Posted 06/02/09 at 05:49:04 PM by Mark Edward Soper

The Wall Street Journal reports on the increasing numbers of homeless computer users. While some resort to familiar solutions such as using computers set up in shelters or at public libraries, others carry their own laptops and external hard disks, and some even generate their own electricity or connect their units to car batteries to keep their systems running. Cybercafes, sympathetic friends, and "hidden" locations in public places that offer AC power and wireless access are some of the methods used to stay online.

Except for where homeless users run their systems and make online connections, they're not much different than those of us using PCs at home or at the office: PCs are used for news, information, and entertainment, social networking, advocacy, and jobhunting. As one homeless user puts it: "You don't need a TV. You don't need a radio. You don't even need a newspaper, but you need the Internet."

If you had to hit the streets, what would you give up before you gave up your PC? Join us after the jump and share your thoughts.

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Posted 05/11/09 at 09:32:02 AM by Paul Lilly

According to the Financial Times, readers of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) website will soon have to cough up micropayments for individual articles, along with premium subscriptions to the website. The new micropayment service is expected to launch this fall, says Robert Thomson, editor-in-chief of Dow Jones and managing editor of the Journal.

The move comes as newspaper outlets struggle with what has so far been a busted business model. It would also make WSJ the first big newspaper to dive into micropayments, and if successful, it probably won't be the last.

As for pricing, WSJ is still crunching the numbers and hasn't yet decided what to charge for its articles. The goal, according to Thomson, is to develop a system where occasional readers are charged a small amount who otherwise wouldn't pay more than $100/year for a site subscription.

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