Pearson today announced the creation of the Pearson Reading Maturity Metric to measure the reading difficulty of texts. The new computer-based technology measures how close an individual students' reading abilities are to what they will need to succeed in college and careers.
Traditional and current readability formulas rely on only a few, simple superficial measures, such as the average number of words in sentences and how frequently words are encountered in general or educational reading. Landauer and other scientists at Pearson used intensive computer analyses to identify more fundamental text features that contribute to text complexity. More importantly, Pearson developed an artificial intelligence technology that estimates how much reading of various kinds and in what order a person must have accomplished to understand a particular text.
The development of this new text complexity measure is detailed in a white paper, “Pearson’s Text Complexity Measure," authored by Landauer and available at http://www.pearsonassessments.com/nextgeneration.
Activists Launch Hack Attacks on Tehran Regime — While demonstrators gather in the streets to contest Iran's rigged election, online backers of the so-called “Green Revolution” are looking to strike back at the Tehran regime — by attacking the government's websites.
Dancho Danchev / Zero Day: Iranian opposition launches organized cyber attack against pro-Ahmadinejad sites
Web Users in Iran Reach Overseas for Proxies — As voting protests in Iran devolved into violence, and communications remained sporadic, Internet users in the country are calling for proxies they can use to stay online unmonitored. Twitter, a hub of activity since the rallies began …
Apple iPhone 3GS Sold Out? Nope! — Quick, how many blogs have you read since yesterday suggesting that pre-orders for the new Apple iPhone 3GS [AAPL Loading... () ] have been so robust, that they're already sold out? Boy Genius Report had that news yesterday.
Updated: HuffPo Changes CEOs: Betsy Morgan Being Replaced By SoftBank's Eric Hippeau — The Huffington Post, which has achieved great popularity but is still looking for the profit to match, is getting its second CEO in as many years, paidContent has learned.
Hunch: Your “Personal Decision Maker” — Hunch is not a “search engine” insists Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake, one of the people behind the new site. But you'll probably start seeing it show up in (Google) search results, just like Wikipedia or Yahoo Answers.
Mike Butcher / TechCrunch Europe: Hunch.com's decision making engine launches. Someone add Twitter now
Facebook Finally Catches Up To MySpace In The U.S. — It's over. Facebook is now as large as MySpace in the U.S., according to May data released today by comScore. Facebook actually passed MySpace by a smidgeon, with 70.278 million unique visitors compared to MySpace's 70.255 million.
US senators ask FCC to review mobile handset deals — Several U.S. senators urged regulators on Monday to review exclusive arrangements regarding mobile handset technology between wireless carriers and cell phone makers and how they affect competition and choice in the marketplace.
AT&T signals an abrupt end for prepaid iPhone plans — Update 4: I am working with an AT&T spokesperson to try to detangle the contradictory information discussed below. No results as yet, but will update when that becomes possible. — I just spent the last half hour on the phone with AT&T, and I can't quite believe what I heard.
Sun Is Said to Cancel Big Chip Project — Sun Microsystems may have dropped a bit of weight by the time Oracle officially acquires the company. According to two people briefed on Sun's plans, the company has canceled its Rock chip project, putting an end to one of its biggest revitalization bets.
Google: The Data Center Is the Computer — As folks increasingly store and access information online, the data centers powering cloud services need to be managed more like a single computing entity rather than a bunch of servers, according to a Google white paper (Google calls it a mini-book) released today.
Kara Tours the New Facebook HQ (and Gets Ripped): The Uncut Video! — Last week, in anticipation of Facebook's Press Open House tonight for its spanking new HQ in Palo Alto, Calif., BoomTown hightailed it down there for an early look-see at just what the social networking site is doing …
Twitter Takes A Breather — After experiencing torrid growth during the first months of the year, Twitter took a breather in May. According to new comScore data released today, Twitter had 17.6 million U.S. visitors in May, which is only 3.5 percent increase from the 17 million U.S. visitors comScore registered in April.
Trust, hostility, and the human side of Apple — An iPhone app developer's world is lonely. We were legally prevented by NDA from forming any communities for many months after the SDK was launched, and even now, there are no significantly sized iPhone developer communities …
Microsoft to announce Azure business plan next month — Microsoft plans to announce next month more of the business details behind its Windows Azure operating system. — The software maker unveiled the cloud-based operating system at a developer conference last year.
Tech Companies Stay Close to Home for Acquisitions — Tech companies buy their neighbors much more often than they acquire companies elsewhere, according to a study of tech acquisitions since 2002. — The conclusion isn't shocking. There are a number of reasons why a buyer would be more familiar with companies based nearby.
Apple Java update fixes security hole — Apple on Monday released Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 4 and Java for Mac OS X 10.4 Release 9, two updates that “deliver improved reliability, security and compatibility.” Both are available through the Software Update system preference, or for download from Apple's Web site.
Sam Diaz / Between the Lines: Salesforce opens Sites; offers free version to help push cloud adoption
Sumocat / GottaBeMobile.com: Microsoft keeps their friends close and their enemies out of their pockets
The Intimidator Scan 305 IRC is a compact LED scanner with a 60 W light source that shines through any environment. Its crisp 3-facet prism allows you to cover larger areas when you split the beam and non-DMX operation is convenient and easy with the optional IRC-6 remote. Link up to 4 fixtures to create eye-catching synchronised shows in automated, sound-active or master/slave modes. Minimize programming time by using the built in movement macros and move-in-black features. Achieve flicker-free video operation with high frequency LED dimming and save time running cables and extension cords by power-linking multiple units together. The Intimidator Scan 305 IRC fits best in the CHS-40 VIP Gear Bag.