2020 vision: 10 things you’ll see on the Web in the next 10 years
(fcw.com): During the past 10 years, federal agencies have made significant progress with their Web sites and the way they use the Internet for daily business. A decade ago, many agencies were still transitioning from simple online “brochure-ware” toward real e-commerce and data sharing. In contrast, most major federal agencies… Read More
Journal stem cell work ‘blocked’
(bbc.co.uk): Stem cell experts say they believe a small group of scientists is effectively vetoing high quality science from publication in journals. In some cases they say it might be done to deliberately stifle research that is in competition with their own. Read More
Macmillan raising e-book prices, Amazon opposed
(independent.co.uk): US book publisher Macmillan is raising its e-book prices in a move that threatens to shake up the market and is being strongly opposed by Amazon, maker of the Kindle electronic book reader. Amazon temporarily pulled Macmillan titles from its Kindle store over the weekend to protest what it… Read More
New One-Stop Source for Scientific Information about U.S. Oceans and Waters
(usgs.gov): A one-stop source for biogeographic information collected from U.S. waters and oceanic regions is now available from the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) Program. The OBIS-USA website offers a unique combination of tools, resources, and biodiversity information to aide scientists, resource managers and decision makers in the research and… Read More
DoD ‘Wiki’ Increases Technical Collaboration
(defense.gov): Scientists traditionally share information by publishing their completed research studies in academic journals. But the pace and nature of technological change renders that process much too slow. That’s why, in 2008, the Defense Technical Information Center launched a scientific and technical “wiki” Web site to increase real-time exchanges between… Read More
A world of connections – special report on social networking
(economist.com): Online social networks are changing the way people communicate, work and play, and mostly for the better. Although Facebook is the world’s biggest social network, there are a number of other globetrotting sites, such as MySpace, which concentrates on music and entertainment; LinkedIn, which targets career-minded professionals; and Twitter,… Read More
Climate change emails between scientists reveal flaws in peer review
(guardian.co.uk): Scientists sometimes like to portray what they do as divorced from the everyday jealousies, rivalries and tribalism of human relationships. What makes science special is that data and results that can be replicated are what matters and the scientific truth will out in the end. Read More
UK government adopts Creative Commons licenses for open data
(openaccesscentral.com): The UK government has in recent years made significant amounts of government data openly available for reuse. They Work for You is an example of a website which creatively reuses data on UK parliamentary activity, and its parent organization, MySociety, has played an important role in encouraging the UK… Read More
Publishers Win a Bout in E-Book Price Fight
(nytimes.com): With the impending arrival of digital books on the Apple iPad and feverish negotiations with Amazon.com over e-book prices, publishers have managed to take some control — at least temporarily — of how much consumers pay for their content. Now, as publishers enter discussions with the Web giant Google… Read More
Apple’s iPad: A Blessing and Curse for Publishing
(pcmag.com): The publishing industry was drooling over the Apple iPad long before the product was actually announced. What it saw in the rumored device was the potential for a powerful delivery platform for a new generation of books, magazines, and newspapers. Publishers hoped the color screen, speedy processor, and intuitive… Read More
