Details from Microsoft. No big deal, just a bug fix. (Via PocketPC Watch.)
posted by David Rothman at 2:16 AM | permanent link

Remember the appeal I put out for WordPress help? Carthik Sharma, one of the good samaritans of the WordPress community, responded. And now a test version of WordPress is running elsewhere on my site--despite some exotic ZIP-related problems that had nothing to do with the blogware. Thank you, Carthik, for helping with the basics!

Now I'm looking for a WordPress layout/CSS design expert who can help me translate the pathetic old HTML on this page into something much better and entirely W3C compliant. No pay. But as in Carthik's case, I'll give credit via a link in the redesigned blog. What's more, we can let the "TeleRead Theme" be available for others to use within the WordPress community. I'm hoping for something in the spirit of the present site, with ample opportunities for preserving the link-rich columns off to the side. Anyone interested? Hey, just shoot me a quick email. Thanks!

Detail: Some of the best of the existing themes are from Mike Little.
posted by David Rothman at 2:14 AM | permanent link

Grace Lee over at the spiffy-looking Handheld Librarian has put together a nifty little podcast primer.
posted by David Rothman at 9:27 AM | permanent link

Our newest MP3 leads with word of the first podcast-only novel. Here's our Podcast address, so we can come to you automatically through iPodder or a similar program. OK, the links to mentioned posts...

--EarthCore billed as "first podcast-only novel."

--Prof. Edwards clueful on the FEC blog threat: Net.stupidities next? (Looks as if the risk has diminished since then, fortunately. Now if only he'll speak out on Bono and the DMCA!)

--Podcasting: Do-it-yourself NPR, AudioActivism.org and the W. Post angle

--Podcast on the way from the Raccoon

--Couch potato approach vs. Ourmedia approach

--Libraries in trouble: The Palo Alto story

-- Library use up--but budgets cut: Bigger role needed for e-books

--E-books on Symbian phones

--Who owns a DRMed book?

--DRMBlog skeptical of DRM

Those are just a few of the stories you can read via our text RSS feed or by following TeleRead the old-fashioned way.

Housekeeping: The text feed will change when we switch to WordPress, but the audio feed most likely will remain the same. We'll keep you posted.

Usual disclaimer--the one the big boys won't supply: This podcast was shamelessly voice-enhanced.
posted by David Rothman at 7:48 AM | permanent link

"EarthCore is the world's first podcast-only novel: you can't find it in stores, you can't download the full audio, and the only way to find out what happens is to subscribe to the podcast. My goal is to generate 5,000 subscribers to this book, which will demonstrate the power of Podcasting and generate attention from publishers. This novel is a cross between episodic modern-action fare like '24' and classic sci-fi movies like Predator and Starship Troopers." - Scott Sigler, author.

The TeleRead take: Get it? Podcasting and e-books are converging. The word is that an hour of audio will come out each week, with a total of 20 episodes. Impatient to hear EarthCore on your iPod or MuVo and enjoy it during your walk or workout routine? You can download the first MP3 now, then make EarthCore part of your iPodder routine. Best of luck to Scott. (Thanks to Colin at MobileRead, the source of this pointer.)
posted by David Rothman at 5:01 AM | permanent link

"E-Ink announced on Tuesday that Intel has invested an undisclosed amount into the display company." - ZDNet via eBookAd.
posted by David Rothman at 1:00 AM | permanent link

A grumpy writer for the Phoenix New Times has complained about video-blogging and podcasts from people without The Face or The Voice. Hey, that's probably most of us--which is the whole point of the V&P scene: many to many.

But let's see what Mr. New Times can write about Rochelle, aka the Raccoon of Tin + Raccoon fame, who promises me that her podcast will be on the way in the next three months.

She has both The Voice and The Prose for a do-it-yourself NPR essay act--and a video-ready face. Even before I made a not-so-suble suggestion about podcasting, Rochelle was conferring with a techie friend of hers. There! The promise is public. I'll put this in my Remind program and check up her.

Vanity Department: Perhaps I've overlooked someone else's article, but I apparently was the first to do an LISNews item suggesting podcasts for libraries. Tried several search strings. Did I overlook anyone else's article? Meanwhile here's a reminder that librarian Greg Schwartz is already experimenting with the technology. In fact, he was doing so before the TeleBlog first podded up.

(New Times piece found via Steve "Seinfield" Garfield. Yep. The New Times guy apparently likes his Carol and Steve routine and the rest. I do, too.)
posted by David Rothman at 10:08 AM | permanent link

If you doubt the need for the cost-savings of e-books, take a look at stats from ALA.

In the past two years library budgets have been cut in the U.S. by at least $109 million--even though library use is dramatically up over the last ten years. That's something to ponder during National Library Week (April 10-16).

Best to fund libraries better, of course, but e-books, however, also can help. Too bad ALA-prez-elect Michael Gorman is an anti-e-book Luddite.

Also useful would be avoidance of wasteful Hollywood-bought requirements such as the broadcast flag, which the ALA, to its credit, is fighting. (Found via LISNews.)
posted by David Rothman at 2:12 AM | permanent link

Details via eReader for Symbian at eReader.com. (Thanks to PDA eBooks List.)
posted by David Rothman at 8:43 PM | permanent link

(Update: Good news from CNET: Online politicking receives temporary reprieve.)

Prof. John Edwards' first podrelease came out strongly against oppressive FEC regulation of blogging--hear his MP3 for yourself at 19 minutes 45 seconds into the recording. The sole exception mentioned was regulation of campaign-paid bloggers, where I'd absolutely agree, based on the need for disclosure. Now, if only Prof. Edwards will stop wimping out about Bono and the DMCA and advocate repeal or fixes. Professor! How about Larry Lessig's Bono-related proposal?

Come on, Prof. Edwards. We're talking free-speech threats, not just the multi-billion-dollar threats to consumers over the years. Look, where would you have stood when the Communist speaker ban was Issue #1 at UNC? You'd have spoken out against it, no--just as you did against the FEC threat? So why are you so shy about opposing Jack Valenti and the others in the copyright Mafia who want copyright to last forever, short of a day? If the Valentis of the past had prevailed, you couldn't even reprint Shakespearean poems or post them on the Net without the copyright thugs coming after you for not asking permission. The Bono Act was and is just part of the "forever" process. Why is a free-speech-minded "populist" so silent?
posted by David Rothman at 1:04 PM | permanent link

"Personally, I take the view that if a song, movie, book, etc. is DRM'd then it isn't truly mine." - Slashdot reader in When Would You Accept DRM?

The TeleRead take: I'll rent DRMed books in proprietary formats. I myself try not to be buy them. This is just me--on a limited budget. I'm eagerly looking forward to the OpenReader era when I can own e-books for real even if they're DRMed. Today's proprietary DRM helps makes permanent ownership impossible.
posted by David Rothman at 12:11 PM | permanent link

If you're thinking about publishing a print-on-demand book, check out How to Use POD to Publish your Genealogy or Other Books in Bella Online. The five recommended publishers are Publish and Be Damned, Lulu, iUniverse, Xlibris and Booklocker, and you can find other how-tos in Part II. Disclaimer: Remember, those are Bella Online's recs, not mine. Last I knew--this may have changed--a friend of mine seemed happy with Lulu's handling of his POD chemistry-related workbook. POD rarely is the path to riches, but it can be worth the effort for niche books that the usual publishers might shun or else pay ridiculously low royalties on.
posted by David Rothman at 8:06 AM | permanent link

Rochelle, who on a more clueful planet would be a regular NPR audio essayist, should check out a story in the Raleigh News & Observer on podcasting.

The lead example? An audio essayist in Durham, North Carolina, who bought a $17 microphone and now has 400 subscribed listeners. In listenership Mur Lafferty is no competition for All Things Considered, but still an example of the possibilities of the media--even if she probably overpaid for the mike. Heard a sample essay from Mur. Watch out, NPR! As in Rochelle's case, I hope Mur keeps plugging away.

My favorite podcaster: Brian Russell

My favorite podcaster of the moment, however, is Brian Russell of Chapel Hill who does AudioActivism. For me he's the ultimate narrowcaster--not a slick radio professional but someone who addresses my interests. I loaded up my MuVo TX/FM with some of Brian's MP3s. Then I enjoyed several long walks in the aural company of Brian and other Tar Heel bloggers such as Ed Cone and Roch Smith as well as Paul Jones of iBiblio (Roch is to to the left in the photo, though I'm not sure how that works in political ideology). Brian's tutorials on topics such as net.audio and citizens journalism were also gems.

Brian's newest fellow podder: John Edwards

Next I left a comment in Brian's blog about UNC Prof. John Edwards' cowardly refusal to speak out against the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act and the DMCA. Brian understood instantly. Perhaps the good professor can use his new podcast to break out of his apparently Hollywood-bought silence.

If not, let's hope that local podcasters such as Brian can get the UNC community talking about Edwards' hypocrisy. Imagine the spectacle of a "populist" poverty-warrior who refuses to speak out against anti-school, anti-library legislation--which is making literature a less and less important part of wired children's lives. I don't care if Prof. Edwards is the first pol to use the Net for 3D holograms. Let's not ever confuse political hipness with the tech kind put together by hired hands. Brian is doing true grassroots podcasting. Prof. Edwards is kicking off his '08 campaign with audio press releases.

Not Murrow--but learning from him

Fittingly, the Ourmedia linked to AudioActivism from the home page. Lest fame get to him, though, Brian has kept in mind the related wisdom of Ed Murrow.

Now--if only Brian can get over a nasty case of the flu that's making it hard to talk. It's the podcast equivalent of a writer with two broken hands.

L Street and the Blog People

So why the mention of the Post in the headline above this post, small-p? And isn't it interesting how I live in Alexandria, VA, but keep writing so much about Carolina?

Part of the explanation is that I went to school down there, and that there are notable blog-related experiments such as Greensboro101. But there is another reason. The Post sucks, massively, as a way for me to keep up with the local blogging scene and Alexandria civic affairs in general.

Instead of writing about the local Brian Russells, it has trouble looking past the sexy Wonkette (not that bloggers should necessarily trust the Post to get the stories about them right anyway). What a contrast to the Greensboro News-Record (where Editor John Robinson and bunch of staffers blog and unbashedly link to local bloggers fond of civic affairs) or the N&O (which I hear is eager to catch up with the N-R).

Memo to self

I really should keep reducing time devoted even to the RSSed Post and grok around more for local bloggers and podcasters. The Post is like a big noisy freeway dividing neighborhoods. It steals time and attention from hometown-level debates that it ought to cover in more depth.

No, I won't buy the excuse that the Post is a national, international and metro paper. With improved RSS and email, L Street could do one hellava job of serving Alexandria, VA, and other individual suburbs if it wanted. I even believe it's malarkey to think blogs will definitely replace the Post and the New York Times. The giants have far more resources for endeavors such as investigative reporting at all levels, the micro one included, if editors will be inclined.

Post- vs. Wonkette-style affairs

But, even discounting the above potential, I badly need to start reading the Wonkette more and the Post less. No, the Wonkette isn't a vehicle for discussion of civic affair--more likely, the dirty-laundry kind--but get you the general drift.

Granted, MSM journalists question the Wonkette's accuracy. But no perfection at the Post either. Otherwise the Post wouldn't let the typical reader think that "public domain content can be encumbered. I'm still waiting for a clarification despite a clueful explanation from a Post lawyer. And of course, Col. Michael Getler, the ombudsman-PRman at the Post, never responded to email and a phone call. This is bizarre. I'm actually wishing that the lawyer could be the ombudsman instead. Even in the VIP column, gasp, the setting where the Post made the public-domain gaffe, L Street should be more serious than the Wonkette.

Demotion for Getler: I can just envision Getler coming up with some endearingly self-effacing remark and saying, "Hey, I'm not a general, just an ombudsman sitting off to the side. Isn't Leonard Downie, the executive editor, more of a general?" General, er, Colonel, I think you're right. That's why, on the basis of this imaginary objection, I've demoted you. A nuance, of course. You're both top-downers in the old Pentagon tradition--as shown by Downie's arrogant bluster on behalf of bloated newspapers in an era when more and more readers hate the format, especially the Net-reared young.

Prediction: The Post will eventually do podcasting or the equivalent in a big way--and end up treating the grassroots variety about as tenderly as L Street has treated e-books.
posted by David Rothman at 5:25 AM | permanent link

"A Japanese site entitled All You Can Read Paperbacks and launched in 2003 already suggests 150 e-books. The success of the new cell capability seems guaranteed, considering the over 50.000 subscribers to this website only." - E-book enabled mobile phones? in Softpedia, via eBookAd.

The TeleRead take: The story goes on to say: "Surprisingly enough, several surveys indicate that most users take advantage of this offer in order to read classical novels, previously abandoned during school, and that they find that the small displays not only induce less fatigue, but they also enable them to read in darker conditions, for instance when reading bedtime stories to their children at home." Possibilities for spreading e-books in the Third World? Books on tiny displays, as e-book advocates would point out, are better than no books.
posted by David Rothman at 5:02 AM | permanent link

The Anne Arundel County Library in Maryland reports growing interest in e-books and audio books. (Via HometownAnnapolis.com)
posted by David Rothman at 5:52 PM | permanent link

Ourmedia.org is down right now--after having been swamped. Clearly some nonVIPs, non-"newsmakers," want to exchange content.

Why, then, are Michael Gartenberg and certain other members of the media elite so eager to cling to their notion of consumers as mere couch potatoes? Didn't the failure of the original Prodigy teach something? Prodigy was oriented toward shopping, not true interactivity, despite all the corporate misuses of that word.

"We write, you consume"

Oh, well. It all goes along with the we-write/you-consume tabloid from the Washington Post, where in-depth local news actually seems to be frowned upon. Was this dreck allowed when Kay Graham was publisher of the Post? When is Donny Graham going to live up to his famous appreciation of local news and shut the Express down or, better, change it?

Meanwhile, in a rather different way, the same elitist 'tude permeates Gen. Michael Getler's apparent belief that it's our patriotic duty to try to enjoy a five-pound newspaper, regardless of our wishes.

The Net as a force for localized news--and dialogue

No, General. It is our patriotic duty to participate in civic affairs, and truly interactive media can help. With the Net, our news can be more localized, not less, and citizens can speak back to policymakers without editors constantly in the way. That's the kind of participation I like.

A few nuances: To his credit, Gartenberg is at least aware of the prejudice that the MSM will show at times against perceived competitors. Hey, newspapers did the same thing when radio and TV came along. In fact, they still are.

(Thanks to Steve Garfield for spotting the clueless quote about couch potatoes.)
posted by David Rothman at 8:08 AM | permanent link

"A study of 100,000 pupils in 31 countries around the world has concluded that using computers makes kids dumb. Avoiding PCs in the classroom and at home improved the literacy and numeracy of the children studied. The UK's Royal Economic Society finds no ground for the correlation that politicans make between IT use and education." - The Register.

The TeleRead take: First off, who's to say the study is on target? But let's assume it is. As many critics of edtech point out, there is a major difference between fact-gathering and knowledge. One response to the skeptical would be a mix of e-books and well-supervised blogging. Schools could train students to aborb e-books and write about them in a coherent, analytical way.

More time for the essentials

A glory of this approach is that students can devote more time to the actual research, thinking and writing than if they had to create their own Web pages from scatch. E-Books, moreover, would streamline research.

At the same time students could learn to links to books to document their arguments well. OpenReader would faciliate this process by allowing links even at the sentence level.

Links no substitute for intelligent paraphrases

Still, I don't believe that schools should let students get away with links alone. They should also show they can intelligently paraphrase material.

As for the math aspect of controversy, I'll leave that for others to address.

Detail: If you're a teacher and are using the e-book/blog combination already, I'd love to hear from you and tell others about your good work.
posted by David Rothman at 7:08 AM | permanent link

So which is more important--posting to this blog or finding time for a long-overdue switch from Blogger to something better? The present Blogger slowdown is by far the worst yet. Thoughts welcome. I'm tired of waiting for the server upgrade to be done. Any WordPress experts out there who might help with the transition or at least be ready to rush in if something goes wrong? My present thought is to leave this blog intact and start over again within a /teleblog subdirectory or maybe a /wp one.
posted by David Rothman at 3:39 AM | permanent link

Sad. Even in a well-off community with a median family income of $117,574, library advocates must fend off branch-closing proposals. Oh, and sure enough, the Palto Alto controversy involved talk of using some "saved" money for a main branch. When will 'crats finally understand the importance of neighborhood libraries--and well-stocked ones at that? (San Jose Mercury News, via Alev.)
posted by David Rothman at 2:39 AM | permanent link

OK, CIL slipped past us--with so much else to write about. But you can get wrapups via links at LISNews and even an OpenStacks summary podcast from Greg Schwartz.

Related: Two librarians on podcasting, an OpenStacks item. Also see Podcasting for libraries: Great outreach tool in time, from LISNews.
posted by David Rothman at 2:23 AM | permanent link

Rochelle passes on this interesting link on the issue of social networking for libraries. Shouldn't consenting readers be able to list their favorites on library sites and connect with the likeminded? Perhaps pseudonyms could be used online.
posted by David Rothman at 2:15 AM | permanent link

OurMedia is now open as a home for grassroots text, video, audio and the rest--with e-books included. Have an interesting story you've told in a structured way? Willing to assign a Creative Commons license to it? Then OurMedia might be a place for the material. What's more, as a reader, viewer and listener, you should check this project out. The present version is just a start, so expect the usual glitches. OurMedia is hosted at the Internet Archive. Read more details from OM leader J.D. Lasica. He describes OurMedia this way: "Create. Share. Get noticed."
posted by David Rothman at 9:47 AM | permanent link

The scale may have been off, but as best as I can determine, Sunday's Washington Post weighed five pounds--no small part of it advertising. That's ten times the weight of my Dell PDA. It's almost twice the weight of my Cybook loaner with a ten-inch screen. A lesson here for the newspaper business? The obese Post needs both a gastric bypass and more emphasis on targeted advertising and its .com side.
posted by David Rothman at 2:21 AM | permanent link

"It's been said that a writer writes, always. If that's true, then there's bound to be lots of unpublished manuscripts collecting dust out there. But now that the age of electronic publishing is upon us, are there new opportunities for would-be authors?" - E-Publishing Comes of Age, summing up an MP3 from Tod Maffin, CBC's /Nerd reporter.

The TeleRead take: Nice going, CBC! This is a realistic look rather than a Lud job or inane hype. I wish there'd been more on the advantages for many writers of publishing without DRM, but overall I was very happy. No wonder. Tod Maffin practices what he's reporting on. Oh, and he's also into podcasting.
posted by David Rothman at 7:50 PM | permanent link