• Harvard is now offering bathroom naming rights as a fundraising effort. Several other colleges are also doing this. Are they really that strapped for cash?

• Rice University And OpenStax Announce First Open-Source Textbooks. Apple led the way with the introduction of iBooks Author and iBooks featuring textbooks and it is encouraging to see other's tackling education.

• TidBITS introduces Bookle, an EPUB reader for OS X. It is a simple and well-developed app for reading DRM free epubs on your Mac. The only thing that would make it better is if it could synchronize with iBooks (since Apple does not look like they are ever going to release iBooks for Mac.)

• LinkedIn Is Acquiring Contacts Start-Up Rapportive. We think Rapportive is a very helpful add-on to gmail. Let's hope LinkedIn let's it continue to be the great tool it is and doesn't interfere with how it works.

• Netflix has begun streaming their first original tv series, Lillyhammer, a show about a New York mobster who, after entering witness protection, is moved to Lillyhammer, Norway. Having learned a thing or two about how people consume television they are making all episodes available immediately and not on a weekly basis.

 

A mid-week treat of assorted links.