In the Internet content zoo, most e-books are among the smaller creatures–compared to such bandwidth hogs as video. And yet here in the States, the e-book business is among the vicitms of the White House’s less-than-gung-ho interest in developing broadband. Remember, you don’t just download books. You spend time looking through image-rich Web sites promoting them. And how about audio e-books, if you want to include such animals in the e-book category? Or e-books with plenty of photos–or future varieties with audios and videos embedded? When will the trogs in the White House get it?
Hollywood owns both Republicans and Democrats, and broadband has suffered, given the legal nightmares that Jack Valenti and crew have created with anti-Net laws. But at least the Dems under Clinton understood the importance of the Internet, which the current people in the White House do not. On top of that, we’re a long way from the focused e-book effort now underway in China–both parties are blind. Um, TeleRead, anyone?
The Edwards angle: Yo, Prof. Edwards. Your newest podcasts talks about a holistic approach to anti-poverty efforts. Part of that means learning at home, not just at schools and libraries (with changes in educational approaches, not just more infrastructure improvements). Please consider Net-related literacy efforts as well as the repeal of Hollywood-bought laws.
(Thanks to Mike Cane for the pointer to New York Times article, as well as one from Cnet on wireless and other forms of access at libraries. Remember: library access isn’t enough by itself–not when so much learning happens at home.)
