Robbie Rhodes asked, regarding my information

 [ Is the data stored as scanned images, or as text files?  Is the
 [ index supplied on the CD-ROM, or did you create it?  -- Robbie

The text is stored as text files, the pictures are scanned image files.
The index is supplied on the CD-ROM, otherwise it would be hard to
sell.

Some other contributors referred to computer-aided translations.  It
would be nice, but recent testing showed that this method is not yet
good enough: it's easier and faster to translate by hand.  Machine-
translations still need too much correcting, yet.  If one is
interested, I could provide some convincing samples.

 [ The "Translate" service at Alta Vista illustrates this problem.
 [ I use the computer translator to get the English for the
 [ individual words, but after that I must read the original text
 [ and manually create a good translation.  -- Robbie

However, it is possible to do the work, using the MMD-power: I myself
could translate some articles, send them to a native speaker for
corrections, and make the translation available to the MMD.  Other
members could do the same.

Copyrights have to be cleared, of course.  However, many magazines,
related to the mechanical music world, are published by real "amateurs"
(in the original meaning of the word!), and they will only be glad to
spread their knowledge.  The commercially published magazines probably
may have their restrictions.  And storing all articles in a nice
database (why not at the MMD site), will result in a huge, and freely
accessible, source of information for all of us.

Example: I read an article in a Dutch magazine, that might be of
interest for others.  I would ask permission for a translation (if
needed), translate the text, send it to the translation/correcting pool
at the MMD.  One of the members of this pool will correct my mistakes,
and send back the article.  I then will produce a new file, include the
pictures, and send the complete article back to the project
administrator.  He will have to check it, and add it to the database.

A nice trick would be: let the MMD give credit points to those who do
the job.  These credit points could serve to pay the annual MMD fee.
The number of words can be used as a measuring instrument.

And non-contributing MMD-members would have to pay for access to
the database.

It's a rather big project, I know, but working together would make
it possible.

Just some thoughts, early on Monday.

Jan Kijlstra

 [ Those are good ideas, Jan!  -- Robbie