Digital Divide Reportedly Closing

Global Digital Divide 'Narrowing'. BBC News. February 25, 2005.
The world Bank reports that the digital divide is closing rapidly and that half the world's population now has access to a telephone.

Microsoft Co-Founder Funding SETI

A Universe of Sounds. Maya Dollarhide. Technology Review. February 23, 2005.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is donating $25 million to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, whose Allen Telescope Array is being used to look for signs of intelligent life in the universe.

Yahoo Image Search Upgraded

Yahoo Improves Its Images. Interetnews.com Staff. February 23, 2005.
Yahoo has enlarged its image database and made improvements to its image search engine.

Eliminating Computer Distraction

Research Targets Computer Distractions Such As AIM. Danny Frye. Technician. February 18, 2005.
Researchers are attempting to improve software interfaces so as to minimize user distractions.

Updating Ranganathan's Five Laws

Application of Ranganathan’s Laws to the Web. AliReza Noruzi. Webology. December, 2004.
Noruzi reformulates Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library Science for the World Wide Web.

National Library of France Decries Google Influence

France's Top Librarian Attacks Google Online Library Plans, Calls for 'European' Search Engine. Leigh Phillips. DMeurope.com. February 21, 2005.
The President of the National Library of France, Jean-Noel Jeanneney, wants Europe to develop its own library digitization plan and search engines to avoid the influence of American culture via Google.

Thwarting DVD Rippers

DVD Copy Protection Strengthened. BBC News. February 15, 2005.
Macrovision has created a new way to copy-protect DVDs. Its Ripguard system will beat most copying programs now in use.

Benefits of Online Communities

Everything I Need To Know I Learned Online. Chrystie R. Hill. Library Journal. February 15, 2005.
Hill, who is the Community Manager for WebJunction.org, describes the advantages librarians can gain from joining online communites and discussion lists.

The Outlook for MSN Search

Microsoft Faces Tough Task in Taking on Google. Eric Lundquist. eWeek. February 14, 2005.
The author writes that Microsoft will have difficulty differentiating its new search engine from that of the market leader.

U.S. FEC May Censor Internet Speech

Political Web Ads May be Curtailed. Declan McCullagh. CNET News.com. February 15, 2005.
The Federal Election Commission will decide whether the McCain-Feingold law applies to the Internet or not.

The Market for Spam

The Depressing News About Spam. Lisa DiCarlo. Forbes.com. February 15, 2005.
According to a study by Rockbridge Associates, 4% of online adults purchased a producted advertised via spam, providing enough of a market to keep the spammers going.

Google Offers Wikipedia its Hosting Services

Wikipedia Receives Google’s Offer for Assistance. Sushubh. Search Engine News Journal. February 12, 2005.
While not asking for anything in return, Google has offered to assist the open source encyclopedia.

The Reason for Over-Commitment

Time in the Future Seems to Go Farther. Maggie McKee. NewScientist.com. February 10, 2005.
Research suggests that people are more willing to commit to things in the future because they believe they will have more time than they do right now.

How Webmail is Being Used

E-mail is the New Database. BBC News. February 8, 2005.
A growing number of people are using webmail, and they are using it not just to communicate, but to store things such as photos and data.

Evolving Industries

Anita McGahan on Industry Evolution. Ubiquity. February 9, 2005.
The author of How Industries Evolve: Principles for Achieving and Sustaining Superior Performance gives her views on business change in the online environment.

Google Maps

Google Finds its Map Service. Margaret Kane. CNET News.com. February 8, 2005.
The new Google Maps beta allows users to drag and drop maps as well as to magnify selected areas. [Google Maps FAQ]

Web's Biggest Claims Most Web Sites

Search Engine Claims It Is 'Web's Biggest'. Yahoo! News (TechchWeb). February 4, 2005.
A new search engine, Web's Biggest, claims to have created the largest search engine database by using "whois" to include nearly every existing site in English.

Ask Jeeves Expected to Purchase Bloglines

Ask Jeeves to Buy Bloglines. Stefanie Olsen. CNET News.com. February 7, 2005.
In its effort to keep up with Google, Yahoo! and MSN, Ask Jeeves is expected to add a blog search engine to its offerings with its coming purchase of Bloglines.

Response by Wikipedia Critic

On Getting It: The Faith-Based Encyclopedia and Me. Robert McHenry. TCS: Tech Central Station. February 1, 2005.
The former Editor in Chief of the Encyclopædia Britannica replies to critics of his controversial article on the Wikipedia. [The Faith-Based Encyclopedia]

Advances in Computer Storage

Big Computer Storage Gets Smaller. Chris Long. BBC News Click Online. February 4, 2005.
Computer storage media have come a long way since IBM invented the (5 megabyte) hard disk in the 1950s. Today Apple's iPod has a 1.8 inch disk drive and drives continue to shrink. [Hard Disk from TechEncyclopedia (TechWeb)]

How Libraries Can Survive Google

The Google Opportunity. Stephen Abram. Library Journal. February 1, 2005.
With Google becoming a major source of information for many people, Abram offers ten strategies libraries can follow to maintain their viability

Microsoft Takes on Google

Microsoft Launches Home-Grown Internet Search Service. Yahoo! News (TechWeb). February 1, 2005.
Microsoft launched its new search engine with a multi-million dollar marketing campaign.

Teenagers Less Adept at Using Internet

Adults Better Web Surfers Than Teens, Study Shows. K. Oanh Ha. SiliconValley.com. February 1, 2005.
A new study by the firm Nielsen Norman showed that adults were able to accomplish certain Web tasks better than teeangers. One things that put teens at a disadvantage was their lack of reading skills.

The Benefits of Wikis

Making the Case for a Wiki. Emma Tonkin. Ariadne. January, 2005.
The author describes the different kinds of wiki software and gives advice on selecting and using them.

U.S. High School Students Favoring Censorship

First Amendment No Big Deal, Students Say. MSNBC (AP). January 31, 2005.
According to a study published by the James L. Knight Foundation, three in four students are indifferent to their first amendment rights. [About the First Ammendment]