The report that brought attention to people with computer and Internet access and those without has changed its name from "Falling through the Net" to "A Nation Online." But that doesn't mean the digital divide has been bridged, said Catherine Settanni, director of the Community Computer Access Network (C-CAN), a local coalition of 67 Community Technology Centers. The centers, housed in park buildings, churches and libraries, are staffed by volunteers and help people learn computer skills.

Settanni spoke at last week's Twin Cities Regional Community Technology Conference. Attendees gathered to swap ideas and information about eliminating the digital divide -- the gap between those who have computer and Internet access and those who don't.

Closing the gap is a matter of economics: Those who have computer skills make more money than those who don't.

The digital divide occurs according to income, race and ethnicity and location, according to the Children's Partnership ( http://www.childrenspartnership.org/).

Seventy-nine percent of households that earn $75,000 or more have Internet access while only 25 percent of households earning less than 15,000 a year have Internet access. Sixty-eight percent of Hispanics and 60 percent of blacks don't have access to the Internet and 47 percent of rural households don't have Internet access.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak headlined the event. There are a number of organizations in the city addressing the digital divide, he said. The problem seems to be a lack of coordination. Rybak said he'd consider a designated officer to coordinate efforts and any other suggestions. He also announced Mosaic, a multiweek community art and culture festival in the works for next year. The purpose of the festival is to showcase the new faces of Minnesota, he said. The festival also will have a technology component that will allow people to learn more about different cultures online.

For more information on the digital divide or the Community Technology Centers in the Twin Cities, visit http://www.c-can.org/.

Some of the online resources include: http://www.benton.org/, http://www.childrenspartnership.org/youngamericans, http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/, http://www.digitalempowerment.org/, http://www.ntia.doc.gov/, and http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/index.html

-- MinneBytes is a weekly column devoted to technology. Send your informative, interesting and amusing items to scruz@startribune.com.