The RP’s Weekly Web Gems: The Politics of Tech

A man (genius) named David Braben values education. More specifically, he values education regarding programming and computer use. Based on his desire to see more young people learning about computers and their use has created a $25 PC. . . On a USB stick. Incredible. [Geek.com]

For the first time in 20 years the number of U.S. homes with a television has dropped. The main cause seems to be the economic down-turn (similar to the economy of the early 90s). In the 90s, the numbers rose again once the economy turned around near the middle of the decade. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to expect that to happen once again. [NY Times]

Have you heard of the PaperPhone? If you haven’t creator, Roel Vertegaal predicts you soon will. Vertegaal is quoted as saying that within 5 years “everything is going to look and feel like this.” [Science Daily]

Last week, federal judges took the side of airplane mega-manufacturer Boeing, giving the okay for the company to fire two of its auditors. What did the auditors do wrong? They tried to act as whistle-blowers for what they felt was lax security by Boeing. The duo expected to be protected by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. However, at this point they have been thwarted. [Wired]