Google News Archive Search released today

The Google [News] Archive Search was launched today -- it is a service similar to the one I predicted after some domains were registered by the company last Friday.  I originally though the service would allow users to look into the history of the web like the WayBackMachine, but that isn't the case (yet).
Basically the new service lets you search free and subscription based magazine and newspaper articles from as far back as the 1700's.  Users should know that most of the articles that you would normally pay for through this service you can download through your public library with a library card.
For those who still want to pay for articles, there is a possibility that this service will one day hook up with Google Checkout to provide instant purchasing power.  There are many sources for the articles on the new archive search service including New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, Guardian Unlimited, Factiva, Lexis-Nexis, HighBeam Research and Thomson Gale.
The articles that are now searchable are part of what some consider the "dark web" -- the content that is not accessible normally through a search engine because it is behind lock and key.  This gives users a window into the dark web, a topic on which Gary Price from Resource Shelf is an expert.