Hat tip to Michael Oman-Reagan who brought this to my attention. Apparently, the current version of H.R.1, the stimulus bill being debated in the U.S. Senate, includes incentives for hiring "disconnected youth" which the bill defines as: ``(ii) DISCONNECTED YOUTH.--The term `disconnected youth' means any individual who is certified by the designated ...

The following is an outtake from an article Cindi Katz and I have been writing on the relationship between U.S. children and young people and their technological environments in the post-9/11 security state. Once/if the final article is published, I'll post a link to it here. In the meantime, consider ...

Some sad news regarding the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project: Microsoft has joined forces with the developers of the "$100 laptop" to make Windows available on the machines. According to Wired, Microsoft has had their sights on emerging markets in developing countries for a while now and have viewed low-cost children's ...

From the wired interview: Wired: Kids sit on the steps of the Brooklyn library trying to get Wi-Fi. Why can't we solve the problem that roughly half the people in this city don't have broadband? Bloomberg: We will. That's what capitalism is all about. As there's demand, the private sector will come ...

After reading David Pogue's review of the XO - a $200 laptop created by One Laptop Per Child (O.L.P.C.) - and spending time on O.L.P.C.'s website, I'm absolutely fixated on the mesh-networking feature of this computer (check out the "mesh demo" here). While the XO is light, durable and energy ...

I just saw this new at&t ad directed by Wes Anderson. I find it interesting on two levels - One, at&t appears to be shifting their slogan from "fewest dropped calls" to "works in more places." Apparently their strategy is no longer to be the least worst... Two, at&t -- through ...

While enjoying an always delicious cafe mocha at Oslo this morning, I came across the 15.09 issue of Wired Magazine. On page 60 they included a world map indicating the price of broadband for various countries. The following is a snap shot of some of the countries profiled: South Korea - ...

"You know the feeling" the empathic male voiceover announces, "you can't take care of business the way others do." You can’t, because you have what’s called “Connectile Dysfunction” or “CD” which the voiceover explains as “a condition caused by inadequate broadband coverage." The denizens of New Orleans know this ...