Sony to link Readers with libraries, allow e-book borrowing

At a press event hosted by the New York Public Library, Sony put their recently announced Reader hardware on display and provided an overview of its recent announcements. But the event was more than simply a recap of past announcements. The library location provided context for a program, run through Sony's e-book store, which will allow users to identify their local public library borrow books through its site. There is also new hardware: by the holidays, Sony plans on having a 3G-enabled Reader with a tall seven-inch screen.

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Apple drops Palm OS HotSync conduit from Snow Leopard

Apple has discontinued support for legacy Palm OS devices in Mac OS X Snow Leopard's iSync 3.1.0, according to sources familiar with the latest Gold Master build, requiring users of Palm OS devices to obtain third party support for syncing their Palm Desktop information with Mac OS X's Sync Services.

Palm continues to provide a very old version of Palm Desktop 4.2.1D for Mac users, enabling legacy Palm Centro, Treo, Zire, Tungsten, LifeDrive, and Pilot models to synchronize with its Mac OS X Universal Binary desktop software. That software is based upon what was originally Apple's Claris Organizer, which Steve Jobs sold to Palm over a decade ago as Apple divested itself of its already long in the tooth Claris apps.

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Apple to Ship Mac OS X Snow Leopard on August 28

— Apple® today announced that Mac OS® X v10.6 Snow Leopard™ will go on sale Friday, August 28 at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers, and that Apple's online store is now accepting pre-orders.

Scientists make bendable, transparent LEDs—without organics

Organic LEDs, or OLEDs, promise to bring flexible, transparent displays to the market, but some researchers have found a way to get the same effect by printing microscopic inorganic LEDs onto plastic and glass.

Organic light emitting diodes, or OLEDs, promise to bring a great deal of flexibility to where we can put a display—literally. Because of their organic components, it should be possible to create flexible and transparent displays, opening up a large number of potential uses. But now, just as OLEDs may finally be ready for the consumer market, some engineers have figured out a way to get many of the same properties using inorganic LEDs (ILEDs), using a method that's so simple, even a biologist could understand it. It's a few years away—at least—from commercialization, but it's a significant advance.

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Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom

A recent 93-page report on online education, conducted by SRI International for the Department of Education, has a starchy academic title, but a most intriguing conclusion: “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.”

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Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite for iPhone

It’s taken a while, but the mainstay apps in mobile computing—those intended for mobile business users who need to stay productive—are making their way to the iPhone. Take Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite, a full-blown suite for viewing and editing both Microsoft Word and Excel files.

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Naitonal Technological Literacy Test - Draft Release

A draft of proposed national technological-literacy exams has been released by the National Assessment Governing Board. The computer-based test, which will be given to a sample of students in fourth, eighth and 12th grades in 2012, will gauge students' ability to use and communicate with technology as well as their understanding of technology's advantages and drawbacks.

$11 Billion Stimulus Set to Launch Early

Education stimulus money can be used to purchase technology fro your program

Instead of waiting until Sept. 30 for the second round of economic stimulus grants, states can claim their education money a month sooner.

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