There seems to be a mounting backlash against PowerPoint as a means of conveying ideas. “Visual artists say Microsoft’s popular “slideware” — which makes it easy to incorporate animated graphics and other entertainment into presentations — lulls people into accepting pablum over ideas. Foes say PowerPoint’s ubiquity perverts everything from elementary school reports to NASA’s scientific theses into sales pitches with bullet points and stock art. One of the internet’s original developers, Vint Cerf, gets laughs from audiences by quipping, “power corrupts and PowerPoint corrupts absolutely”.”
Tag: 12.29.03
Wanted: New Librarians
A shortage of librarians is looming for American libraries. So first lady Laura Bush, a former librarian, is championing a program to recruit and train new librarians. “The first lady’s stamp is all over a federal grant program to recruit a new generation of librarians, largely through scholarships in library and information science. In late October, the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, which is implementing the program, announced its first grants, totaling almost $10 million. The White House is asking for $20 million in its fiscal 2004 omnibus spending bill now before Congress.”