Mad magazine collection searchability (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

If the Mad archive is useful, maybe these are as well:

National Lampoon (1970 - 1988, 246 issues for $16):

http://www.amazon.com/GIT-Corp-90012-National-Lampoon/dp/B000VPNSJY/

Rolling Stone (1967 - 2007, $35.  I may have seen it for even less on
the remaindered shelves at the local Barnes & Noble).

http://www.amazon.com/Rolling-Stone-40-Years-Cover/dp/0981766005/

National Geographic (1888 - 2009; $47)

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-National-Geographic-Every-Issue/dp/B003XI
KA4W/
or
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-National-Geographic--Every-VERSION/dp/142
6296355/ ($59.50; less from other merchants)



> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf Of
> Dave Wilton
> Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 10:01 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Mad magazine collection searchability
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
----------------------
> -
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Dave Wilton <dave at WILTON.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Mad magazine collection searchability
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> -
>
> I've got it. It's essentially a collection of PDF files, one per
issue.
> There is no global search function, although you can use the PDF
search
> capability to search within individual issues. The PDF search does not
> support wildcards, but isn't case sensitive. The OCR underlying the
search
> capability appears to be pretty good, but I haven't tested it
extensively.
> The image quality isn't the greatest, but it is legible and reasonably
> clear, although some of the marginal illustrations are difficult to
make
> out.
>
> As a tool for lexical research it isn't the greatest (mainly because
of the
> limitations on search), but for entertainment or cultural value it is
pretty
> good. The chief advantage is that you get the entire magazine, cover
to
> cover, from Mr. Neumann on the front to the fold-in joke on the back,
with
> the mise-en-page preserved.
>
> There's no DRM, so you can download the disks to your hard drive.
Total size
> is around 7 GB.
>
> It's well worth twenty bucks.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf Of
> Garson O'Toole
> Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 9:56 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Mad magazine collection searchability
>
> Mad magazine was an important cultural touchstone in previous decades,
> so I think it is reasonable to ask about the digital collection
> publicly on the mailing list instead of privately.
>
> Apparently the 50 year collection has been released in two different
> versions: on CDs and on DVDs. The DVD version is available on Amazon
> currently for $19.00. I have a question for Jon or anyone else who has
> this collection.
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Absolutely-MAD-Magazine-50-Years/dp/B000HKMQ64
>
> Could you describe the search interface and capabilities: Is there a
> global search? Is there a wildcard capability? If OCR is used is it
> reliable? Do they attempt to digitally capture all the text? Is there
> a text overlay on the PDFs? Could you add anything else relevant to
> evaluating the utility of this collection as a tool for research (and
> entertainment)?
> Thanks
> Garson
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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