Obama to address annual technology festival in Texas

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will aim to encourage civic engagement and use of technology to solve problems, like helping poor families get diapers for their children, when he appears at an annual tech festival in Austin, Texas.

A technology lover who arranged to keep using his BlackBerry in the office and is often seen using an iPad, Obama wants to talk about how the administration is using technology to help make people's lives better, including by overhauling the government's online processing, simplifying federal application forms and increasing access to government data.

Spurred by the administration, the Jet e-commerce company, which sells and ships diapers, and First Quality, maker of the Cuties brand of diapers, created a program that will allow any nonprofit organization to buy diapers at a cost up to 25 percent cheaper than current prices, with no required minimum order and two-day shipping.