LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) - While many young tech wizards strive to invent the next iPad, Umar Saif is working to bring Internet-style networking to millions of Pakistanis who don't have access to the Web. He could shake up the country's politics in the process.
From: http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16034/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=HnwqZPHZ

According to a new study conducted by the University of Maryland students are "unable to be without their media links to the world". The study, "24 Hours: Unplugged," asked 200 college students to abstain from all forms of media for 24 hours. After completing their 24 hour media fast they blogged about their experiences. Below are some snippets from the study:

American college students today are addicted to media, describing their feelings when they have to abstain from using media in literally the same terms associated with drug and alcohol addictions: In withdrawal, Frantically craving, Very anxious, Extremely antsy, Miserable, Jittery, Crazy.

A new study out today from the International Center for Media & the Public Agenda (ICMPA) at the University of Maryland, concludes that most college students are not just unwilling, but functionally unable to be without their media links to the world. "I clearly am addicted and the dependency is sickening," said one person in the study. "I feel like most people these days are in a similar situation, for between having a Blackberry, a laptop, a television, and an iPod, people have become unable to shed their media skin."

"Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort," wrote one student. "When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to a school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable."

Follow the link to read more of the article. I was surprised by the strong reactions from the students. What does this mean for the future of the students we will face in the classroom? In what ways do we need to reach them?

The feud between Cablevision and WABC came to a peak today as WABC was pulled from Cablevision’s line up. Apparently the two companies could not agree on fees to be paid between the two companies. Who is the big loser? The customers who subscribe to Cablevision’s service. What can customers do about it other than write letters or make phone calls to each company’s headquarters? Not much. The two big babies want more than the billions they are already making. How does this feud tie into Apple's iPad? Let me explain.

I believe Apple is positioning the iPad to be a device for people to consume media on, i.e. television, movies, books, magazines, and newspapers. I believe eventually they will be successful in shifting people from their current media diet to a robust electronic diet. The same way Apple has taken control of the music industry it will become the dominate player in all forms of media. In my mind it is troublesome when a few people control the flow of vast amounts of information. In no way do I think Apple has evil intent or even wants to control the media industry. I think Steve Jobs and company want to create a device that will be easy to use and enjoyable to watch shows and read books on. A byproduct of the iPad's success will be a further shifting from print media to electronic media. As this shift happens someone has to control the pipes. As Cablevision and WABC control the pipes and have turned them off for millions of people tonight, the same could happen in the future with all forms of media.

I am not sure how long the shift will take for all major media to be in an electronic format delivered over the Internet, but anyone who reads the news can see that it is happening. I believe the iPad will be the device that accelerates this shift. What does that mean for the future?

After all our books are in electronic format who will control what can and cannot be sold. It won't be the publisher per say, but the person who delivers the e-book to the consumer. If the NY Times, as it seems very likely, has a subscription for the iPad, it will eventually give up control of the delivery of their content to the consumer. As the media companies merge over time, a small amount of people could potentially control most if not all of our media. I am a big fan of electronic media, and consume almost all of my media via the Internet. I think the Internet has been a tremendous medium to deliver vast amounts of content to the masses. I am able to read and see things I would never had been able to even just a few years ago. But electronic media is easy to control and manipulate. The reformers were able to get around restrictions in Iran via Twitter, but think about how that government reacted to the protests. They shut down all kinds of access. Will those of us who eschew the virtues of all things technological (myself included) come to rue the day when all our access to media is in the hands of a few large corporations?

Gary Hayes has created a real-time mobile computing calculator. The statistics below are since you opened this page. If you follow the link to his page he provides links to his sources to justify the statistics he has in his mobile counter.