE HAVE ****** YOU GOOD, WRITERS.

My original complaint is below. It’s so hard making a living as a cartoonist – you have no idea how I struggle. One of my biggest accomplishments is that I have had 2 books published. And now you want to take away all pleasure in my creation, all ownership, all fun, and any possible money. You are scum, and worse than medieval lords.

More cartoons:

1. Doesn’t Windows 7 deserve a good cartoon?
2. Complete list of all Political Cartoons through 2011!