I have been making a point about the Digital Divide for a long point. While I believe socio-economic status is a contributing factor, it isn’t the sole reason. bq.A new study published by the Pew Internet & American Life Project has found that there is a growing digital divide across America. John B. Horrigan’s analysis [...]
Did your taxes yet? If you did, how did you file them? bq.Increasing numbers of technology-savvy filers prepare their tax forms using Intuit’s TurboTax or H&R Block’s TaxCut software. But when it comes to filing their returns, many of them revert to paper. The IRS’ National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson is among them. “Tax filers [...]
bq.In Florida, the financial support for public libraries with economic need dropped from 11 cents per dollar in the mid-1990s to 3.9 cents per dollar during the last budget year. The burden keeps shifting, but it appears there is little to no coordination among levels of government. As engaged citizens and civic leaders, it is [...]
Last year, I asked what the introduction of the Shared Computer Toolkit meant for the Public Access Computer Security Tool. I found out this week that it has definitely become a replacement. At my library, we have been using our original Gates stations as our public Internet Access stations for a while now. Hazarding a [...]
I looked at OpenOffice early in the development, and it was definitely not ready for primetime. The newly-released 2.0 is a different story, however. Next time we redo our public stations I am sorely tempted to replace Microsoft Office completely. Oh, and I definitely think there is a place for the remodeled Opera as well.
bq.The U.S. Copyright Office is soliciting opinions, through August 22d, about it’s planned website upgrade that will require the use of Microsoft Internet Explorer, effectively banning most technically-advanced users and all Linux and open-source advocates from its service. – Dave Murphy I was stunned for a moment when I read that. bq.Section 104 of the [...]
Microsoft has released the Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP. This is not to be confused with the Public Access Computer Security Tool. The PAC Tool was designed for NT Workstation, but has worked great for us on 2000 stations. It also doesn’t jumping through the hoops of Windows Genuine Advantage, which this one will [...]
bq.Virtually every U.S. public library now offers free Internet access but most ration it, inhibiting the ability of lower-income families to benefit from the Information Age. – Anick Jesdanun At my library, we ration internet usage as well. But we also allow people to stay on longer if they have a legitimate need to do [...]
I got the chance to upgrade my home DSL connection from 1.5 to 3.0 and lower the cost at the same time. Whether the fact this coincided with the arrival of cable broadband access in our area is a coincidence or not I will leave to others to judge. I am pretty happy right now. [...]
I have no idea if Half-Life 2 players are a representative sample of the penetration of Broadband Access into society, but if they are this survey shows a rather sizable portion of gamers have high-speed access.