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Gates Foundation Gives $3.4 Million For Library Broadband |
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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have committed nearly $3.4 million in grants to improve Internet connections for libraries in five states.
Nationally, libraries report that demand for high-speed Internet access is growing faster than their ability to provide increased bandwidth. An American Library Association study found that 60 percent of all libraries say their current Internet speed is insufficient.
In addition to the grants, the Gates Foundation is also partnering with 14 states to help public libraries compete for federal broadband stimulus funds.
State libraries in Arkansas ($735,207), Kansas ($363,099), Massachusetts ($367,789), New York ($947,517), and Virginia ($977,468) received foundation funds to develop statewide plans to improve Internet connections in local libraries.
Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, and Washington will participate in the foundation's new Opportunity Online broadband grant program, which will help libraries develop proposals for federal broadband stimulus funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.
"Federal, state, and local government investments in connecting libraries to broadband are important steps toward realizing the vision of universal broadband access," said Jill Nishi, deputy director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's U.S. Libraries program.
"When libraries have access to broadband, they can effectively deliver critical educational, employment, and government services for residents that lack Internet access elsewhere. As community anchor institutions, libraries can also help drive local broadband adoption."
About 40 percent of Americans don't have high-speed Internet access at home and the public library is often the only provider of free Internet access available to residents, according to the foundation.
The five states receiving the grants to implement local broadband improvement plans have partnered with the foundation since early 2009. Arkansas, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York and Virginia were selected to receive the foundation grants because they have a high number of libraries without high-speed Internet access.
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Online Retailers See Strong Cyber Monday Sales |
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U.S. online retailers reported strong holiday sales results on Cyber Monday (Nov.30) 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to a new report from Coremetrics.
Cyber Monday sales were up 24.1 percent compared to Black Friday 2009. Consumers spent more per online order ($180.03 versus $170.19 for an increase of 5.8 %) compared to Black Friday.
Total sales were up 13.7 percent compared to Cyber Monday 2008 with the average dollar amount spent per online order jumping 38.2 percent from the previous Cyber Monday ($180.03 versus $130.24), led by apparel retailers.
"We are seeing good online buying momentum because people are looking for the very best deals, and are going online for the most convenient way to shop," said John Squire, chief strategy officer, Coremetrics.
"We expect to see one more spike in online spending when the final 'free-shipping-is-ending' promotions are announced. Until then, retailers will watch consumer behavior very carefully to gauge what's working well and what they need to adjust. The end result will be a boon to consumers, as retailers pull out all the stops to entice consumers to make that purchase."
Consumers purchased nearly 10 percent more items per order on Cyber Monday 2009 compared to Black Friday and nearly 30 percent more compared to Cyber Monday 2008.
Apparel retailers and jewelry retailers saw the biggest increase in the average dollar amount consumers spent per online order, up 26.4 percent and 14.3 percent respectively.
Sports apparel and gear retailers experienced a rise of nearly 55 percent in the number of new consumers visiting their sites. However the average dollar amount consumers spent per online order dipped slightly by 3.1 percent.
Department stores also had success attracting new consumers to their websites, with a 33 percent increase. Overall, the average order value was down nearly 17 percent.
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Amazon's Kindle Breaks Sales Record in November |
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Amazon announced that its Kindle device, an electronic reader, has broken its record for sales in a single month, during November. This information does not even take into account Cyber Monday, which is today.
The company says that the Kindle is the most "wished" for, the most "gifted," and the number one best-selling product across all product categories on Amazon.com.
"Kindle is a great gift for anyone who loves to read and it’s flying off the shelves faster than any other product Amazon sells," says Ian Freed, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. "We’re seeing lots of people buying from one to a handful of Kindles as gifts for friends or family, as well as many businesses and other organizations buying Kindles in large quantities for their employees or customers."
Black Friday no doubt played a huge role in the success of the Kindle this month. Reports show that Amazon was the top online retail site on Black Friday.
The most recent Kindle release is selling for $259. Sales of the device will likely be helped even further today, not only because it's Cyber Monday, but because Amazon is also offering immediate shipment on it today.
Meanwhile, Barnes & Nobles's Nook, a device that competes directly with the Kindle, has been delayed by a week. The reason for the delay is said to be high demand. It is now supposed to be in stores on December 7.
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Now Google Delivers GPS for Android 1.6 |
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Update: Google has now announced that it is expanding availability of Google Maps Navigation to devices running Android 1.6 (Donut) and higher, such as the T-Mobile myTouch 3G and the G1.
Original Article: Google has launched Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 devices in beta. This acts as a GPS navigation system with 3D views, turn-by-turn voice guidance, and automatic rerouting.
"But unlike most navigation systems, Google Maps Navigation was built from the ground up to take advantage of your phone's Internet connection," says Google Software Engineer Keith Ito.
Because of that Internet connection, Google provides seven features that are available:
1. The most recent map and business data
2. Ability to search in plain English
3. Ability to search by voice
4. Traffic View
5. Ability to search along a route
6. Satellite View
7. Street View
The following video demonstrates how Google Maps Navigation functions:
GPS users may find the "search along route" feature to be particularly helpful. It is designed to let you search along your route to give you results that will keep you near your path. You can search for specific businesses by name or type and turn on popular layers such as gas stations, restaurants or parking. Since Google will provide the most recent map and business data, this is likely to be a more efficient tool than similar options from other GPS systems.
Verizon's Droid is the first phone to have the Google Maps Navigation and Android 2.0. Google Maps Navigation is only available in the U.S. currently. More information on the feature can be found here.
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