by Brad McCarty, The Next Web
Worldwide, if you ask any Internet user, the loudest request you’ll hear is for a faster connection. In the US, even Google has noticed that broadband speeds are far slower than they should be. Some recent research at MIT, however, promises speed increases via existing connections. What will it take? Let’s get geeky for a minute and have a look.
Share on Facebookby Nicholas Carr, San Francisco Chronicle
Today, a counterrevolution is under way. As the computer and cell phone become our main reading devices, the book is being pushed to the periphery of culture. According to recent studies by Ball State University and the federal government, the average American spends more than eight hours a day peering into a screen – TV, computer or cell phone (sometimes all three at once) – but devotes just 20 minutes to reading books and other printed works. Reading from a screen is very different from reading from a book. A book provides a shield against distraction, allowing us to focus our entire attention on an author’s narrative or argument. When text is put onto a screen, it enters what the science fiction writer Cory Doctorow terms an “ecosystem of interruption technologies.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/19/INL91DU44K.DTL
Share on Facebookby Manan Kakkar, the Next Web
Microsoft’s next operating system has become a talking point ever since Windows 7 came out in the market. Microsoft enthusiast blog, Microsoft Journal has posted confidential Microsoft slides discussing what Microsoft engineers have in mind for Windows 8.
http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2010/06/28/windows-8-details-leak/
Share on FacebookBy DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP, Associated Press
No one will know exactly how many jobs are lost until fall, but the American Association of School Administrators projects 19 percent of the nation’s school districts will have fewer librarians next year, based on a survey this spring. Ten percent said they cut library staff for the 2009-2010 school year. Since few state or federal laws mandate school libraries or librarians, and their job losses are small compared with classroom teacher layoffs, library layoffs may seem minor to some observers. But librarians say few administrators or parents understand how involved they are in classroom learning and school technology.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gvtXcY3foSefKyJy9qPdb5qdDNdgD9GHH8BG0
Share on FacebookBy Kristin E. Holmes, Philadelphia Inquirer
Sixth grader Mollie Fink has a budding interest in technology, but her father is positively wired. Eric Fink, a network engineer turned business development specialist for Lockheed Martin Corp. in King of Prussia, has an iPhone, a BlackBerry, and a four-computer household, and he craves an iPad. When anything breaks at home, he’s the dad who can fix it. So when he heard about the Girls in Technology Summer Academy in the Colonial School District, he encouraged Mollie to enroll.
Share on FacebookBy Caylor Ballinger, El Paso Times
The Geek Squad came to town Tuesday, and about 60 kids drank in its collective wisdom. “We’ve been learning a lot of things,” said 10-year-old Melissa Mejorado, one of those at the atypical summer camp. “The megachip reminds me of a big city with all its parts.” Best Buy has brought its Geek Squad Summer Academy to El Paso this week, making it one of 27 cities in 19 states where students get a taste of high-tech instruction from dweebs with mad skills.
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_15354518?source=most_emailed
Share on Facebookby John Brownlee, Geek.com
Although netbooks are pretty neat all around, one market for which the affordable, low-power mini-notebooks is in the classroom. Giving kids cheap-to-replace and resilient laptops preloaded with open source software is obviously better than alternatives, and numerous companies have been competing in the space… most notably the Intel Classmate PC E10 and Classmate PC NL2 Convertible. Now a new contender has entered the safety-proofed arena: HP with their Mini 100e. Available worldwide in July for under $300, the Mini 100e will feature an Intel AAtom N455 processor, an Intel NM10 Express GPU chipset, an integrated modem, a 10.1 inch LED backlot display running at 1024 x 600 and a 92% keyboard. Other specs include 1GB of DDR3 memory, 3 or 6 cell battery options, VGA webcam and a choice between Windows 7 Starter, XP Home or SuSE Linux.
http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/hp-unveils-new-netbook-for-school-kids-in-the-mini-100e-20100623/
Share on FacebookBy Jenny Whalen, Kansas State Collegian
Patti Agatston, co-author of the book “Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age,” published in 2007, has been involved in cyber bullying research since 2005. She said schools need to put plans into effect to make students feel confident in telling an adult when they have been bullied or cyber bullied. She said parents need to have a basic knowledge of the technology their children are communicating with. “Schools need to incorporate cyber bullying prevention strategies into their bullying prevention efforts,” she said. “Character education needs to include digital citizenship.
Share on Facebookby Florida Atlantic University
Nearly 30 high school students with complementary backgrounds in arts, computer science and business have come together this summer as part of Florida Atlantic University’s Engineering Scholar Program in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Students are working in teams of three to develop gaming and social networking applications on Google’s Android mobile phones.
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