Article looks at three separate studies of the educational benefit of home computers for lower income children. The studies indicate that the educational value of universal broadband access may be minimal, or worse, harmful.
Amazon and the Authors Guild reach an agreement on the read-aloud feature. I think it's a smart play by Amazon. Authors that choose to disable may hesitate due to a possible public relations backlash for not wanting disabled readers to get access without getting more money in the process.
This is article is worth looking at because it is a counterpoint to claims about younger generations being hyper-technical. This author cites Jeff Gomez's book Print is Dead and asks us to re-examine our assumptions about people's abilities and access to high-tech resources. It also warns us against adapting systems too quickly to this 'one-size-fits-all' digital system that might not meet the needs of a group because the group may be more diverse than we think.
New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. plans to start charging readers for access to more than an as-yet-undetermined number of articles per month
LOS ANGELES — The Hollywood trade newspaper Variety is putting its Web site behind a "pay wall" starting Thursday – reserving its online content for paid subscribers and hoping its advertisers will stick around despite the smaller Internet audience. Variety plans to shut off free access gradually, asking one in 10 visitors for a user name and password that will be sent to paying subscribers.
As the newspaper wraps up its assessment of the benefits and risks of restricting access to news on the Web, it is nearing a decision to charge its core online readers. " />
The Justice Department struck deals with three universities not to promote Amazon's Kindle or other e-book readers unless the devices are fully accessible to blind students." />
Google plans to begin selling digital books in late June or July, aiming to let users access books from a broad range of sites using multiple devices." />