Rapidshare Textbooks
With the demise of Textbook Torrents students have been looking for other ways to obtain free textbooks. Rapidshare textbooks may be filling that void.
What is Rapidshare?
Rapidshare is a file-hosting site. A really big one. What makes Rapidshare popular is the ability to share those files. Here’s how Wikipedia describes the sharing capability.
On uploading the user is supplied with a unique download URL which enables anyone, with whom the uploader shares it, to download the file. No user is allowed to search the server for content; all files have to be downloaded by following a given URL.
As you might expect, Rapidshare search engines have sprung up to collect and publish these unique URLs. To my knowledge there isn’t a search engine specifically for textbooks. That means you’ll be hunting and pecking for textbooks along with music, movies, games and porn.
Rapidshare Textbook Search Engines
Here’s a small list of Rapidshare search engines that have some degree of textbook content.
Fileshunt
Rapid Library
LoadingVault
Is Rapidshare Legal?
Depends on how you use it. If you’re using it to distribute copyrighted material (e.g. - textbooks) … no. And like Textbook Torrents, Rapidshare has been the center of a lot of legal activity. Rapidshare walks a fine line as evidenced in a October 26, 2008 quasi-blog post.
If, for example, it had been regulated by law to control all copies before the first photo copier was invented, it is very likely that these machines would have never hit the market. That’s why we are doing everything to enable this new technology - which is still very young, but already inspires millions of people every day - to be part of our future and make life more comfortable.
RapidShare, of course, is against the distribution of illegal files and as soon as we are informed about illegal distribution, we delete these files and put them on a filter.
The thing is, going after Rapidshare seems a bit like using ice cubes to put out a raging fire. A flock of similar sites have sprung up like weeds using the same technology. The folks at FreeFileHosts have a great and very detailed list of all of the file-hosting sites.
Like Torrents (which are still out there mind you, there’s just not a hub for textbook torrents which was a bit like putting a neon bullseye on your back), Rapidshare will survive and the debate over digital rights will rage on.
I see both sides of the issue on this one. The cost of textbooks is … exorbitant and publishers have exploited this captive audience for great profit. So I have little sympathy (at this point) for publishers who cry foul as a small portion of sales are siphoned off. The pendulum has yet to swing back to the point where I feel the production of textbooks is in jeopardy or that publishers are truly being hurt.
January 1st, 2009 at 11:44 pm
[…] below or see Rapidshare Textbooks or Free […]
January 2nd, 2009 at 7:54 am
Copyright infringement is a crime - and many citizens of the world are therefore criminals, even those of us expatriates who reside in far-off lands and are bereft of Americana - the movies, the music, the educational documentaries, the software, and many other things. Yet, I ask myself, “Self, if you lived in America, you could walk into any major library and borrow the books, the videos, and the music. So really - what’s the “dif” if people create online libraries which basically achieve the same purpose? And ultimately, the whole exercise is engineered to improve the human learning experience by providing access to greater number of people throughout the world. I ask again - “Is it so terrible to share a book or an educational documentary?” Can someone explain to me how it differs substantially from trekking to New York Public Library and checking out the material for two weeks to a month?
It’s kinda like in the music industry. In my view, file-swapping has improved music and live technology. Think about it, in the old days - before the creation of “corporate music” and “no-talent milli vanillis” bands had to tour to earn their keep. Guess what - bands have to tour again to earn their keep! And if the band is a “no-talent” or “one-hit” wonder through which the music company was ruthlessly exploiting the captive 10-15 year olds? Well, I daresay that a public crowd listening in a live forum will shut down the scam rather quickly (or the music companies will have to adopt better live-play technology to make their “coiffed-up, no-talent” showpieces sound a bit better). The public wins under both instances!
The corporate powers that are crying fowl over on-line public libraries (and that is basically what on-line sharing is) really should get with the program, adapt, and create business models to harness the power of the internet - rather than constantly trying to slow its users from self-edification!
Governments of the world! Do not make it a crime to borrow materials from the library! Such a thing is in the same league as burning books!
Dammit! Where do you guys think Bill Gates got Windows? He stole it from Apple (and tweaked it a little). And Apple - they stole/borrowed it from Xerox (Xerox corporate fogeys couldn’t figure out what to do with it). Where do you think American steel came from? Carnegie’s people stole the process from Britain… and etc…
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Here is another great way to save on Textbooks. http://www.edubookswap.com/ allows you to post your used unwanted textbook to exchange them for other students books.
No waiting in line just to get ripped off by the bookstores that buy them back at a fraction of their value, you get what your book is worth in points to use for the books you need.
Take a look at http://www.edubookswap.com/
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:43 am
[…] Rapidshare Textbooks | Used Books Blog Share and Enjoy: […]
January 3rd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I would suggest ussing GreenTextbooks.org
Save Money, Save The Planet
GreenTextbooks.org specializes in the recycling of textbooks, DVDs, CDs. Buying used textbooks not only saves you money, but cuts down on greenhouse gases caused by the manufacturing of new textbooks.
With GreenTextbooks.org you’re not only saving trees, you are saving some green. http://www.greentextbooks.org
January 4th, 2009 at 8:21 am
rapidshare acc
http://rapidshare.com/files/179695371/manual_free_rapidshare_accounts.rar
January 5th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
hi guys, the best rapidshare search engine, I found so far is
www.checkedsearch.com - it has almost no ads and checks the displyed
results for broken rapidshare links. really unique feature. I find
relevant results on the fist page mostly.
January 8th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
There’s a great file sharing system called freenet, and it is completely censorship proof. The only thing is that somebody needs to insert the ebooks. How hard is that?
www.freenetproject.org
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:19 am
New Rapidshare Search Engine with a lot of Rapidshare.com links.
Rapid4shared.com
Enjoy!!!!
January 26th, 2009 at 2:15 am
Look. I am not paying for something I can get for free.
It is only a crime because man has made it a crime.
Nature did not make it a crime. Fuck it.
Digital copies - save trees, save space, save money.
All the information in most text books is available for FREE on the web, legally. Why can’t we just use that? ………politics, kids.
We’re in the midst of a revolution.
www.trillabyte.com
Join.
January 28th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Free Rapidshare Accts 2009
http://rapidshare.com/files/190938689/rapidshareACCTJan2009.rar.html
January 30th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Bill Gates is Satan. You shouldn’t use his life(malicious business activities, lack of ethics, and complete lack of morals) to base your moral arguements on. Rule #1 of life- if you don’t want to live like a CUNT, don’t follow it!
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I found new books at the same price or close to used prices over at www.whereismybook.com and got a coupon for free shipping, try the code it may still work code: BGSHIP.
It is worth a try
May 4th, 2009 at 4:46 am
Nice. Take a look at my site for a search engine:
RapidShare Search Engine
May 4th, 2009 at 9:29 am
If anyone needs a premium account you can use this generator here: http://tinyurl.com/cdd5hj
1) Pick the file host (It does around 5 most popular ones)
2) Click generate
3) Click test the account. If it works, great! You have yourself a working 6 months account. If not generate another one.
Easy as that!
June 9th, 2009 at 2:38 am
Look for totally free textbooks at http://bookboon.com/student.
Since these books have been written by professors with the purpose of being available for free download through students, there are no legal issues. Further there is no registration required for downloading them.
So simple, easy and legal.
December 24th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
^^ Drop the “.” from Antonia’s link to get it to work.
December 24th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Some cheap used (but not free) options for calculus books are available at http://www.calculusearlytranscdendentals.com
January 7th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Finally, a blogger who writes good information on a noteworthy topic, I look foward to your future updates. Going to subscribe to your RSS feed so I will be up to date. : ) Good luck & take care!!
January 31st, 2010 at 12:34 pm
I don’t think publishers are ever hurt. When they are hurt, then the students probably have been dead already paying for their products. This is insane. Everybody knows the textbooks cost but there is really no solution for it. When there are some solutions, they are not legal. What’s the point of keep changing edition for every 2 years since the materials are still the same. In this chain of craziness, not sure who should we blame? the professor who keep requiring the students buy new edition, publishers keep printing new editions, or bookstores that pathetic buyback program make me cry. I love professors who understand the burden of textbooks and try to utilize free resource online.
May 3rd, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Very valuable facts..thanks
July 9th, 2010 at 10:55 am
I just need to make a point - file sharing is not illegal. What this means, is that if someone uploads a file, be it audio, video, or reading material, and I then download it for my own private use, it is entirely legal. Illegality comes in when people begin selling these shared files for profit - it works the same a plagiarism. Borrowing a book and then reading it is not plagiarism, but if I borrow a book, and then sell it as my own work, it is.
Use your brain. File sharing is not only legal, but it’s a way to save the environment. Stand up for what’s right.
July 23rd, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Why worry about downloads and infringements, when you can just exchange your used textbooks for FREE with other students around the nation, whenever your classes end. All i did was went to http://www.TbookXchange.com created an account, added the books I needed to my need list, the old textbooks to my have list, and if there are any possible exchanges, (which unfortunately does not happen every time, yet), it definately helps me to save some extra money from not needing to buy a new text book for my next class. If it does not work out this time, it might do so next time, who knows??? I have to say that I have worked up quite a collection on old text books from many of my previous years, since I am a senior right now. I wish this website would have started a bit sooner…
August 27th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
This is a very good website for used textbooks in Toronto. It’s pretty new.
www.secondtag.com
it is organized and requires no extra data to register. It is as if you put your post on the bulletin board at your school…
Beny