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The difference between heat and warmth, the difference between things that bug us and things that make and made us feel good, learn and smile. -M!

The price for a Perkins Brailler has become ionospheric. Last I heard it hovered around $700---or was that for institutions?---and it was $500 for a person. In any event, it's ridiculous. Who'd want to spend that for technology that came out just prior to WWII?

I have a machine about 34 years old. It works reasonably well, but it can be a little cranky. I can't count the number of Brailler repair people who have looked at it, performed a splenectomy and other surgeries on it, and said it is still in good shape. I think it rattles more than it used to and I miss the original single slotted cylinders. These new rubber things drive me crazy. Like a broken plate, I just don't think you can get an old machine back to brand new. And I am very picky about the keyboard feel. It took me ages to adapt to a Braille Lite because the keyboard was so strange.

Luckily a prototype exists for an inexpensive Brailler that would cost just $10 per unit if mass produced. Again the NFB is making it happen; guess all the other Sleeping Beauties haven't met their prince?

--Text by David Faucheux

Today's search podcast covers Search Engine Watch editor-in-chief Danny Sullivan talking with Google CEO Eric Schmidt live before an audience at Search Engine Strategies San Jose 2006 on topics ranging from search privacy to Google's expansion into all aspects of daily life. Tune-in by listening to this MP3 file, via our Odeo channel or through iTunes via this link (or use alternative iTunes instructions explained here) or though our Yahoo Podcasts channel.

http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060810-143211

Topics included in this audio version of What's New at the LPI Library: Children's books at the LPI; PLoS ONE an new ejournal; Authors rights and SPARC resources; and descriptions of selected of titles recently added to the collection.

In this Library 2.0 Gang discussion, members discuss the implications of the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), passed last month by the United States' Congress.

Although a piece of US legislation, the implications are potentially far-reaching.

Programme participants were drawn, as usual, from the full list of Gang members, and this week we were joined by a number of special guests with expertise in this area. A forum is available for discussion of issues raised during the recording, and we welcome your thoughts.

Listen Now | Download MP3 [54 mins, 37 Mb] | How to Listen

Kenton County Public Library produces a series of video clips for the local public access station called Off the Shelf. For us syndication fans, they have made this series available as a video podcast, RSS feed and all.*

* At the time of writing this post, there seems to be some issues with their website, so I can't confirm that everything with the feed is working as it's supposed to be.

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