Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

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Bringing Millions of Books to Billions of People: Making the Book Truly Accessible

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

I believe in the power of books to change the world. That is not a particularly radical belief among librarians, but I hope to make you believe even more in the power of books. Literacy and access to knowledge underpins just about every social good, from education, to economic development, to health, to women’s empowerment, democracy and respect for human rights.

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Tribute to My Mentor

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

In honor of Gerry Davis, April 2018 My mentor passed away earlier this month. I have had the benefit of numerous mentors over my long career, but Gerry Davis was The Mentor. We worked together for over 35 years, from the very beginnings of my Silicon Valley career. Gerry’s incredible advice guided me along my entire path, and so many crucial turning points went well because of Gerry’s invaluable insight and guidance.

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Thinking of and Thanking Paul Otellini

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

A friend just sent me the surprising and sad news of the unexpected passing of former Intel CEO, Paul Otellini. Paul did so many things for me over a long career at Intel, and I had to put fingers to keyboard (something Intel enabled, of course) right away to acknowledge his many (and unknown) contributions to my work. I first met Paul over thirty years ago.

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A Call for Millions: Ending the Global Book Famine for the Blind

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

There’s a global book famine afflicting people with disabilities. They lack the books they need for education, employment, and social inclusion. Billions have been spent addressing the problem over the past decade. I have good news: For $5 million a year, we can build a global library that provides tens of millions of people around the world who are blind, low vision, or dyslexic free access to books that will work for them.

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You Can Help Us Strengthen the Social Safety Net!

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

Tech entrepreneurs can change the world through their philanthropy. They will achieve the greatest bang for their philanthropic buck by prioritizing the better use of community-driven software and data. That was my message in a recent interview, which you can read on the Benetech blog series, The Impact. Today, I’m writing to provide the first in a series of specific ideas on how philanthropic tech entrepreneurs can do good by doing what they do best: using software and data to create massive va

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Why We Are Voting Against the W3C Decision on Encrypted Media Extensions

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

There is a big controversy in the technical standards area that impacts accessibility of content in web browsers. Ars Technica covered this recently in their post: Over many objections, W3C approves DRM for HTML5. Benetech is voting against the W3C decision on Encrypted Media Extensions (EME). Here is the statement that will accompany our vote: EME should not become a W3C Recommendation without adding provisions that safeguard the rights of accessibility and security researchers to do their job

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It's Good to be Alive Today!

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

I am still on the Skoll high Just back from my week in Oxford with my head buzzing and Michael Franti's social change anthem "Good to be Alive Today" ringing in my ears. It's hard to explain why this is the one conference a year I always make the time for. It's a powerful mix of inspiration, singing, ideas and most importantly, peer brainstorming. I have more than a year's worth of ideas for social good.

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