NYPC General meeting: The Sony Reader and Visual Aids for the "Hard of Seeing", Thurs. May 24th

The Sony Reader has been described as an iPod for books. Its screen uses E Ink technology and looks more like a book than a computer display. The Reader is much easier on the eyes than a computer screen, and you can enlarge the fonts. It is great for anyone who likes to read and wonderful for people whose eyes are not as good as they used to be.

Sony and National Association for Visually Handicapped will both be on hand to make presentations.

NAVH will talk about their organization, discuss what types of software and hardware are available and show devices that help people with poor vision read normal books, newspapers, etc. The local distributor for these devices, CTech, will be on hand to demo the devices and answer questions.

Sony will demo the Reader and discuss e-books. The Reader is about the size of a trade paperback, but thinner and lighter. It uses the battery only when changing the page, so battery life is measured in page turns rather than hours of usage. You can go for days or weeks without recharging, depending on use. It is great for travelers or anyone who wants to carry a number of books.

The Reader can display Sony's own proprietary XML based format as well as RTF and PDFs. It will also play MPEG audio, but this drains the battery more quickly. Sony's Connect e-book store sells over 13,000 books of all types. They are adding more every week. More . . .

6:00 PM Doors open
6:45 to 7:45PM NAVH Presentation
7:45 to 8:45PM Sony Presentation

At PS 41. 116 West 11th Street (just West of 6th Avenue) Google Map*

How to Make Your Cellphone Act Like a BlackBerry (NYT)

By DAVID POGUE

When you whip out a BlackBerry or a Treo in public, what does it say about you?

You might think that it says: “I’m an important person who can’t afford to be out of touch. I can do e-mail all day long, and I’ll never miss that critical deal.”

But people around you might be thinking, “Look at that huge, clunky phone,” or “Man, I’d hate to see your monthly bill,” or even, “If you whip out that infernal machine at the dinner table one more time, I’m filing for divorce.”

The thing is, it really can be handy to stay in touch with your e-mail when you’re out and about. Not obsessively — you CrackBerry addicts know who you are — but maybe just a peek now and then.

Fortunately, you no longer need a Treo or BlackBerry to enjoy that luxury. Three new services — from Google, Yahoo and Teleflip — can deliver your e-mail messages directly to ordinary nonsmart cellphones.

The really good news is that all three are free. The really bad news is that each is severely compromised in one way or another. (more. . .)

Cool Tools: Sony Portable Reader

Kevin Kelly of Cool Tools has posted a lengthy review of the Sony Portable Reader. He's pretty
pleased with it, but offers these caveats:

*The Sony Reader eBook format is, of course, proprietary, and the device doesn't support any other proprietary formats (e.g. those from Palm Digital Media). This is mitigated somewhat by the fact that you can use your own PDFs, but it's something to keep in mind if you already have a collection of DRM-protected eBooks from somewhere else.

*The screen "flashes black" every time you turn the page. I have never found this bothersome at all, but it's a weird behavior (apparently an artifact of the E Ink) that you may wish to look at in person before making the purchase.

*It's not particularly good for reference books, as the device currently doesn't have a search function. (However, you can search content you've imported or purchased via the Connect software for the PC.)

*The Connect software is currently not available for the Mac. It is possible to put content directly on an SD card and put it in the Reader, but I've always used the software (which I find quite easy to use), and since I don't have access to a Mac I haven't figured out if there's also some way to get purchased eBooks on the Reader directly.

*The screen does not have a backlight, so if you want to read in the dark you have to use a booklight or some other form of external light. I've used a headlamp in a "reading emergency," which worked great.