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Intel The Almighty Buck

Librarians Fighting to Save Moore's Law Issue 172

Posted by CowboyNeal from the reference-section-referee dept.
wambaugh writes "As reported earlier, Intel is offering $10,000 for a copy of the April 19, 1965 issue of Electronics containing Moore's original article predicting 'Moore's Law.' Now it is being reported that academic science libraries are having to make sure no go-getters make off with their copies. At least one copy is already missing from the University of Illinois. Too bad Intel won't settle for a pdf."
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Librarians Fighting to Save Moore's Law Issue More

Librarians Fighting to Save Moore's Law Issue

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  • Ebay Copy For Sale (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mfh ( 56 ) on Friday April 22, 2005 @01:08AM (#12310540) Homepage Journal
    Lo and behold... brothers of Slashdot; here is an Ebay auction [ebay.com] with an alleged copy of the Electronics mag from 1965, that (purportedly) did not come from a library.

    My grand-pappy used to say, "if it looks too good to be true, it is." I'm guessing that Intel's prerequisite about having an intact magazine will put this auction out of the running for the $10k prize, as the pages are all put in anti-acid sleeves, according to the seller.

    Not sure if it's legit but if Intel wants to save a buck or two they might call an emergency meeting and head over to buy it. Unless this auction is a hoax. Caveat Emptor sirrahs...
    • I simply don't see the value in a 1965 magazine article which can be read electronically quite easily. This is not the rosetta stone. Its not some lost artifact of human history.

      For Intel to be so immature as to put a bounty on a copy of a magazine from 1965 is amazing. It feels like bad marketting and bad decisions on someones part.

      Intel would do better to fund a project at the Smithsonian that would have a functional example of a computer from every year since 1965. Then at least there would be both

      • My Theory (Score:4, Insightful)

        by mfh ( 56 ) on Friday April 22, 2005 @01:25AM (#12310628) Homepage Journal
        Intel did this as a marketing ploy -- only. They set aside $10k for one copy of the Electronics mag, knowing all sorts of them would go missing, thus increasing the value of *their* copy, while creating quite a stir. Intel will put it up for auction since the value was increased, or they might keep it around, collecting value.

        The funny thing is... they are getting a lot of press over this, so it's a very successful advertising campaign, and for the LOW PRICE of only $10,000. Compared to some ad campaigns? That's NOTHING!

        • Re:My Theory (Score:2, Interesting)

          by blastwave ( 757518 )
          That is a good theory and entirely reasonable.

          What bothers me is that $10K is nothing ( an accounting rounding error ) for Intel and thus they should have exercised some intelligence in honour of Moores Law and Intel engineering traditions.

          They should have "thought" a little bit and done something worthwhile for the world instead of sending money crazed loons after an old magazine.

          Hopefully, please, Intel did not do this simply to save marketting budget. I would like to think that a company with such a
        • Intel would pull this to increase the value of their mag? Please. Even if it went up 100 fold, almost an impossibility, it would still be peanuts to Intel. They had 35 billion dollars in revenue last year and 16 billion dollars in the bank. Playing silly auction games for what would make them no more than 10-20 grand is just not worth their time.

        • Re:My Theory (Score:1, Funny)

          by Anonymous Coward
          1. Ruin reputation of company worth $150 billion by offering $10k for magazine
          2. Sell magazine for $100k
          3. Profit
        • It may even be lower than $10,000. Nobody will check up whether they actually pay for it, or maybe they will withdraw the offer 'because they don't want to encourage theft', or maybe they have a shill ready.
        • They set aside $10k for one copy of the Electronics mag, knowing all sorts of them would go missing, thus increasing the value of *their* copy, while creating quite a stir. Intel will put it up for auction since the value was increased, or they might keep it around, collecting value.

          Don't you think they would lose some credibility when the whole world knows the _WANT_ this magazine, and afterwards they sell it at eBay? Their business is making chips, no trading magazines.

        • Intel did this as a marketing ploy -- only. They set aside $10k for one copy of the Electronics mag, knowing all sorts of them would go missing, thus increasing the value of *their* copy, while creating quite a stir. Intel will put it up for auction since the value was increased, or they might keep it around, collecting value.

          You are right up until the second sentence. I seriously doubt though that they intent to profit from a later sale. The money is small fry to them, even if they would be able to quadr

      • Wow, you are really out of touch with reality.

        No one cares about the text. I'm sure they have lots of copies of that around. People want to preserve the real thing and have it. The magazine is the law. And they probably want to have it on display someplace. Or it's the only one missing from their archive of that magazine.

        I suppose your the same type of person who see's no value in preserving national parks since we have photos of them. Or the type of person who sees no point in going outside and looking

        • Re:Ebay Copy For Sale (Score:2, Insightful)

          by courseB ( 837633 )
          dude a magazine is a dead tree, let it fall on the ground and grow another :)
        • So is Intel buying more than just one of these magazines? Are they offering 10k to everyone who can come up with that magazine?

          Why would they want more than one copy unless it's just a publicity stunt?

          Perhaps this isn't about the Moore's Law article.

          Perhaps Intel has recently found they are violating a patent and the only proof of this can be found in that particular magazine.

          Either way, buying more than one seems a bit strange to me.
          • In the original announcement, they said the 10k was for the first best complete copy, and that they would consider purchasing additional copies, but not at 10k each.

            This isn't the exact wording used because the wantitnow article has been deleted or expired, so if somebody has a copy it would be beneficial.

            I would hazard that they want to give it to Moore as a gift, but its most likely simply marketting and advertising.
          • Any patent violations described in it would have expired long ago.

            A lot of people collect more than they need when collecting, they collect 10 of so and so years model of a certain car, does that make more sense? It isn't like they can drive them all at the same time, and even if they did their value would decrease.

            Some people like backups of not just their computer systems, or Intel wants to display it at multiple locations.
        • What is this "outside" you speak of?
        • They probably do need a "like new" edition for their library. Their method is somewhat stupid and poorly thought out. Why did they not just make this offer to their employees instead of to the world? That way, one of their own could have profitted and become a more loyal employee.
      • Its not some lost artifact of human history.

        I don't think you grasp the concept. Intel wanted the real thing. They already had photocopies.

        For Intel to be so immature as to put a bounty on a copy of a magazine from 1965 is amazing.

        Intel wanted a real copy, they didn't want one or more expensive workers running around for months to chase down a magazine. They apparently got a copy. Problem solved in a mature, cheap, quick way.

      • I simply don't see the value in a 1965 magazine article which can be read electronically quite easily.

        A paper magazine can be read by anyone, anywhere. An electronic copy requires compatible hardware and software, as well as electrical energy. If all the electronic copies got deleted or corrupted we could always create a new copy from the original paper version.

        What if we run out of oil ?, what if the aliens invade ?, what if the terrorists win ?. what good would a PDF file be then huh ?.

        • what good would a PDF file be then huh ?

          Well, it's easier to make printed copies of a pdf file (just send it to the printer) than it is to make copies of the actual magazine articles (moreover, unlike the magazine, the pdfs don't get worse by the procedure). So if it were just the preserving of information, making several printouts from a pdf file and keeping them at different places (in addition to decentralized backups of the file itself) would be the more effective strategy.

          But of course the point here

    • Re:Ebay Copy For Sale (Score:3, Informative)

      by rm999 ( 775449 )
      There are plenty of copies of the magazine laying around - there is no reason to believe this guy has a fake copy or that he stole it. The magazine was valuable before Intel asked for it - it is clearly a collector's item.

      BTW, I think I read last week that Intel announced it has gotten more than enough offers and the deal is done. They don't need to save 10,000 dollars and look like jerks (10,000 dollars is change to a company as big as they are).
    • The story says that at least one copy is already missing from the University of Illinois. I noticed that the item location of the ebay auction says "Chicago, IL"... hmmmm
    • Hmmm....

      The front-cover picture in the Ebay auction has a very suspect-looking computer-created smudge on the front cover.... as if the advertiser was trying to hide something.

      A library stamp perhaps?

    • Re:Ebay Copy For Sale - SOLD FOR 10K (Score:5, Informative)

      by TDyl ( 862130 ) on Friday April 22, 2005 @07:48AM (#12311738)
      The BBC are reporting that a British engineer has "won" the auction. The link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4472549.stm [bbc.co.uk]

  • I have to live with the unfortunate circumstance (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ICECommander ( 811191 ) on Friday April 22, 2005 @01:09AM (#12310549)
    of being a few blocks from Grainger (the library from which the U of I copy was stolen). I spend quite a good deal of time there, it's really unfortunate.

  • Um... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 22, 2005 @01:10AM (#12310552)
    Why doesn't Intel just buy it off some library for 'permanent loan,' like in a museum?

    Or for that matter, why not just post a copy of it, nobody will know/care that its really the one.

    Eh! FP?

    • Re:Um... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Kwirl ( 877607 )
      I would suppose the answer to be that they are attempting to generate publicity, while also encouraging people to look back at the roots of computing and the amazing growth since that time.

      Many companies spend millions of dollars on PR campaigns, yet here Intel has put up a reward a fraction of that size and has generated more attention than any Intel commercials I can recall seeing offhand.

      This reward is as much publicity stunt as it is a valid reward, but thats how our country works. Props to them on d

      • Re:Um... (Score:2, Insightful)

        by PopeRatzinger ( 877725 )
        Furthermore, most old computer magazine library copies are simply too damaged at this point to be worth anything. I've had a habit of reading through old computing magazines (e.g., all the editions of Creative Computing and Byte from the late '70s) when I get the opportunity, and I've never seen an institutional copy of such magazines still in good condition.
    • Or for that matter, why not just post a copy of it, nobody will know/care that its really the one.

      Yes, exactly. Just like the Mona Lisa...
    • Or for that matter, why not just post a copy of it, nobody will know/care that its really the one.

      Give your GF a piece of glass instead of a diamond ring, and she will explain you the difference no doubt...

      • Re:Um... (Score:2)

        by hawk ( 1151 )
        Actually, both glass and diamond tend to cause her to cease to be your girlfriend, albeit in different ways . . .


        hawk

  • Etics? What's that? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 22, 2005 @01:11AM (#12310559)
    "At least one copy is already missing from the University of Illinois. Too bad Intel won't settle for a pdf."

    Too bad some people have no ethics, or morality.

    Welcome to humanity. Hope you enjoy your stay.

  • How dumb (Score:3, Funny)

    by britneys 9th husband ( 741556 ) on Friday April 22, 2005 @01:11AM (#12310560) Homepage Journal
    Didn't these people ever stop and think about how suspicious it will look when Intel sees the "property of Massachusetts Institute of Technology libraries" stamp? Talk about dumb criminals.

  • One stolen copy (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 22, 2005 @01:11AM (#12310563)
    how is this news? Intel only wants *one* issue, so at most one copy will be stolen, the library marks erased, and exchanged for $10,000 cash. Any other attempts will be late and fall flat.

    • Re:One stolen copy (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Just because only 1 copy will be bought does not mean only one copy will be stolen. a bunch will probably be stolen as the thieves race to Intel to try to cash in. If the thieves are too late, well, it's no skin off their teeth... I mean... their copy was stolen anyways!

      • But we all know that if Intel doesn't buy their copy, they'll take it back to the library. Its not like they're reall thieves or anything.

        On another note, I wonder how much time you can get for stealing something worth $10k? We're not talking petty theft any more.
    • No, because Intel a sense of 'value' for this issue. In general, old science mags are considered barely good enough to light up bbq, but this one issue is now 'special' so many people will want to have one.
  • A day after Intel said it would offer $10,000 for a copy of a magazine in which Moore's Law was first announced, a University of Illinois engineering library noticed that one of its two copies had disappeared.

    So it was actually stolen in April 20, 1965 - however intels' shananigans prompted them to go look.

  • Nasty Librarians (Score:4, Funny)

    by nastyphil ( 111738 ) on Friday April 22, 2005 @01:33AM (#12310661)
    Am I the only one who misread the Subject?

    I had visions of otherwise demure, bookish girls wearing glasses duking it out in a wafer fab plant before tumbling over a workbench into a pit of jelly...

  • PDF of article (Score:3, Insightful)

    by hajmola ( 82709 ) on Friday April 22, 2005 @01:48AM (#12310708)
    "Too bad Intel won't settle for a pdf"
    RTFA...and scroll.

    "Cramming More Components Onto Integrated Circuits"
    (Acrobat PDF file, 167 KB)
    Author: Gordon E. Moore
    Publication: Electronics, April 19, 1965

    ftp://download.intel.com/research/silicon/moorespa per.pdf [intel.com]

  • stealing from the library (Score:5, Funny)

    by weighn ( 578357 ) <weighn @ g m a il.com> on Friday April 22, 2005 @02:10AM (#12310784) Homepage
    I worked in a library for 9 years, it's funny what people steal. The Mason's steal all of the books revealing their secret rites, the Scientologists do something similar to the books on cults.
    We had a lovely old stitch bound book on FORTRAN that walked when some local geeks attempted to start a computer museum! WHY!?

    • Re:stealing from the library (Score:4, Interesting)

      by imroy ( 755 ) <imroykun@gmail.com> on Friday April 22, 2005 @09:20AM (#12312330) Homepage Journal
      My mum works at the CSU [csu.edu.au] Mitchell (Bathurst) library. Just recently they caught some nutter that was cutting sections out of books. I think he was cutting out sections on poisonous animals, dunno why. The police searched his place and found lots of other pages he'd also cut out. The library workers didn't know about all of the books he'd attacked. I don't know if they're still working on these books, but my mum was saying it would take a long time to find which books the pages came from and sort out the different copies. That's right, many of the pages were from nursing textbooks, of which they have multiple copies and this nutter felt compelled to attack all of them. He might have also attacked books at the local city library. It's amazing how much of a problem can be created by a mentally-disturbed individual with a craft knife.

  • Looking for ancient texts? (Score:5, Funny)

    by zambuka ( 301663 ) on Friday April 22, 2005 @02:14AM (#12310794)
    This is where you need a Tome Raider.
    [Enter, stage left, busty librarian with guns on her hips]

  • I don't see (Score:3, Funny)

    by teamhasnoi ( 554944 ) <.teamhasnoi. .at. .yahoo.com.> on Friday April 22, 2005 @02:16AM (#12310806) Journal
    why the guys at Intel just build or buy one of these [ebay.com] and go get one themselves.

    Sheesh. No wonder AMD is spanking them.

    Save the libraries! Grab the T-Bar!

  • This is a librarian's nightmare.

    It's so lovely to find pages torn (or carefully cut with an Xacto blade) out of a book or periodical...NOT! The greed of one person - in this case for $10,000 - destroys a reference material shared by all.

    Hey Intel, why not donate $10,000 to every library which had this article stolen.

  • Moore's law (Score:5, Informative)

    by olavl ( 878079 ) on Friday April 22, 2005 @03:30AM (#12311028)
    As soon as I read the ad on ebay, I check my library. They had a copy, and I reserved it.

    When picking it up, the computer told the librarian that it could not be lend out, since it was a rare item. The librarian frowned and aussumed it had to be an error. I got the magazine anyway.

    Instead of stealing it, I made few good color scans and returned the magazine :)

    The raw scans (tiff, 100Mb): http://laudy.net/moore.zip

    Cleaned version(tiff, 100Mb):

    http://laudy.net/moore_clean.zip

    1.7 Mb/file Jpg version:

    http://laudy.net/moore_jpg.zip
    • Wow talk about gutsy, posting a link to a 100mb file hosted on your own person server!

    • Re:Moore's law (Score:2, Insightful)

      by anaradad ( 199058 )

      When picking it up, the computer told the librarian that it could not be lend out, since it was a rare item. The librarian frowned and aussumed it had to be an error. I got the magazine anyway.

      It's unlikely that was a librarian. It was probably an underpaid library clerk or student worker. Libraries rarely waste money by putting professionals to work checking out books. This is like assuming that the person who handed you a toothbrush as you left the dentist's office was a dentist.
      • ...and, one would assume, an underpaid library clerk who got yelled at for overriding the "don't circulate this rare item" message if their software and management is at all competent.

  • Should have seen it coming. (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    A librarian in a Science Library in Bumfuck Illinois, who doesn't read Slashdot, and who wouldn't put this together as an obvious risk (or opportunity to gain some notariety for the Library and the University for saving the day, not to mention the reward money!), should be ashamed.

    Seriously. You work in a Science Library, and you don't read Slashdot, like, checking it every minute?
  • would have to say about Moore's law. A much celebrated "law" that continuosly changes to adapt to reality. Ignorant morons.
  • Intel already has the pdf for the article. You can find it on their web site at http://www.intel.com/research/silicon/mooreslaw.ht m

    Not as cool as the poster that scanned the original into tiff form, but still a lot easier to deal with than going to the library to see the original.
  • Hopefully somebody trying to submit an issue stolen from a library would be turned in and charged with 'theft over $5000'. Placing a note to that effedt (in 8pt text) should be enough to deter most would-be thieves.
    "Note: theft over $5000 is punnishible by up to 10 years in jail."

    • Re:Felony theft. (Score:2, Insightful)

      by ebvwfbw ( 864834 )
      Would you want to litigate that one? Yes your honor, this man stole a 1965 magazine from the library. The judge would probably stop you there and throw you out of court. The issue the month before and after are probably worth nothing, even on a good day.

      Even if the judge heard the case, you would have to prove that copy is worth more than $5,000. Good luck doing that. It would be a quick way to end your career. If the suspect is a minority, the ACLU might jump in and demonize you as well. Want to be

      • Even if the judge heard the case, you would have to prove that copy is worth more than $5,000. Good luck doing that.

        An affidavit from Intel saying that they had offered $10,000 for a good-condition copy, a URL of some of the press about it.

        I have a friend who have managed to pay their rent by selling a single comic. Other collectibles have gone for almost $1M. $10K for a famous issue of a small-distribution magazine is completely believable.

      • The issue the month before and after are probably worth nothing, even on a good day.

        Try collecting stamps or coins.. That's what makes the nature of a collectible. One (very small) batch of nickles gets printed with the head upside down and make it out of the mint. .. The coins before and after are worth precisely $.05. The small batch of 'different' ones are worth thousands.

        I don't set the price for these things, but if I find one, you can bet your butt that I'd be happy to sell it to the highest bid

  • Dear slashdot readers,

    Knowing the intelligence of the average slashdotter, I have no doubt that you can see it when fortune smiles at you! This is a once-in-a-lifetime deal, bigger then any enlargement of your penis!

    I hereby want to inform you, that I make an honest offer of the luxurious sum of 1 EURO for a copy of the April 19, 1965 issue of Electronics. This offer expires when Intel has bought (or agreed to buy) a similar copy of a person other then me, or redraws or cancels its own offer.

    sincerely,

    N

  • UIUC Librarians (Score:3, Informative)

    by daigu ( 111684 ) on Friday April 22, 2005 @07:30AM (#12311689) Journal

    I worked at UIUC as a graduate assistant when I went to library school. Missing volumes or articles ripped from journals aren't that uncommon. In fact, they subscribe to a document delivery service that is designed to address this very issue.

    Practically every academic library doesn't lend out serials because of the fact that many of the journals a library subscribes to are irreplaceable should they be lost or stolen. No opportunity to try out the, "Oh, I lost it" option. So, people would need to make a concerted effort to steal this volume - and then deal with all the other issues such needing to have a way to mask its origins.

    Of course, people that would steal it in the first place wouldn't necessarily think out all these issues. So, if they actually got it out in the first place, they would likely dump it when they realized they couldn't do anything with it - or Intel referred them to the police.

  • The BBC says.... (Score:4, Informative)

    by BigBadBus ( 653823 ) on Friday April 22, 2005 @08:05AM (#12311796) Homepage
    The reward has been collected [bbc.co.uk]

  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4472549.stm [bbc.co.uk]

    A copy of the original Electronics magazine in which Moore's Law was first published has turned up under the floorboards of a Surrey engineer.

    David Clark had kept copies of the magazine for years, despite pleas from his wife to throw them away.

    Now the couple are celebrating after collecting the $10,000 reward which was offered on eBay by chip maker Intel.

    I bit late aren't we but congrats to the engineer who found it
  • Looks like a UK man found a copy stashed away somewhere,

    Moore's law original issue found [bbc.co.uk]

    Nice payback for being a hoarder.. I wonder if Intel took him up on the offer of being able to deliver it in person to Dr Moore.

  • I just checked my library [missouri.edu] and they indeed have a copy [missouri.edu], albeit in bound journal form. It's marked in the system as "LIB USE ONLY" so it probably means they wouldn't let me out of library with it. Bummer.
  • Intel better not pay out on any library copies...

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