Some groups that have lagged in signing up for high-speedInternet service, such as the elderly, the poor and rural residents,have started to gain on those who have had a head start, accordingto a new survey.
Those conclusions come as the government is set to decide how tospend $7.2 billion in stimulus money on expanding the availabilityof broadband.
Broadband usage among those 65 or older grew from 19 percent inMay 2008 to 30 percent this April, the Pew Internet & American LifeProject said Wednesday.
Among households with annual income of less than $20,000, 35percent subscribed to broadband this year, compared with 25 percentlast year. By contrast, broadband penetration for households thatearn more than $75,000 per year, already well connected, remainedroughly unchanged at 85 percent.
In rural America, a target for the broadband stimulus money,broadband penetration is now 46 percent, up from 38 percent.
The nationwide average was 63 percent, up from 55 percent a yearago, suggesting a resilient demand for broadband even through arecession.
James Joyce's classic 'Ulysses' meets Twitter
Forget about Ashton Kutcher. James Joyce's "Ulysses," one of themost difficult novels in English, is on Twitter.
Two devotees of "Ulysses" have adapted its 10th chapter toTwitter, which limits users to 140 characters per post. Called"Wandering Rocks," the chapter is especially well-suited to Twitterbecause it follows 19 Dubliners going about their daily business.
For three years now, Ian Bogost, a Georgia Tech professor, andfriend Ian McCarthy, a product manager at LinkedIn, havecommemorated "Bloomsday" on Twitter on June 16. That date in 1904 iswhen the entirety of "Ulysses" takes place, chronicling theexperiences of a man named Leopold Bloom.
Bogost says using Twitter "for literary performance art mighthelp shift perspectives on the service" and get people to use it formore than self-centered musings. "Perhaps in so doing, we can shiftpeople's interest in social media technologies from egomania andimmediacy toward deliberation and cultural reflection," Bogost wrotein an e-mail from Australia.
Bogost and McCarthy have dubbed their performance "TwitteringRocks," a play on the chapter's title that could also meanTwittering is awesome.
These prepaid phones must be registered in Greece
Greece's prepaid mobile phone users will now have to registertheir identities in a bid to tackle illegal immigration and othercrime, the communications minister said Tuesday.
Evripidis Stylianidis said widespread anonymous cell-phoneownership made crime-fighting more difficult.
"The types of criminals who prefer prepaid phones include drugdealers, immigrant smugglers and blackmailers," Stylianidis said.
Prepaid mobiles were also used in an elaborate illegalwiretapping operation that targeted Prime Minister Costas Karamanlisand senior officials in his conservative government during the 2004Olympics in Athens.
Investigators failed to find who penetrated Greece's Vodafonenetwork for seven months by hacking legal surveillance software.
SIM cards for prepaid connections are frequently sold for cash atcorner stores and supermarkets. Under the new regulations, prepaidconnections would not be activated until registered by the owner atthe mobile phone operator.
Pending parliament's approval of the legislation, people would berequired to register prepaid mobiles by June 30, 2010, Stylianidissaid.
He also said tens of thousands of illegal immigrants would not beallowed to use pay-as-you-go phones under the new scheme.
According to the government, there are an estimated 9 millionactive prepaid connections in Greece, while 5 million are registeredunder calling plans.
The Associated Press
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