Mein Kamf App for One Day Only

Apple Inc. approved the sale of a Spanish language e-book version of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kamf, complete with a swastika icon. The application was pulled after one day. Apple's selection process is a little odd - they won't sell erotica, so even the Kama Sutra is banned from the store - but somehow a big ol' swastika-bearing Mein Kamf made it through... rated as appropriate enough for nine-year olds and up to read. Oops. Also, someone was making $1.99 a pop off this. At least libraries are free. Supposedly, Apple only has forty people reviewing applications. Maybe they just have thirty-nine now.

E-Book Readers Don't Grow on Trees

Which is better for the environment, an e-book or a print book? Most people would say an e-book, though Don Carli, Executive Vice President of SustainCommWorld LLC thinks print is still better ecologically despite being cast as wasteful and obsolete.

There is no question that print media could do a better job of managing the sustainability of its supply chains and waste streams, but it’s a misguided notion to assume that digital media is categorically greener. Computers, eReaders and cell phones don’t grow on trees and their spiraling requirement for energy is unsustainable.

Making a computer typically requires the mining and refining of dozens of minerals and metals including gold, silver and palladium as well as extensive use of plastics and hydrocarbon solvents. To function, digital devices require a constant flow of electrons that predominately come from the combustion of coal, and at the end of their all-too-short useful lives electronics have become the single largest stream of toxic waste created by man. Until recently there was little if any voluntary disclosure of the lifecycle “backstory” of digital media.

Sadly, print has come to be seen as a wasteful, inefficient and environmentally destructive medium, despite the fact that much of print media is based on comparatively benign and renewable materials. In addition, print has incredible potential to be a far more sustainable medium than it is today… and a truly digital medium as well. Despite its importance to business, government and society, print has been cast in the role of a dark old devil in decline. Digital media has been cast as the bright young savior on the rise.

E-Readers for the Blind

Intel introduces a digital book reader that reads aloud to the blind. It's about $1500 US dollars, but that's less than some Braille readers which cost $10000.

The device has several functions. It can read digital files aloud, obviously, but it also has a large colour display that can render large fonts for the visually impaired. It also has a high-resolution camera that can convert printed text to digital text and then read them aloud to the user. It can even, with a small amount of work, be used to read webpages.

This has uses for people with severe dyslexia as well. I wonder if libraries are going to start trying to acquire them.

More on Science Fiction

Cory Doctorow writes about how science fiction doesn't so much predict the future as reflect the present.

Mary Shelley wasn’t worried about reanimated corpses stalking Europe, but by casting a technological innovation in the starring role of Frankenstein, she was able to tap into present-day fears about technology overpowering its masters and the hubris of the inventor. Orwell didn’t worry about a future dominated by the view-screens from 1984, he worried about a present in which technology was changing the balance of power, creating opportunities for the state to enforce its power over individuals at ever-more-granular levels.

It just turned out that 1984 was creepily on target, just not when it was actually the year 1984. I find the notion of science fiction writers trying to 'predict the future' kind of silly. Science fiction is a vehicle for stories that often reflect present fears and concerns, though I wouldn't mind some of that stuff on Star Trek.

The Digital Divide

Technology and education go hand in hand, or at least it seems like a good idea that they do. However, some kids are able to access things like computers and the internet, and others aren't. A New York Times article by Stephanie Olsen asks, 'Will the Digital Divide Close By Itself?'

Jim Steyer, chief executive of CommonSense Media and co-sponsor of the event, stressed that “every kid needs to be digitally literate by the 8th grade” and called for a major public education campaign to make that happen. He argued that technology and learning are synonymous and that schools, parents, and kids must get up to speed in the next five years.

Five years? Really? I don't think it can happen all that fast. Back when I was in school (the 80's to mid-90's), it used to be you hand-wrote your assignments. Somewhere along the line - I want to say grade eight or so - people would hand in their work typed up. Those people were the lucky ones, or keeners. My family still had a Commodore 64 at that point. Soon enough, some teachers began to request assignments be typed. Hand-written was frowned upon. Surely everyone could reach a computer. One of my teachers was fond of saying, 'beg, borrow, lie, steal' with regards to getting his demands filled. Back in the early days, I had to go to my friend Sharon's house. She had a computer and a printer. For a while we had a computer but no printer; we'd type things up, put them on diskettes, and my father would print them up at his office. People were impressed by laser printers back then. There was a lot of elbowing to get access.

Now it seems like there are laptops everywhere. I purchased my first laptop earlier this year, in March. It was a bit of a bend of finances to manage the refurbished one I'm typing this post on now, though I did want one that was also decent for gaming. Computers are such a big part of my life that when a fellow classmate handed my instructor a hard copy of her assignment, I was a little surprised. She could just e-mail it, after all. I'm spoiled, and I'm also younger than her by, I would estimate, at least ten years. E-mail was my first thought.

It really can't be easy for some families to have computers in the first place, or for kids to get time at their local library's computers. I am not an expert on the elementary/high school student's ease of access, but I do know it will take longer than five years to get laptops in every classroom.

Another thing I've noticed is that my handwriting has gotten worse since I started doing everything on my computer. I jot things down, I don't write, and I'm used to being able to click my cursor over to a mistake and redo it. My class notes are bordering on a scrawl with lots of bits impatiently scribbled out and sometimes I find myself wishing I'd brought my laptop.

Food for Fines

In an interesting twist of policy regarding overdue books, a library in Chicago is clearing one dollar of late fees from every customer who brings in a can of food. This is part of the library's annual 'Food for Fines' promotion, which is a pretty good marketing move. The food collected will be donated to the Salvation Army and Community Crisis Center.

Burlette said library staff has seen an increased need in Elgin this year for this kind of help. "There are a lot of people who have lost their jobs or who have had their house repossessed. There are a lot of difficult issues out there for our customers," Burlette said. "I thought this was a very good thing to do for the community."

An excellent idea for the community.

November is National Novel Writing Month

Every November I get very sick of people talking about NaNoWriMo, which is the abbreviation (sort of) of National Novel Writing Month. This is not because I'm against people writing novels - I like to read - but more that I get pretty tired of reading endless word count posts. Still, it is an event worthy of discussion.

Maybe I'm bitter; I tried it years and years ago and didn't get very far without throwing in the towel. Maybe that's why I don't want to hear about people's success. Maybe just a little.

I regret that I can never figure out something I'd like to write that much about. There are no plots in my head scurrying about wanting to get out. None. I wanted to be a writer when I was little (in between wanting to be a forest ranger and something else I forget) but it just never panned out. Maybe someday I'll have a story I want to tell. For now I content myself with writing a library science blog. It's almost daily! That counts, right?