Last month I wrote that it’s only a matter of time before most books are read digitally. But one drawback I mentioned is that the most popular book reader — the Amazon Kindle — doesn’t easily let you borrow library books. I’m a big fan of electronic-book readers, but I’m an even bigger fan of public libraries. It’s not enough to make it easy to purchase e-books. It’s also important to make it easy to borrow them from libraries.

Sony appears to be doing just that. Last week the consumer electronics company announced its newest Sony Reader e-book along with a partnership with OverDrive that will allow people to use their local library card to borrow digital copies of books and other media.

OverDrive works with public libraries to allow you to borrow books for a limited period of time. Even though there is no physical scarcity, as there are with printed books, the service protects the rights of publishers and authors by limiting not only how long you can keep a book but how many can be loaned out at a time.

Just as with physical books, libraries purchase a limited number of digital licenses and once all “copies” of a title are checked out, you have to wait for someone to “return” their copy before you can check it out. But you don’t have to go back to the library to return the book or pay overdue charges. The book simply expires from your device.

OverDrive currently partners with about 9,000 libraries.

You need a library card to borrow an e-book from a specific library, but you don’t necessary have to live in the area. I have library cards from several cities around the country simply so I can use their electronic resources. And you don’t need an e-book reader to take advantage of downloadable books. You can also read them on PCs and Macs.

OverDrive isn’t the only online resource worth checking out. Like other libraries, the Santa Clara County (CA) Library has downloadable audio books and videos, including titles that can be played on iPods and other digital media players. There are also a large number of searchable databases — some which would cost a lot of money if you subscribed yourself — including a Civil War reference library, an auto repair library and an online version of Encyclopaedia Britannica. As with most libraries, you have to visit a branch to get a library card, but once you have that number you can access their online resources from any Internet-enabled device.

The OverDrive service should work with any Sony e-book reader, including the just-announced Sony Reader Daily Edition, which will be available in December for $399. It features a 7-inch touch screen and, like the Kindle, will have a built-in cellular modem. Sony will use the AT&T 3G network to find and download books.

Kindle gets its service from Sprint. The Amazon Kindle 2 costs $299 and features a 6-inch screen. It supports PDF files, but Amazon uses a proprietary format for its books. Sony is supporting the EPub open standard for e-book files as well as PDFs and Microsoft Word files. It can also download free public domain books from Google. This would include non-copyrighted books or books whose copyrights have expired.

In the case of Kindle, Amazon pays for all connection charges because it’s the only approved vendor for Kindle books. Sony is taking a more open approach, doing business with multiple book sellers and information providers. It’s expected that sellers will pay for any cellular charges, though I’m not sure how that will work for borrowed titles.

Although its sales lag behind the Kindle, Sony is a pioneer in the field. It launched its first reader, the LIBRIé, back in 2004 and its newer Sony Reader line in 2006. Amazon’s Kindle debuted in November 2007. Its sales have been eclipsed by Amazon partially because Amazon has made it so easy to buy e-books, typically for $10. It’s also worth noting that Amazon offers free software that allows you to use an iPhone or iPod Touch to buy and read Kindle books.

When I think about all the possible dangers associated with technology (cyberbullying, sexting, inappropriate material, online and game addiction and even the remote chance of being harmed by a predator), nothing strikes me as scarier than texting while driving.

A recently released study (PDF) by the VirginiaTech Transportation Institute found that truck drivers who were texting were 23 times more at risk of a “crash or near crash event” than “nondistracted driving.” As per talking on a cell phone, the same study found no increased risk for truck drivers and 1.3 times the risk for car drivers. There was considerably more risk associated with dialing while driving. The institute’s Richard Hanowski acknowledges that the numbers are likely to be different with car drivers. As reported by CNET’s Jennifer Guevin, the study also found that “texting took a driver’s focus away from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds–enough time…to travel the length of a football field at 55 mph.”

A December 2007 simulator study by Clemson University found that “text messaging and using iPods caused drivers to leave their lanes 10 percent more often.”

Paul Green, research professor at University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute who has done a decade’s worth of research on driver distraction, said “from the science so far, it’s very clearly a problem. We don’t have exact statistics yet, we have enough information to say that texting shouldn’t be permitted while driving.”

The New York Times has created an interactive game that measures how reaction time is affected by distractions.

Teens at biggest risk
When it comes to texting while driving, teens are a particular risk group considering that, according to Nielsen (PDF), “The average U.S. mobile teen now sends or receives an average of 2,899 text-messages per month” and apparently some of those texts are being sent and read from behind the wheel.

A 2007 study conducted by AAA and Seventeen magazine has been widely misquoted as 46 percent of teens admit to texting while driving. But what the study found is that “61 percent of teens admit to risky driving habits.” Forty-six percent of that 61 percent say that they text message while driving.

This issue is in the news a bit more than usual these days because of a shocking video created by a police department in the UK. It depicts a teenage girl texting while driving followed by a terrible crash with gruesome results for her friends in her car and the family whose car she hit. Before viewing the video (scroll down) please be aware that it is graphic and very disturbing. And before forwarding it to a teenager, also be aware that many youth risk prevention specialists question the effectiveness of videos that try to use shock value to change teen behavior.

Shock videos can backfire
Russell Sabella, professor of counseling in the College of Education, Florida Gulf Coast University, says that “While there is some research that shows that some students can be sensitized to potential consequences from videos like it, there is also evidence that students get emotionally aroused in the short term but desensitize in the long term. He said “some students get reinforced by the message that this happens to others but ‘it won’t happen to me.’”

Professor Sabella “would rather see a video with more positive role modeling such as someone who turns off their phone before they drive or perhaps uses a “designated texter”–someone else in the car who can do the texting for you.” If a shock video is going to be used, he said “is has be of a comprehensive effort which includes kids, parents, teachers, legislators, and authorities.”

“A more effective approach,” said Patti Agatston from the Marietta, Ga.-based
Prevention/Intervention Center, “might be to have teens involved in creating a public service announcement that include positive messages about looking out for themselves and the people they care about by not texting and driving.” Agatston says that it’s “helpful for youth to receive consistent and repeated messages from a variety of sources, including their peers and parents or guardians.”

Don’t just forward this to your kids
Indeed, if you are going to show this video to your kids, I suggest you watch it with them or, better yet, assemble a group of teens to watch it together and discuss it among themselves. What their peers say will have a bigger impact than what you say. You can view the video here:

by Larry Magid

Of course you’re not personally responsible for bringing down Twitter, but if your computer isn’t equipped with up-to-date anti-malware software and the latest version of your operating system, you could unwittingly be part of the problem.

Twitter has confirmed that its outage Thursday morning and subsequent intermittent problems were due to an ongoing denial-of-service attack. Facebook also “encountered network issues related to an apparent distributed denial-of-service attack, that resulted in degraded service for some users,” according to a company spokesperson.

Typically a DoS attack, which is often called a distributed denial-of-service attack, results when multiple computers simultaneously try to access the site in question. Usually the reason that happens is because the attacking PCs are infected with malware that does the dirty work for whoever is behind the attack.

As Symantec blogger Marian Merritt pointed out, “It’s often the case that DDoS attacks come from computers infected with bots, turning them into zombie computers doing their cybercriminal’s bidding. ”

You can help prevent your PC from being part of such an insidious scheme by:

* Using a good anti-malware suite from a reputable vendor such as Symantec, TrendMicro, McAfee, ZoneAlarm, or CA. You can find trial versions of such programs as well as the excellent AVG-Anti Virus Free Edition at CNET’s Download.com

* Making sure your operating system has the latest patches. Visit Microsoft and Apple security pages for information.

* Avoid clicking on e-mail links that take you to Web sites you’re not familiar with (malware is often distributed through “drive-by downloads” from unreputable or infected sites).

Visit CNET’s security center for more security news.

Starting Oct. 22, PC users can get their hands on the official release of Microsoft’s newest operating system, Windows 7.

I’ve been beta testing various pre-release versions of Windows 7 for several months, and I was given a copy of the final “release to manufacturer” (RTM) code, which, barring any unforeseen changes, should be identical to what customers can purchase in October.

Based on what I’ve experienced up to this final version, I have to say that this is a worthwhile upgrade — whether you are using Windows XP or Windows Vista.

Windows Vista has gotten — justified or not — plenty of bad press, but I don’t expect that to happen with Windows 7. For one thing, when Vista came out, a lot of the hardware out there wasn’t powerful enough to run it well. Another issue is compatibility. Microsoft fielded many complaints about programs and devices not working well with Vista. Based on what I’ve seen, Windows 7 should have a lot fewer hardware and compatibility issues.

Vista users will be able to upgrade their machines to Windows 7 without having to re-install their applications. XP users can also upgrade but will have to re-install all their programs. In both cases, Windows 7 will preserve their data files. However, it’s strongly recommended to back up data, since there’s a significant risk of losing data during the new OS installation. Microsoft is offering a free “Upgrade Advisor“ that you can use to see if your computer can run Windows 7.

My favorite Windows 7 feature is the new taskbar at the bottom of the screen which lets you “pin” programs to it for easy access. If a program isn’t running, single clicking on its taskbar icon starts it. Once running, you can hover over its icon to see thumbnails of all open windows. If you hover over a thumbnail, you see a full-screen preview of the window and if you click on it, it jumps to the foreground. You can right click on any taskbar icon to see a list of files recently used by that program and click on any you wish to open.

If you’re using the Internet Explorer 8 browser, you can click on its icon to preview all open tabs. I like this feature so much that I’ve switched to Internet Explorer from Firefox.

Windows 7 makes it easier to install and manage devices such as printers, scanners and remote drives. I actually forgot about installing my printer but Windows did it for me automatically.

Windows 7 also has features for touch-screen PCs, including tablet PCs. The feature makes Windows 7 machines feel like an iPod. For example, you’ll be able to pinch your fingers to zoom images or windows in or out.

The most confusing aspect of Windows 7 is the number of versions out there. Microsoft is releasing a Starter version, Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate — as well as versions for PC makers (OEM) and large enterprises. There are both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Most machines you buy with Vista now can be upgraded to Windows 7 for free. Amazon is now taking pre-orders for various flavors of Windows 7 starting at $120 for the Home Premium upgrade edition. However, I recommend shopping around closer to the Oct. 22 release date.