Wired — February 9, 2006
The citizens of East Timor who perished during Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation of their island nation might have died unaccounted for, but a group of determined programmers and statisticians refused to let that happen. Read Wired Magazine's story on how Benetech's HRDAG documented over 102,000 civilian deaths in the former Portuguese colony.

KPIX (CBS 5) Newscast — August 9, 2005
San Francisco-based television station presents a news story that highlights the work of Benetech’s Bookshare.org. Read the KPIX broadcast transcript.

Wall Street Journal Online — August 5, 2005
Article by Carl Bialik: Counting the Civilian Dead in Iraq. Features quotes from Benetech’s Dr. Patrick Ball. Read the Wall Street Journal article.

San Francisco Chronicle — July 15, 2005
Article by Maura Thurman: Books ripped up, fed to online library for the blind. Focuses on Bookshare.org library containing more than 24,000 books. Read "Books ripped up..." article.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Newsletter — Summer 2005 Article highlights Benetech's Human Rights Programs and the impact they are having throughout the world. Read the MacArthur Foundation newsletter.

Stanford Business School Case Highlights Benetech — 2005

In this case, Benetech is used as one of three examples of how social entrepreneurs are counteracting market failure by "discovering and implementing new ways of creating social and environmental value by serving the needs of poor, disadvantaged, and neglected communities."
Read the Benetech Extract.

Access Full Case information.

Bangkok Post on Martus in Thailand — July 8, 2004

Thai newspaper the Bangkok Post recently published an article announcing the introduction of Martus to Thai NGOs. Read about Martus in the Bangkok Post.

GeoWorld on Martus and GIS — Summer, 2004

Nigel Waters' "Edge Nodes" column makes the case for Martus as a socially beneficial application capable of leveraging Geographical Information System technology. Read the GeoWorld article .

eSchool News Online: Bookshare.org offers 17,000 royalty-free texts — May 7, 2004

Thanks to the aid of Bookshare.org, a non-profit digital book service based in Palo Alto, Calif., educators have access to a library of thousands of titles... Read the eWorld News Online article .

Technology Benefiting Humanity — April 2004

The Association of Computing Machines' Ubiquity magazine featured this piece by Jim Fruchterman, offering an in-depth look at the vision of "Technology Benefiting Humanity" that drives Benetech. Read Technology Benefitting Humanity.

The Power of Technology Social Enterprises — February 2004

An article by Jim Fruchterman providing an overview of the social enterprise model and its potential in combination with high technology. Published as part of the N-Ten Forecast Series. Read The Power of Technology Social Enterprises.

Business Week Highlights Martus — August 19, 2003

In its review of "Technology with Social Skills," Business Week Online takes a look at the impact Martus is having in the civil war-torn Philippines, where human rights groups use the system to bring abuse reporting into the computer age. Read Business Week Highlights Martus.

Placing People Before Profit — April 14, 2003

The San Francisco Chronicle discusses how Benetech's Martus Project helps social justice groups manage their information more effectively. Read Placing People Before Proit.

Fruchterman Interviewed by The Technical Innovations Bulletin — September 2002

Vito Proscia, founder of Innovative Rehabilitative Technology, Inc. interviews Jim Fruchterman for the September 2002 issue of The Technical Innovations Bulletin.

Listen to the interview online (MP3).

Caltech News: From Smart Bombs to Reading Machines — 2002

One-time rocket scientist Jim Fruchterman ’80, MS ’80, now turned socially minded entrepreneur, says he wants to use existing technology to help people live their lives a little better. In some cases, a lot better. Read From Smart Bombs to Reading Machines. (PDF reprinted with permission.)

Blossoming of the eBook and What it Means to Visually Impaired People — 2002

What's the potential in ebooks and other accessible reading materials for blind or visually impaired people? They may just make the Internet the new bookstore and library for such readers. Read Blossoming of the eBook.

Doing a Number on Violators — March 14, 2002

The Los Angeles Timeshighlights the work of Patrick Ball in Kosovo, as he systematically culled data on civilian deaths from refugee reports, exhumations and witness accounts. The statistical portrait of the displaced, missing and killed reveals the timing and ferocity of fatal blows that fell across an entire province. Read Doing a Number on Violators.

Charity's First Project Puts Digital Books in Hands of Disabled — March 7, 2002

The Chronicle of Philanthropy article: Bookshare.org was inspired by Napster, but with one big difference. Unlike the embattled music-sharing service, Bookshare expects no legal fights over its use of copyrighted materials. Read Charity's First Project.... (PDF reprinted with permission.)

High-Tech Tooling Around: Entrepreneur wants to help those ignored by for-profit world — March 7, 2002

The Chronicle of Philanthropy article: Mr. Fruchterman reasoned that the same technology that was used in smart bombs could be used to build a device that would read text for people who are blind. Read High-tech Tooling Around. (PDF reprinted with permission.)

Entrepreneur applies high-tech to social problems — February 27, 2002

The Palo Alto Weekly article: Visiting the new quarters of Benetech, a technology nonprofit on California Avenue in Palo Alto, is a little like touring a technology incubator circa 1997. One element is missing from the usual dot-com formula, however: a profit motive. Read Entrepreneur Applies High-tech to Social Problems. (PDF reprinted with permission.)

Bookshare.org Opens up Choices for Disabled Readers — February 21, 2002

USA Today article: To call Rich Ring an avid reader is an understatement. In the past week, he has read five books -- and reading isn't a simple matter for Ring, of Portland, Ore., who is blind. But a new Web site called Bookshare.org should make Ring's life easier. Read Bookshare.org Opens up Choices for Disabled Readers.

Bookshare.org: A Community for Sharing and Reading — February 2002

Braille Forum article about Bookshare.org. Read Bookshare.org: A Community for Sharing and Reading.

Putting Books Online for the Visually Disabled — February 21, 2002

The Christian Science Monitor article: Benetech, a Silicon Valley nonprofit technology developer, has come up with Bookshare.org, a book-swapping website that brings more than 10,000 books to people with visual disabilities. Read Putting Books Online for the Visually Disable. (PDF reprinted with permission.)

Bookshare.org: An Online Library for the Print-Disabled — January 29, 2002

Large Print Reviews article: Bookshare.org is an innovative online community and book sharing program that is being shepherded into existence by Benetech, a nonprofit organization. Read Bookshare.org: An Online Library for the Print-Disabled.

The Soundproof Book: Exploration of Rights conflict and Access to Commercial eBooks for People with Disabilities — 2002

An article by George Kerscher, International Project Manager, DAISY Consortium and Jim Fruchterman, CEO of the Benetech Initiative on the heated rights controversy concerning the use of synthetic speech -- Text-To-Speech (TTS) as it relates to the use of eBook publications by persons with disabilities. Originally published by First Monday. Read The Soundproof Book.

Bookshare.org: Books without Barriers — November 2001

Braille Monitor article about Bookshare.org. Read Bookshare.org: Books Without Barriers .

Open Source Plan Could Aid Torture Victims — April 9, 2001

CNET article describes the Martus Project and Jim Fruchterman's vision for Benetech. Read Open Source Plan Could Aid Tortune Victims.