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Report: Kindle library lending feature nears launch

Amazon has promised that the Kindle will get e-book library lending by year's end and word is the service is getting closer to launching, with beta testing reportedly under way in the Seattle area.

Nathan over at the eBook Reader Blog writes:

Amazon and OverDrive have quietly started rolling out Kindle ebook lending from public libraries, albeit in Beta. Even though there hasn't been any official announcement yet, some public libraries have already started lending ebooks for the Kindle...Plus the Device Resource Center over at OverDrive now lists the Amazon Kindle 3, Kindle DX, Kindle 1, and Kindle 2 as supported devices. The library ebooks will also work with Kindle apps and the Kindle Cloud Reader according to the public library books help page at Amazon.

Other e-readers, such as the Barnes&Noble Nook and Sony Readers, have offered the library lending feature for a while and some users swear by it. Basically, if your local public library offers e-book lending (and you have a library card) you can check out an e-book for a set period of time (usually less than two weeks). Often, there's a wait list for more-popular titles--and only a fraction of e-book titles are available for borrowing--but the best thing about the service is that it's free.

For more info on the Kindle library lending feature, check out this page on Amazon. To find out if your local library is lending Kindle e-books, you'll have to check its Web site. … Read more

Obama's jobs bill includes something for wireless

President Obama included authorization for incentive wireless spectrum auctions and spectrum reallocation for public safety as part of his American Jobs Act.

On Monday, the White House released a fact-sheet detailing President Obama's jobs bill, which he first talked about last week in his address to Congress. As part of this legislation, he is calling for wireless auctions that would help reduce the deficit and would also provide wireless broadband services for at least 98 percent of Americans. These are goals that his administration has also outlined in the National Broadband Plan.

Specifically, the American Jobs Bill would authorize … Read more

Stressed commuters turning to public transit, tech

If you're getting stressed-out by your commute, you're not alone, according to an IBM survey which found more people amenable to using public transit and technology to improve their daily transportation.

IBM today published the results from its annual commuter sentiment study which found the transportation infrastructure is improving but "commuter pain" is increasing.

Why the paradox? IBM's Vinodh Swaminathan, director of business development at IBM's Intelligent Transportation Systems, says that even if there are incremental improvements to the transportation system, a lousy commute is still a lousy commute.

"If you cut someone'… Read more

A decade later, public safety still lacks national network

Ten years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. is still without a nationwide network that would let first responders from different agencies and jurisdictions communicate with each other over emergency radios.

In late August, the National Security Preparedness Group pointed to the lack of the national interoperable radio network recommended by the 9/11 Commission. And the commission itself recently issued a report card that expressed concern over communications capabilities.

One of the biggest problems immediately following the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City was that firefighters and police were unable to … Read more

Yahoo fires Carol Bartz

The four-tuner Tivo Premiere Elite makes its debut, Netflix cracks down on people who stream more than one video at the same time, and Yahoo's board fires CEO Carol Bartz after less than three years on the job.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Yahoo! board fires CEO Carol Bartz Netflix cracks down on more than one stream Facebook for iOS gets update Apple ships 27" Thunderbolt displays Tivo Premiere Elite Reddit spins out... sort of Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3) |  iTunes (320x180) |  iTunes (HD) |  RSS (MP3) |  RSS (320x180) |  RSS HD

Cell phone networks unscathed by Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene has come and gone, and despite widespread power losses up and down the Eastern U.S., wireless networks performed well.

Cell phone operators said they had been preparing for days for the hurricane, which hit North Carolina on Saturday and hugged the Atlantic coastline up to New York City where it turned into a tropical storm before making landfall early Sunday morning. The preparation paid off as all four major operators reported that their equipment for the most part held up well in the storm.

While some customers may have experienced some disruption, for the most part, the … Read more

Zynga delaying IPO?

Social-gaming site Zynga may delay its initial public offering until November as a result of the current turmoil in the stock market, according to the New York Post.

Zynga was looking to raise up to $1 billion by going public as early as September. But citing sources "with knowledge of Zynga's plans," the Post said the company has been concerned by the stock market's recent up-and-down ride, prompting it to back off on its IPO for now.

Launched in 2007, Zynga has turned into a force for online social gaming with such popular titles as FarmVille, … Read more

Brightcove files IPO to raise $50 million

Online video provider Brightcove has filed its first document for an IPO, with the goal of bringing in $50 million.

According to the registration statement filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the initial public offering will be managed by Morgan Stanley and Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., and comes on top of the $12 million that the company raised in April and June of 2010, according to BostInnovation.

Based in Cambridge, Mass., Brightcove sells cloud-based products that let companies publish and distribute online video across PCs, smartphones, tablets, and Internet-connected TVs. It currently has around 3,000 customers, including … Read more

BMW Group's DesignworksUSA studio previews Bay Area Rapid Transit refresh (video)

We've mentioned earlier that BMW would have a role in updating the Bay Area Rapid Transit (or BART, as it's known locally), the commuter rail system that serves the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, we have a preview video that gives us an idea of what that refresh will look like.

On the outside, the trains don't look radically different from what you'd expect to see from a commuter train. They're all basically metal boxes that hold people. New external LCDs show the train's destination and the doors get yellow illuminated trim that serves … Read more