Justice Dept. Opens Antitrust Inquiry Into Google Books Deal

"The Justice Department has begun an inquiry into the antitrust implications of Google’s settlement with authors and publishers over its Google Book Search service, two people briefed on the matter said Tuesday."

Experts Warn Internet Is Running Out of Bandwidth

"Internet users face regular 'brownouts' that will freeze their computers as capacity runs out in cyberspace, according to research to be published later this year. Experts predict that consumer demand, already growing at 60 percent a year, will start to exceed supply as early as 2010 because of more people working online and the soaring popularity of bandwidth-hungry Web sites such as YouTube and services such as the BBC's iPlayer. It will initially lead to computers being disrupted and going offline for several minutes at a time. Beginning in 2012, however, PCs and laptops are likely to operate at a much reduced speed, rendering the Internet an 'unreliable toy.'"

Many Twitters are Quick Quitters: Study

"Data from Nielsen Online, which measures Internet traffic, found that more than 60 percent of Twitter users stopped using the free social networking site a month after joining."

Panda Cloud Antivirus Hits Internet for Free

"In an attempt to shake up the lucrative antivirus subscription market, Panda is tapping into two hot tech trends: Web-based 'cloud' computing and free technology giveaways. Microsoft later this year will offer free basic antivirus protection, code-named Morro. And McAfee and AVG recently launched free protection tools to supplement their paid antivirus suites. . .Panda Wednesday becomes the first consumer antivirus supplier to centralize this filtering and updating routine — by moving it into a data center sitting in the Internet cloud. To tap into this free service, you download a small pop-up dashboard from www.cloudantivirus.com."

Microsoft Goes Social

"The company on Wednesday will begin testing a new social-networking platform called Microsoft Vine, and chief strategist Craig Mundie tells Fortune the company is planning on pursuing a subscription-based model instead of trying to support the platform only with advertising. Vine's other twist: It plans to target public safety officials and concerned citizens seeking emergency information."

Conficker Virus Begins to Attack PCs: Experts

"A malicious software program known as Conficker that many feared would wreak havoc on April 1 is slowly being activated, weeks after being dismissed as a false alarm, security experts said. Conficker, also known as Downadup or Kido, is quietly turning thousands of personal computers into servers of e-mail spam and installing spyware, they said."

Facebook Seeks to Export its Network Across the Web

"Facebook regularly attracts more than 200 million people to its website, but the company is now looking for ways to permeate the lives of its users without the need to check-in to the Facebook site. The Palo Alto, California company unveiled tools on Monday that allow third-party Web developers to harness the wealth of content generated by Facebook users and to build new online products and services."

Report: Amazon's $359 Kindle 2 Costs $185 to Make

"If you aren't sure whether Amazon's latest Kindle electronic reading device is worth its $359 price tag, an analysis by research firm iSuppli may shed some light. It broke down the device's components and determined that the gadget costs about $185 in parts and manufacturing, or about 52% of the total price."

Nielsen: Online Audience Grows for Newspapers

"Newspaper Web sites attracted an average of 73.3 million unique visitors per month in the first three months of the year, a 10.5 percent jump from the same period last year, according to Nielsen Online. The average number of pages views climbed nearly 13 percent to 3.5 billion. Both figures were the highest since 2004, according to the Newspaper Association of America, which commissioned the analysis."

Media Cloud - New News Tracking Service

"Media Cloud is a system that lets you see the flow of the media. The Internet is fundamentally altering the way that news is produced and distributed, but there are few comprehensive approaches to understanding the nature of these changes. Media Cloud automatically builds an archive of news stories and blog posts from the web, applies language processing, and gives you ways to analyze and visualize the data."

Virtual Reference Bibliography Online

Virtual Reference Bibliography Online

Internet Archive Wants In on Google Settlement

"The Internet Archive wants to be part of Google’s settlement with the Authors Guild over the Google Book Search program. In a letter posted on the Web site of the Internet Content Alliance, a joint library repository managed by the archive, the group’s lawyers asked the judge in the case for permission to file a motion to join the proceedings as a 'party defendant.'"

World Digital Library

"The World Digital Library (WDL) makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world."

Google News Timeline

"At Google, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to organize information. Today, we're announcing Google News Timeline--a new feature on Google Labs that organizes many different types of search results on a zoomable, graphical timeline."

Secure Software? Experts Say it's No Longer a Pipedream

"With the Conficker worm still hot and Microsoft patching multiple more software vulnerabilities last week, it might be reasonable to assume the bad guys are winning the battle to get control over Internet-connected computers. That's not necessarily the case. Developers are increasingly equipped with tools to shore up their products and vendors are collaborating in unprecedented ways to not only close holes in software, but also make sure they aren't in there in the first place, according to security experts."

Google Books Rival Objects to Settlement

"San Francisco's Internet Archive says the Google books settlement needs an intervention.
The digital library wants to intervene in the $125 million settlement with authors and publishers that gives Google the rights to scan and sell books on the Internet. In a Friday letter to the New York judge handling the case, the Internet Archive claims that if the settlement is approved, it would give Google a monopoly on so-called orphan works -- out-of-print books whose copyright owner can't be found or isn't known."

Objection to Google Scanning Settlement Filed

"The consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has sent a letter to the Justice Department asking to delay implementation of the October 2008 settlement of publisher lawsuits over Google’s scanning of copyrighted books. Concerns from more groups, including the American Library Association, are anticipated before the May 5 deadline for filing objections."

Spam 'produces 17m tons of CO2'

"A study into spam has blamed it for the production of more than 33bn kilowatt-hours of energy every year, enough to power more than 2.4m homes. The Carbon Footprint of e-mail Spam report estimated that 62 trillion spam emails are sent globally every year. This amounted to emissions of more than 17 million tons of CO2, the research by climate consultants ICF International and anti-virus firm McAfee found."

Pew Internet: The Mobile Difference

"Some 39% of Americans have positive and improving attitudes about their mobile communication devices, which in turn draws them further into engagement with digital resources – on both wireless and wireline platforms. Mobile connectivity is now a powerful differentiator among technology users. Those who plug into the information and communications world while on-the-go are notably more active in many facets of digital life than those who use wires to jack into the internet and the 14% of Americans who are off the grid entirely."

How Social Networking Affects the Student Life Cycle

"Technology is reshaping college admissions. Course-management systems are making it possible to detect students in academic trouble before it gets too deep. And development offices are creating social networks that energize alumni giving."

Tech Therapy: A College Leader Talks About Outsourcing E-Mail

"Paul Turner, manager of academic technologies at the University of Notre Dame, discusses his university’s decision to outsource e-mail on the latest edition of Tech Therapy, recorded live at The Chronicle’s Technology Forum last week. Students had been unhappy with the e-mail system’s performance, and officials at Notre Dame wanted a solution that would be more secure and possibly save money."

College Bookstores Move to Put Electronic Textbooks on Their Shelves

"It will now be easier for students to find electronic versions of textbooks at several college bookstores, thanks to a new partnership between textbook publishers and an association of college booksellers."

One-Stop Web Portal Thinks It Can Save Newspapers

"A web portal planned by some top media execs may be the way forward for beleagured newspapers. Journalism Online would act as a 'one-stop shop' for pay content, writes Nate Anderson for Ars Technica. Consumers could buy subscriptions to many newspapers at low prices, and with a sliding scale of cost and access—on the thinking that readers will be more inclined to pay once than maintain several subscriptions."

YouTube to Stream Full-Length Movies, TV Shows

"YouTube says it is partnering with major studios to stream full-length movies and TV shows on its site for free."

Experts fear RSI boom from Twitter

"Experts in the field of repetitive strain injury are warning that spending too long on Twitter can leave users with aching hands. The chairman of a London support group for sufferers of Repetitive Strain Injury is calling on Twitter to post a warning on its booming Web site cautioning patrons not to overdo it on the Tweets."

Internet Providers Want to Meter Usage

"If Internet service providers' current experiments succeed, subscribers may end up paying for high-speed Internet based on how much material they download. Trials with such metered access, rather than the traditional monthly flat fee for unlimited connection time, offer enough bandwidth that they won't affect many consumers — yet. But as more people use the Internet to watch TV and stream movies, they could bump up against the metered rates' caps, paying expensive over-use fees. Watching a movie may then require paying two fees: one for the movie, another to the cable company."

Google Widens its U.S. Search Lead

"Internet search firm Google took its widest-ever lead in the U.S. search market in March, according to new figures released on Wednesday by comScore. Google had a 63.7 percent share of the 14.3 billion U.S. searches in March, up 0.4 percentage points from February, and above the 63.5 percent level that was its previous high."

Twittering, Rapid Media May Confuse Morals

"A U.S. researcher raises questions about the emotional cost of the heavy reliance on a rapid stream of news snippets from TV, online or Twitter."

Facebook Users Get Worse Grades in College

"Facebook users have lower overall grades than non-users, according to a survey of college students who also ironically said the social networking site does not interfere with studying. That disconnect between perception and reality does not necessarily mean that Facebook leads to less studying and worse grades--the grades association could be caused by something else. However, it does raise more questions about how students spend their time outside class on activities such as Facebook, part-time jobs and extracurricular activities."

Older Generations Join Social Networks

"While online social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are known hang-outs for younger adults and teenagers, older generations in recent months have been taking to the medium at a faster rate than any other age group, according to industry reports."

The National Library Buildings Across Europe

The National Library Buildings Across Europe

"View 'more than 300 pictures of the national libraries of Europe; this exhibition provides many fascinating building details and broad architectural examples of official monuments.' Find exterior and reading room views of over 3 dozen libraries in Iceland, Norway, Russia, Belgium, Latvia, Portugal, Switzerland, Romania, Malta, and other countries. From the European Library." (from Lii.org)

Facebook Hits 200M Milestone

"Facebook has welcomed its 200 millionth user, reports the San Jose Mercury News."

Teachers Fret as Students Flock to Study Sites

"Offering class notes, old exams, and homework answers, study websites are a big hit with students, but teachers are less excited about the technology, the Wall Street Journal reports. Instructors worry sites like Cramster, which has sold twice as many $10 monthly subscriptions in 2009 compared to a year ago, could encourage students to cheat."

Online Study Sites

"Web sites such as Cramster aim to revolutionize the way students study, much the way that networking sites like Facebook have changed the way people socialize. Course Hero, launched last year primarily for college students, already holds a library of more than two million course documents, including homework, class notes and graded essays, uploaded by students enrolled at 3,000 different colleges. Koofers (a nickname at Virginia Tech for old tests passed around at fraternities) allows students from about 25 state universities to submit posts about the difficulty of courses taught by different instructors at their schools. It also offers average semester grades from instructors. Enotes, geared mainly to high-school students, allows peers to form discussion groups and pose questions to experts -- usually teachers -- who are paid by the Web site."

Protests in Moldova Explode, With Help of Twitter

"A crowd of more than 10,000 young Moldovans materialized seemingly out of nowhere on Tuesday to protest against Moldova's Communist leadership, ransacking government buildings and clashing with the police. The sea of young people reflected the deep generation gap that has developed in Moldova, and the protesters used their generation’s tools, gathering the crowd by enlisting text-messaging, Facebook and Twitter, the social messaging network."

Google Improves Gmail for iPhone, Android

"Google has released a new Web-based version of Gmail that gives iPhone and Android phone users a more sophisticated version of the online e-mail service, including access to messages that's faster and that works even when offline."

U. of Richmond Creates a Wikipedia for Undergraduate Scholars

"The current model for teaching and learning is based on a relative scarcity of research and writing, not an excess. With that in mind, Mr. Torget and several others have created a Web site called History Engine to help students around the country work together on a shared tool to make sense of history documents online. Students generate brief essays on American history, and the History Engine aggregates the essays and makes them navigable by tags. Call it Wikipedia for students."

Kindle Devotees Rip Rising E-Book Prices

"A small but vocal group of Kindle owners has banded together to protest upward-creeping e-book prices, Wired reports. Around 250 disgruntled Kindle devotees have tagged more than 7,200 titles on Amazon priced higher than $10—the most they argue an e-book should cost. 'On material items, prices can fluctuate but why would a Kindle book go up in price?' says one."

Google ‘Localizes’ Search Results

"Whether you like it or not, Google Inc.'s software will 'guess where you are' and show local search results on a map even if you don’t type in a location. The company (NASDAQ: GOOG) said Monday that it has added this feature to searches to 'make it just a little bit easier for you to get where you’re going.'"

Reading Into the Future

"As a librarian, my world was always about books. But in this economy, I've evolved into a career counselor."

10 High Fliers on Twitter

"On the microblogging service, professors and administrators find work tips and new ways to monitor the world."

The Future of Federated Searching

"In 10 years, federated search—or search of any kind for that matter—won’t exist. . ."

Social Media Soaring in Canada

"Canadians are glomming on to Facebook, YouTube and other so-called social media in a big way, a study by media and marketing concerns released Monday indicates. CNW Group and Leger Marketing said their survey of 1,500 Canadians revealed consumers' use of social media grew 48 percent in the past year. And 49 percent of consumers who use the Internet technology do so at least once a day, the companies said in a news release. The survey also found that 61 percent turn to social media when researching potential purchases, with 31 percent saying they find the online sources more credible than advertising."

Americans Watch Screens 8.5 Hours Per Day

"U.S. adults spend 8.5 hours per day staring at video screens of all sorts, from televisions to cellphones to computers, a study indicates."

AT&T Rolls Out $50 Mini-Laptops

"AT&T is trying out a program that would make buying a laptop a bit like buying a cellphone. Walk into one of its Atlanta or Philadelphia retail outlets, and you’ll soon be able to nab a 'mini-laptop' (or netbook, as the rest of the world calls them) for just $50 to $250, provided you sign up for a mobile internet plan at the same time, GigaOm reports."

On New Cell Phones, QWERTY Eases Out 1-2-3

"At North America's largest cell phone trade show, running this week in Las Vegas, there were few new phones for the U.S. market that had a numerical keypad instead of an alphabetic keyboard. Touch screens also were out in force. These changes are a recognition of the popularity of text messaging and wireless Internet use. Industry organization CTIA Wireless, which hosts the show, said U.S. subscribers sent 1 trillion text messages last year, three times the 2007 volume. Meanwhile, the same people used 2.2 trillion minutes of voice calls, an increase of less than 5 percent."

Robot Scientists Can Think for Themselves

"Two teams of researchers said on Thursday they had created machines that could reason, formulate theories and discover scientific knowledge on their own, marking a major advance in the field of artificial intelligence."

Facebook, YouTube at Work Make Better Employees: Study

"Caught Twittering or on Facebook at work? It'll make you a better employee, according to an Australian study that shows surfing the Internet for fun during office hours increases productivity. The University of Melbourne study showed that people who use the Internet for personal reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive that those who do not."

Teens Use Internet To Interact with Those They Know

"New research about online and offline friends shows that most teens use the Internet to interact with people they already know rather than strangers who might turn out to be predators. The 2008 study by University of California researchers asked 251 teens about their face-to-face friends and those they communicate with via social networking and instant messaging. The study will be presented at a meeting of the Society of Research in Child Development, which begins today in Denver. Results of a similar study of college students were published last year in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology."

Study: Enforcement Spurs Rise in Web Sex Arrests

"More people have been arrested in recent years for sexually soliciting youths online, but the sharp increase comes from better enforcement, and the Internet remains a relatively safe social environment, researchers said in a new study. In a report to be released Tuesday, the researchers saw a nearly fivefold jump in arrests for soliciting undercover investigators who posed as juveniles — to 3,100 in 2006, from 644 in 2000, the last time the study was conducted."

Free Online Access to all SAGE Journals until April 30, 2009

Sage is providing free access to over 500 journals from 1999-present from now until April 30, 2009. Go to the Sage site to register for free access.