Michael
Hart was a renaissance man in countless ways. He was known mainly for his
invention of the eBook. The revolutionary idea was born after Independence Day
in 1971, when he typed the United States Declaration of Independence into text,
which allowed for the convenience of downloading for those who could access it.
This idea of text copies that are made available for download birthed Project
Gutenberg, a free database that aims to “make information, books and other
materials available to the general public in forms a vast majority of the
computers, programs and people can easily read, use, quote, and search,” according to the Gutenberg website. He went on to type a massive amount of
information that ranged from the Bible to Shakespeare to the United States Bill
of Rights. With the help of hundreds of volunteers that only increased over
time as the Internet became more accessible the Gutenberg website states that
there are over 42,000 items are currently in their collection. Hart had
undoubtedly revolutionized information distribution, and he did so with an
unorthodox background.
Hart supported his lifestyle with few goals of wealth. He was not the biggest
fan of money and never looked to middlemen. In other words, Hart was one who
built his own gadgets and fixed his own problems whether they be health or
computer issues. Clearly, this man of little financial worth brought himself to
infinite significance with his plan to bring vast amounts of information into
the hands of the public for the greater good. However, his frugality and low
maintenance were not the only factors that set Michael Hart aside from the
pack. The one-time street musician also had a savant-like quality. His e-mail
messages are arranged in specific lengths and fonts so that every single line
written contained the exact same number of characters. Hart was a man who spent nearly all of his life looking out for the
betterment of others, as both a professor and author. He also seemed to have an
orthodox change of perspective following a stint in the Army. Before he was
drafted he dropped out of a chemical engineering program only to return and
ultimately ace his was to a liberal arts degree.Facts such as this are the ones that make us wonder what it is about ones origins and lifestyles that can lead to success. For Michael Hart, a trait that it seems he lived with and let it define him was that of perseverance and doing what one believes to be of high moral standing. Clearly such standing is evident when one learns of Hart’s goals to make information accessible regardless of any monetary reward and regardless of what the traditional methods were and will become. The only way he even made most of his money was through being an adjunct professor in addition to receiving donations to the project. It shows that through all of these unusual aspects of his life, Michael Hart was a man of virtue and kindness.
I had never even considered the origins of the e-book. I took its existence for granted and to learn about the man who conceived the idea was very interesting. I was impressed with the fact that he seemed to be truly doing this for the betterment of society. According to some of the links in the post he lived very modestly and surrounded by hard copies of books, I love to hear about people with true passions. I liked this post because I though it gave a good basic explanation of who Michael Hart was and the mission of Project Gutenberg while providing relevant links to learn more if a reader desired. I also like the picture that was chosen because it highlighted Mr. Hart’s uniqueness, by showing him in a Hawaiian shirt instead of a suit and tie. I would like to know how Mr. Hart made his project known and who was the first to market the e-book. I would also like to know if Mr. Hart received any compensation by companies that began selling the e-book or if the idea was just taken.
ReplyDelete