Technology briefs for Dec. 25, 2012

AT&T Southwest has reached a tentative agreement in its wireline contract negotiations with the Communications Workers of America District 6, AT&T announced late last week. The four-year agreement covers about 20,000 wireline employees in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. It will be submitted to union members for a ratification vote soon. The agreement includes a general wage increase each year while maintaining a robust health care plan. If the agreement is ratified before Jan. 31, eligible employees will receive a bonus of $1,000.

Project brings surprising results

WENCHI, Ethiopia — The kids in this volcano-rim village wear filthy, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They don't go to school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can spell words. The key to their success: 20 tablet computers dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a group called One Laptop Per Child. The goal is to find out whether children using today's new technology can teach themselves to read in places where no schools or teachers exist. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they're startled by what they have found. “