RIP, Aaron Swartz (Boing Boing) Why Faber Voices is well worth shouting about (The Guardian) Author Services Site Lulu Moves Toward DRM-Free, But Is It What Authors Want? (Digital Book World) The best crap book covers (The Guardian) Supersizing Literacy? U.K. McDonalds Swapping Happy Meal Toys for Books (GOOD) Has the e-book bubble burst? (Los Angeles Times) How Amazon Is Trying To Create A Huge Mobile Business (Business Insider)...

In addition to promoting childhood obesity, McDonald’s in the UK is now promoting childhood literacy. Until February 7th, in cooperation with England’s National Literacy Trust, all UK McDonald’s locations will be distributing print copies of the popular UK children’s series Mudpuddle Farm by Michael Morpurgo as a free Happy Meal “toy”. A 2011 survey showed that 33% of British children do not own a book, according to the National Literacy Trust. This program is meant to help remedy that by putting an actual printed book, rather than a cheap plastic toy, in the hands of young would-be readers....

Starting July 1, Starbucks is joining fellow AT&T-wifi-hotspot-users McDonalds and Barnes & Noble in offering free wireless Internet access to all comers. Presently, the AT&T hotspots at Starbucks locations require that users pay a fee for access (except for AT&T iPhone subscribers, who get access free) or else register for a Starbucks card. But its plans go farther than just free wifi—in the fall, Starbucks is also rolling out free access to paid content such as the Wall Street Journal, and other exclusive material, for those who surf the Internet from its locations. Wi-Fi Net...