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Vol. 4, Issue 10

October 2002

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HEADLINES

INSIDE STORY
- Why STM Publishers Should Use XML

PLUS...
- DCL President Mark Gross Quoted On E-textbooks
  By World Media
- Don't forget to visit DCL's Tech Library

OTHER NEWS
- Airline Travelers Targeted By E-Book Publisher
- Library Of Congress Looks To Grid Technology To Preserve Its
   8 Million Digital Records
- U.S. Army Distributes Free Game CD
- Computers Help The Blind To Read Maps
- Will "E-Glossies" Catch On?
- The Man Who Brought A Smile To The Web

ASIDES ;-)
- The Peculiarly English Pastime Of Waiting For Buses
  Is Set To Go Hi-Tech

BEST OF DCL-NEWS
- Check out the best stories from previous issues
 

COVER STORY:
XML changes lives of
Print Disabled
Date: 10/15/2002, DCLnews Exclusive
DCLnews talks to leading accessibility commentator, George Kerscher of the DAISY Consortium, who says we are on the verge of an XML-driven breakthrough that is set to be a "Gutenberg Revolution" for the print disabled. What's more, he speaks from personal experience ... it changed his life too ... more

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INSIDE STORY:
Why STM publishers should use XML
Date: 10/15/2002, DCLnews Inside Story
Every moment STM publishers put off embracing XML, they're missing a powerful opportunity to reduce composition costs and increase revenues, says David Skurnik, VP of Sales at Data Conversion Laboratory ... more

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PLUS...
DCL President Mark Gross quoted on
e-textbooks by world media
Date: 10/13/2002, Newsday, UK Guardian
DCL President Mark Gross (pictured) was quoted by a number of newspapers around the world who ran stories (prepared by Associated Press) on the new Sun Valley Charter High School in Ramona, California, which doesn't have textbooks, only computers. The media focused on how students are getting back problems carrying weighty print textbooks around and how e-textbooks are playing a big part in solving this problem. Some people quoted were dismissive saying that kids in poorer districts might not be able to afford modern computers or other hardware you need to view e-textbooks.

Mark Gross, however was optimistic. "This will be a boon for schools in poorer districts," he said. "In the long run, their book budgets will stretch further. While the cost to develop and create e-textbooks might be the same or possibly more, E-books are much less expensive to manufacture than physical textbooks -- since there's no paper or printing -- and the cost of shipping is pretty low. Therefore, in the long-term, the cost of providing a 'book' can come down significantly. Admittedly, e-book readers are still relatively expensive devices. But they are coming down in price, and represent a one-time capital expense since one device can be used for many books over the student's career."
... more (Newsday) ... more (UK Guardian)

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DCL Technical Library
Don't forget to visit our technical library for insider information about XML and SGML, e-books, technical documentation, and scientific and educational publishing ... click here

 Table of Contents

 

OTHER NEWS:
Airline Travelers Targeted
By E-Book Publisher
Date: 10/1/2002, WiredNews
This month, passengers flying United Airlines are being treated to an in-flight ad from Palm Digital Media promoting the advantages of e-books -- particularly their portability. The video also highlights Stephen King's latest bestseller "From a Buick 8."

Explaining the logic of running the promotion in-flight, Mike Segroves, director of business development for Palm Digital Media, said: "People on planes read, business people on planes have PDAs in their pocket or briefcase."

In other words, they look like the most receptive audience for the eBook message. Time will tell ... more

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Library Of Congress Looks To Grid Technology To Preserve Its 8 Million
Digital Records
Date: 10/2/2002, WiredNews
Researchers at the Library of Congress are evaluating grid technology developed at San Diego Super Computer Center (SDSC) to preserve the Library's digital collection. One part, the American Memory Project, is one of the largest digitized archives of U.S. history, with more than 7.5 million digital records from 100 collections of manuscripts, books, maps, films, sound recordings, and photographs.

"When you're (preserving) millions of digital entities you have to use automated processing," said Reagan Moore, co-director of the Data and Knowledge Systems Program at SDSC. The grid technologies being developed by SDSC would help the Library of Congress decide how to preserve the integrity of its collection when underlying technology changes.

"Data grid technologies provide levels of abstraction that you need to deal with changing technologies," Moore added. "You can manage data across old and new legacy storage systems." ... more

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U.S. Army distribtutes free game CD
Date: 10/10/2002, IGN Insider
Earlier this month, the U.S. Army started distributing "America's Army: Operations," a computer game where players enter into virtual military service defending the United States. Designed to communicate information about Army opportunities, adventures, challenges, and training, the free game CD has shipped and is available at Army recruitment stations, ROTC detachments, and Army events listed at www.americasarmy.com and www.goarmy.com.

"The enthusiastic response to America's Army ... by young people and the public tells us that we are both educating and entertaining game players with information about our nation's Army, its core values, and the opportunities it offers for personal and professional success," said John McLaurin, executive agent for the project.

The America's Army CD is just one aspect of how the military is using multimedia to streamline its vast operation and make it more effective. Many of the Army's training and technical manuals are now on CD-ROM and are interactive. Engineers and technicians can watch videos that guide them through repairs and the replacement of parts. For trainees, this is very
much like having an expert on hand to guide them through
the process... more

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Computers Help The Blind Read Maps
Date: 9/25/2002, WiredNews
Computer science professor Gary Bishop and a small team of software engineering students at the University of North Carolina have developed an application that allows the blind to read maps. The map navigation software, dubbed Blind Audio Tactile Mapping System (BATS), takes digital map information and provides non-visual feedback as a user moves a cursor across a map.

Bishop and his team rigged the system up with a map of ancient Britain. When a cursor passes over land, the sound of horses galloping is played; when it moves on to sea the sound of waves braking on a beach is played. And when the cursor hovers over a town or city, a speech synthesizer pronounces the name -- and will spell it too.

Jason Morris, a blind graduate student in the classics department, said: "Up until this time the blind have been more or less shut out of geographic records ... and without this map I don't think I would have been able to do the things I did." ... more

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Will "E-Glossies" Catch On?
Date: 10/1/2002, eWeek
Microsoft is preparing an end-to-end electronic publishing solution for its Tablet PC product, which rumor has it will be launched in New York City on Nov 7. Called ePeriodicals, it is being touted as "the new home for a new breed of electronic magazine." ePeriodicals is based on Microsoft's ClearType technology and includes a souped-up version of the company's eBook Reader software. Microsoft say ePeriodicals' technology will allow developers to create complex documents, like eMagazines, that can be read on a variety of devices, including Tablet PC.

But Microsoft is not the only vendor looking to unlock the digital magazine publishing world. Zinio, NewsStand, and qMags all offer software and/or services that allow publishers to create and distribute electronic versions of their existing print magazines. The big question is: are readers ready to view magazines on screen? Or is there a certain "something" about flicking through your favorite glossy after it hits the newsstands? ... more

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The Man Who Brought A Smile To the
World Wide Web :-)
Date: 9/19/2002, Boston.com
On September 19 1982 Scott Fahlman, an IBM researcher known for his work with neural networks, typed :-) in an online message and brought the first smile to the Internet... The smiley face went on to become a staple of online communication. Everyone from 13-year-old death metal fans to corporate big wigs now punctuate their messages with the quick symbol that says "Hey, I'm only kidding."

E-mail is a cold medium. It doesn't have the warmth of paper. So it is easy to misinterpret when someone is being humorous, especially if they have a dry wit. The smiley could well have saved a few online friendships, not to mention calming the flames of bulletin boards and newsgroups ... [http://digitalmass.boston.com/news/2002/09/19/smiley_face.html]
Click here for more on smileys and writing e-mails

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ASIDES ;-)
<THIS MONTH'S OFF-BEAT NEWS FROM THE EDITOR OF DCL-NEWS>
The peculiarly English pastime of waiting for buses is set to go hi-tech...
Date: 10/9/2002, Ananova.com
I'm English and maybe we have a penchant for being eccentric (think Monty Python), but I'm someone who rarely gets in a car. I walk nearly everywhere locally or get the bus. I'll even take shortcuts through woodland when it's dark, (which makes getting from A to B more like an SAS mission). Waiting at bus stops, though, is rarely a pleasure, especially when it's raining. The big problem is you have no idea when the next bus will arrive. So you don't know whether to walk the five miles home or wait.

But thanks to text messaging and satellite technology, this is set to change. Bus travelers in Leicestershire, central England, are now able to use their cellphones to find out how far away the bus is.  All it takes is a quick text message to the Kinchbus company who are running the new service. The system, which works with satellite receivers on each of the buses, has been launched on a 70-stop bus route in Leicestershire. Word has it the service will spread to other parts of Britain, maybe to Norfolk where I live ... which means I'm finally going to have to get the tech manual out and learn how to use my cellphone ... more

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Best of DCLnews:

Read through a selection of the best articles from previous issues of DCLnews. You'll find articles on e-books, technology, Internet, data conversion, and digital publishing, as well as humorous looks at the news. click here

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