By David Reid
Reporter, BBC Click
Electronic book readers are still a minority pursuit for book lovers, but the devices have the potential to become the norm one day.
With newspapers in crisis, there are now suggestions that e-books might offer journalism a new portable platform and subscription model.
One French firm already taking advantage of the electronic subscription model is Ave! Comics which provides cartoon strips to paying e-book users.
“Our idea is to get cartoons more widely distributed to another public and in the end an international public,” said Allison Reber from Ave! …

By Greg Sandoval
(CNET) — Universal Music Group and Google are now partners in the music-video business.
The largest of the four top recording companies and YouTube’s parent company announced on Thursday that they are working together on Vevo, a new music and video entertainment service set to launch later this year.
YouTube will handle the technology while Universal Music supplies the content. The two companies will share ad revenue.
The companies said and at this point it appears that Universal’s content and artists will be the only label represented on the site. However, …

By John D. Sutter
GRAYSON, Georgia (CNN) — It’s 9 a.m. when Cylindrian Rutabaga takes the microphone at a familiar bar.
The funny-named musician with crinkled red hair, a white blouse and flowing skirt picks up her custom-made guitar and looks across the audience with a blank stare.
Her fans already are rocking out: Some breakdance on the bar’s tile floor. Others flail about with the vigor of ’70s disco dancers. One man with a towering afro and 3-D glasses looks like he’s swimming the backstroke to some nonexistent beat.
The …

As glossy magazines struggle, Ann Moore of Time Inc wants technology to be the solution, not the problem
THERE are few things that unnerve Ann Moore, the chief executive of Time Inc, America’s largest magazine company, as much as young Americans’ “shock” when they hear that her firm will have to start charging them. “Real reporting takes time and money and effort,” she says. “Somebody does have to pay for the Baghdad bureau.” A recession is a difficult time to convince readers that they need to start paying for information, however, …

Google has entered the sometimes controversial arena of behaviour-based advertising.
It has launched a system that will serve up ads to web users based on their previous online activities.
The search giant is offering users the chance to see and edit their profiles and it will also offer them the choice to opt out of the service.
But privacy campaigners are outraged by the move, with Privacy International calling for a parliamentary enquiry.
Keen travellers
The trial service launches on YouTube and Google from 11 March but advertisers will not be able to display …