First: I agree with everything the author's written about the pain of accessing published research. While it's worlds better than the situation was when I was in school (a quarter century ago, before the World Wide Web and long before Google), where you had to actually go to a library and photocopy articles, far too often the experience is (1) find something cool and relevant, then (2) get stymied by a paywall or registration requirement.
There are a few ways through this, of varying levels of conformance with statutes.
Using Mailinator.com's free disposable mail (there are a number of other domains it uses as well -- the primary one is frequently blocked at registrations sites) is great. I'll generally use a password generator to create a random mailbox name. This does still require going through registration processes. http://mailinator.com
LibraryGenesis is another option. It offers an index of books and articles, largely scientific, with a pretty good success rate. http://libgen.org
The subreddit /r/scholar can be used for requesting specific articles, again aimed at research. I've found it quite helpful. http://reddit.com/r/scholar
Google Scholar and Google Search are pretty good at turning up articles, though the format in which they're made available is often miserable. In particular, Google's online article reader is pants -- a tremendous disappointment considering the source. And frequently full text isn't available.
The Internet Archive / Archive.org is another site which frequently has full text of documents available, including, ironically, many sourced by Google and the result of its wholesale scanning projects. And unlike Google's reader, the Internet Archive's BookReader is wonderful (I've gushed over it before on HN). Frequently PDF and ASCII text are also available.
For older works, there may be a Project Gutenberg copy, though its archive is generally markedly smaller than TIA's.
There are a few tools for reporting instances in which you've found access to information denied. I don't have references offhand, but recall a Chrome browser plugin which was publicized a few months back for this purpose.
"People are denied access to research hidden behind paywalls every day. This problem is invisible, but it slows innovation, kills curiosity and harms patients. This is an indictment of the current system. Open Access has given us the solution to this problem by allowing everyone to read and re-use research. We created the Open Access Button to track the impact of paywalls and help you get access to the research you need. By using the button you’ll help show the impact of this problem, drive awareness of the issue, and help change the system. Furthermore, the Open Access Button has several ways of helping you get access to the research you need right now."
There are a few ways through this, of varying levels of conformance with statutes.
Using Mailinator.com's free disposable mail (there are a number of other domains it uses as well -- the primary one is frequently blocked at registrations sites) is great. I'll generally use a password generator to create a random mailbox name. This does still require going through registration processes. http://mailinator.com
LibraryGenesis is another option. It offers an index of books and articles, largely scientific, with a pretty good success rate. http://libgen.org
The subreddit /r/scholar can be used for requesting specific articles, again aimed at research. I've found it quite helpful. http://reddit.com/r/scholar
Google Scholar and Google Search are pretty good at turning up articles, though the format in which they're made available is often miserable. In particular, Google's online article reader is pants -- a tremendous disappointment considering the source. And frequently full text isn't available.
The Internet Archive / Archive.org is another site which frequently has full text of documents available, including, ironically, many sourced by Google and the result of its wholesale scanning projects. And unlike Google's reader, the Internet Archive's BookReader is wonderful (I've gushed over it before on HN). Frequently PDF and ASCII text are also available.
For older works, there may be a Project Gutenberg copy, though its archive is generally markedly smaller than TIA's.
And there are a slew of other resources, though being decentralized, you need to match up your specific needs with the resource in question. One good listing: https://plus.google.com/112064652966583500522/posts/87ez27zE...
There are a few tools for reporting instances in which you've found access to information denied. I don't have references offhand, but recall a Chrome browser plugin which was publicized a few months back for this purpose.